An exceptional William and Mary walnut floral marquetry chest of drawers circa 1690.
The top with central banded oval panel surrounded by 4 corner panels inlaid with spring flowers, birds, a butterfly and scrolls acanthus on an ebony ground. The 2 short and 2 long graduating drawers are similarly inlaid with marquetry spring flowers, acanthus scrolls and a rare significant images of a Green Lion/Man, representing rebirth and the cycle of life.
Another significant feature is the side panels where it is decorated with break-arch reserve to the sides, where a bird feeds on berries, symbolising new beginnings and the cycle of life.
According to Herbert Cescinsky in ‘English Furniture of the 18th Century’, the general spacing of marquetry during the period 1690-1705 into panels probably owed its inception to the copying of the Jacobean carved panels of the period, directly before the accession of William III. He argues that “the work of Holland is decidedly inferior in harmony of colouring, the English sycamore and plane-tree admitting of staining with colours of greater purity, and giving a much better effect, than the beech and hornbeam used for the purpose in Holland”.
A similarly designed marquetry table top is illustrated in A.Bowetts, ‘English Furniture 1660-1714 From Charles II to Queen Anne’, p.61, plate 2:43, showing the variety created by transposing elements of the design so that no two quadrants of marquetry are identical.
William & Mary 1689 to 1694
Dimensions
85.1 cms High (
33.5 inches)
100.3 cms Wide (
39.5 inches)
61.6 cms Deep (
24.25 inches)
