Lot 66: A LOUIS XIV GILT-METAL-MOUNTED, PEWTER AND STAINED HORN-INLAID EBONY, MARQUETRY AND PARCEL-GILT AND SILVERED CABINET-ON-STAND

A LOUIS XIV GILT-METAL-MOUNTED, PEWTER AND STAINED HORN-INLAID EBONY, MARQUETRY AND PARCEL-GILT AND SILVERED CABINET-ON-STAND CIRCA 1660-1680 Inlaid overall with cherubs, arabesque scrolls and strapwork, the breakfront rectangular moulded cornice above an architectural façade with twelve drawers arranged around a central cupboard with a sculpture of a scantily-clad maiden, flanked by pilasters and enclosing a removable mirrored interior and three concealed drawers, the sides with floral bouquet, the stand with two frieze drawers above four caryatid supports on moulded rectangular base, the back supports and floor replaced in mahogany 70 in. (178 cm.) high; 55 in. (140 cm.) wide; 22 in. (56 cm.) deep

Dame Agatha Christie, Greenway House, Devon.

This beautiful cabinet, profusely decorated with scrolling foliate marquetry and supported by four silvered and gilt caryatid figures, typifies the opulent work commissioned from Parisian ébénistes in the last three decades of the 17th century. It has so far been impossible to identify the maker of this cabinet, which can nevertheless be compared to the foremost ébéniste of the early years of Louis XIV's reign, the Dutch-born Pierre Gole (c. 1620-1685). Although not strictly following Gole's trademark floral marquetry, this cabinet is somewhat related to his oeuvre. There were, however, many other cabinet-makers active at the same time, including Michel Camp, Aubertin and Renaud Gaudron, François Guillemard and Charles Fromageau, all of whom made floral and foliate marquetry furniture.

Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976), whose novels have been translated into more than 70 languages, spent much of her last years at Greenway House in South Devon which is now being restored by the National Trust, and due to open to the public in 2008.