Wednesday 21 July 2010

The Hannah Cabinet

The Hannah Cabinet is currently on display in the Fountain Court at Parliament House. I came across it quite by chance after visitng the  Parliament House post office, which is the closest to where I work. Its a stunning piece of work, totally hand crafted from many different woods and inlaid with semiprecious stones, shells and gold leaf. Master craftsman and cabinet maker, Geoff Hannah was there to explain his work to admirers. The cabinet has 140 drawers, all with hand cut dovetails and 18 doors, inlaid with various veneers, stone and shell. It also has several secret compartments. Its quite wonderful to see this type of work still being done today.

6 comments:

Julie said...

How superb! My father would love this. he has been enamoured of wood all his life. I cannot imagine who could possibly afford to buy this. Seven and a half years of work. And imagine the size and style of room required to house it to best effect.

I agree about the trade skills on show here and how sad it would be to lose them.

Stefan Jansson said...

Wow, that is some piece of art.

Jim said...

That is a fantastic piece of work. I might check it out.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

Dina said...

At first sight I just assumed it was old.
So that man MADE the cabinet? Amazing.
Your first photo with the real hand on the drawer gives a whole new meaning to hand-made.
Glad you found this treasure.

Hilda said...

I thought this kind of craftsmanship was gone too. How wonderful to find out that it isn't. Kudos to Geoff Hannah!

The woods are so gorgeous!

diane b said...

That is certainly a wonderful craft and glad to see it can still be done today.