A REGENCY ORMOLU-MOUNTED JAPANESE AND CHINESE LACQUER AND BLACK-AND-GILT JAPANNED SECRETAIRE-ON-CHEST decorated overall with large birds including geese and cranes amidst flowers and trees, the sides with landscapes and travellers, the canted rectangular top above a trellis decorated and mother-of-pearl inlaid cornice and a stiff acanthus-leaf frieze, the fall-front enclosing a later mirror-lined interior with one shelf, flanked by engaged half-columns headed by pierced strapwork mounts, the breakfront lower section with shallow leather-lined shelf above a moulded cornice and a pair of doors with engraved hinges and lockplate enclosing ten variously-sized drawers, the stepped angles with engaged half-columns, on an acanthus-mounted plinth platform and later bun feet, restorations, adapted in England using a 17th Century Japanese Export cabinet for the base with japanned sides, a 17th Century Japanese Export panel for the fall-front, and Chinese lacquer fragments for the sides of the top section, the angle columns Japanese and early 17th Century, sections of the banding and borders adapted from at least two late 16th Century Japanese Momoyama cabinets (1573-1603)46¾in.(119cm.) wide; 70in.(178cm.) high; 22¾in.(58cm.) deep

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY

A REGENCY ORMOLU-MOUNTED JAPANESE AND CHINESE LACQUER AND BLACK-AND-GILT JAPANNED SECRETAIRE-ON-CHEST decorated overall with large birds including geese and cranes amidst flowers and trees, the sides with landscapes and travellers, the canted rectangular top above a trellis decorated and mother-of-pearl inlaid cornice and a stiff acanthus-leaf frieze, the fall-front enclosing a later mirror-lined interior with one shelf, flanked by engaged half-columns headed by pierced strapwork mounts, the breakfront lower section with shallow leather-lined shelf above a moulded cornice and a pair of doors with engraved hinges and lockplate enclosing ten variously-sized drawers, the stepped angles with engaged half-columns, on an acanthus-mounted plinth platform and later bun feet, restorations, adapted in England using a 17th Century Japanese Export cabinet for the base with japanned sides, a 17th Century Japanese Export panel for the fall-front, and Chinese lacquer fragments for the sides of the top section, the angle columns Japanese and early 17th Century, sections of the banding and borders adapted from at least two late 16th Century Japanese Momoyama cabinets (1573-1603) 46¾in.(119cm.) wide; 70in.(178cm.) high; 22¾in.(58cm.) deep

Details

A REGENCY ORMOLU-MOUNTED JAPANESE AND CHINESE LACQUER AND BLACK-AND-GILT JAPANNED SECRETAIRE-ON-CHEST decorated overall with large birds including geese and cranes amidst flowers and trees, the sides with landscapes and travellers, the canted rectangular top above a trellis decorated and mother-of-pearl inlaid cornice and a stiff acanthus-leaf frieze, the fall-front enclosing a later mirror-lined interior with one shelf, flanked by engaged half-columns headed by pierced strapwork mounts, the breakfront lower section with shallow leather-lined shelf above a moulded cornice and a pair of doors with engraved hinges and lockplate enclosing ten variously-sized drawers, the stepped angles with engaged half-columns, on an acanthus-mounted plinth platform and later bun feet, restorations, adapted in England using a 17th Century Japanese Export cabinet for the base with japanned sides, a 17th Century Japanese Export panel for the fall-front, and Chinese lacquer fragments for the sides of the top section, the angle columns Japanese and early 17th Century, sections of the banding and borders adapted from at least two late 16th Century Japanese Momoyama cabinets (1573-1603)
46¾in.(119cm.) wide; 70in.(178cm.) high; 22¾in.(58cm.) deep

Lot Essay

The metal mounts on the sides of the fall-front are re-used corner fittings from a cabinet such as that illustrated in Martha Boyer, Japanese Export Lacquer from the 17th Century in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, 1959, pl.14d. The distictive trelliswork border framing the leather-lined shelf appears on a cabinet illustrated ibid., no.13, pl.XV.

The fall front of the upper part is decorated in European japanning, as are the two doors of the lower part. Of the side panels, the upper pair are Chinese (or possibly Tonkinese) and the lower pair European japanning.

Both the upper and lower parts are flanked by Japanese lacquer pilasters of half-round form. Both pairs of pilasters are of tapering form, with banding at intervals; the upper pair are shorter and generally slightly thinner than the lower pair. These pilasters have shaped panels of pictorial decoration reserved against a black ground and can be dated to about 1640. For comparable decoration on a backgammon board of the same period, see the example in the Herzog Anton Ulrich collection in Braunschweig.(1)

The pilasters are set against Japanese lacquer backgrounds of late Namban style, presumably dismantled from some unidentified Japanese lacquer object, quite possibly the same object from which come the pilasters. Other mouldings on the cornice, frieze and feet come from the same or similar object(s). This disassembling of Japanese lacquer for re-use as veneer on or inlay into a piece of European furniture of more up-to-date shape was common in mid to late 18th century France, quite common in Holland and comparatively rare in England.

In 1639 the authorities of the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) in Batavia (modern Jakarta) intercepted an illegal private shipment from the Opperhoffd in Hirado, Japan, Francois Caron, intended for reconsignment to the Netherlands. This was an extremely expensive lacquered wood balustrade, copied in Japan from wooden models supplied from Holland by Phillips Lucas, intended for the great bedchamber at Huis ten Bosch of Amalia von Solms, wife of the Stadholder (2). The balustrade was confiscated, and the Directors of the V.O.C. solved their diplomatic problem by presenting the balustrade to Amalia von Solms in 1641. It was sold from the Huis ten Bosch in 1795, when it was described as 'een kostbaar Chinees verlakt hek Paerl d'Amour ingelegd'(3). It has since been lost.

This balustrade was inlaid with pearl-shell; the present pilasters are not. But slightly later in the same year another, less expensive (90:3:6 taels as opposed to 822 taels) balustrade was shipped and similarly intercepted; the subsequent history of this is unknown. If it was that much cheaper, then perhaps it lacked the pearl-shell inlays; it may be that the four pilasters here may be related in some way to this unique order (4)

References:

1. Diesinger, G.R., 1990 Ostasiatische Lackarbeiten, sowie Arbeiten aus Europa, Thailand und Indien (Katalog der Sammlung, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig) Braunschweig no.

2. Algemeen Rijksarchief, den Haag

3. See Marten Loonstra and Saskia S Broekema 'Japanese Art at Court' in Stefan van Raay (ed.), Imitation and Inspiration; Japanese influence on Dutch art, (Amsterdam, 1989), p.66

4. Oliver Impey, Christiaan Jorg and Cynthia Vialle, forthcoming

We are grateful to Dr. Oliver Impey, Curator, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford for his help in cataloguing this lot

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