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A Chinese export black and gilt lacquer bureau cabinet made for the Danish market. Decorated overall with scenes of European courtly life in the shape of cardplaying entourage, hunting scenes with horsemen stag and boar, young couple and picnic scene. The arched top above mirrored door enclosing a drawer and shelves, fall front enclosing a fitted interior with drawers, compartments and central verre eglomisé prospect door, embossed metal escutcheons. Approx. 1730–1740. H. 244 cm. W. 96.5 cm. D. 52 cm.

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Provenance: Danish private collection.

Throughout the many centuries where the Silk Road was the only trade link between China and the West, there were relatively few art objects that made it to Europe. But during the 16th century, the European shipping industry opened up new trade routes all over the world, and from the beginning of the 17th century, England, the Netherlands and Denmark-Norway established East Asiatic trading companies that brought home tea, porcelain, art, furniture, lacquerware and silk to the European market. The Danish Asia Company was established in 1730 to trade with China following the closure of The Danish East India Company. Two years later the company was granted a 40 year monopoly on the Danish trade with Asia. Especially the European royal families and noble houses were fond of using Chinese art, decorative art and furniture in their interiors. Lacquered objects were highly prized for their flawless finish and light-reflecting qualities. However, larger furniture pieces were still a rarity since they were expensive to ship to Europe. Nevertheless, the Danish kings ordered several exotic furniture pieces in China during the 18th and 19th centuries. Especially Christian VI and Queen Sophie Magdalene had a great penchant for Chinese furniture and had their palaces decorated with these exotic art objects to show off their power, wealth and knowledge of the world around them.

As the lacquer was admired as a precious and mysterious material and objects was made specifically for export, in forms and styles to suit Western tastes. The shape and design of this cabinet on sale has several similarities with “The Rococo Bureau Cabinet from Hirschholm Castle” which was sold at Bruun Rasmussen in 1997, made and labelled by the German born cabinetmaker Mathias Ortmann (c. 1692 – 1757), who was pioneer within the Rococo style in Denmark and his furniture is of such exquisite quality that it represents the finest within Northern European Rococo. The proportions of both bureau cabinets, with the framed mirrored single door in the upper part as well as the rounded corners of the lower drawers and the placing of the legs has a familiar parallelism between them, the selling bureau cabinet however with a Chinese influence.

Other examples of rare and exceptional Chinese lacquer pieces with the distinctive fusion between Chinese and European art can be seen in the Danish collection. The highly important two identical cabinets that today are located at Fredensborg Palace. The cabinets was brought to Copenhagen aboard the China trader ‘Sleswig’ in 1737–1738. The top is adorned with three small gilded busts of Roman emperors in Chinese perception.

It is uncertain whether the offered cabinet has stood in one of the Danish royal palaces, but it is a typical and very well-preserved example of the 18th century's interior style, where this type of furniture was highly sought after.

Literature: 'Kina og Danmark 1600–1950, Kinafart og Kinamode' by Tove Clemmesen & Mogens B. Mackeprang. Krog, O., & Christiansborg Slot. (2006). Treasures from imperial China, the Forbidden City and the Royal Danish Court. Copenhagen: The Royal Silver Vault.

Condition

Condition report on request. Please contact: furniture@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Auction

Furniture, carpets and varia, 27 November 2019

Category
Estimate

1,200,000–1,500,000 DKK

Price realised

Not sold