Glazed wardrobe with mesh

The displayed cabinet belonged to the collection of Izabela Lubomirska. It is not known whether it came to Łańcut during the first stage of the modernisation Łańcut residence, which was carried out before the death of Stanisław Lubomirski in 1783, or only in the 1790s, when Princess Marshal was implementing the last stage of the work. During this time, she made Łańcut her permanent place of residence and furnished it with collections brought from Warsaw palaces, among other things. In the middle of the 19th century, the described cabinet was located in one of the apartments above the orangerie. The cabinet was made in France in the 1760s or 1770s at the latest. In French art, this is a transitional period between the declining Louis XV style (Rococo) and the emerging Louis XVI style (Classicism). During this period, the silhouettes of Rococo furniture become more compact, their curves become calmer, and the decorative woodcarvings and gilded bronze castings are used sparingly or disappear. The library cabinet in Łańcut is signed with the name of a Parisian ébéniste - "J. SCHMITZ" (with a small cross between the initial and the surname). The slightly faded abbreviation "JME" (Juré Maître Ébéniste), placed next to the maker's surname, is a certification of the qualifications of a master craftsman, legally required since 1741. Joseph Schmitz became a master craftsman on the 18th of June 1761 and ran his Parisian workshop on rue de Charonne until the beginning of the 1780s. His most often mentioned pieces are the richly inlaid women's desks and chests of drawers with marble tops. The library cabinet in Łańcut expands the French ébéniste's craft repertoire. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967