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17th Century Lacquer Cabinets

With flourishing ports in Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent, Flanders developed into a true cultural hotspot in the 17th century and an important transit area for the import and export of decorative luxury goods.

, 978-90-5856-373-6 ,
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Finely decorated presentation cases and cabinets and other precious small items in lacquerwork were shipped from the Far East, first by the Portuguese and later by the V.O.C., to Antwerp, which at the time was one of the most important markets for East Asian products. These luxury articles with their glossy coating and decorative inlays appealed to the imagination and soon the demand exceeded the supply, which stimulated European craftsmen to experiment with the technique themselves. In this way, here and there, and not least in Flanders, new lacquer traditions arose in a recognisable style and with their own motifs. This book situates the Flemish lacquer furniture – treated poorly in the history of the decorative arts for a long time – in its historical context for the first time.
His longstanding passion for the art of lacquer inspired author Wilfried De Kesel to write this valuable cultural-historical document about an almost forgotten piece of Flemish heritage.

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