Inlaid wooden flap, Genoa, Baroque style, late 19th century

Inlaid wooden flap, Genoa, Baroque style, late 19th century Dimensions H 108 x W 113 x D 65 cm Price: private negotiation Item accompanied by a certificate of authenticity This flap chest of drawers was made in Genoa in the second half of the 19th century, in the characteristic style of the Genoese Baroque period. The furniture is in inlaid wood with Rosewood essence, and the cabinetmaker has skillfully used the typical grain and color of the wood to create decorative and chromatic effects of great elegance. The flap and drawers feature the "Genoese quatrefoil", a well-known four-lobed rosette made up of heart-shaped elements inlaid in bois de rose. This decorative element is so named because it resembles the petals of a four-leaf clover, and is characteristic of Ligurian cabinetmaking. The furniture is composed of two parts, a lower and an upper one. The lower part has two large drawers with handles in chiseled and gilded bronze. Above, it has an additional smaller drawer with lock and knobs in chiseled and gilded bronze. The top part instead consists of an opening compartment equipped with a small folding door (called precisely "flap") which, rotating on pins, can be lowered and raised according to needs. When open, it provides a support surface and reveals five small drawers and just as many open compartments, in which to store stationery and small personal items. The wavy, sinuous line, characteristic of the Baroque period, which accompanies both the front and the sides, to continue with the four legs, gives grace and overall decorativeness. The chest of drawers, very versatile, lends itself to being placed in multiple environments, such as entrances, studies, living rooms, bedrooms, and can be easily combined with both antique and modern furnishings.