Dutch Transition tambour cabinet

The cabinet has a single drawer above a tambour door. The concave sides lend the whole an unexpectedly elegant shape that is further emphasised by the fields of rosewood with thin boxwood piping. The diagonally oriented stiles are decorated with a mirrored chevron pattern. The top features butterfly-shaped tulipwood veneer framed in purpleheart. The profiled edge is solid mahogany.

It was common for furniture to be decorated with veneer and fittings according to the latest fashion, while the shape of the piece still displayed elements from an earlier style. This was primarily done so that the newly purchased furniture would blend in better with a room’s existing decor.

This cabinet is decorated with neoclassical motifs and fittings in a pure neoclassical Louis XVI style, whereas its shape more strongly reflects the visual idiom of the Transition period.