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Lot Essay
The intricate carving of foliate scrolls, lion masks, griffins, dolphins, classical relief figures and inlaid marble panels which adorn this cabinet are typical of the decorative vocabulary employed by craftsmen of the seconde École de Fontainebleau during the late 16th Century. Inspired by the work of the Italian architects and painters such as Rosso and Primaticcio who worked for Franois I at Fontainebleau in the 1530's and the French ornemanistes and artists who had assimilated these influences in France, such as Jacques Androuet Du Cucerau (1510-1585) and Jean Goujon (1515-1562), the French Renaissance workshops of the seconde École de Fontainebleau borrowed freely from this repertoire of design for the adornment of furniture. (See J. Boccador, Le Mobilier Franais du Moyen Age à La Renaissance. Saint-Juste-en-Chausée, 1988, p. 239-244.)
A number of closely related examples exist, notably a cabinet in the collection of the Musée du Louvre of similar overall form, with relief panels to the doors depicting the four seasons (illustrated in D. Alcouffe et. al., Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Dijon, 1993, vol.I, p.39, cat. 13.). Another example which has related columnar uprights, inlaid marble plaques and lion's head carved in high relief is illustrated in Boccador, ibid, p. 245, pl. 185. A further related example is in the collection of the Palace of Legion of Honor, San Francisco.
A number of closely related examples exist, notably a cabinet in the collection of the Musée du Louvre of similar overall form, with relief panels to the doors depicting the four seasons (illustrated in D. Alcouffe et. al., Furniture Collections in the Louvre, Dijon, 1993, vol.I, p.39, cat. 13.). Another example which has related columnar uprights, inlaid marble plaques and lion's head carved in high relief is illustrated in Boccador, ibid, p. 245, pl. 185. A further related example is in the collection of the Palace of Legion of Honor, San Francisco.