The protruding front and the adjacent panels are decorated with garlands and a wreath. Together they form the two doors of the buffet. The piece rests upon tapered legs that end in bronze spheres. The corners are decorated with glyphed columns that end in gilt bronze Corinthian capitals. In the frieze two drawers and a faux-drawer in the middle, each decorated with a corrugated pattern of Acanthus within a baton-and-bead frame. The front of these drawers, as well as the centre part, is decorated with inlays of curling Acanthus. The lower jamb is decorated with a stylized spiraling ribbon round a narrow rod. The skirt is decorated with an inlay of draped cloths.
When the top is turned up, a pewter basin appears. Fitted to the upturned lid sits an urn-shaped pewter water container with a faucet. The mahogany panels on either side can be extended to the sides to enlarge the workspace. The inside of the countertop has two foldaway shelves.
This fine buffet is related to a group of very similar pieces of furniture, both in design and construction, that therefore with great certainty stem from the same workshop. The most eye-catching similarities are the protruding center doors, the protruding diagonally placed, glyphed corner posts and tapering legs. Furthermore all of these buffets have side-sliding panels that enlarge the counter top.
Literature:
Clémentine L. Diepen, In de muur, uit de muur, ontwikkeling van vorm, decoratie en functie, Buffetten in de 18de eeuw, Utrecht 2006.
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