Gothic Cabinet

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Price: $9,695.00 USD  - Currency Converter Shipping inside United States: Quoted at time of purchase Shipping outside United States: Quoted at time of purchase

Description: This two-piece cabinet has come to mystify and delight us as we sought to uncover the story behind the two narrative panels and the heraldic symbols it displays. Its structure owes much to the Gothic Revival movement in 19th century France, in terms of the use of architectural elements such as crenellations, arches, mouldings, columns and pedestals. Yet with a nod to Renaissance Revival and the so-called Second Renaissance of the 16th century in France, it includes two large panels depicting scenes incorporating perspective and landscape, along with four statuettes, and armorial symbols such as the distinctive ermine tail associated with the Duchy of Brittany. Our greatest challenge with this piece has been to decipher the story from the central panels incorporated in the doors of the upper and lower pieces of the cabinet. The ermine tails and motto from the crest atop the upper section ultimately proved the key to unlocking the symbolism of this cabinet. Stylistically, this meuble breton mimics a castle with crenellations in its overall, solid construction. Broken down into upper and lower sections, each has a central door and niches on either side inhabited by statuettes. The lower section has one drawer above the door. The doors and drawers all lock with the same key. The upper section has an elaborate moulding to suggest the towers of a medieval castle. Below the moulding are repeated heraldic elements: ermine tails; shields bearing fleur-de-lis placed atop crossed swords. In the center is a crest consisting of a crown atop a shield covered in ermine tails and flanked by mastiffs rampant, below which is a partial motto, “quam faedari.” We cannot explain why the left side of the area for the motto is blank except that there were several possible versions of the text preceding “quam faedari.” The crest comprised of ermine tails below a crown is traceable directly to the chivalric Order of the Ermine created by Jean IV Duke of Brittany in 1381. For more about the origins of the motto and the heraldic symbolism, see the text below the photos. We are at a loss to explain the mastiffs rampant on the crest and the presence of the dog in the scene depicted on the door panel of the lower section of the cabinet. While it was not uncommon to use dogs in heraldry, especially greyhounds and mastiffs who symbolized courage, vigilance, and loyalty, we have not located a coat-of-arms such as this. But we suspect that whoever commissioned the cabinet had roots in the Breton nobility and a love of canines.We believe that the shields with the fleur-de-lis atop the crossed swords on either side of the front of the top section bear witness to the conflict between the Duchy of Brittany, symbolized by the ermine tails, and the Kingdom of France, symbolized by the fleur-de-lis, with the Kingdom ultimately annexing the Duchy in 1378.Despite all the intricately carved decorative elements, the focus of attention for this cabinet is the two narrative scenes – on the central door of the top and bottom sections of the cabinet. Although oak, which does not lend itself to fine detail as readily as walnut, the quality of the carving is exceptional in depicting two scenes and creating a sense of three-dimensionality and deep perspective. The panel on the upper section shows a prisoner, chained to the wall of a vaulted cell with a tiny window and tinier door atop a small staircase. The architectural detail of the vaulting is wonderfully Gothic and evokes the atmosphere of a dank dungeon. Through the barred window of the cell, a person peers with interest at the prisoner who returns his or her gaze. The balance and symmetry of the panel with the central focus on the chained prisoner is compelling. As discussed in “The War of the Breton Succession” below the photos on this page, we believe the scene depicts the brief imprisonment of Jean de Montfort, pretender to the throne of Brittany, and that he is gazing through the window at his wife, Jeanne la Flamme.The door panel of the lower section of the cabinet depicts a scene of two figures and a dog standing in the foreground with a hillside fortress behind them. We believe that the figure on the left is a monk or abbot with Jean IV Duke of Brittany on the right, commemorating the founding of a chapel (and later a monastery) on the site of the final battle in the War of the Breton Succession fought below the castle of Auray. While at least one engraving and one illumination exist showing the fortress of Auray, we suspect that the 19th century designer of this cabinet did not have access to them and therefore created from his imagination the scene of the establishment of the monastery at Auray. While interesting and highly decorative, we do not believe the statuettes on pedestals, on either side of the central panel of the upper section, are original. They are easily removed from their pedestals and their costume is Renaissance in style rather than Gothic. Moreover, the scale and the style of the carving does not match the statuettes from the lower section which appear to be jesters or dramatic figures one would expect to find at a medieval court.Overall, the cabinet is in very good condition, considering its age. Because of its massive proportions, it has developed several splits which have been repaired. The largest is not visible because it is on the horizontal surface of the bottom section upon which the top section sits. Finally, we note that it has been difficult to photograph the cabinet and obtain consistent coloration while highlighting the details of the carving – whether with or without flash. Therefore, we remind visitors to this site that the color of the cabinet is consistent and matches most closely the coloration of the photo at the top of this page. However, in order to show the beauty and intricacy of the carving, certain photos make the wood appear lighter than the natural appearance of the cabinet. Aldrich, Megan, Gothic Revival (Phaidon Press, London, 1994); Charles, Corinne, Visions d'Intérieurs, du Meuble au Décor (Paris-Musées, Paris, 2003); Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène, Le Mobilier Médiéval (Georges Bernage, editor) (Editions Heimdal, 2003); Institut Culture de Bretagne This cabinet is meant to be viewed and admired; claiming pride of place in whatever room it is installed. For more information, visit M. Markley Antiques on the Web -- the premier resource in the U.S. for French Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival furniture, including Henri II and Louis XIII styles.

Status: For Sale	Reference#: 30910
Condition: Good	Year: Circa 1860
Country: France
Height: 79 in. (200.66 cm)	Depth: 28 in. (71.12 cm)
Width: 47.5 in. (120.65 cm)
Style: Gothic
Materials: Solid oak

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