Ebenist

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Ebenist (from French ébène , ebony ) is the professional designation for a cabinet maker who specializes in the manufacture of veneered furniture, first documented on a French document in 1657 and also used in German-speaking countries from the late 17th century onwards . He differed from the carpenter (French: menuisier ), who mainly made simple, non- veneered furniture and wood paneling from local woods - especially as an artist .

Task

In contrast to the simple carpenter or joiner, the cabinet maker usually processed very valuable exotic woods, which he glued as veneers on a body made of calm and less expensive wood. The technique of manufacturing veneers and processing them into marquetry goes back to the Middle Ages . Artisans who immigrated from Italy, the Netherlands and German-speaking countries made them popular in France at the court of Henry IV and Maria de Medici . A decree of King Louis XIV granted the Ebenists the privilege of having their own guild , the Corporation des Menuisiers-Ebénistes . Much furniture made by the members of the corporation was marked with a stamp (French: estampille ). Royal cabinet makers were exempt from this stamp requirement.

List of cabinet makers (selection)

France

17th century 18th century   19th and 20th centuries

Germany

17th century 18th century 19th century
  • Rudolf Gambs , leveler in St. Petersburg and Karlsruhe
  • Wilhelm Kimbel , cabinet maker and interior designer, mainly in Berlin, 20th century.

Italy

15th century 16th Century
  • Fra Damiano (1490–1559)
  • Pasquale Testa (active approx. 1550–1580)
 18th century 19th century
  • Gabriele Capello (1806–1877)

Netherlands

17th century

Switzerland

18th century 19th century 20th century

literature

  • Guillaume Janneau: Ateliers parisiens de ébénistes et de menuisiers aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècle . Ed. SERG, Paris 1975
  • Jean Nicolay: L'art et la manière des maitres ébénistes français au XVIII siècle . Pygmalion, Paris 1976.
  • Charles A. Packer: Paris furniture by master Ebenistes . The Ceramic Books, Newport 1956.
  • Alexander Rauch: The art artist Carl M. Mattern at the Würzburger Hof. In: art magazine PAN. 4/1986.
  • François de Salverte: Les Ebénistes du XVIIe siècle, leurs œuvres et leurs marques, cinquième édition . D. de Nobele, Paris 1962.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Katrin Seyler: "The Letter in the Writing Cabinet: The Emotional Life of an 18th-Century Journeyman" , in: V&A Online Journal, Issue No. 6, Summer 2014, accessed January 14, 2019
  2. ↑ Biography on Würzburgwiki , accessed on January 14, 2019