6170: Cabinet - cabinetmaking; anonymous

The cabinet is a piece of furniture that appeared during the Renaissance, in line with the development of archaeological excavations, scientific progress and the interest of the elite in related objects. The furniture's numerous compartments were designed to hold ancient coins, small fossils, rare stones, scientific instruments and archaeological objects. The cabinet enjoyed remarkable success, and sumptuous examples were made for wealthy connoisseurs, in ebony inlaid with hard stones in Florence, or with painted panels and perspective effects in the Netherlands. The Orleans cabinet comes from the Austrian region of Tyrol, one of the major production centers for this type of furniture in the ^16th and ^17th centuries, along with the Augsburg region. It is characterized by a wealth of decorative elements, highlighted by complex marquetry and green-tinted elements.

Resting on a later base, the cabinet opens with two doors decorated with an inlaid background, featuring arabesques and flowering foliage populated by animals. The doors feature a free scene on the outside and a circular medallion on the inside: three of the scenes depict horsemen fighting enemies on foot and the fourth a horseman crossing a brazier. The sides are decorated with medallions depicting Saint George slaying the dragon. The body of the cabinet is made up of sixteen drawers featuring combat scenes (between infantrymen, between beasts and men) in molded frames on foliate backgrounds. In the center, two small doors open onto a cavity with a checkerboard inlaid floor, giving access to seven drawers and a door housing small cells.