09-29-2015, 09:47 PM
Today I give you a type of cabinet which came to prominence during the period of Louis XIV; the Bureau Mazarin.
Some of the more emblematic examples were constructed by Andre Charles Boulle (or in Boulle's style) and Pierre Gole.
This is a type of cabinet which had eight legs. The case consisted of two drawer stacks with a kneespace between. The kneespace is small, and not suited for accommodation of the sitter's feet, but they were used sidesaddle. The writing surface extends out in a variety of ingenious methods to facilitate using it.
Ornate, and typically adorned with marquetry, the form is not well known by many modern woodworkers. Its impact on the evolution of cabinet construction is difficult to overstate. This was an enormously influential form, and virtually hopped over the channel, easily working its way into the William and Mary style where it was a natural fit. Long after the original verbatim Bureau Mazarin had ceased to be, other furniture forms echoed this early progenitor. At the same time, reproductions continued to be produced from its inception even to today.I'll try to post some pictures to give an idea.
Incidentally, for anyone interested, Louis XIV is a baroque style.
Some of the more emblematic examples were constructed by Andre Charles Boulle (or in Boulle's style) and Pierre Gole.
This is a type of cabinet which had eight legs. The case consisted of two drawer stacks with a kneespace between. The kneespace is small, and not suited for accommodation of the sitter's feet, but they were used sidesaddle. The writing surface extends out in a variety of ingenious methods to facilitate using it.
Ornate, and typically adorned with marquetry, the form is not well known by many modern woodworkers. Its impact on the evolution of cabinet construction is difficult to overstate. This was an enormously influential form, and virtually hopped over the channel, easily working its way into the William and Mary style where it was a natural fit. Long after the original verbatim Bureau Mazarin had ceased to be, other furniture forms echoed this early progenitor. At the same time, reproductions continued to be produced from its inception even to today.I'll try to post some pictures to give an idea.
Incidentally, for anyone interested, Louis XIV is a baroque style.
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