Terms and conditions of use
Cushion cupboard
(Kussenkast)
1659
- Medium
- oak, ebony, rosewood, elm
- Measurements
- 234.0 × 230.0 × 78.0 cm
- Accession Number
- 2015.440
- Department
- International Decorative Arts
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 2015
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited - Gallery location
- 17th Century & Flemish Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International - About this work
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Furniture craftsmanship flourished in the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century. Pieces of furniture were expressly made as works of art and were regarded as such. The monumental cupboard developed early in the seventeenth century, functioning as a linen press or storage cupboard. Traditionally it comprised two doors with ‘cushions’ above a base of two drawers, columns, a projecting mantle and bun feet. Fine examples, such as this one, which features tropical hardwood veneers, emerged around 1640 and appear regularly in genre paintings of the period. This cupboard bears an extremely rare inscription by one of the cabinet-makers, dating it to 1659.