Carved Oak Cabinet, Gerling Collection, Cologne, Antique Print, 1851

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in colors, from Le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance, lettered "MEUBLE EN CHÊNE SCULPTÉ, XVIe SIÈCLE. de la Collection de Mr Gerling, à Cologne". A tall oak cabinet is shown from the front, printed in brown and golden tan with cream highlights, its upper stage set on a chest of four drawers. Under a dentil cornice the upper stage has a central arched niche with a crowned woman holding a cloth, a small tower at her side and a shield at her feet, flanked by two tall panels of scrolling foliage. Each drawer front is carved with symmetrical foliate scrolls around a brass handle in the form of a winged head. The carcass is edged with beading and stands on a shaped, pierced apron.

The running heads read "LE MOYEN-AGE ET LA RENAISSANCE." and "AMEUBLEMENT CIVIL". Beneath the image are the credits "Rivaud del.", "Chromolith. Lemercier." and "Kellerhoven lith.", and below the caption "F. Séré direxit". The caption translates as: Piece of furniture in carved oak, sixteenth century, from the collection of Mr Gerling, at Cologne. The same caption appears on a companion plate showing a two stage cupboard from this collection.

Le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance was published in Paris in five volumes between 1848 and 1851. Paul Lacroix, who also wrote as the Bibliophile Jacob, edited the text, and Ferdinand Séré directed the illustrations, which is what the line "F. Séré direxit" on the plates records. The work surveys the customs, trades, sciences, arts and literature of Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and its plates reproduce furniture, metalwork, ceramics, manuscripts and other objects from public and private collections of the time. The plates are chromolithographs, printed in color from a series of stones rather than colored by hand. This plate comes from the fourth volume, issued in 1851.

The tall, narrow format suits a slim frame, and the plate pairs well with its companion from the Gerling collection.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.