A Victorian marquetry side cabinet in the French taste

A large and magnificent Victorian marquetry side cabinet in the French taste, incorporating panels by Joseph Cremer, the shaped original marble top above a serpentine, bombà base with four shaped door panels of flowers on a black ground, applied with rococo-style ormolu mounts and feet, all on a cross-banded kingwood ground, signed in the panels àJ Cremerà,

Provenance: Footnote: Joseph Cremer (1811-1878) was one of the most famous marqueteurs of mid 19th century France, supplying furniture to Louis Philippe and the Dutch royal family. He specialized in marquetry panels for incorporation into other cabinet makeràs furniture but it is relatively rare to find his work in an English piece. He won several prizes at the Parisian Expositions Universelles of 1839, 1844, 1849 and a description of his entry in 1855 concluded àil est impossible d’atteindre dans un travail de marqueterie à plus d’harmonie et de justesse M. Cremer est un maàtre’ [Cat. Exp. univ., 1855. – Rapport by H. Marie Martin.]

Literature: For a more informative history of J Cremer see

Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Franàais du XIX Siàcle, Paris, 1984, pp. 135-138
Christopher Payne, European Furniture of the 19th century, Woodbridge, 2013, p. 37
Jonathan Meyer, Great Exhibitions – London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia 1851 – 1900, Woodbridge, 2006, pp. 101, 126, 147
CA