A HIGHLY IMPORTANT LARGE INDONESIAN RED SANDALWOOD (PTEROCARPUS SANTALINUS) DISPLAY CABINET

Jakarta (Batavia), early 18th century


With sculpted hood above two glass panelled doors and central glass-panelled column, with glass shelves and two bun feet.

H. 247 x W. 177 x D. 70 cm

Provenance:

Johannes Cornelis van West, The Hague, thence by descent to the previous owner

Note:
This very large display cupboard is illustrated in Dr. V. I. Van de Wall, Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel (Antwerpen, 1939), fig. 79 and belonged to J. C. van West in Batavia in 1934. It was presumably designed to store a large collection of Chinese ceramics. Johannes Cornelis van West, born on August 16, 1886, in Stadskanaal, studied law in Leiden between 1906 and 1909, apparently, he did not finish his law studies. In 1915 van West was in Batavia working in the Departement Binnenlands Bestuur of the Dutch East Indies. In 1936 van West returned to the Netherlands and settled in The Hague where he died October 30 1968. Van West remained unmarried. He left the cupboard to his nephew.

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