Lot Essay
The two-door lacquer cabinet enclosing small drawers is one of the most successful examples of authentic Asian design suitable for domestic use in Europe. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Japanese and Chinese lacquer cabinets were imported and mounted on elaborate stands. Screens and other objects were cut down to be used as borders and panels on furniture, often with elaborate mounts and crestings, to showcase their rarity and quality. European craftsmen saw an opportunity in the market and created a facsimile of this lacquered decoration in a technique which came to be known as Japanning. The above lot is a demonstration of this technique, with its Asian-based form of a cabinet decorated with whimsical Chinese figures. The silvered stand's heavily sculptural cherub legs and central shell were popular from 1675-80. A related stand in giltwood is illustrated in Adam Bowett's English Furniture from Charles II to Queen Anne, plate 5:31. p 163. A cabinet with a related stand was sold anonymously, Christie's, London, 21 November 1985, lot 145.