Object Description
Pair of antique ormolu mounted and mahogany corner cabinets by Grohé Frères
French, c. 1860
Height 102cm, width 89cm, depth 47cm
This stunning pair of ormolu and mahogany corner cabinets were made by Grohé Frères in France in around 1860. The firm was founded in 1827 by two brothers, Guillaume and Jean-Michel and operated until 1884. It was the official supplier of furniture to the French royalty including Napoleon III as well as to the British monarch, Queen Victoria.
The cabinets are surmounted by a marble top coloured in shades of orange, cream, red and grey.
Below, an ormolu band depicting the bead and reel motif adorns the mahogany surface. An elegant rectangular border imitates the front of a drawer and is adorned with an intricate grapevine and crossed thyrsus escutcheon. The twin door cabinets are of an identical design. Framed in two ormolu borders, the doors are adorned with ormolu mounts in the shapes of a tied ribbon, floral bands and draping. The large mount terminates with musical and natural motif detailing. Four mahogany mounts with ormolu detailing are added on all four corners of both doors. All doors are lockable and open to reveal two shelves.
The side panels of both pieces are further decorated with exceptionally-well cast ormolu mounts, all depicting motifs similar in design to the ones presented on the front of the cabinets.
Standing on flattened ball feet, the corner cabinets are stamped ‘GROHÉ A PARIS’.
Of exceptionally high quality with desirable themes depicted on the ormolu mounts, Grohé Frères’s creation would make a fantastic addition to one’s interior space, such as the living room.