French Ebony cabinet

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Jerome

I would not put anything into these drawers

Read http://musee.louvre.fr/oal/cabinet/cabinet_acc_fr_FR.html for a very similar cabinet I studied a while ago when preparing work a "poirier noirci" (blackened pear, aka fake ebony).

Most of the black parts are usually pear, blackened using tanin rich bark tea and iron acetate. Ebony was used for the detailed work and as veneer on the most prominent parts.

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Charlie

Unreal. Thanks for posting!

fine enough that...

David Weaver

.only the most wealthy or in some cases, crooked church officials, could've afforded to either staff or commission it.

There's some 16th and/or 17th century french furniture at the carnegie museum downtown (and a roentgen desk) with similar flavor, but not of that magnitude or complexity.

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Clint Searl

I wonder if there's anyone around today who can do that level of design and carving, How many different hands were involved in its creation?

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David Weaver

I'm sure there are but there's a lack of commissions for such things here. South East Asia still has high level furniture making and carving for wealthy clients.

Given the popularity of tropical woods and furniture in China, that's probably the best chance of finding similar work in any kind of volume.

In the west, I wonder if the high value of the various known makers from centuries ago sucks the money out of the room for new commissions.

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Charlie

IMO David Lamb would be capable of pulling something like that off:

https://www.davidlambfurniture.com/casework-portfolio/