Cabinet for August of Brunswick-Lüneburg, c. 1630

Amongst the masterpieces of this genre is the superb ebony cabinet made between 1627 and 1630 in Augsburg under the supervision of the art dealer and diplomat Philipp Hainhofer for Duke August of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The objective was to produce a veritable princely art collection in miniature. All manner of materials and artefacts have been incorporated into it: these included four different woods (Ebony, boxwood, cedar, ebony, rosewood and walnut), seven different stones (agate, chalcedony, jasper, lapis lazuli, marble, opal, and serpentine), as well as bone, copper, glass, horn, silk and silver. Standing firmly on a large base, doors on all sides open to reveal a multitude of smaller doors, panels, drawers and compartments, each decorated in the most skillful and expensive manner. Originally the many drawers and compartments contained works of art and natural specimens. The whole constituted a reflection in miniature (microcosm) of the universe (macrocosm). The loose contents were stolen in 1631. This collector's cabinet is decorated with dozens of miniature works of art, including reliefs of Roman emperors' heads, a relief of Orpheus and the animals, a fine embroidery of the story of Cain and Abel, and various small paintings in the shrine: Madonna and Child at the centre with a sliding panel showing a drawing of Christ tempted by Satan; at the back the Annunciation; behind it a picture of the Visitation of the Virgin to Elisabeth, and behind that an embroidery of Jacob's dream.

Commentary derived from Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: here and here.