Purchased with funds from the bequest of W. R. Valentiner, Dr. Hans S. Schaeffer and Julius Böhler in memory of W. R. Valentiner, Mr. and Mrs. Doak Finch, and Robert Badenhop, by exchange
Kunstkammers (art cabinets) were popular in the 17th century in Antwerp, Belgium. They were often made of wood and finished with an ebony veneer. Ebony wood was extremely expensive. It was imported from Indonesia and Mauritius (an island off the eastern coast of Africa).
These types of art cabinets were decorated with paintings. They contained drawers and compartments for storing valuable objects. The oil-on-copper paintings that decorate this cabinet were created by Antwerp artist Simon Floquet. Painting with oil on copper made it possible for him to create tiny, finely detailed scenes. Each of the 13 paintings on this cabinet depicts a different story from Greek mythology. The largest panels show scenes of Apollo and the Muses (top lid), a shepherd being transformed into a wild olive tree by the Nymphs (left door), and the Judgment of Midas (right door). The scene on the central interior door depicts the Triumph of Cupid. These stories were well known in the 17th century and were popular subjects of paintings during that time.
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