LATE 17TH CENTURY

Details

A NORTH EUROPEAN BLACK AND GILT-JAPANNED CABINET-ON-STAND
LATE 17TH CENTURY
The pair of doors painted with figures within landscapes, flowering trees and a foliate border enclosing an arrangement of eight drawers, on a giltwood stand carved with foliage and centred with an eagle, on serpentine legs, headed by cherubs and joined by a shaped stretcher, regilt, the stretcher probably replaced in the 19th Century, the stand carved to reverse
56¼ in. (143 cm.) high; 32¼ in. (82.5 cm.) wide; 21½ in. (54.5 cm.) deep

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

A piece of paper found during cataloguing, which had fallen behind the drawers, was applied with cut-outs of birth announcements of members of the Myddelton family from 1733-1772, as well as a later history of the family. It is, therefore, a strong probability that this cabinet has been at Chirk at least since the 18th Century, and this would appear to be confirmed by reference to the 'Small Japan Cabinet on a Gilded stand 2.2.0' recorded in the Yellow Tower Room in the 1795 Inventory.

Such Chinese lacquered cabinets were popularised by publications such as Stalker & Parker's A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing, 1688, which explained methods for amateurs of 'Japan' to imitate imported Chinese lacquer. Such lacquer, japanned and 'bantamwork' cabinets are discussed in A. Bowett, English Furniture 1660-1714, pp. 144 et. seq..

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