Boulle Corner Cabinet with Serpentine Front and Marble Top
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Boulle - Boulle work is the name given to tortoiseshell and metal inlay using brass and sometimes silver, found on furniture and smaller wooden objects. It originated in Italy but was developed by Frenchman Andre Charles Boulle (1642 - 1732) under Louis XIV.
Boulle was appointed Royal Cainet Maker to Louis XIV and designed furniture and clockcases for the monarch.
In preparation, the tortoiseshell and metal were cut together following a design, using a fine fret saw.
In the application of the Boulle, the carcase of piece of furniture was covered with the tortoiseshell which in turn was inlaid with the matched designs in metal, which in turn was elaborately engraved.
The use of Boulle work furniture continued mainly in France until the 19th century. - Serpentine - Resembling a serpent, in the form of an elongated 'S'. A serpentine front is similar to a bow front, except that the curve is shallow at each end, swelling towards the middle. The term presumably derives from its similarity to a moving snake or serpent. Serpentine fronts are usually veneered, with the carcase either being cut and shaped from a solid piece of timber, or built in the 'brick' method.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A 19th century ebonised and cut brass inlaid sideboard, in the boulle manner serpentine, with glazed side doors and a solid central door, finely inlaid with foliate marquetry, plinth base, 169 x 109.5 x 46 cm.
A Louis XIV style ebonised and red Boullework pier cabinet. second half 19th century. The black marble top with canted corners above a brass and faux red tortoiseshell foliate embellished frieze and two similarly decorated panelled cupboards, raised on a s
A Louis XV 'Vernis Martin' vitrine c1860
A fine Italian icon, late 18th/19th century, depicting the Crucifixion of Christ, with Mary Magdalene, John the Evangalist, and the Virgin Mary all with him at the foot of the cross, finely painted and mounted in an architectural ebony frame with silvered