An ebony cabinet

A closer look at an ebony cabinet

A closer look at an ebony cabinet
Cabinet
Circa 1645
Oak and poplar structure; ebonized fruitwood base; ebony veneer
H. 1.84 m;
W. 1.58 m;
D. 0.56 m
OA 6629
Paris, Musée du Louvre,
© 2007 Musée du Louvre
Harry Bréjat

Analysis

A complex piece of furniture

The cabinet is composed of two independent pieces:
the base and the coffer above. Although separate, they were designed to go together.

The base is composed of five columns at the front and five pilasters at the rear. The columns, decorated with vine and ivy leaves, are set between two tablets.
The ensemble is surmounted by a frieze with three drawers.

The upper part, the cabinet proper, can be visually divided into three: the frieze at the top, also with three drawers and surmounted by a slightly protruding cornice; a lower frieze, like a predella in four sections; and the main part between them, composed of four bays separated by fluted Corinthian pilasters. In-the-round figures and in the middle there are two large bas-relief scenes framed by interlaced strap moldings and figures in quoins.

Structurally, the central and lower register are one single piece composed of two lockable doors, which still have their original lock and key. The doors’ decoration is less complex on the inside: a square scene framed with moldings.

The cabinet’s sides are also decorated with figures on horseback in a geometric frame combining a rectangle and a rhombus and scattered with flowers all round.

The back of the cabinet is undecorated and unveneered, since it was never intended to be seen. This type of cabinet was meant to be placed against a wall.

Except for the back, the cabinet is entirely veneered with ebony. It is this very hard and shiny black wood which gives it its austere appearance.

Cabinet (Detail of the cabinet )
OA 6629
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Cabinet (Detail of the cabinet ) OA 6629 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©2007 Musée du Louvre / Harry Bréjat

Cabinet (Locks)
OA 6629
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Cabinet (Locks) OA 6629 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©2007 Musée du Louvre / Harry Bréjat

Cabinet (View of the back)
OA 6629
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Cabinet (View of the back) OA 6629 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©2007 Musée du Louvre / Harry Bréjat
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A sumptuously ornate interior

The cabinet’s two large doors open to reveal more elaborate decoration with colored elements inside.

The pink columns and their entablatures stand out against the black drawers and small central doors, forming a kind of monumental columned portico on several stories.

The presence of columns here is relatively rare in this type of cabinet, and cabinet interiors usually have no colored decoration.

The cabinet has a total of twenty-three drawers.
The upper level has three, although visually there appear to be six. The drawer facades are all decorated with a scene showing children playing with sea monsters, framed by a molding. The ring for opening the drawer is fixed to the muzzle of a bronze horned beast.

The two small doors in the middle, also with locks, open to reveal the most ornate and colorful part of the cabinet: a niche, also called a caisson or theater, whose vivid colors and varied materials contrast starkly with the rest of the cabinet.

Framed at the bottom by a drawer and at the top by a balustrade in front of a mirror, the niche has a marquetried checkerboard perspective-effect floor and a painted ceiling depicting a figure of Charity. On the sides, two mirrors set at an angle between tinted ivory columns accentuate the perspective effect. At the back there is an original feature consisting of galenite rocks inset with seashells, vegetation and small houses, and framing a painting representing a view of a ruin. The side mirrors reflect these rocks, the checkerboard floor or the mirror opposite, depending on one’s viewpoint.

Some cabinets, such as the one in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, have in-the-round statuettes in the niche.

There are usually secret drawers on either side of the niche, but those in the Louvre cabinet were probably removed in the early 19th century.

On the insides of the small doors, an arcade with a truncated pediment, marquetried in ebony and ivory tinted in several colors, visually prolongs the niche via its ivory frieze, tinted in the same way as the drawers framing the niche below.

All these colored elements contrast with the cabinet’s somber uniformity when closed.

