A DANISH GILT-METAL-MOUNTED AND PARCEL-GILT WALNUT CABINET-ON-CHEST
Lot 104 THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
(LOTS 103-104 AND 119)

A DANISH GILT-METAL-MOUNTED AND PARCEL-GILT WALNUT CABINET-ON-CHEST

ATTRIBUTED TO MATTHIAS ORTMANN, COPENHAGEN, CIRCA 1740

Closed6 July 2012

Price Realised

GBP 31,250

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A DANISH GILT-METAL-MOUNTED AND PARCEL-GILT WALNUT CABINET-ON-CHEST
ATTRIBUTED TO MATTHIAS ORTMANN, COPENHAGEN, CIRCA 1740
The arched cresting with a pierced C-scroll and acanthus-carved decoration, above a pair of mirrored doors opening to a shelved interior with two drawers, above three serpentine-fronted drawers, on scrolled feet, the feet apparently original
96 in. (244 cm.) high, 49¾ in. (126.5 cm.) wide, 24 in. (61 cm.) deep

Sotheby's New York, 1 October 1997, lot 185 ($46,000 with premium).
Christie's New York, 20 April 2007, lot 405, where acquired by the present owner.

Specialist note

This splendid cabinet-on-chest is one of the richest known examples of the distinctive interpretation of the rococo idiom by cabinet-makers in what is now Altona, an area near Hamburg formerly part of Denmark. A group of closely related cabinets from Altona is illustrated in A. Kratz, Altonae Möbel Des Rokoko Und Klassizismus, Hamburg, 1988, figs. 4-10.

The present lot is firmly attributable to Matthias Ortmann, who florished between 1733 and 1757 (using a cabinet-maker label between 1745 and 1757). Two incredibly closely-related cabinets-on-chests by Ortmann are illustrated by T. Clemmensen, Mobler paa Clausholm, Langeso og Holstenshuus, Copenhagen, 1946, p.42, fig.40, and p.43, fig.41, while another, of simpler form and decoration, with Ortmann's label, is illustrated in T. Clemmensen et al, Kobenhavns Snedkerlaug Gennem Fire Hundrede Ar, 1554-1954, Copenhagen, 1954, p.223, fig. 13.