I’ve been racking my brain all day trying to remember the first time I actually saw this piece in terms of date. The placard says it was donated in 1991, so that gives me a rough period of time in which it could have been. I think the first time must have been 1996 or thereabouts, but definitely before the 1998 Angels of the Vatican exhibition.
Regardless, this wardrobe has always been an immense favorite of mine (one of my top ten in the entire collection) because of several factors. The craftsmanship is solid, well-designed, and imposing from rooms away. It is functional as well as a statement piece. The detailing is exquisite. It has been cared for and loved and lived through for hundreds of years and is a living piece of history.
This is a piece of sheer perfection in wood.