A German gilt-brass, polychrome-painted, cut-glass, ebony, tulipwood, walnut and ash wall cabinet

The present cabinet is a fine example of late 19th century German religious art, which was characterized by the revitalization of historic styles. Thus, the present lot takes its form from the Renaissance collector's cabinet, following a 17th-century format which sets horizontal and vertical drawers around a central compartment accentuated by an arched doorway. However, it now had a very different, liturgical function, hosting the Eucharist.
The Passion series by Heinrich Lamers illustrates this religious function. Starting above right with the scene of the Entry into Jerusalem, it ends below left with the three women at the grave. In both style and composition, the paintings are characteristic for Lamers, who together with Friedrich von Stummel counted among the best German religious painters of the period. His work loosely recalls the Flemish primitive masters.
The decoration of this chest, which was probably produced in the studio of Stummel in Kevelaer, is an early work by Lamers, dating from after his Italian journey in 1886 and before his settling as an independent artist in Kleve in 1895.