Walnut briar coin cabinet, 600th century.

Coin cabinet entirely veneered in walnut root on a poplar wood structure. Emilia, second half of the 17th century.

Despite its small dimensions, the piece of furniture, built on architectural schemes that highlight its importance, has an imposing appearance. The system, with a strong base and projecting pillars, retains the rigidity and volume also common to other types of furniture, such as sideboards and chests of drawers. The severe and monumental feature of the cabinet is softened by the fine encrustation of walnut briar, with a dense texture, and by elements taken from the great Roman prototypes: twisted columns resting on large nuts which take on the function of pilasters. Both the sides and the two doors, which enclose a series of pulls, also embellished with briar veneers and gilded bronze knobs, are characterized by a mixed-line boss in relief, typically of Bolognese style. Finely molded frames surround the drawers. Both the base cornice and the band underneath the apical cornice are removed, revealing pulls made like a secret. Other rather ingenious secrets present in the coin case are not visible in the photo, out of a sort of consideration for the possible buyer. The refined finishes and the complex model (in the knobs, in the moldings of the frames, in the design of the lock and the iron hinges) go beyond the common Bolognese decorative vocabulary; the main features of the scheme and the ornamental part would, however, assign the furnishings to the most skilled cabinetmakers of the Emilian capital, certainly influenced by the finest period of Roman Baroque.

The support table, also veneered in walnut and walnut briar and equipped with a central drawer and an extractable drawer, placed just under the top, was made in a later period (end of the 17th century - beginning of the 19th) , but still created to house the coin holder, as demonstrated by its design and measurements.

Provenance: Reggio Emilia, Private Collection.

Certification of authenticity and lawful origin is issued in accordance with the law.