Cabinet
This cabinet mounted with 34 Sèvres porcelain plaques comes from the Hillingdon Collection, which was founded by Sir Charles Mills (1792–1880), a partner in the great firm of Glyn, Mills, Currie and Company, bankers to the British royal family. Tradition says that Sir Charles acquired the collection during a series of visits to France in the first half of the nineteenth century. Sir Charles’ son was created first Baron Hillingdon in 1886. In 1937, his descendants sold the collection to the well-known art dealers Duveen Brothers. Although various collectors, such as Calouste Gulbenkian and J. Paul Getty, were interested in buying the Hillingdon Collection, ultimately the majority of the artworks, including seventeen pieces of porcelain-mounted furniture, were acquired in 1947 by the cultural foundation that had been established by the American businessman and philanthropist Samuel H. Kress (1863–1955). Under the leadership of Samuel’s brother Rush H. Kress (1877–1963), the Samuel H. Kress Foundation gave these extraordinary objects to the Museum in 1958, making it the foremost repository in the world of Sèvres-mounted furniture.
Artwork Details
- Title: Cabinet
- Manufactory: Porcelain plaques by Sèvres Manufactory (French, 1740–present)
- Decorator: Plaques decorated by Guillaume Noël (French, active 1755–1807)
- Decorator: Plaques probably decorated by Louis-Jean Thévenet (père) (French, 1707–after 1778, active 1741–78)
- Decorator: Plaques possibly decorated by Dominique Joffroy (French, active 1753–70)
- Decorator: Unidentified
- Date: plaques 1761–65, cabinet ca. 1822
- Culture: French, Paris and Sèvres
- Medium: Oak, tulipwood, gilt bronze, soft-paste porcelain, marble, mirror glass
- Dimensions: Overall: 39 1/4 × 73 1/8 × 14 5/8 in. (99.7 × 185.7 × 37.1 cm)
- Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
- Credit Line: Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958
- Object Number: 58.75.40
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Multiple artists/makers
1813
Sèvres Manufactory
1780
Sèvres Manufactory
1780
Sèvres Manufactory
1780
Sèvres Manufactory
1780
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