jteneyck said:
That almost puts the Louis XIV pieces to shame.
Who paid for it, or has he been so successful that he could afford to do it on his own dime?
John
John,
I don't want to sound like a skipping record, but no, I have no idea about the backstory of the cabinet.
Really, I don't think Boulle, Gole, Hache, or any of those fellas have anything to worry about. I know you were using hyperbole, but I gotta defend my posse. ;-)
What is even more crazy to think about is that he made a court cupboard. Of all things, a court cupboard! I'd love to make a court cupboard. Who am I kidding, I'd love to make court cupboards the rest of my days, while eating court cupboard sandwiches with court cupboard sauce.
A court cupboard is a form of furniture that no longer exists. Moreover, a court cupboard is a form that never had any legitimate purpose for existence. Court cupboards exist only as an item of conspicuous consumption and ostentatious display of wealth and status. For the cabinetmaker, they are a canvas to demonstrate mastery and ultimate competence. In terms of practical use, very nearly any article of furniture would do as a substitute. A chest of drawers is far more practical.
The furniture we have in our homes in many cases is the result of a long, linear evolution of form. A mirror frame you may have, even the most modern, and simplest, is nothing more than the latest edition of wooden mirror frames that have existed before. The details of style mean nothing; nothing. There are Auricular mirror frames from the seventeenth century and Arts and Crafts mirror frames served up barebones, unadorned. Same thing.
At the same time, like any process of evolution, new forms emerge and old forms die out. A Chippendale coffee table? There is no such thing. In the eighteenth century, coffee tables didn't exist. In today's home, today's lifestyle, coffee tables are indispensable. It's difficult to imagine a modern home without one.
To see a court cupboard in the wild; a living, breathing court cupboard, is quite a sight. Looking at that cabinet is like that moment in Jurassic Park when, for the first time, the characters see a brontosaurus eating vegetation from a tree.
P.S. You want to see some really weird stuff. Google search Auricular style, I dare you. Forms modeled on the lobes of the human ear (hence: Auricular) manifesting marine themes, like fishes, seashells, and the like. Compositions that suggest faces and eyes looking at you. It's like something you see with your peripheral vision, but when you turn to look, it's gone. Very strange stuff.