LONDON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Arts Minister Michael Ellis placed an export bar Tuesday in a bid to keep a 17th century baroque cabinet by a famous European maker from leaving Britain.
The stunning cabinet, one of four created between 1669 and 1687 by Rome's leading cabinet maker Giacomo Herman, faces leaving the country unless an asking price of 4.3 million U.S. dollars is matched by a buyer in Britain.
Herman was Rome's leading cabinet maker during the 1660s and 1670s and worked for successive Popes and a number of leading Roman families. The German furniture-maker was most active in Italy, having settled in Rome in 1655.
Ellis said: "This intricate cabinet is an outstanding example of the work of 17th century Italian cabinet makers. I hope that a buyer can be found to keep it in Britain so that future generations can admire it and learn about our rich heritage."
Veneered with lapis lazuli, a blue semi-precious stone, and jasper gemstones and mounted in gilt bronze, the cabinet includes 14 gouache miniature paintings depicting Roman basilicas and the city-wide processions that took place following the coronation of a new Pope.
Documented works of significance from this period are very rare. The ebony veneered cabinet, valued at 3.3 million pounds, is one of four created in Herman's workshop between 1669 and 1678, said the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Art expert Christopher Rowell said: "This is the only one of the set of four cabinets to have been acquired for an English collection. This remarkable composite work of art may well have been in England since 1738. It is very much to be hoped that the funds will be raised for it to remain in this country."
The other three cabinets making up the series of four by Herman works are now housed at the Chapel of the Virgin of Loretto in Krakow, Poland, and at Rosenborg Castle and Fredensborg Castle, both in Denmark.
