Jacobean Buffet c.1610
This robust court cupboard combines heavily carved supports and elements with finely inlaid parts. The centre section has some of the earliest known floral marquetry on a piece of English oak furniture.
Jacobean Buffet c.1610
A court cupboard or buffet, oak; fruitwoods (veneer), English, circa 1610
Part of the Noel Terry Collection
Height: 123cm; Width: 130cm. Depth: 45cm NT1984.054
Prov: William Randolph Hearst, Christie’s, May 18, 1939, lot107
This robust court cupboard combines heavily carved supports and elements with finely inlaid parts, such as the canted panels in the central shelf, containing floral motifs, and a chequer pattern on the bottom frieze.
Other motifs on the drawer and on the frieze above, include arabesque patterns and faces of the “Green Man”, a popular image of pagan origin, usually associated with May Day celebrations.
The floral marquetry on the centre panels, although stylised and rather naïve, is some of the earliest known decoration of this type on a piece of English Oak furniture.
At the beginning of the 17th C, many scholars were showing an interest in the natural world. Books on gardening and botany were very popular and artists were inspired by the newly imported Chinese ceramics, decorated with flowers and bouquets in lively colours.
As the century progressed, the use of floral decoration in art achieved a high status, not just in painting, but applied to silver, glass and on furniture.
The uses of this type of buffet were varied, but the most common, was for the display of precious silver and gold objects. Inventories of the time usually refer to the presence of an embroidered green cloth laid on the top. Placed there, presumably, to prevent any scratching.
Part of the Noel Terry Collection
Height: 123cm; Width: 130cm. Depth: 45cm NT1984.054
Prov: William Randolph Hearst, Christie’s, May 18, 1939, lot107
This robust court cupboard combines heavily carved supports and elements with finely inlaid parts, such as the canted panels in the central shelf, containing floral motifs, and a chequer pattern on the bottom frieze.
Other motifs on the drawer and on the frieze above, include arabesque patterns and faces of the “Green Man”, a popular image of pagan origin, usually associated with May Day celebrations.
The floral marquetry on the centre panels, although stylised and rather naïve, is some of the earliest known decoration of this type on a piece of English Oak furniture.
At the beginning of the 17th C, many scholars were showing an interest in the natural world. Books on gardening and botany were very popular and artists were inspired by the newly imported Chinese ceramics, decorated with flowers and bouquets in lively colours.
As the century progressed, the use of floral decoration in art achieved a high status, not just in painting, but applied to silver, glass and on furniture.
The uses of this type of buffet were varied, but the most common, was for the display of precious silver and gold objects. Inventories of the time usually refer to the presence of an embroidered green cloth laid on the top. Placed there, presumably, to prevent any scratching.
This object is located in the Rear Hall
It is categorised as Furniture
This page was last updated on 1 April 2008