Her Majesty's Furniture: The Putti Cabinet, 1855

Cabinet
Jackson and Graham, 1855
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome cabinet was not made for domestic use, but rather as a sample of the ingenuity and talents of the craftsmen and designers of the London furnishing firm of Jackson and Graham. Made in the Eighteenth Century style, the cabinet was presented at the Paris International Exhibition of 1855 where it was heralded for its fineness.

The 1855 catalog notes of the cabinet that “the interior is finished with as much care as the exterior, being of satin-wood inlaid with tulip-wood and the fronts of the drawers inlaid with ivory and panelled, the panels being fitted with finely-chased and gilded metal-work.”  

The stars of the show are the three porcelain mounts depicting putti representing the arts.  These panels are mounted in gilt moldings which echo the shape of the central mirror.

The piece was designed by Alexandre Prignot (born 1822) who had been the chief designer for Jackson and Graham from 1849 to 1855. This piece was one of his final triumphs. The ceramics were supplied by Minton & Co. while Elkington & Co, offered the electroplated mounts. Cope and Collinson provided the casters.

The marquetry, giltwood, and inlays of marble and porcelain drew much positive attention and praise at the 1855 exhibition as did the mirror which surmounted the cabinet. 

Gifts of Grandeur: A French Marquetry Inkstand, 1720

French Marquetry Inkstand
1720
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early Eighteenth Century, especially by 1720, desk and writing-related items were among the most fashionable of luxury goods since they could display the status and learning of the owners. Even though a gentleman might employ secretaries to do his writing for him, it was essential that his own tools for writing were both elegant and efficient.

Large inkstands such as the one pictured above allowed for all the requisite writing equipment to be contained together. The semi-circular trough at the front of this French example dating to 1720 was designed to hold quill pens, while the three compartments at the back held (from left to right) ink in a glass pot, a sponge (for wiping the end of the pen free of unsightly blobs which would have spoiled the writing) and a pot for “pounce,” a powdered sandarac which was sprinkled over the writing to prevent runs. It is veneered in boulle marquetry of tortoiseshell and brass, with sumptuous figural brass mounts, and may well have matched the writing table for which it was first made.

Unusual Artifacts: A Straw Marquetry Bellows, 1770

Bellows, c. 1770
French in the Chinoiserie Style
Straw marquetry on a wooden frame.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A bellows such as this would have been used to maintain a fire by puffing air into it in order to add oxygen, encouraging it to burn more fiercely.

This bellows was made in 1770 as part of a suite of decorative, but useful items, designed for use in a fashionable “Chinese”-style interior.  The scene, in the popular Chinoiserie style, depicts two men in loose robes and long moustaches holding a parasol and a cymbal. 

This is a work of straw marquetry—a technique which developed  in France between circa 1760 and 1830. The technique was achieved with straw which was split and flattened, then glued into place on thin paper on which the design had been drawn. This paper was then glued to a wooden carcass, which was usually covered first with a thicker paper. Color would be added to the surface, and then varnished to achieve the glossy appearance of marquetry.

Straw marquetry was most often used for small objects like this bellows, but sometimes, larger pieces of furniture were decorated in this way.  However, because the straw work is very fragile, it is very rare for pieces to survive in good condition.

The Home Beautiful: A Bureau Mazarin, 1685-1700

Bureau Mazarin
Marquetry of brass, ebony, ivory, mother-of-pearl and shell
French, 1685-1700
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This type of writing desk which features eight legs and a bank of drawers flanking an opening meant to accommodate the knees is known today as a “bureau Mazarin.”  This term became popular in the Nineteenth-Century, and we should note that these desks have no real connection to those made in the era of Louis XIV and France's chief minister at the time, Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661).  This style of desk didn’t come into fashion until the 1670s.  So, it’s curious that the Cardinal’s name began to be used to describe the fashion during the 1800s.

Many surviving bureaux Mazarins are some of the best examples of the fine craftsmanship of Seventeenth-Century French ébénistes (cabinet-makers) and several models are listed in the inventories of the palace of Versailles.  The desks often doubled as dressing tables.  

This bureau Mazarin, in marquetry of brass, ebony, ivory, mother-of pearl and clear tortoiseshell or horn, boats a central drawer and door which is flanked on either side by three drawers, supported respectively by four scroll legs terminating in a stretcher.  It was made between 1685-1700 in Paris by Vanrisamburgh, Bernard I (1655-1738).

