ticketsMember | Make a donation

Coffer

mid-17th century
Not on view
In contrast to the severe black ebony exterior, the cabinet’s interior is more colorful and has several surprising components. The inside is embellished with alabaster plaques painted with monochrome landscapes. Within the central compartment is a five-sided recess with a tiled floor known as a perspectiefje (little perspective), a space used to place a small, treasured object that could be admired from all sides in the mirrors. Such coffers were used for the storage of valuables or jewelry.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Coffer
  • Date: mid-17th century
  • Culture: Dutch
  • Medium: Pine veneered with ebony and macassar ebony; padauk wood; painted alabaster; ivory; mirror glass
  • Dimensions: Overall: 14 5/8 × 16 1/2 × 11 3/4 in. (37.1 × 41.9 × 29.8 cm)
  • Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Audrey B. Love, in memory of her husband, C. Ruxton Love Jr., 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.367
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Mirror, Johannes Hannart (or Jan Hanat), Oak veneered with ebony; boxwood and ebonized boxwood; modern mirror glass, Dutch
Mirror
Johannes Hannart (or Jan Hanat)
ca. 1685–1700
Cabinet, Herman Doomer Dutch, Oak veneered with ebony, snakewood, rosewood, kingwood, cedar and other woods; mother-of-pearl, ivory, green stained bone, Dutch, Amsterdam
Cabinet
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1640–50
Cabinet on stand, Jan van Mekeren Dutch, Oak veneered with rosewood, olivewood, ebony, holly, tulipwood, barberry and other partly green-stained marquetry woods, Dutch, Amsterdam
Cabinet on stand
Jan van Mekeren
ca. 1700–1710
Mirror, Johann Valentin Gevers German, Oak and pine veneered with tortoiseshell, silver, silver gilt, and green-stained ivory; mirror glass, German, Augsburg
Mirror
Johann Valentin Gevers
Johann Andreas Thelot
ca. 1710
Desk (Secretary), Pine; carved, painted, gilded, and varnished linden wood decorated with colored decoupage prints; mirror glass; the inside of the fall front lined with silk not original to the secretary, Italian, Venice
Desk (Secretary)
Italian, Venice
ca. 1730–35

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.