The Gentleman's Cabinet

A ‘ONE OFF’ MASTERPIECE OF GREAT PRECISION & COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION

[ A Unique example of the cutting edge of the master Cabinet makers Art ]

A VERY EARLY CRAFT GUILD- MARK PIECE No 191 W.C.F.M

Gentleman’s Cabinet - GM 191

This heirloom piece was designed and made in 1989. It was a landmark piece and was an incredibly time consuming and complicated Masterpiece to undertake. Using traditional classical cabinetmaking skills on a contemporary and wooden mechanical and coopered ground-breaking structure.

When I showed my drawings  to other skilled contemporaries at the time they all said it was impossible to build, which was proved wrong when 8 months later this ground-breaking piece was displayed in the Fine art and Antiques exhibition at Olympia.

It was spotted by the then Master of the Worshipful company of Furniture Makers who suggested I submit it for a Craft Guildmark award. It was awarded the prestigious Guildmark no. 191, an early Guild-mark with the Worshipful Company.

At the same exhibition it was also spotted by John Bly who was a Furniture expert on the BBC Antiques Roadshow. Bly was about to present a new series on the BBC and asked to feature The Gentleman’s Cabinet live on the show.

About the Concept

The Gentleman’s Cabinet is made from solid prime-steamed German Pear wood and embellished with very rare Snake wood detailing. The outside casing is coopered, hand-planed and jointed all from solid pear -wood. A precision full length hinge made from Pear wood is then  attached to the rear of the cabinet, allowing the two sides to open when attached to the central drawer pedestal.

The cabinet’s central drawer stack has concave drawer fronts, all the drawers have very fine dove-tailing and with solid Pear wood interiors. The drawer pulls form a large elegant wedge chevron shape from the smallest drawer at the top of the cabinet to the wider pull at the bottom last drawer.

All the drawer pulls are of extremely rare Snake wood.

The mystery of this piece is as follows: it  is as if the cabinet is just a straightforward elliptical drawer cabinet, with beautiful detailing. The chevron Detail on the top of the cabinet is rebated and hides an opening line .

When the bottom drawer pull is pressed down it releases a spring loaded catch so allowing the elliptical sides to open around the rear wooden hinge to reveal demi-elliptical shelving with snakewood edging on either side.

This piece is an important early one-off Masterpiece with an early Guildmark award from the W.C.F.M. I t has an early hand-written scrolled certificate signed by the master attached on the inside at the rear, this pre- dates the later enamelled numbered discs and adds to its early provenance and rarity. 

The Gentleman’s Cabinet, has never been for sale before and is now for the first since it completion in 1990  being offered for sale.

THERE IS ONLY ONE OF THESE NEVER TO BE REPEATED,A ONE OFF MASTERPIECE.

A magnificent and unique one-off Masterpiece. Craft G.M 191.

Price:   £48,000.00. inclusive