9582 A rare Ducal English Charles II or William & Mary period arabesque marquetry and ebony casket, finely inlaid with a crowned Ducal cypher, CV, repeated at the corners and on sides, the coronet is further embellished with mother of pearl and green stained bone.
Attributed to the Royal Cabinetmaker Gerrit Jensen, London 1667-1715. Restored in the 19th century with losses to marquetry at the edges.
Probably the cypher of Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland (1641-1709)
1670-1695 English
Width 13.5 ins (34 cm)
Depth: 11 ins (27.5 cm)
Height: 7 ins (17.5 cm)
Description
Barbara Villiers (1641-1709) was a great beauty of Charles II’s court and one of Peter Lely’s most frequently painted subjects.
From her arrival at Charles’s court as a young woman, her intention was to become a Royal mistress which she achieved in 1660, the year of Charles IIs coronation. She went on to have 5 children by the King, all acknowledged by him, and the title of Duchess of Cleveland was bestowed on her in 1670. Her position at court during this period was seen to be more powerful than that of the Queen, Catherine of Braganza, and she was given prodigious allowances through the court.
She is known as a creditor with Gerrit Jensen, certainly during the 1670s for cabinet work at her Hampton Court apartments, though invoices are not sufficiently detailed to identify smaller items.
