The work of Fourdinois, of Paris, has already been alluded to, and in the 1867 Exhibition his furniture acquired a still higher reputation for good taste and attention to detail.  The full page illustration of a cabinet of ebony, with carvings of boxwood, is a remarkably rich piece of work of its kind; the effect is produced by carving the box-wood figures and ornamental scroll work in separate pieces, and then inserting these bodily into the ebony.  By this means the more intricate work is able to be more carefully executed, and the close grain and rich tint of Turkey boxwood (perhaps next to ivory the best medium for rendering fine carving) tells out in relief against the ebony of which the body of the cabinet is constructed.  This excellent example of modern cabinet work by Fourdinois, was purchased for the South Kensington Museum for L1,200, and no one who has a knowledge of the cost of executing minute carved work in boxwood and ebony will consider the price a very high one.

The house of Fourdinois no longer exists; the names of the foremost makers of French meubles de luxe, in Paris, are Buerdeley, Dasson, Roux, Sormani, Durand, and Zwiener.  Some mention has already been made of Zwiener, as the maker of a famous bureau in the Hertford collection, and a sideboard exhibited by Durand in the ’51 Exhibition is amongst the illustrations selected as representative of cabinet work at that time.

[Illustration:  Cabinet of Ebony with Carvings of Boxwood.  Designed and Manufactured by M. Fourdenois, Paris. 1867 Exhibition, Paris. (Purchased by S. Kensington Museum for L1,200.)]

[Illustration:  Cabinet in Satinwood, With Wedgwood plaques and inlay of various woods in the Adams’ style.  Designed and Manufactured by Messrs. Wright & Mansfield, London. 1867 Exhibition, Paris.  Purchased by the S. Kensington Museum.]

[Illustration:  Ebony And Ivory Cabinet.  In The Style of Italian Renaissance by Andrea Picchi, Florence, Exhibited Paris, 1867.

NOTE.—­A marked similarity in this design to that of a 17th Century cabinet, illustrated in the Italian section of Chapter iii., will be observed.]

The illustration of Wright and Mansfield’s satin-wood cabinet, with Wedgewood plaques inserted, and with wreaths and swags of marqueteric inlaid, is in the Adams’ style, a class of design of which this firm made a specialite.  Both Wright and Mansfield had been assistants at Jackson and Graham’s, and after a short term in Great Portland Street, they removed to Bond Street, and carried on a successful business of a high class and somewhat exclusive character, until their retirement from business a few years since.  This cabinet was exhibited in Paris in 1867, and was purchased by our South Kensington authorities.  Perhaps it is not generally known that a grant is made to the Department for the purchase of suitable specimens of furniture and woodwork for the Museum.  This expenditure is made with great care and discrimination.  It may be observed here that the South Kensington Museum, which was founded in 1851, was at this time playing an important part in the Art education of the country.  The literature of the day also contributed many useful works of instruction and reference for the designer of furniture and woodwork.[21]