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Lot Essay
Of all the carved hall benches in the Schermerhorn collection, this example is closest to Marot's intricate designs for headboards of beds, included in his Nouveaux and Second Livres d'Appartement. Several of these designs feature a central urn or vase which is supported by a pedestal formed by scrolls. (K. Ottenheym et. al., Daniel Marot, vormgever van een deftig bestaan, Zutphen, 1988, figs. 77, 80 and 83)
The stretcher carved with stiff-leaves was probably only employed during the early development of this type of furniture, at the end of the 17th Century. Clearly for aesthetic reasons, it was soon omitted and does not appear on 18th Century hall benches. Besides the present example, three related benches with similar stretchers are known. The first is in the Hannema-de Stuers Foundation in Heino. The second is in museum Boymans-Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, while the third is in a Dutch private collection. (A.C.A.W. van der Feltz, Kunstnijverheid Hannema-de Stuers Fundatie, Zwolle, 1980, p. 52, fig. 112; A. Gruber (ed.), Classicm and Baroque in Europe, Paris, 1994, p. 136; P. Huys Janssen et. al., Wonen in Arcadi, Zwolle, 1998, p. 112, fig. 85)
The stretcher carved with stiff-leaves was probably only employed during the early development of this type of furniture, at the end of the 17th Century. Clearly for aesthetic reasons, it was soon omitted and does not appear on 18th Century hall benches. Besides the present example, three related benches with similar stretchers are known. The first is in the Hannema-de Stuers Foundation in Heino. The second is in museum Boymans-Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, while the third is in a Dutch private collection. (A.C.A.W. van der Feltz, Kunstnijverheid Hannema-de Stuers Fundatie, Zwolle, 1980, p. 52, fig. 112; A. Gruber (ed.), Classicm and Baroque in Europe, Paris, 1994, p. 136; P. Huys Janssen et. al., Wonen in Arcadi, Zwolle, 1998, p. 112, fig. 85)