The Golden Age of European Cabinet Making (Specially prepared for Brussels DFAS)

English cabinet making reached a near-unrivalled degree of excellence by the mid 18^th Century largely thanks to the influence of new styles and methods of construction and decoration from the Netherlands, France and Belgium.   By the mid 17^th century, Antwerp had replaced Augsburg as the international centre for the creation of fantastic cabinets.  Initially decorated with small oil paintings influenced by the baroque styles of Rubens, Antwerp cabinets were later veneered with tortoiseshell to widen their fashionable appeal and stimulated the development of fantastic standards of marquetry and other forms of decoration resulting in the Golden Age of European Cabinet Making.