Chest of drawers. Lombard inlayer, circa 1790.

Three-drawer chest of drawers, made of walnut and pine wood, veneered in bois de violette with stringing and inlays in boxwood, olive, walnut burl, and other unidentified woods. Four truncated pyramid feet, inlaid with raised mouldings, support an inlaid frame on which the chest rests. The three drawers, with the central one being larger, divide the piece into three sections both on the front and on the sides; even the uprights are inlaid with candelabra motifs following the same arrangement. The entire piece is veneered in bois de violette, sometimes laid straight, sometimes at a 45° angle, creating a complex play of intersections. The upper and lower sections feature reserves with scrolling foliage inlays; in the upper section, two facing putti appear at the center.

The central section presents shaped reserves with an oval medallion in the middle, which divides the drawer front into two panels; the background of the reserves is always inlaid with floral motifs, while the four roundels are inlaid with bucolic scenes using various woods — the sky and the figures’ flesh tones are painted. All the panels are framed by small raised mouldings, inlaid with a running arrow motif or, for the oval frames enclosing the roundels, with successive leaves. On the bois de violette ground, the inlay is executed in boxwood, with sand-shading used to create depth; only in the roundels is walnut burl used for the ground, with other woods forming the figures. The top is in antique green marble.

Dimensions: 107.5 × 133 × 43.5 cm

Product code: ANMOCA0299116