An Italian gilt-bronze mounted ebony and ebonised pietre dure and mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet on stand the cabinet part 18th century, the panels circa 1700, the stand late 19th century

the architectural front with ten drawers, each inset with two pietra dura panels with fruiting stems, tulips and vases, the central compartment with a door with a pietra dura panel depicting Venus, flanked by alabaster columns and with mother-of-pearl inlaid panels, the top with vase finials and associated gilt-bronze armorial crest, on a breakfront ebonised and carved giltwood stand

This impressive cabinet is in overall good condition. The stand is in reasonable condition, with some light marks and scratches consistent with age and use, some minor rubbing to the gilding and small chips to carving in the middle of the stretcher. It needs nonetheless to be structurally secured to take safely the weight of the cabinet. The cabinet has marks and scratches consistent with age and use, with the top with further scratches and area of rubbing from placing objects on it. There are minor signs of old wood worm that appears to be no longer active. Two small brass mounts to sides upright faces, flanking the panels, have small losses. Some handles loose and in need of resecuring. The central bottom drawer stuck and needing attention together with right side column, which is loose. The panels interestingly securely set with a sliding back wooden board which allows to reach and remove them easily. One of these sliding backs loose and needing to be re attached. Some minor chipping to edges of some panels and there is also some very minor repairs and filling. Panels are very interesting for combining mother of pearl with stone.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Splendid ebony cabinets, elaborately conceived to display costly Florenine pietre dure panels from the Medici workshops, were mainly produced in Florence and Rome, and favoured by a growing, and increasingly international, range of wealthy patrons. The precious mosaics of marbles and hard stones on the present example well represent the princely magnificence stemming from the Opificio delle pietre dure, founded in 1588 by Grand Duke Ferdinand I de' Medici (1549-1609), the flowers evoking the Arcadian concept of Ver perpetuum, or perpetual spring.  The present cabinet is unusual not only in combining pietra dura with mother-of-pearl, but also in focusing on fruit, instead of the more common perched birds, or flowers. The generous employ of mother-of-pearl would appear to suggest a Northern European origin.

In the upper tier of drawers this cabinet also incorporates two pietra dure panels with (Dutch) tulips. One of the most interesting and remarkable legacies of the "Tulip Mania", the astonishing speculation in tulip bulbs which swept Holland in the 1630s are the so-called "Tulip Books", albums of watercolours solely or mainly depicting tulips.  Originally, these tulip books were made as stock catalogues for bulb dealers or sale catalogues for bulb auctions, but even after the dramatic collapse in bulb prices in early 1637, after which the expense of making such a lavish album of watercolours for those purposes could no longer be justified, they remained popular. The collapse of the market for tulips didn’t diminish the Dutch and also international appetite for tulips – in art, at least.  Indeed, many of the most popular prototypes from the 1630s continued to be copied well into the 18th century and the present panels seem to derive from one of these Dutch examples.