Attributed to Giles Grendey (born England, 1693–1780)
London
Bureau Secretary
INV-1977
Attributed to Giles Grendey (born England, 1693–1780)
Londonc. 1735
Bureau Secretary
Attributed to Giles Grendey (born England, 1693–1780) London →woodfurniture
Date
c. 1735
Medium
Oak, pine, walnut, paint, gilding, silvering, gesso, varnish, mirror glass, leather, brass, and iron
Dimensions
241.3 × 108 × 60.4 cm (95 × 42 1/2 × 23 3/4 in.); Doors Open: 241.3 × 195.6 × 60.4 cm (95 × 77 × 23 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Neville and John Bryan
Giles Grendey was a cabinetmaker and timber merchant with workshops near St. Paul’s, London. Unusually for an English cabinetmaker of his time, he had a broad international clientele: a fire that struck his premises in August 1731 destroyed over £1000 worth of furniture (approximately $37,000 in today’s currency) described as “pack’d for Exportation against the next morning.” In fact, Grendey’s most famous commission came from a Spanish client, the Duke of Infantado, for whose castle at Lazcano in northern Spain he supplied a suite of over seventy-seven pieces of furniture in the late 1730s. This cabinet is decorated in a style similar to the Infantado suite, in red and gold japanning, the English name for imitation lacquer.
The cabinet combines some classical elements, like the broken pediment and flame-like finials at the top, with chinoiserie (Chinese-inspired) figures and scenes done in gold and silver. On the interior doors, a lady holding a branch faces a warrior holding a banner. The slope front is richly decorated with figures riding in a chariot, while others lounge in summer pavilions. The drawers and slides display landscapes with horsemen and other figures, birds, and foliage.
— About This Object, European Decorative Arts LaunchPad app
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