Pair of Louis XIV style ormolu mounted Boulle marquetry cabinets

This spectacular pair of cabinets is crafted from ebonised wood, brass, ormolu, and tortoiseshell in the style of André-Charles Boulle, perhaps the most famous French furniture maker, or ébéniste, of all time. Boulle lived and worked during the reign of Louis XIV of France, and the Louis XIV style and the so-called Boulle style have become synonymous. The present pair is an especially fine example of Boulle style furniture.

Each cabinet is rectangular in shape, with a marble top above an egg and dart ormolu frieze. Below the frieze of each is a pair of cabinet doors, each door inlaid with brass marquetry of scrolling foliage, flowers, and trelliswork. The lower half of each door is applied with elaborate foliate cast and stippled ormolu mounts centred with a profile satyr mask. The cabinet doors of each open to reveal a shelf, while each cabinet is set above a shaped ormolu mounted apron on tapering toupie feet. The sides of each feature a stylised patera within a berried laurel wreath.

This fine pair of cabinets is very closely related to the lower section of the doors on a wardrobe by Boulle in contre-partie marquetry in the Wallace collection (see literature section below).