Rococo style gilt bronze and Vernis Martin vitrine cabinet

Rococo style gilt bronze and Vernis Martin vitrine cabinet
French, 19th Century
Height 194cm, width 120cm, depth 50cm

This large and exquisite vitrine cabinet is a true statement piece and would make the perfect place to display an antique collection of curios or fine tableware.

The cabinet is crafted in kingwood, in a bombe form, and features a large central panel flanked by four concave and convex panels; two to each side, which give the cabinet a distinctively elegant and curvaceous shape, typical of the Rococo style.

The upper part of the cabinet features sheets of glass set into the wooden frame which are bordered with scrolling ormolu mounts. Five gilt-bronze-framed Vernis Martin panels are set below each of the glass panels. The Vernis Martin panels are finely decorated with courtship scenes, or 'fetes galantes', a type of outdoor merriment scene that developed in the works of French artist Antoine Watteau (1684-1721).

The large central panel opens as a door to access two glass display shelves above a lower shelf of green velvet. The lower section of the cabinet contains a closed cupboard, similarly lined with green velvet. The cabinet is set onto six short cabriole legs mounted with gilt bronze sabots.