Napoleon III period antique French Boulle marquetry cabinet

This ebonised wood cabinet is decorated with inlaid brass and tortoiseshell as well as ormolu mounts. It is formed with three mirrored doors to the front, each separated by fluted columns.

Boulle style decoration demonstrated on the front and side panels of this cabinet include intricate, scrolling designs in the form of, for example, acanthus leaves. The cabinet stands on ebonised wood bun feet.

Boulle work visible on this cabinet has been termed after the renowned French cabinetmaker Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), who was a gilder and sculptor to King Louis XIV of France. Boulle was not the first to use the complex technique of tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, however his skills exceeded that of others.

Later artisans and craftsmen utilised the advances and artistic merits of Boulle's ilk to improve their own pieces, and works in his style, such as this magnificent cabinet, are superb demonstrations of French decorative artistry and skill.