IMPORTANT Epoque CABINET LOUIS XIII in carved... - Lot 168 - Les Andelys Enchères

IMPORTANT Epoque CABINET LOUIS XIII in carved ebony, engraved ebony and blackened wood, decorated with octagonal panels representing Suzanne and the Elders and Judith and Holofernes, with figures of Renommées and tritons in the spandrels, the sides with landscapes in garlands of laurel leaves, surmounted by a frieze with two drawers depicting summer in a chariot drawn by winged lions and autumn in a chariot drawn by griffins, supporting a cornice (reported at a later date), opening with two panels with reverse representing biblical scenes, discovering twelve drawers and two panels decorated with allegories of Force and Temperance; resting on a base with a frieze of children's games and torsos columns (restored) supported by a plinth; (accidents and restorations). Paris, ca. 1630. H: 189.5 cm, W: 169 cm, D: 59 cm A rather similar cabinet probably from the former Laroque collection (Paris sale, 25 May 1835, lot 355) presents a comparable geometric organization: scenes of the outer leaves in octagons surrounded by figures in spandrels. This type of cabinet, the interior also opening to two leaves with five drawers on each side, is generally dated around 1630 (See D. Alcouffe in Un temps d'exubérance, les arts décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d'Autriche, cat. exp. Paris, 2002, pp. 232-233). It is also interesting to note that the same type of children's frieze adorns the belt of the base. As is often the case, the carved scenes find their inspiration in engravings of the time: 1) For Suzanne and the old men, the same type of composition is recorded by the engraver Christoffel JEGHER (1596-1653) based on a model by Pierre Paul RUBENS (1577-1640); 2) Concerning Judith depositing the head of Holofernes, very similar engravings were made by Hans BURGKMAIR (1473-1531) and Balthazar VAN DEN BOS (1518-1580). Note also that this subject is found on an ebony cabinet from the former Fowler collection at the Metropolitan Museum in New