Description
A Splendid 17th Century English Carved & Inlaid Oak Court Cupboard / Buffet of fine colour & patination. The edge moulded top above a canopy frieze of arabesque strap-work adorned with green man face masks, supported by bulbous cup & cover side posts emblazoned with further five masks exhaling undulating stems of flowers & foliage and flanking a canted cupboard. The central, square, deep-moulded panel door enriched with flower carving in a chip carved & nail-punched frame flanked by a pair of figural pilasters carved in the form of an atlante stroking his long beard and a bare breasted caryatid with ruff collar; both bearing plumes of foliage on their heads and rising above tapering plinths adorned with face masks. The angled side panels carved with scrolling strap-work stems of flowers defined against a recessed pitted ground. The framework enhanced with bands of dog-tooth parquetry. The base section with further parquetry bands above a long shallow frieze drawer carved with demi-lune flower heads and raised on cup & cover posts leading down to a base shelf on lunette rails and square block feet, 49¼” (125 cm) high, 53” (135 cm) wide, 17½” (44.5 cm) deep.