A Flemish ebony table cabinet mounted with painted and embroidered panels, Antwerp second half 17th century, painted panels 19th century

on a later ebonised base  

In overal good original condition. Some age cracks to the veneers. The top has some patches especially to the corners. Some sections of moulding to the sides are detached but present with one missing piece. The base too has some detached sections which can easily be restored. Old minor chips, marks and scratches including to the painted panels. A fine cabinet with beautiful embroideries.
"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."

Comparative Literature:
M. Riccardi-Cubitt, The Art of the Cabinet, 1992, ill. 39 and 40, where she illustrates related cabinets embroidered with animals, birds and fish.
Ria Fabri, Meubles d'apparat des Pays-Bas meridionaux XVIe -XVIIIe siecle, exhibition 19th January-21st March 1989, p. 28, where a cabinet decorated with similar animals is in the Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, inv. V. 71. p. 29, also see another related cabinet depicting animals in the same museum, inv. 31 G 38. A further cabinet is illustrated by Fabri, op. cit., p. 30, which is in the Rockoxhuis Museum, Antwerp.

Jan van Herck, Il Mobile Fiammingo, Milan, 1972, p. 85, fig. 92, illustrates a cabinet with a very similar central panel, in the Museum of Art and History, Cinquantenaire, Brussels.

This rare cabinet with its delicately embroidered silk  panels is contained within an ebony surround which reflects the taste for exotic materials in the 17th century. Its rarity is also heightenend by the fact that it is combined with painted panels on the inside of the doors. Due to their fragility, very few cabinets with embroidered panels survive. The technique for employing woven fabrics for pictorial decoration was used mainly in England and Flanders, although there are surviving examples from Augsburg. Embroidery in gros and petit point, stumpwork and cut paperwork was used on a silk background. The subject matter included the depiction of biblical and historical events and exotic animals and flowers and vases. Pattern books would have been used for flower and animal designs, the former inspired by Adrian Collaert, the latter by Abraham de Bruyn's Animalium Quadrupendum (1578) in which real and fantastical animals were depicted.

The panels on the present cabinet symbolise various virtues and myths: the central blossoming tree represents the tree of life and eternal life; the dolphin kindness and velocity; the swan represents happiness.

A related cabinet in this technique decorated with animals was sold in these Rooms, lot 23, 23rd May 1986, with a Provenance of Prince Charles of Lorraine (having been sold in Bruges on 1st June 1870).

Also see a related cabinet sold in these Rooms, in the Art of Flanders sale, as lot 42, 30th October 2002 and one sold in the Haute Epoque sale, 29th October 2003, lot 215 with an identical central door panel with the tree of life.