Pair of Corner Cupboards

Craftsmen during the 1700s frequently dismantled objects from China and Japan and adapted them for use in European interiors. French cabinetmakers found ingenious solutions to incorporate desirable Asian lacquer into new forms. In this case, four fine panels of lacquer have been cut from the doors of two different large Japanese cabinets and set into the fronts of these two corner cupboards. The gilt-bronze mounts cleverly hide the cut edges of the lacquer panels.

Parisian luxury goods dealers, known as marchands-merciers, purchased lacquer objects and directed the cabinetmakers who transformed them into new works appealing to wealthy French connoisseurs. The quest for lacquer was not an easy one. In 1745 one dealer wrote in a sale catalogue that "choice pieces are extremely hard to find, especially old ones. They sometimes fetch surprising prices, even in Holland." Holland was the best place to buy lacquer, since the Dutch East India Company had a monopoly on trade with Japan, where much lacquer was produced.