A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts by Unknown artist
 A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts by Unknown artist
 A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts by Unknown artist
 A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts by Unknown artist
 A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts by Unknown artist
 A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts by Unknown artist

A rare two-door low-relief carved ebony and ivory cabinet with gilt-brass mounts 1775

Unknown artist

EbonyWood
32.50 ⨯ 40.20 ⨯ 28 cm
Price on request

Zebregs & Röell - Fine Art - Antiques

  • About the artwork
    Provenance: Collection Harinxma thoe Slooten, an old Frisian noble family

    Ebony plates, finely carved with curly tendrils, fixed to a teak base, the inside of the doors with fixed white and red ivory plates, likewise, decorated with delicate, curling tendrils. Inside the cabinet eight various sized drawers with finely ivory carved plaques fixed with metal and ivory nails. The central bottom drawer depicting, inside a columned arch, two crowned lions sitting on their hind legs with their front paws against a tree with two parrots among its dense foliage, with gilt copper hinges, lock plates and corner pieces.

    Indian, Sri Lankan and Indonesian furniture with deep relief carving, are always made of solid ebony. Fixing plates to a teak base was a practice used by ivory-workers for ivory chests and cabinets, where ivory plaques were fixed to a wooden base with ivory pins. Jan Veenendaal suggests that this kind of cabinet with fixed ebony plates was made by ivory-carvers of the Ætdatkætayamkãrayã pattalaya (guild) or kulaya (caste), living all over Sri Lanka but most especially in the centre of the island, in the kingdom of Kandy. It seems unlikely that a cabinet-maker using large quantities of ebony in chairs, settees and cupboards would take the trouble to saw thin plates to save ebony and then fasten this veneer onto a base of cheaper wood (Jan Veenendaal, Furniture from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India during the Dutch period, Museum Nusantara Delft, 1985, p.41).
    The carving of the crowned sitting lions, European in appearance, is in fact a decorative Sri Lankan design and not some illustration of a European family crest.
  • About the artist

    It might happen that an artist or maker is unknown.

    Some works are not to be determined by whom it is made or it is made by (a group of) craftsmen. Examples are statues from the Ancient Time, furniture, mirroirs, or signatures that are not clear or readible but as well some works are not signed at all.

    As well you can find the following description:

    •“Attributed to ….” In their opinion probably a work by the artist, at least in part

    •“Studio of ….” or “Workshop of” In their opinion a work executed in the studio or workshop of the artist, possibly under his supervision

    •“Circle of ….” In their opinion a work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil

    •“Style of ….” or “Follower of ….” In their opinion a work executed in the artist’s style but not necessarily by a pupil; may be contemporary or nearly contemporary

    •“Manner of ….” In their opinion a work in the style of the artist but of a later date

    •“After ….” In their opinion a copy (of any date) of a work of the artist

    •“Signed…”, “Dated….” or “Inscribed” In their opinion the work has been signed/dated/inscribed by the artist. The addition of a question mark indicates an element of doubt

    •"With signature ….”, “With date ….”, “With inscription….” or “Bears signature/date/inscription” in their opinion the signature/ date/ inscription has been added by someone other than the artist

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