A corner cabinet made for the Counts of Seyssel d’Aix
Walnut, burr walnut and ivory veneer on walnut and softwood, gilded and painted softwood, gilt bronze and wrought iron mountings. Two-doored corner cabinet with a carved apron on serpentine legs. The richly decorated breakfront pediment carved with an oval medallion depicting a Roman emperor and surmounted by two removable balusters at the angles. The interior containing two rows of shelves flanking a twisting cylinder containing further shelves divided by green panels with large gold bow appliques. The gold lock with two horizontal and two vertical bolts. Both doors inlaid in ivory with the arms of Seyssel d’Aix and the motto "FRANC ET LEAL", the narrow side panels each bearing the monogram "GS". Overpainted, with retouches and traces of red wall paint at the edges, one bow applique loose, some breakages. H c. 250, W c. 140, depth at hips 105 cm.
Presumably 1860s.
The Seyssel family originally came from Savoy. Above Aix-les-Bains, there are still the ruins of a castle complex that was once inhabited by the Seyssels. In the early 18th century, their first ancestor, Jean Claude Seyssel, entered the service of the Bavarian Elector and henceforth called himself Seyssel d'Aix.
The conjoined monogram probably refers to the union of a Count Seyssel d'Aix with Alice von Graefe. The couple settled in Wernigerode, where Alice von Seyssel d'Aix died around 1821. The cabinet remained in the family thereafter and was known as the "Coburg cabinet".
Originally there were probably two of these cabinets, the second one has disappeared. It is possible that the piece shown here was refined with the marquetry in the 1860s, i.e. on the occasion of the Seyssel d'Aix/Graefe marriage.
Provenance
From the property of a German aristocrat, recorded in the family since the 1860s.