A Carel-stamped Floral Marquetry Corner Cabinet

A rare 18th-century marquetry corner cabinet with a double-arched, serpentine front.

It opens with a single door revealing two interior shelves. The door features delicate rosewood floral marquetry on an amaranth wood frieze background within a satinwood veneer reserve.
The serpentine curve of the uprights is highlighted by an elegant amaranth wood frieze.
The small, cabriole feet are fitted with openwork bronze sabots.
Beautiful chased and gilt bronze mounts adorn the uprights and the apron.
An original double-molded Aleppo breccia marble top crowns this corner cabinet, elegantly following its flowing shape.
This elegant parlor cabinet bears the Carel stamp. A considerable number of pieces of furniture bearing the stamp of this cabinetmaker are known, yet very little precise information is available about him.
Based on some of his works and their provenance, the Count of Salverte suggests he is related to Jacques Philippe Carel, who worked as a journeyman for Thomas Hache in Grenoble in 1712. Theunissen, who reports this detail, wonders if he might simply be this Jacques Philippe Carel and notes that one of his relatives, Nicolas Carel, worked at Versailles for the King's buildings at the end of the 17th century. As for Pierre Verlet, he rightly considers him a Parisian cabinetmaker with ties to the Dauphiné region.

Indeed, the production of this mysterious cabinetmaker—curved, often very elegant furniture—perfectly reflects Parisian taste in the mid-18th century.

The straight-sided chests of drawers, still inspired by the Regency style, were quickly followed by more refined lines in secretaries, commodes, corner cabinets, and slant-front desks. Carel rarely used plain veneer, preferring marquetry of flowers in stained or end-grain wood. Ref: French Furniture of the 18th Century – Pierre Kjellberg

Dimensions
W. 78 cm x D. 57 cm x H. 92 cm

France
Satin finish, rosewood, amaranth
Stamped Carel for Jacques Philippe Carel
18th Century