Cabinet (Coffer with the large doors open)
OA 6629
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Cabinet (Coffer with the large doors open) OA 6629 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©2007 Musée du Louvre / Harry Bréjat

Cabinet (Niche)
OA 6629
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Cabinet (Niche) OA 6629 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©2008 Musée du Louvre / Harry Bréjat

The Odyssey Cabinet
First half of the 17th century
Pine, poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer
H. 2 m; W. 1.7 m; D. 0.58 m
Inv. F806c
Fontainebleau, Musée National du Château

The Odyssey Cabinet First half of the 17th century Pine, poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer H. 2 m; W. 1.7 m; D. 0.58 m Inv. F806c Fontainebleau, Musée National du Château
©Photo RMN / Jean-Pierre Lagiewski

Ebony cabinet
First half of the 17th century
H. 2.12 m; W. 1.90 m; D. 0.71m
inv. RBK 16117
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Ebony cabinet First half of the 17th century H. 2.12 m; W. 1.90 m; D. 0.71m inv. RBK 16117 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
©Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
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Diverse materials

Apart from ebony, the main material employed, the cabinet’s makers used a variety of other materials whose colors are deliberately emphasized to contrast with the ebony. The Louvre cabinet is unique in the diversity and quality of its materials. Traditionally it was in the niche that the widest variety of colors and materials were used.

The abundance of tinted ivory on the Louvre cabinet is matched only by the cabinet in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It is used abundantly on the inner facade and in the niche, for the columns and plaques, and never left in its natural color. The plaques, tinted to imitate marble or tortoiseshell, foreshadow the future popularity of tortoiseshell in furniture in Louis XIV’s reign. The columns are tinted pink to imitate coral.

This is one of the first uses of bronze in French furniture. The capitals and bases of the ivory columns are in gilt bronze, whose use became widespread from the second half of the 17th century onwards.

Apart from ivory, the decor includes ebony and bloodwood veneer at the front of the floor and sycamore veneer at the back, mirrors, and a solid amaranth balustrade which was probably added during the restoration by the painter Pierre Revoil, who sold the cabinet to the Louvre in 1828. The galenite (a lead mineral) and mica rocks at the back are inset with real seashells and small houses painted on paper cut-outs. Pictures, painted on wood, complement the ensemble. The cabinets in the Château de Serrant and Château de Fontainebleau have the same type of grotto decoration.

Not all the black wood used for this cabinet is ebony. Parts of the base are in ebonized pear.

Two-piece wardrobe
made from parts of 17th-century cabinets
H. 2.2 m; W. 1.8 m
Inv. E.Cl.20476
Ecouen, Musée National de la Renaissance

Two-piece wardrobe made from parts of 17th-century cabinets H. 2.2 m; W. 1.8 m Inv. E.Cl.20476 Ecouen, Musée National de la Renaissance
©Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda

Ebony cabinet
Poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer; ivory and other woods
H. 1.89 m; W. 1.67 m; D. 0.58 m
inv. 31.66a,b
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ebony cabinet Poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer; ivory and other woods H. 1.89 m; W. 1.67 m; D. 0.58 m inv. 31.66a,b New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
©The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Casket on a stand
Attributed to Pierre Gole (c. 1620

Casket on a stand Attributed to Pierre Gole (c. 1620
©Les Arts Décoratifs
Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris
Photo Jean Tholance

Longcase regulator
André Charles Boulle (1642-1732), cabinetmaker
Le Bon, clockmaker
Circa 1720
Oak frame; ebony veneer; brass, tortoiseshell and horn marquetry; gilt bronze
H. 2.52 m; W. 0.70 m; D. 0.37 m.
OA 6746
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Longcase regulator André Charles Boulle (1642-1732), cabinetmaker Le Bon, clockmaker Circa 1720 Oak frame; ebony veneer; brass, tortoiseshell and horn marquetry; gilt bronze H. 2.52 m; W. 0.70 m; D. 0.37 m. OA 6746 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©Photo RMN / DR

Ebony cabinet
First half of the 17th century
H. 2.15 m; W. 1.89 m; D. 0.65m
Saint-Georges sur Loire, Château de Serrant

Ebony cabinet First half of the 17th century H. 2.15 m; W. 1.89 m; D. 0.65m Saint-Georges sur Loire, Château de Serrant
©Château de Serrant

The Odyssey Cabinet
First half of the 17th century
Pine, poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer
H. 2 m; W. 1.7 m; D. 0.58 m
Inv. F806c
Fontainebleau, Musée National du Château

The Odyssey Cabinet First half of the 17th century Pine, poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer H. 2 m; W. 1.7 m; D. 0.58 m Inv. F806c Fontainebleau, Musée National du Château
©Photo RMN / Jean-Pierre Lagiewski
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An ebony "picture book"

A hallmark of the Parisian ebony cabinets dating from this period is the numerous figurative scenes on various parts of the piece, transforming it into a veritable "ebony picture book". Themes could be mythological, religious, historic or from contemporary illustrated novels.

