Antwerp cabinet to be laid in tortoiseshell and 17th century marquetry

Cabinet to be laid dating back to the 17th century. Supported by a dark oak structure, eight drawers are decorated in front of each four cartridges in plating of red tortoiseshells highlighted with bone friezes decorated with waves in a frame molded in blackened oak, the lock entrance is surrounded by a light oak inlay. The sides are decorated with geometric patterns in marquetry. The set is topped by a railing and rests on four feet of flattened ball in blackened wood. In good condition, partially restored, some restorations are clearly visible, the locks have also been replaced. Provided without key. The cabinet is a kind of small collector's cabinet or furniture with drawers and compartments to enclose precious objects, jewelry, luxury papers, trinkets, curiosities, medals, gloves, perfumes, soaps, cosmetics, scissors, forcettes, mirrors, and other objects. From small size at the beginning, the cabinet evolves into a structure with two superimposed bodies. The removed lower body is replaced by a high footing. The many drawers of the cabinet are small and sometimes hidden by a richly decorated valve. This precious furniture was in use as early as the 16th century. Its golden age was in the 17th century during the reign of louis XIV. It gradually disappeared in the 18th century.