Large Malachite and Gilt-Bronze Neoclassical Display Cabinet

#17209: Large Malachite and Gilt-Bronze Neoclassical Display Cabinet
French, 20th century
Height: 248cm, width 382cm, depth 76cm
This massive display cabinet is veneered throughout in figured malachite and mounted with finely cast gilt-bronze in the Neoclassical taste. It belongs to a tradition of hardstone-veneered furniture that draws on Russian and French Neoclassical precedent, in which the vivid banding of malachite is set against ormolu ornament of classical inspiration.
The cabinet is designed in two tiers, the lower section shorter but deeper and fitted with a single glass shelf, the taller upper tier shallower and fitted with two shelves. The two sides mirror one another in symmetry, forming four glazed bays in all. Each glass panel is edged with gilt-bronze beading, while the eight doors, secured by four keyholes, are finished with gilt-bronze escutcheons.
The lower section is enriched with a scrolling foliate frieze at its base and an arabesque gilt-bronze band above. Three pilasters, one at each end and one at the centre, are mounted with gilt-bronze swags of oak leaves and acorns tied with ribbon bows, above beaded uprights. The upper tier repeats this treatment on a larger scale: below the entablature runs a gilt-bronze frieze of laurel sprays centred by classical portrait medallions, while the projecting cornice is carried on three scrolling gilt-bronze brackets. A moulded gilt-bronze cornice crowns the composition.
The materials combine figured malachite veneer, glass, and gilt-bronze (ormolu) mounts, in a green, clear, and gold palette characteristic of the Neoclassical revival.
$675,000