The imagery on the exterior of the Louvre cabinet is predominantly military. This may be linked to the personality and office of the person who commissioned it, but this is impossible to ascertain due to the lack of information regarding its first owners.

The scenes depicted on the large doors are episodes from late 6th-century Roman history recounted by Titus Livy. The left panel shows the Roman hero Horatius Cocles on horseback, defending Rome from the army of the Etruscan king Porsenna. In the right panel, three Romans, under his orders, are destroying the bridge over the Tiber to prevent the enemy army from entering the city.

The two scenes are flanked by statuettes of antique gods linked to war: on the left, Mars, god of War, wearing a breastplate and armed with a sword and shield; and on the right, Minerva, goddess of War, who formerly held a spear in her right hand.

The sides of the cabinet show two Roman emperors from the 1st century AD, portrayed in profile in the manner fashionable since the Renaissance: Vitellius on the left side and on the right side Claudius, proclaimed emperor after Caligula’s murder.
The predella is composed of four war-related scenes, and the side sections of the upper frieze are decorated with prisoners and trophies.

Only the foliation on the central parts of the frieze and facade of the base, a motif common on ebony cabinets dating from this period, has no military connotations. The interior is less homogenous. There are landscapes on the insides of the large doors, children playing with sea monsters on the drawers and two scenes from the Latin poet Ovid’s famous Metamorphoses on the small doors. On the left, Apollo is transforming Cyparissus into a cypress tree; and on the right, Apollo is shown with the Cumaean Sibyl.

It was common practice for cabinetmakers at that time to copy scenes from engravings, often of mythological or religious subjects. The two scenes from the Metamorphoses were taken from engravings first published in 1606, by Antonio Tempesta, an Italian painter and engraver who died in 1630. Some of the children astride the sea monsters were copied from an engraving by Michel Dorigny. This type of imagery was recurrent in French art from the Renaissance onwards.

Detail of the ebony cabinet
First half of the 17th century
H. 2.15 m; W. 1.89 m; D. 0.65m
Saint-Georges sur Loire, Château de Serrant

Detail of the ebony cabinet First half of the 17th century H. 2.15 m; W. 1.89 m; D. 0.65m Saint-Georges sur Loire, Château de Serrant
©Château de Serrant

Detail of the ebony cabinet
Poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer; ivory and other woods
H. 1.89 m; W. 1.67 m; D. 0.58 m
inv. 31.66a,b
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Detail of the ebony cabinet Poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer; ivory and other woods H. 1.89 m; W. 1.67 m; D. 0.58 m inv. 31.66a,b New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
©The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Apollo Transforming Cyparissus into a Cypress Tree
Scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses
Etching by Antonio Tempesta, published in Antwerp in 1606
Paris, BnF

Apollo Transforming Cyparissus into a Cypress Tree Scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses Etching by Antonio Tempesta, published in Antwerp in 1606 Paris, BnF
©BnF

Apollo and the Cumaean Sibyl
Scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses
Etching by Antonio Tempesta, published in Antwerp in 1606
Paris, BnF

Apollo and the Cumaean Sibyl Scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses Etching by Antonio Tempesta, published in Antwerp in 1606 Paris, BnF
©BnF

Men, Women and Children with Sea Monsters
Frieze after Fialetti
Etching by Michel Dorigny
Paris, BnF

Men, Women and Children with Sea Monsters Frieze after Fialetti Etching by Michel Dorigny Paris, BnF
©BnF

The Fontaine des Innocents: Nymph and a Small Spirit on a Seahorse
Jean Goujon (known 1540

The Fontaine des Innocents: Nymph and a Small Spirit on a Seahorse Jean Goujon (known 1540
©Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski
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Context

The cabinet’s origins

The 17th-century ebony cabinet was the heir to a complex history that began in the Renaissance, during which the word "cabinet" denoted different things

The cabinet has its origins in the studiolo which appeared in Italy in the late 15th century. The studiolo was a room, a place of retreat and study for princes and scholars. In her two successive residences in Mantua, Isabelle d'Este created a studiolo to display her antiquities and the copies of antique bronzes she collected, and also mythological pictures painted specially for the studiolo, such as those by Mantegna. Francesco I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, installed a studiolo studiolo in his chambers in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, covering its walls with paneling and paintings.

