2ND QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Although this cabinet shares some of the decorative qualities of early 19th Century British gilt-japanned work, such as the bell-hung 'richly japanned bedroom suite', executed by the Edinburgh cabinet-maker William Trotter (d. 1833) (D. Jones, 'William Trotter's Furniture for Kinfauns Castle' Furniture History, 1997, pp. 241-247) and a sofa table, sold anonymously, Sotheby's London, 14 May 1993, lot 423, this side cabinet was almost certainly executed by a Viennese cabinet-maker. The polished maple interior is a typical feature of Viennese cabinet work after 1807 and it is deliberately used to contrast with the dark exterior (see G. Fabiankowitsch, C. Witt-Drring, 'Genormte Fantasie', Exhibition Catalogue, Vienna, 1996, pp. 36-45). The cabinet was almost certainly designed en suite with a writing-table, sold anonymously, in these Rooms, 30 October 1997, lot 30.