Unusual Artifacts: A Straw Marquetry Bellows, 1770

Bellows, c. 1770
French in the Chinoiserie Style
Straw marquetry on a wooden frame.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A bellows such as this would have been used to maintain a fire by puffing air into it in order to add oxygen, encouraging it to burn more fiercely.

This bellows was made in 1770 as part of a suite of decorative, but useful items, designed for use in a fashionable “Chinese”-style interior.  The scene, in the popular Chinoiserie style, depicts two men in loose robes and long moustaches holding a parasol and a cymbal. 

This is a work of straw marquetry—a technique which developed  in France between circa 1760 and 1830. The technique was achieved with straw which was split and flattened, then glued into place on thin paper on which the design had been drawn. This paper was then glued to a wooden carcass, which was usually covered first with a thicker paper. Color would be added to the surface, and then varnished to achieve the glossy appearance of marquetry.

Straw marquetry was most often used for small objects like this bellows, but sometimes, larger pieces of furniture were decorated in this way.  However, because the straw work is very fragile, it is very rare for pieces to survive in good condition.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Putti Cabinet, 1855

Cabinet
Jackson and Graham, 1855
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome cabinet was not made for domestic use, but rather as a sample of the ingenuity and talents of the craftsmen and designers of the London furnishing firm of Jackson and Graham. Made in the Eighteenth Century style, the cabinet was presented at the Paris International Exhibition of 1855 where it was heralded for its fineness.

The 1855 catalog notes of the cabinet that “the interior is finished with as much care as the exterior, being of satin-wood inlaid with tulip-wood and the fronts of the drawers inlaid with ivory and panelled, the panels being fitted with finely-chased and gilded metal-work.”  

The stars of the show are the three porcelain mounts depicting putti representing the arts.  These panels are mounted in gilt moldings which echo the shape of the central mirror.

The piece was designed by Alexandre Prignot (born 1822) who had been the chief designer for Jackson and Graham from 1849 to 1855. This piece was one of his final triumphs. The ceramics were supplied by Minton & Co. while Elkington & Co, offered the electroplated mounts. Cope and Collinson provided the casters.

The marquetry, giltwood, and inlays of marble and porcelain drew much positive attention and praise at the 1855 exhibition as did the mirror which surmounted the cabinet. 

Gifts of Grandeur: A French Marquetry Inkstand, 1720

French Marquetry Inkstand
1720
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early Eighteenth Century, especially by 1720, desk and writing-related items were among the most fashionable of luxury goods since they could display the status and learning of the owners.  Even though a gentleman might employ secretaries to do his writing for him, it was essential that his own tools for writing were both elegant and efficient.

Large inkstands such as the one pictured above allowed for all the requisite writing equipment to be contained together. The semi-circular trough at the front of this French example dating to 1720 was designed to hold quill pens, while the three compartments at the back held (from left to right) ink in a glass pot, a sponge (for wiping the end of the pen free of unsightly blobs which would have spoiled the writing) and a pot for “pounce,” a powdered sandarac which was sprinkled over the writing to prevent runs. It is veneered in boulle marquetry of tortoiseshell and brass, with sumptuous figural brass mounts, and may well have matched the writing table for which it was first made.

The Home Beautiful: A Bureau Mazarin, 1685-1700

Bureau Mazarin
Marquetry of brass, ebony, ivory, mother-of-pearl and shell
French, 1685-1700
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This type of writing desk which features eight legs and a bank of drawers flanking an opening meant to accommodate the knees is known today as a “bureau Mazarin.”  This term became popular in the Nineteenth-Century, and we should note that these desks have no real connection to those made in the era of Louis XIV and France's chief minister at the time, Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661).  This style of desk didn’t come into fashion until the 1670s.  So, it’s curious that the Cardinal’s name began to be used to describe the fashion during the 1800s.

Many surviving bureaux Mazarins are some of the best examples of the fine craftsmanship of Seventeenth-Century French ébénistes (cabinet-makers) and several models are listed in the inventories of the palace of Versailles.  The desks often doubled as dressing tables. 

This bureau Mazarin, in marquetry of brass, ebony, ivory, mother-of pearl and clear tortoiseshell or horn, boats a central drawer and door which is flanked on either side by three drawers, supported respectively by four scroll legs terminating in a stretcher.  It was made between 1685-1700 in Paris by Vanrisamburgh, Bernard I (1655-1738).