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cabinet à abattant et coffre à bijoux
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Secretary and Jewel Cabinet on Stand
cabinet à abattant et coffre à bijoux
Attributed to: Bernard van Risenburgh II (French, born after 1696, master before 1737, died about 1765)
French (Paris)
about 1760
Medium/Technique
Tulipwood, amaranth and endcut kingwood veneers on oak, deal and walnut; gilt-bronze mounts
Dimensions
98.8 x 42.5 x 30.2 cm (38 7/8 x 16 3/4 x 11 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Forsyth Wickes—The Forsyth Wickes Collection
Accession Number65.2504
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsFurniture – Case furniture and boxes
Furniture – Tables, stands, screens
Furniture – Tables, stands, screens
DescriptionFront and side panels decorated with floral inlay. Beveled hinged top bordered by decorative bronze dore. Drop front exposing bank of drawers, two full and two halves, supported by two small drawers right and left on four cabriole legs housing drawer with hinged writing tablet bordered by decorative bronze dore rim with escutcheons front and rear. Side handles centered on smaller escutcheons, knee appliques ending in sabots. All bronze dore in leaf and floral motive.
Provenance18th century, Isabella Lubomirski (b. 1736 - d. 1816), Castle Lancut, Poland; by descent to Count Alfred Potocki (b. 1886 - d. 1958), Castle Lancut [see note 1]; May 10, 1947, sold by Count Potocki to Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York; July 22, 1947, sold by Rosenberg and Stiebel to Forsyth Wickes (b. 1879 - d. 1964), New York and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)
NOTES:
[1] According to correspondence from Gerald Stiebel to the MFA (May 12, 2004), a letter written by Count Potocki attested that the Secretary and Cabinet had been acquired by Isabella Lubomirski (née Czartoryski), and passed on to him by descent. Additionally, he wrote that Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (b. 1755 - d. 1793) had given it to her as a gift. Research into this has been inconclusive; that it was a gift from Marie Antoinette seems plausible but has not been verified.
NOTES:
[1] According to correspondence from Gerald Stiebel to the MFA (May 12, 2004), a letter written by Count Potocki attested that the Secretary and Cabinet had been acquired by Isabella Lubomirski (née Czartoryski), and passed on to him by descent. Additionally, he wrote that Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (b. 1755 - d. 1793) had given it to her as a gift. Research into this has been inconclusive; that it was a gift from Marie Antoinette seems plausible but has not been verified.