Date: about 1700
Maker: Cabinetwork attributed to André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732)
Materials: Oak, amaranth, ebony, turtleshell, brass, pewter, gilt bronze and steel
Measurements: 255 x 163.5 x 61 cm
Inv. no. F61
Monumental wardrobes such as this made a relatively late appearance in French furniture design, emerging in the 1680s. Probably intended for the safekeeping of documents and objects, these so-called armoires fortes could be secured under lock and key.
Boulle’s early models of these wardrobes, for which a drawing survives, contained panels of wood marquetry with floral motifs, but he later developed them into elaborate displays of première- and contre-partie marquetry and sculptural gilt-bronze mounts.
In a sumptuary declaration of 7 April 1700, Boulle’s workshop was recorded as containing nine such wardrobes, both in première- and contre-partie, suggesting that by this time they accounted for a significant proportion of his production.
Although seemingly a pair with another example in the Wallace Collection (F62), this wardrobe is possibly slightly later than its counterpart and has a separate provenance before 1870 (after which they were inventoried together).
The doors are divided into three panels: the top and bottom panels in contre-partie and the central sections in première-partie. These central panels contain figurative mounts with scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, set under brass marquetry canopies.
On the left-hand door is a depiction of Apollo and Daphne. With leaves and branches sprouting from her head and fingers, Daphne is in the process of transforming into a laurel tree to escape the unwanted advances of the sun god.
On the right-hand door is another scene taken from the Metamorphoses, this time depicting Apollo and Marsyas. The satyr Marsyas had boasted of his skill in playing the Aulos, a double-piped flute, and challenged the god of music to a competition.
After winning the contest, Apollo punished Marsyas for his arrogance, tying him to a tree and skinning him alive.
Boulle is thought to have created these mounts based on drawings by Raphael that were part of his personal collection. These were sadly destroyed in a workshop fire on 30 August 1720. They were listed among the losses as a ‘collection of forty-eight designs by the hand of Raphael, subject of metamorphoses’.
However, an inventory compiled after Boulle’s death in 1732 records a book containing prints of the Metamorphoses by various artists. Many of Raphael’s designs had been preserved and disseminated through prints made by artists associated with his studio. It is possible that some of these were included in Boulle’s volume and served as an alternative source of inspiration.
In 1759, the wardrobe was recorded as the ‘great French cabinet’ in the Saloon of Stowe House, the palatial country seat of the dukes of Buckingham and Chandos. Under one of the hinges is the stamp ‘I DUBOIS’, which is evidence that the piece was restored by Jacques Dubois (1694–1763) sometime between 1742 (when he became a master cabinetmaker) and 1759, when it is first recorded in England.
Alterations to the wardrobe were also carried out in 1845, at the behest of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, in anticipation of a visit from Queen Victoria. These saw the addition of a peach silk lining and gilt-bronze hooks for the queen’s clothes, which were later removed.
Three years after the visit, the duke was forced to sell the contents of Stowe due to mounting debts that were only exacerbated by the royal festivities. This was much to the benefit of the 4th Marquess of Hertford, who was able to acquire the wardrobe, among other treasures.
