CABINET DEUX CORPS A PASTILLAGE ILE DE FRANCE... Lot 39

CABINET DEUX CORPS A PASTILLAGE ILE DE FRANCE (?) CIRCLE 1560-1580 Walnut wood with patina and blackened pastillage (eggshell on the drawers) H. 226 cm, W. 149 cm, D. 60 cm The appearance of the cabinet in France in the second quarter of the 16th century marked a renewal in the habits of everyday life. It gradually replaced the credenza - or dresser - of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. More practical by its construction in two parts which facilitates the transport which was common of a residence has the other one at that time. Our piece of furniture allies to the harmony of the proportions a remarkable quality of sculpture. Its tightly grained walnut wood has acquired, over the centuries, a beautiful patina similar to that of boxwood. The general style and certain details such as the inlaid eggshell decorations, suggest an origin from Lyon. This two-piece recessed cabinet opens to four doors and two drawers in the belt. The four leaves are decorated with finely carved scenes from the Old Testament. The upper left part is a representation of Susanna and the Elders, the right part, the presentation of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. The two lower leaves present a scene of a man standing on a platform haranguing the crowd. On the right, the people are listening to him, on the left, a soldier is leading a woman. This could be the preaching of Christ in the Temple asking the soldiers to release the adulteress. In the first scene, on the left, the woman is about to be taken away by the soldiers to be stoned by the men also represented. In the second scene, on the right, the woman has disappeared, having been released. The crowd is listening to Christ. In a secular register, it could also be an iconography of slander. The broken pediment shows in its center Judith holding the head of Holofernes. We can say that this exceptional cabinet is a piece of furniture that speaks for itself because of the richness of its decoration, its strong narrative and its beautiful state of preservation.