An Italian late 16th/early 17th century carved walnut credenza

probably of Tuscan origin

Footnotes

Provenance
During the late 19th century the present lot was evidently acquired by Irene von Hildebrand, wife of the major German sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921), while the couple lived in the then secularized monastery of San Francesco in Florence. Irene Schauffelen (her maiden name) had married Adolf in 1877.
This credenza was apparently purchased by Irene from Giuseppe Bellini who was a major antiques dealer based in Florence. In fact the Bellini family, who today have been involved in the fine and decorative arts for well over 250 years, had by that time already established themselves as arguably one of the most important dynasties within the realm of Italian antiques.
During the 1890s, or perhaps just prior to then, this walnut cabinet was most likely re-located to Munich in tandem with the von Hildebrands, since the Wittelsbacher Brunnen (an impressive Neoclassical fountain sculpture) in Lenbachplatz, which was designed by Adolf von Hildebrand, actually underwent construction in that city over the period 1893-1895.

The offered lot is then listed as 'ein italienisches grosses buffet mit lowenkopfen' in an inventory, dated 18 January 1921, undertaken at the Munich estate of the von Hildebrands following Adolf's death.
It re-appears in the will of Irene Georgii, recorded as 'I grosses alt italienisches buffet mit lowenkopfen, Renaissance, sehr wert voll', forming part of a 1936 inventory produced in Kleinhohenrain.
Thereafter, this Italian late Renaissance low cabinet passed by descent within the same family.
Irene Georgii bequeathed it to her daughter, Maria, whose surname after marriage changed to Wetzel.
Subsequently Maria's son, Johannes Wetzel, inherited this piece following her death in 1990.
Remarkably the previous owner, Dr Johannes Wetzel, is the grandson of Irene Georgii and thus by extension the great grandson of Adolf von Hildebrand.

Comparables
A late Renaissance walnut credenza, which is dated 1550-1600, forms part of the Victoria and Albert Collection, No. 1375:1-1904, http://collections.vam.ac.uk. As with the present example this closely related piece was probably made in Tuscany. They share numerous characteristics in common which include; conforming stop-fluted Tuscan pilasters; a virtually identical drawer and door configuration; similar bead-and-reel moulded panelling and fluted scrolled corbel angles; related low relief entrelac or guilloche frieze decoration; while their plinth bases and lion paw feet are also very alike.

Nonetheless, there is an interesting and potentially important variation between these two models, as is to be expected. Unlike the rather plain turned roundel door handles evident on the Victoria and Albert model, the present low cabinet incorporates two highly characterful and beautifully carved large lion masks. These appear to be a rare feature on credenzas of this type and possibly allude to some crest device or coat of arms element, perhaps in reference to the original family who commissioned it for their home.

For a further, albeit slightly plainer, comparable see G. Chiesa, Il Cinquecento, 1972, Milan, fig. 25, p. 30.

Adolf von Hildebrand
Hildebrand, who worked predominantly in the Neoclassical style, first learned sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy of Nuremberg before being taught by Kaspar von Zumbusch at the Munich Academy, and then finally studying under Rudolf Siemering in Berlin. By 1873 Adolf had moved to Florence where he resided, as previously mentioned, at a former Franciscan monastery which had been founded during the 16th century. In the same year, the sculptor assisted his friend Hans von Marees (1837-1887) by designing the architectural framework for von Marees' painted murals housed in the library of the German Marine Zoological Institute, located in Naples.

Although officially resident in Italy during the period 1873-1897, it is clear that from 1890 von Hildebrand lived mostly in Munich, since the vast majority of works he was commissioned to make from that time onwards were in Germany. Despite the fact that during his life the sculptor produced a total of five impressive and immense fountains, he is arguably principally renowned for the Wittelsbacher Brunnen and the Bismarck monument, Bremen, the latter of which was completed before 1910.

In his Das Problem der Form in der Bildenden Kunst ("The Problem of Form in Painting and Sculpture"), which was published in 1893, von Hildebrand espoused the aesthetic autonomy of sculpture from painting. And this ideal or doctrine essentially formed the basis for most 20th century sculptural movements and consequently it is now justly considered of major importance. In 1904 Hildebrand received his ennoblement from the King of Bavaria, www.britannica.com & en.wikipedia.org