A LARGE RENAISSANCE REVIVAL CARVED OAK, WALNUT AND STAINED FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY SECRETAIRE

POSSIBLY GERMAN, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

Details

The rounded broken pediment top with central drawer, flanked by finials modeled as military trophies, above fall front door inset with a battle relief depicting Marcus Curtius on horseback, opening to reveal fitted interior with architectural decoration and trompe l'oeil marquetry panels, the fall front elaborately decorated with classical imagery, above cabinet with two doors, with relief carved frieze and flanked by lion-headed terms, on scrolled supports and ball feet
72 in. (182.9 cm.) high, 48 in. (121.9 cm.) wide, 23 in. (58.2 cm.) deep
Provenance

By repute, Collection of J.A.G. Lehmann, Konigsberg, Germany.
Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), acquired before 1937 from Symons & Co.
Bequest to the present owner, 1952.


Lot Essay

This spectacular Renaissance-revival cabinet is a stunning homage to the Ausburg school of marquetry-work which flourished from the mid-16th century and established as a center of furniture production for the international market. Augsburg marquetry of the period invariably depicts ruins and mythological vignettes, often in trompe l’oeil, as is the case on the present cabinet. Coupled with dazzling scenes of ancient Rome and set with secret compartments throughout, the cabinet is further carved with panels in high-relief, including the center panel which depicts Marcus Curtius on horseback hurdling the chasm left by an earthquake in 362 BC. After consulting an augur, the Romans were instructed to fill the cracked earth with Rome’s most prized possessions. Marcus Curtius subsequently leapt into the abyss declaring that Rome's greatest possessions were its brave soldiers.
The cabinet is reputably first recorded as in the Collection of J.A.G. Lehmann of Konigsberg, Germany, as noted in a privately-published Collection Catalogue of Marjorie Merriweather Post (d.1973), the cereal heiress, philanthropist and celebrated art collector. As with so much of her world-class art and furniture collection, Post acquired works from pre-eminent dealers, such as Duveen and, in the case of this cabinet, Symons & Co. The cabinet is recorded in the Post Collection as early as 1937, possibly acquired during her marriage to Joseph E. Davies, a Washington D.C. lawyer. From 1937-1938, Davies served as US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, which would mark a period of prolific Russian art collecting by Merriweather Post and Davies, much of which is now housed at Post's celebrated Hillwood Museum and Gardens, Washington D.C.
The present cabinet, together with the Gobelin suite of furniture and Louis XVI style consoles were almost certainly removed from their home Tregaron Estate, formerly known as The Causeway, located north of the nation’s capital. Built in 1912, was designed by architect Charles Adams Platt for the original owners, Alice and James Parmelee. In 1942, Davies took over the residence and remained there during his years with Post whom he divorced in 1955.