Large wardrobe
by BOULLE, André-Charles, Ebony inlaid with brass and pewter on tortoiseshell, 260 x 148 x 64 cm
In the period of Louis XIV, large wardrobes, replacing the cabinets of the previous era, were a tour-de-force of bas-relief and ornamental motifs, in which marquetry dragons and dolphins might play against a background of tortoiseshell and ebony. The lavish taste of the day was perhaps best expressed in these masterpieces of virtuosity.