A magnificent and rare Henry VIII joined oak aumbry or livery cupboard, circa 1520, the front following a traditional arrangement for enclosed livery cupboards dated to the first-half of the 16th century - divided into three horizontal sections or registers, the top row with a central intertwined foliate carved panel, flanked by a pair of pierced gothic tracery and ‘Tudor-rose’ carved doors, the middle-section having a pair of blind fretwork short drawers, the lower-section with a matching pierced and carved door, flanked by a pair of 'Romayne'-type profile bust panels, on stile supports, the sides with four linenfold-carved panels, good iron lockplates, 133cm wide, 60.5cm deep, 144cm high The rarity of this high-status cupboard is enhanced by the presence of drawers. Drawers were seldom found on late 15th to early 16th century English furniture. Furthermore, they are normally comparatively crude, with the drawer(s) simply running on a baseboard or supported either on carcase rails and/or a simple under- bearer. Here, however, the drawers are supported not only by the frame, but importantly by the edges of their base boards. Both drawer side linings are inset, allowing the baseboard edges to be exposed and engaged within grooved drawer runners fitted to the frame of the cupboard. This method of construction allows for smooth operation of the drawers. For related early 16th century English cupboards, having a similar three-level arrangement of drawers, fixed-panels and cupboard doors, see: Murray Adams-Acton, Apollo, 'Early Oak cupboards and Hutches', May 1933, pp. 181 - 186. The Burrell Collection, Glasgow, has no less than six comparable cupboards. Two of them have linenfold panelled sides [Museum Nos. 14.416 & 14.425], one has pierced cupboard doors [museum no. 14.417], and another has similar tracery carving [Museum No. 14.417]. The remaining two cupboards are both highly celebrated examples - one [museum no. 14.413] is illustrated in Murray Adams-Acton, Domestic Architecture and Old Furniture (1929), p. 46a, fig. 82a and again in Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture (1986), Vol. II, p. 184. The other, known simply as the 'Wynn Cupboard' [Museum no. 14.436], has the addition of a canopy superstructure, but again with the same arrangement of cupboards and drawers. It was made for John Wyn ap Maredudd (d. 1550), of Gwydir Castle, Conwy Valley, around 1525- 1545. This cupboard is illustrated in Percy Macquoid A History of English Furniture: The Age of Oak (1925), colour plate III, and again in Richard Bebb, Welsh Furniture 1250 - 1950: A Cultural History of Craftsmanship and Design (2007) Vol. I. p. 202, pl. 325. A cupboard carved with Romayne profile busts is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, [Museum No. W.11-1986]. One further example, but only a cupboard front, is in the collection of Cotehele House, Cornwall, [NT347771], illustrated ibid. p. 161. Simonini collection
A magnificent and rare Henry VIII joined oak aumbry or livery cupboard, circa 1520, the front following a traditional arrangement for enclosed livery cupboards dated to the first-half of the 16th century - divided into three horizontal sections or registers, the top row with a central intertwined foliate carved panel, flanked by a pair of pierced gothic tracery and ‘Tudor-rose’ carved doors, the middle-section having a pair of blind fretwork short drawers, the lower-section with a matching pierced and carved door, flanked by a pair of 'Romayne'-type profile bust panels, on stile supports, the sides with four linenfold-carved panels, good iron lockplates, 133cm wide, 60.5cm deep, 144cm high The rarity of this high-status cupboard is enhanced by the presence of drawers. Drawers were seldom found on late 15th to early 16th century English furniture. Furthermore, they are normally comparatively crude, with the drawer(s) simply running on a baseboard or supported either on carcase rails and/or a simple under- bearer. Here, however, the drawers are supported not only by the frame, but importantly by the edges of their base boards. Both drawer side linings are inset, allowing the baseboard edges to be exposed and engaged within grooved drawer runners fitted to the frame of the cupboard. This method of construction allows for smooth operation of the drawers. For related early 16th century English cupboards, having a similar three-level arrangement of drawers, fixed-panels and cupboard doors, see: Murray Adams-Acton, Apollo, 'Early Oak cupboards and Hutches', May 1933, pp. 181 - 186. The Burrell Collection, Glasgow, has no less than six comparable cupboards. Two of them have linenfold panelled sides [Museum Nos. 14.416 & 14.425], one has pierced cupboard doors [museum no. 14.417], and another has similar tracery carving [Museum No. 14.417]. The remaining two cupboards are both highly celebrated examples - one [museum no. 14.413] is illustrated in Murray Adams-Acton, Domestic Architecture and Old Furniture (1929), p. 46a, fig. 82a and again in Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture (1986), Vol. II, p. 184. The other, known simply as the 'Wynn Cupboard' [Museum no. 14.436], has the addition of a canopy superstructure, but again with the same arrangement of cupboards and drawers. It was made for John Wyn ap Maredudd (d. 1550), of Gwydir Castle, Conwy Valley, around 1525- 1545. This cupboard is illustrated in Percy Macquoid A History of English Furniture: The Age of Oak (1925), colour plate III, and again in Richard Bebb, Welsh Furniture 1250 - 1950: A Cultural History of Craftsmanship and Design (2007) Vol. I. p. 202, pl. 325. A cupboard carved with Romayne profile busts is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, [Museum No. W.11-1986]. One further example, but only a cupboard front, is in the collection of Cotehele House, Cornwall, [NT347771], illustrated ibid. p. 161. Simonini collection
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