Description
Under the reign of King Henri II, sobriety is in favour, limiting the exuberance of decor. This taste for rigour is distinctive of this style that appears in the Ile-de-France region. Cabinet-makers choose a structure with harmonious proportions inherited from the architectural system of Greco-Roman Antiquity, brought back by the Italian Quattrocento. Furniture is inspired by architecture and its principles of organisation and rigour in the distribution of masses. Furthermore, they move away from the Italian ornamental vocabulary still very much fashionable in other French provinces.
This small cabinet opens with four door-leaves. It presents a great unity and sobriety in its ornamentation comprising mainly moulded panels incorporated in the structure. Grooved pilasters with Doric capitals for the lower body and Ionic capitals for the upper body divide the facade. In the belt can be found a unique drawer, framed by two consoles adorned with an Acanthus leaf sculpted with great talent.
This cabinet can be deemed an excellent example of the specificities of the productions of the Ile-de-France region production during the reign of Henri II.