In the first Renaissance châteaux in France in the 16th century, the cabinet seems to have had several uses. It could be a place for keeping and displaying precious objects, a room for reading and study for scholars and scientists, or a place of reflection and political decision-making for kings and princes.

The discovery of new worlds during the Renaissance prompted an influx of exotic objects, plants and animals from these distant lands, but also a new interest in nature and the sciences. The cabinet became a "cabinet of curiosities", a kind of private museum in which its owner would amass a variety of objects, ranging from artificialia (objects created by man, ancient and modern) to naturalia (specimens of flora and fauna), exotica (exotic plants, animals and objects), and scientifica (scientific instruments).

Alongside the emergence of these rooms, there appeared a piece of furniture called the cabinet, then still modest in size. It differed from other types of furniture in that it had numerous drawers, often concealed by doors or a drop-leaf front. It could be made of a variety of materials: wood, leather, metal, ivory, etc. Italy, Spain and the Germanic countries were then the chief producers of this type of piece.

The cabinet never acquired a fixed form since it was always defined by its specific use and the setting for which it was made. It was essentially designed to store small objects, jewelry and its owner’s important papers. In the picture of Frans II Francken’s studio, in the background on the right, in the open drawer of a Flemish cabinet we can see a necklace. Cabinets could be locked and had secret drawers, usually in the coffer, for concealing valuable objects.

Portrait of Isabella d'Este
Leonardo da Vinci
1500
Graphite, red chalk with stump, ochre chalk, white highlights on the face, throat and hand.
H. 61 cm; W. 46.5 cm
MI 753
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Portrait of Isabella d'Este Leonardo da Vinci 1500 Graphite, red chalk with stump, ochre chalk, white highlights on the face, throat and hand. H. 61 cm; W. 46.5 cm MI 753 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©Erich Lessing

Studiolo of Isabella d'Este
Musée du Palais ducal, Corte Vecchia, Mantoue

Studiolo of Isabella d'Este Musée du Palais ducal, Corte Vecchia, Mantoue
©Museo di Palazzo Ducale, Mantova. Soprintendenza per il Patrimonio Storico Artistico ed Etnoantropologico di Brescia, Cremona e Mantova

Mars and Venus or Parnassus
Andrea Mantegna
1497
H. 1.59 m; W. 1.92 m
INV. 370
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Mars and Venus or Parnassus Andrea Mantegna 1497 H. 1.59 m; W. 1.92 m INV. 370 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©Erich Lessing

Studiolo of Francesco I de' Medici
Circa 1570
Florence, Palazzo Vecchio

Studiolo of Francesco I de' Medici Circa 1570 Florence, Palazzo Vecchio
©1990, Photo Scala, Florence

Scholar in his Study with Vanitas
Jacob van Spreeuwen (Leyden, circa 1611

Scholar in his Study with Vanitas Jacob van Spreeuwen (Leyden, circa 1611
©Erich Lessing

Ferrante Imperato's cabinet in Naples, late 16th century
Wood-engraved frontispiece of Dell' historia naturale... libri XXVIII, Naples, 1599
Modena, Biblioteca Estense

Ferrante Imperato's cabinet in Naples, late 16th century Wood-engraved frontispiece of Dell' historia naturale... libri XXVIII, Naples, 1599 Modena, Biblioteca Estense
© "Biblioteca Estense Universitaria. Su concessione del
Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali"

Curiosity Cabinet
Johann Georg Hinz
1666
H. 1.14 m; L. 0.93 m
Hamburg, Kunsthalle

Curiosity Cabinet Johann Georg Hinz 1666 H. 1.14 m; L. 0.93 m Hamburg, Kunsthalle
©BPK, Berlin, Dist RMN / Elke Walford

