Page 9 - Women Collectors and the Rise of the Porcelain Cabinet (Collecting history in Europe)

only recently entered the court service of the House of of its own as a miniature ‘porcelain cabinet’, with Fig. 6
Orange. As a Huguenot, he had been expelled from porcelain vessels positioned on consoles attached to Daniel Marot, The porcelain
and picture cabinet at Het
the French court, where he had been one of its most the mantelpiece and its surrounding frame. Above the Loo, 1701/02. Engraving,
infl uential designers, following the revocation of the fi replace, behind the objects, was a large mirror or later cut at the bottom
and coloured, possibly
Edict of Nantes. Working for the House of Orange, sometimes a painting (Fig. 5). The novelty of this type
in connection with the
he developed a court style that combined French of chimneypiece was the combination of the structure Dresden architect Matthäus
and Dutch infl uences and shaped the appearance of of French chimneypieces with Dutch ornamental Daniel Pöppelmann’s
sojourn at Het Loo in 1715.
numerous buildings: Het Loo, Soestdijk, Hampton elements and a mirror, creating a harmonious Sächsisches Staatsarchiv
Court, the Stadholder’s Residence in Leeuwarden, decorative focal point for the room. The spread of its - Hauptstaatsarchiv
Dresden, OHMA, P,
Oranjewoud and Huis ten Bosch. 60 popularity was assisted not only by travel accounts
Cap. IX, Nr. 1a Photo:
and treatises on architecture but above all by the Sächsisches Staatsarchiv -
Marot created a room that outclassed all previous books of engravings published by Marot himself. 61 Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden.
ones. The interplay of Chinese or chinoiserie lacquer
wall coverings, mirrors on the ceiling, countless It may be assumed that by the 1680s the chinoiserie
pieces of porcelain displayed on the chimneypiece cabinet had become established as the most intimate
and furniture in Asian style elicited enthusiastic and artistically elaborate room of the (expanded)
comments from contemporary visitors. His huge, ladies’ state apartments. It usually incorporated Asian
eye-catching and elaborate chimneypiece decoration porcelain, Asian or chinoiserie lacquered boiseries and
for the ‘Indiaanse Cabinet’ quickly became de rigueur furnishings, and one or more mirrors. The Asian
as an element of interior decoration, and was atmosphere was sometimes reinforced with Chinese
adopted in diverse rooms for numerous palaces. This or chinoiserie textiles and painted décor (Fig. 6).
‘Cheminée à la Hollondoise’ was originally intended From the 1680s and 1690s differentiation began to
to be combined with an entirely chinoiserie-style take place. Depending on the predominant materials,
62
scheme of interior decoration, but it took on a life lacquer or mirror cabinets were created, which

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