P3 has note
| - Writing Cabinet
1716
Writing cabinets in libraries or studies were status symbols for wealthy and noble men. This cabinet has a complex form and is clad in fashionable marquetry. The decoration incorporates the arms of its powerful owner, Gallus Jacob, finance minister to the Prince Bishop of Würzburg. The craftsmen who made the cabinet left a document inside it that gives a vivid description of the turbulent times in which they were working.
Germany (Würzburg)
Made by Jacob Arend and Johannes Wittalm, in the workshop of Servatius Arend
Pine veneered with walnut, ebony and ebonised wood; marquetry in turtle shell, horn, brass, pewter, ivory and several woods; copper alloy mounts [09.12.2015]
[Label text by Peter Thornton]
Cabinet
German (Wurzburg): dated 1716
Pine, veneered with marquetry of various woods with tortoiseshell and pewter. Drawers lined with multi-coloured embossed paper
The arms are those of von Holach, the title taken by Gallus Jacob, whose name is inlaid on the writing leaf: he was a powerful official in the service of Johann Philip von Greiffenclau, Prince Bishop of Wurzburg. On the latter's death, Gallus Jacob fell from favour: he was removed from his post and his goods were confiscated.
In 1967 a piece of paper was discovered behind a panel showing that the cabinet had been made in 1716 by Jacob Arend of Koblenz and Johannes Wittalm of Vienna, working for the court cabinet-maker at Wurzburg, Servatius Arend. [1975] (en)
|