1985.R.574.A-C, Cabinet on Stand, probably Paris, France, possibly Antwerp, Belgium, 1650-1675

During the first half of the seventeenth century, the cabinet-on-stand became an important furniture form in Italy; it was soon imitated in both western and northern Europe. Not only were such cabinets useful for the storage of small personal articles and collectibles but they could be highly decorative. Italian examples were especially noteworthy because they were often covered with pietre dure (hard stone) marquetry. In this technique, hard stones selected for their color were shaped so that they could be assembled like a puzzle into decorative motifs and glued onto the surface of a piece of furniture. By the mid-seventeenth century, clients in northern Europe demanded furniture decorated in this fashion. While Italian furniture with pietre dure, as well as ready-made stone slabs, were imported, cabinetmakers in various parts of Europe created acceptable alternatives to the Italian prototypes.

This cabinet is a fine example of such work. It is close to Italian examples in its overall form, a case containing banks of drawers supported on an open frame. However, the surface is faced not with an inlaid stone veneer, but rather colorful marquetry composed of tortoiseshell, ivory, and various natural and dyed woods. Nevertheless, the nature of the wooden marquetry is quite close to pietre dure examples, as it is composed of relatively large elements arranged in stiff patterns. Also linking this example closely to Italian prototypes are the motifs of flowers and birds arranged on alternating drawers, a formula that frequently appears on examples of Italian origin. This affinity to Italian prototypes suggests that the cabinet may have been made in the 1650s or 1660s, soon after the vogue for polychrome floral marquetry reached northern Europe.

Paris (France): TGN 7008038

Antwerp, Belgium: TGN: 7007856

Louis XIV: AAT: 300021080

Until 1967: Antoine Perpitch Gallery, Paris [1] [2]

1967: Emery Reves (1904-1983), purchased from Antoine Perpitch Gallery, Paris, as a birthday gift for his wife Wendy Reves (1916-2007) [2]

1967-1985: Emery Reves (1904-1983) and Wendy Reves (1916-2007) (owned jointly), La Pausa, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France [1][2][3]

From 1985: Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, gift of Wendy Reves (1916-2007) [2][3]

[1] According to a hand-written letter found in the object files (dated March 29, 1985) from Dr. Theodoor Herman Lunsingh Scheurleer to former Dallas Museum of Art Assistant Curator of Special Events, Vicki Vinson.

[2] According to: Dallas Museum of Art. Decorative Arts Highlights from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1995), 43.

[3] According to: Olivier Meslay and Martha MacLeod, From Chanel to Reves (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2015), 4-5.

mobi stop 457- Learn about this Cabinet on stand (1650-1675).

44998514: UMO

Emery Reves purchased this cabinet, along with another one in the collection, in 1967 as a birthday gift for his wife, Wendy Reves.

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