International studio (34.1908)

Old Cupboards

pale colour inlaid with woods of rare beauty, and
each of the four panels is bordered by a frame
which itself forms an inlay. The medallions on
the transverse bands bear the shields and arms of
the ducal owners. This door has scarcely its like
in any collection.
Another type of cupboard is shown in Fig. 11 ;
this one is from Lake Constance, and is a rare
specimen. The pierced carving is carried out with
a certitude and precision which one would be
glad to see more often in modern work; through
it peeps forth an exquisite polychrome, the colours
somewhat faded from the lapse of ages, but this
is made good by the charming patina which a
life of four hundred years has given it.
A beautiful specimen of
fifteenth century Italian Re-
naissance design is shown in
Figs. 12 and 13. It origi-
nally belonged to the Mar-
chese de Molza, of the Court
of the Duke of Modena, and
is now in the collection of
Eugen, Ritter von Miller zu
Aichholz, of Vienna. Its
colouring is exquisite. The
carved wood busts ranged
along the cornice on either
side of the coat-of-arms were
probably placed there when
the cupboard changed hands
a century or two ago, and like
the figures below are fine
examples of Italian wood
sculpture. Beyond these
figures the decoration is
meagre, but the natural mark-
ings of the wood make ample
amends. As will be seen
from the first of the two illus-
trations the door of the top
section lets down to form a
table. Inside are a cluster
of drawers and tiny lockers
ornamented with figures gro-
esque and otherwise. The
portraits on the inside of the
doors of the cupboard below
were probably added long
after the cupboard itself was
made, and no importance is
to be attached to them.
Our last illustration (Fig.
14) shows another fine

example, this time a French one. It is hardly
necessary to point out that the design of this
cabinet or armoire is unlike that of any of the
others we have reproduced, the long slender
columns giving it its distinctive character. It
is made of walnut polished, and is in excellent
condition.
These cupboards are of course only a few of
those in the possession of the collectors mentioned
above, but they are among the most interesting
specimens to be found in them. In Dr. Figdor’s
collection there are a number of very interesting
dolls’ cupboards, about which I should have liked
to say something, but I must reserve these for
another occasion. A. S. Levetus.


207