Cabinet

This large two-doored cabinet-on-stand is a typically Dutch piece of furniture. Cabinets of this type have a simple interior with just a few shelves and a couple of drawers. They were generally used to store household linen. Van Mekeren's cabinet is simple in form, so that all the attention is focused on the superb floral marquetry decoration. The oak cabinet has been entirely covered with various kinds of woods (kingwood, ebony, rosewood, olive, sycamore and others), which the cabinetmaker used to create still-lifes of vases overflowing with flowers of all kinds. The sophisticated composition of the inlaid work was inspired by French examples and is reminiscent of the work of the Parisian cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle.