Dutch marquetry furniture
Comparative technical research on an important group of late 17th-century pieces of furniture.
In this project we investigate the various construction methods used for 17th-century cabinets and tables decorated with marquetry in the form of flower bouquets or geometrical patterns, such as those by Jan van Mekeren, the best-known cabinetmaker of the day.
About the project
Since 1995, when the Rijksmuseum’s most important items of furniture with floral marquetry were restored, the department of furniture conservation has been researching the materials and construction features of this group of objects. None of the pieces are attributed to specific cabinetmakers, with the exception of Jan van Mekeren. Some 75 marquetry pieces from the 17th century have so far been examined. The most striking findings are the great similarities but also the major differences in construction, marquetry and moulded frames. This is an indication that these pieces were produced by many different cabinetmakers. Similarities can indicate manufacture by the same craftsman, potentially making it possible to attach names of creators to groups of objects in the future.
Aim of the project
Research into technical and construction aspects provides insights into the manufacturing methods that the various, largely anonymous Dutch cabinetmakers used in the 17th century. Despite their fairly uniform stylistic vocabulary, which is characterized by large flat areas decorated with marquetry and relatively small mouldings, there is a remarkably wide variety in the way the component parts are constructed. On the evidence of similarities and differences it will be possible to assign the pieces to different groups, creating a detailed picture of the cabinetmaker’s craft in the 17th century.
Related projects/events
Masterclass 'The construction of flat decorated doors of Dutch seventeenth-century cabinets', Rijksmuseum, 4-7 October 2010
Staff
Paul van Duin
Retired head of furniture conservation
Paul.van.Duin@rijksmuseum.nl
Iskander Breebaart
Senior Furniture Conservator
i.breebaart@rijksmuseum.nl
Elise Andersson
Associate Furniture Conservator (until 11-2020)
Partners and sponsors
- Kasteel Amerongen
- National Trust
- Amsterdam Museum
- Centraal Museum
Publications
- P. van Duin, ‘Panels in Furniture: Observations and Conservation Issues’, in: Facing the Challenges of Panel Paintings Conservation: trends, treatments and training (17-18 May 2009), Los Angeles, The Getty Conservation Institute, (2011), pp. 92-103.
- I.L. Breebaart, ‘A structural approach to a complex conservation of two late 17th-century cabinets-on-stand in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam’, in: Restoring Joints, Conserving Constructions. Proceedings Tenth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam, (2012) pp. 82-93.
- P. van Duin, ‘The construction of flat decorated doors of Dutch seventeenth-century cabinets. Report of a master class’, in: Restoring Joints, Conserving Structures. Proceedings Tenth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture, Stichting Ebenist, Amsterdam (2012) pp. 121-143.
- P. van Duin and I. Breebaart, ‘The construction of late-17th-century Netherlandish furniture: Typology, materials, authorship and durability’, in ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Preprints, Copenhagen 4–8 September 2017, Paris (International Council of Museums) (2017), art. 2105.
- P. van Duin, ‘Verdeckte Holzkonstruktionen. Untersuchungen an marketierten Türen niederländischer Kabinettschränke aus dem 17. Jahrhundert’, in Die Kunst der Ebenisten. Quellenstudien, technologische Untersuchungen und innovative Verfahren in der Holzrestaurierung. Potsdamer Beiträge zur Konservierung und Restaurierung 5, Potsdam (2017) pp. 18-33.
