Getty Museum

Corner Cupboard

Date

about 1744–1755; clock dial 1744

Medium

White oak, and mahogany veneered with bloodwood, kingwood, ferréol, amaranth, and mahogany; enameled metal clock dial; glass; gilt-bronze mounts; brass and iron hardware and lock; restorations in fir, walnut, and Andaman padauk

Culture

French (Paris)

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

The exuberant design of this monumental corner cabinet appears to be based on a drawing by the French architect and ornament designer Nicolas Pineau. It is surmounted by a gilt-bronze clock topped with a female figure, possibly representing the muse of astrology, and an eagle, a heraldic symbol of Poland. The cabinet was actually made for a Polish military commander, Count Jan Klemens Branicki. An inventory of Count Branicki's possessions made at his death describes both the corner cupboard and the objects displayed on its shelves: a collection of mounted Chinese porcelain and clocks, some embellished with porcelain flowers. The drawing of the corner cupboard, or more probably an engraving of it, must have caught Branicki's attention. Dubois was commissioned through a Warsaw dealer to construct the cabinet for the Polish aristocrat. Drawings and engravings were sources frequently used by foreign patrons and craftsmen to order and copy the latest fashions in French interior design.

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