Christian Bernhard Böhringer Lot n° 406

A Dresden mirrored writing cabinet Mahogany, cherry, birch, walnut, palisander, ebony, stained wood, oak, blue and white biscuit porcelain, faceted mirror, original brass and iron locks. A trois corps. Diagonal drop front writing desk above a three-drawer cabinet. Above it a two-door top with a breakfront cornice. The writing cabinet with six drawers in three rows around a central compartment with arched top, the bottom with cuboid marquetry. The top section of architectural design with pilasters with composite capitals. A central mirrored compartment with a shutter closure, framed by four drawers on each side above a large drawer. Some veneers replaced. Dresden, Johann Christian Böhringer, 1804. This writing cabinet is inspired by a type of furniture developed in England in the late 17th century under King William and Queen Mary. The design reached Saxony via Holland and Brandenburg and was adopted there. From 1733 onwards, the Dresden cabinetmakers' guild demanded that master candidates construct cabinets like this as their "masterpieces". Simple forms, practicality and a preference for beautifully grained veneers characterise these pieces. Later, forms with breakfront pediments or more dynamic suface design developed. Nevertheless, the pieces retained something of the original angular quality. In the late 18th century, the classicist formal repertoire superceded the serpentine fronts and curved pediments, and the lines once again became straight. Gisela Haase lists a similar writing cabinet by Christian Zacharias Schmidt from 1790 with a chest of drawers, a writing compartment behind a sloping drop flap and a two-door upper section with elaborate furnishings. Three labels found in the cabinet give us very precise information regarding its origin. The first one points to the master Christian Bernhard Böhringer, who made the piece in 1804 with the help of Johann Martin Brandt. This is interesting because, on the one hand, we know the names of these masters from archival records, but on the other hand, very few items of furniture have thus far been assigned to them. The other two labels provide information about a repair in 1827, another in 1899 and name the owner at that time, one Dr. Rudolph Müller from Blasewitz, now a district of Dresden. Unfortunately, the original labels no longer exist, and we can now only refer to notarised copies. Certificate Dr. Gisela Haase, Dresden, dated 28th May 2001. Provenance In the possession of the heirs of Dr. Rudolph Müller, Dresden until 1922. Oetinger family of publishers. German private ownership. Literature Illus. in Eller, Schreibmöbel 1700 - 1850, Petersberg 2006, illus. 172 f., p. 359. Cf. Haase, Dresdner Möbel, Leipzig 1993, illus. 103. This lot contains materials which require a CITES licence for export outside of the EU contract countries. We would like to inform you that such licenses are usually not granted.