Milanese cabinet and stand
Second half of the 16th century
Iron, gold, silver, bronze, rosewood, ebonized hardwood
H. 1.55 m; W. 0.83 m; D. 0.65 m
OA 6253
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Milanese cabinet and stand Second half of the 16th century Iron, gold, silver, bronze, rosewood, ebonized hardwood H. 1.55 m; W. 0.83 m; D. 0.65 m OA 6253 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©Photo RMN / DR

Ulysses Recognizing Achilles (dressed as a woman) Among Lycomedes's Daughters
Frans II Francken, known as Francken the Younger (studio) (Antwerp, 1581

Ulysses Recognizing Achilles (dressed as a woman) Among Lycomedes's Daughters Frans II Francken, known as Francken the Younger (studio) (Antwerp, 1581
©Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski
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The cabinet in the 17th century

In the 17th century, the cabinet became increasingly monumental. As well as small portable cabinets, cabinets of considerable size began to be made, set on their own specially made stands.

The ebony cabinet in the Louvre is an example of this trend: standing on its base it is 1m84 high, 1m58 wide and 56 cm deep. Its structure, with successive pairs of doors and numerous drawers, also illustrates the increasing complexity of these pieces of furniture and the richness of the interior niche is a telling example of the refinement of their decor.

The Louvre cabinet is a truly ceremonial piece of furniture and incontestably belongs to the most luxurious category of ebony cabinet. We know that princes and courtiers such as Richelieu and Mazarin owned several such pieces. Other, less luxurious cabinets were made for the bourgeoisie.

Instead of ebony, a rare and costly wood, part of the cabinet could be made in ebonized wood.

The marquetry of the cabinet itself and the rest of its decoration were of varying elaborateness. The cabinet in the Geffrye Museum in London, which probably belonged to the English writer John Evelyn, is merely engraved on the outside, and its coffer simply marquetried.

In the mid-17th century, when the Louvre cabinet was made, Parisian joiners were not the sole producers of cabinets. There were also major workshops in Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.
A wide variety of materials were used, ranging from hardstones, ivory, ebony and other tropical woods to painted panels, fabrics and embroidery.

Medal cabinet with royal monogram
Between 1730

Medal cabinet with royal monogram Between 1730
©Photo RMN / Daniel Arnaudet

Ebony cabinet
Inv. CA T 920
Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts

Ebony cabinet Inv. CA T 920 Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts
©Musée des Beaux-arts de Dijon

Ebony cabinet made for John Evelyn
inv. 46/1979
London, Geffrye Museum

Ebony cabinet made for John Evelyn inv. 46/1979 London, Geffrye Museum
©London, Geffrye museum

The Odyssey Cabinet
First half of the 17th century
Pine, poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer
H. 2 m; W. 1.7 m; D. 0.58 m
Inv. F806c
Fontainebleau, Musée National du Château

The Odyssey Cabinet First half of the 17th century Pine, poplar and oak frame; ebony veneer H. 2 m; W. 1.7 m; D. 0.58 m Inv. F806c Fontainebleau, Musée National du Château
©Photo RMN / Jean-Pierre Lagiewski
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The birth of Parisian cabinetmaking

The Louvre ebony cabinet is an example of a particular type of cabinet produced in Paris in the first half of the 17th century and which marked the birth of Parisian cabinetmaking in the broader sense of the word.

During the Renaissance, furniture was made by joiners, who worked in solid wood, mainly walnut and oak.

In the early 17th century, foreign craftsmen from Germany and the Netherlands set up workshops in Paris, encouraged by King Henri IV. With them, they brought a skill previously unknown in France: the use of veneering in furniture. During the first half of the 17th century, these artisans worked mainly in ebony and were called "joiners in ebony" and later "ébénistes" (meaning "ebonists").

Ebony is a tropical hardwood that has been used for many centuries in Europe for small objects. Because it is so hard it is difficult to sculpt, and hard to come by. From the early 17th century, its importation from Madagascar and Mauritius became easier via Dutch and Portuguese ships.

At that time, craftsmen were subjected to strict regulations, which normally forbade them from having a workshop if they had not obtained the title of "master" during an apprenticeship under another master.

To escape the jurisdiction of the Parisian joiners’ guild, foreign craftsmen set up workshops in Parisian districts not under their control such as the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. In 1608, Henri IV even installed one of them, Laurent Septarbres, in a workshop in the Louvre.

