Second half of the 17th century, Double-body corner cupboard

Second half of the 17th century
Double body corner unit
Lacquered wood, 240 x 138 x 69,5 cm

One of the most particular and fascinating techniques in furniture manufacturing is the art of lacquering, known and practiced in Far East Asia by the Chinese and Japanese since ancient times. Europe only began to be interested in it at the beginning of the 600th century. The first to bring it to the European continent were the Portuguese and the Dutch, merchants and colonizers of those regions. They had obtained information from Catholic missionaries who extolled and praised its quality and technical perfection. Soon the use of furniture and lacquered objects became so general that the need was felt, in the major cultural and artistic centres, to carry out investigations with the aim of obtaining the results of the oriental technique, in order to be able to create the same objects in Europe and thus take advantage of on the purchase price.
In China the lacquer manufacturing technique was kept in the greatest secrecy, but the news leaked out anyway and it was discovered that the Chinese lacquer was not a composition but a special resin that oozed from a specifically cultivated tree.
The European lacquers imitated by the imported ones are composed of various essences, mixed resins and various oils. In fact, whether in France, Italy or England, lacquers are never as hard as the oriental ones. This diversity consists above all in the preparation with plaster and glue.
The elegant corner cabinet in question, dating back to the second half of the 17th century, has a double-door base with notched corner pilasters, with floral decoration, supported by bracket feet. Double door stand with molded hat and underlying band decorated with spirals.