THE CABINET, MEJI PERIOD, MID-19TH CENTURY, THE JAPANNED STAND VICTORIAN, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details

A JAPANESE SILVERED COPPER-MOUNTED BLACK AND GILT-LACQUER CABINET-ON-STAND
THE CABINET, MEJI PERIOD, MID-19TH CENTURY, THE JAPANNED STAND VICTORIAN, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Decorated overall in various colours on a nashiji ground, with blossoms, the mounts engraved with foliage, the rectangular top with a scene of Lake Biwa, above a pair of concave cut-corner panelled doors decorated with ducks, Mount Fuji in the distance, enclosing an arrangement of seven variously-sized drawers, above a long drawer, the sides with carrying-handles, decorated on the reverse with island landscapes, on a stand with square legs headed by ogee corners, on Chinese feet
59 in. (150 cm.) high, 41½ in. (105 cm.) wide, 21 in. (54 cm.) wide

Provenance

Almost certainly bought by John Alexander, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896) for Longleat, Wiltshire and by descent at Longleat.
Sold, Furniture, Porcelain and Silver from Longleat; Christie's, London, 13-14 June 2005, lot 329.

Literature

1869 Inventory, The Marchioness' Sitting Room, 'A black and gold Japan lacquer Cabinet with folding doors and drawers mounted with white metal'.
1896 Inventory (4th Marquess' Heirlooms), The Marchioness of Bath's Sitting Room, '3 ft Lac Japanese cabinet filled seven drawers, two panelled doors, a deep drawer under decorated landscapes, birds and foliage, chased steel clasps on ebonised stand'.

Lot Essay

This superb cabinet Japanese cabinet was almost certainly bought by the collector and connoisseur, John, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896) for Longleat, Wiltshire. The 4th Marquess inherited the great Elizabethan seat of the Thynne family when he was still a small child. During his lifetime he indulged his passion for collecting and remodelled the interior of the house in an Italianate style, with the help of the decorator John Dibblee Crace. The cabinet would have been an appropriate addition to the lacquer furniture purchased by his grandfather, the 2nd Marquess, including a Regency cabinet-on-stand possibly by George Oakley and a magnificent pair of Empire side cabinets by the Jacobs. All of these items were included in the Longleat sale, Christies, London, 13 June 2002, lots 326, 329 and 330.

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