The names of many cabinetmakers—Jean de Milleville, Jacques Delbart, Laurent Septarbres—are known from documents but it is always difficult to link them to surviving furniture. One of the most famous cabinetmakers was Pieter Goolen. Born in Bergen in northern Holland, he moved to Paris around 1640 and Gallicized his name to Pierre Gole. He was appointed cabinetmaker to the king in 1651. The Louvre cabinet has sometimes been attributed to Pierre Gole due to its quality, comparable to the cabinets in the Château de Serrant and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, also attributed to him.

The "Hugues Sambin" wardrobe
Circa 1580
Partially gilt and painted walnut and oak
H. 2.06 m; W. 1.50 m; D. 0.60 m.
OA 6968
Paris, Musée du Louvre

The "Hugues Sambin" wardrobe Circa 1580 Partially gilt and painted walnut and oak H. 2.06 m; W. 1.50 m; D. 0.60 m. OA 6968 Paris, Musée du Louvre
©Photo RMN / DR

1748 Stamp of the Parisian Joiners and Cabinetmakers' Guild
Paris, Musée Carnavalet

1748 Stamp of the Parisian Joiners and Cabinetmakers' Guild Paris, Musée Carnavalet
©Compagnie Générale de Bourse

Trunk of an ebony tree (Diospyros ebenum)

Trunk of an ebony tree (Diospyros ebenum)
©MNHN / Patrick Lafaite

Virginal in a chest
17th century
Ebony (wood), inlaid, ivory
H. 21.5 cm; W. 38 cm; D. 21 cm
Inv. MRR441
Paris, Musée de la Musique

Virginal in a chest 17th century Ebony (wood), inlaid, ivory H. 21.5 cm; W. 38 cm; D. 21 cm Inv. MRR441 Paris, Musée de la Musique
©Photo RMN / DR

Ebony cabinet
First half of the 17th century
H. 2.15 m; W. 1.89 m; D. 0.65m
Saint-Georges sur Loire, Château de Serrant

Ebony cabinet First half of the 17th century H. 2.15 m; W. 1.89 m; D. 0.65m Saint-Georges sur Loire, Château de Serrant
©Château de Serrant

Ebony cabinet
First half of the 17th century
H. 2.12 m; W. 1.90 m; D. 0.71m
inv. RBK 16117
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Ebony cabinet First half of the 17th century H. 2.12 m; W. 1.90 m; D. 0.71m inv. RBK 16117 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
©Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
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Working in ebony

Unlike the oak and walnut used in previous centuries, ebony was not used for the furniture’s structure, but in very thin panels or sheets, varying from several millimeters to a few centimeters thick, glued to a solid wood frame made from local woods such as poplar, pine or oak. The back of the cabinet enables one to understand this technique since one can see the cabinet’s unveneered poplar frame beneath. The drawers were made using the same technique: the drawer’s structure is in rosewood, the facade in oak veneered with ebony.

Ebony panels could be sculpted in bas-relief and engraved. Engraving was generally used for plant motifs on frames or for details on sculpted panels. But some cabinets, such as the one in the Geffrye Museum in London, have no bas-relief decoration.
The sculpture and engraving on the Louvre cabinet are remarkably fine. Working ebony is particularly difficult and requires extraordinary dexterity.

Ebony was also widely used on cabinets for the strap moldings used to compose interlaced frames of varying complexity. Cabinetmakers used a special machine to make them. On the panels of the large doors, two moldings with different designs intersect.

Two-piece wardrobe
Late 16th

Two-piece wardrobe Late 16th
©Photo RMN / Jean-Gilles Berizzi
Musée du Louvre / Angèle Dequier

Ebony cabinet made for John Evelyn
inv. 46/1979
London, Geffrye Museum

Ebony cabinet made for John Evelyn inv. 46/1979 London, Geffrye Museum
©London, Geffrye museum

"Machine for making curved moldings, tav. 314"
Page from The Art of the Joiner by André-Jacob Roubo, Paris, 1774

"Machine for making curved moldings, tav. 314" Page from The Art of the Joiner by André-Jacob Roubo, Paris, 1774
©DR
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