646 - A Cologne linen cabinet

A Cologne linen cabinet Walnut, cherry, pear, plum and various other, partly dyed fruitwood on oak; wrought-iron fittings. Two-door cabinet on a frame, richly inlaid on the front. Each door with two panels, the upper panels with an idealised architectural scene, the lower panels with geometric meander patterns. Cornice replaced, minor veneer lifting. Height 206, width 182, depth 73 cm. Attributed to the workshop of Melchior von Rheidt, late 16th C. The production of inlaid furniture in Cologne, which dates from approximately 1570 to 1610, culminated in the furnishing of the Cologne Senate Hall by Melchior von Rheidt around 1599-1601. As both the date of production and the craftsmen involved in this commission are documented, other objects can be classified on the basis of this work. Melchior von Rheidt is documented in Cologne from around 1590, and he appears to have established the city’s leading workshop relatively quickly during that decade. A particular type of architectural marquetry, recurring with only minor variations and attributed to him, had already been identified and compiled by Petra Werhauer-Fleischmann in her essay. Heinrich Kreisel likewise discusses a linen press with only minor differences in the decorative details, which was in the possession of the art dealership Julius Böhler in 1968. The marquetry on all these pieces of furniture is composed of a symmetrical, centrally composed perspective view of a succession of uninhabited buildings combining elements of different architectural styles. In the foreground, two swans swim towards one another. The vanishing point can be seen in the distance beneath a large arch: Another miniature architectural structure with a tower. Such views are known from the prints of Hans Vredeman de Vries. The "Variae Architecturae Formae" were published in Antwerp from 1560 onwards and quickly became influential in furniture and interior design. Petra Werhahn-Fleischhauer suspects that around 1610, the workshop of Melchior von Rheidt and his successor Hans von Rheidt made the transition from inlaid to carved overmantel cabinets. The marquetry, which until then had covered almost the entire fronts of the furniture, was subsequently replaced by sculptural decoration. Literature Cf. Kreisel, Die Kunst des deutschen Möbels, vol. 1: Von den Anfängen bis zum Hochbarock, Munich 1968, fig. 336. Cf. Werhahn-Fleischhauer, Melchior von Rheidt und die Frage der Kölner Intarsienmöbel, in: Schäfke (ed.), Coellen eyn Croyn. Renaissance und Barock in Köln, Cologne 1999, fig. 8. Cf. Colsman, Möbel. Gotik bis Jugendstil. Die Sammlung im Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, Cologne 1999, cat. no. 91.