John Evelyn's cabinet is a highly decorated portable storage box housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The cabinet was made for the diarist John Evelyn

John Evelyn

John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...

 (1620-1706) and is an early example of a piece of furniture commissioned by a British visitor making the 'Grand Tour

Grand Tour

The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...

' of Europe.

Objects often acquire their fame because of who owned them - what makes this cabinet so fascinating is that its ownership actually influenced its physical appearance. The cabinet was expressly made to incorporate 19 pietre dure (hardstone) panels, which Evelyn had purchased in Florence from their maker, Domenico Benotti (active 1630-50), in 1644. The cabinet was then extended to accommodate bronze plaques, probably made by Francesco Fanelli

Francesco Fanelli

Francesco Fanelli was an Italian sculptor, born in Florence, who spent most of his career in England.He is recorded at work in Genoa in 1609-10 then worked in London from about 1610, as a sculptor in ivory — Joachim von Sandrart mentions an ivory statuette of Pygmalion that attracted the attention...

 (active 1610-42). Evelyn's Diary was first published in the early nineteenth century, long after his death. The national recognition he achieved in turn gave the cabinet new significance, and it was further embellished with the gilt brass mounts, decorated with amorini and swags, the strawberry leaf cresting and provided with its stand.

On Evelyn's return from the Grand Tour, the cabinet was probably housed in Dover Street, London. Soon after Evelyn's death in 1706 it was moved to his country residence, Wotton House

Wotton House, Surrey

Wotton House is in Wotton near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is a grade II listed building. Originally a country house and the seat of the Evelyn family, it is now a training and conference centre.-Construction:...

in Wotton, Surrey. In 1813, John Evelyn's diaries were discovered in an 'ebony cabinet' at Wotton House, quite possibly this one.