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Cabinet on Stand
Possibly manufactured by George Oakley
(active circa 1782-1820s, or later)
Ebony, with ebonised mahogany and fruitwood, parcel-gilt; Japanese lacquer, partly japanned, with papier mâché borders; brass inlay and gilt-bronze mounts; black slate top
56 1/2 in (143.5 cm) x 35 1/2 in (90 cm) x 16 in (40.4 cm)
English (London), circa 1810
PROVENANCE:
Probably Thomas, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765-1837), Longleat, Wiltshire; thence by descent.
The association of this piece with Oakley, although not conclusive, is made on three grounds. First, he was known to have supplied furniture for Longleat (see Christie’s, Furniture, Silver and Porcelain from Longleat, 13 June 2002, lot 361).
Secondly, the diminutive scale and idiosyncratic proportions of the cabinet seem characteristic of the work associated with his workshop (see, for example, H. Blairman & Sons Ltd, Furniture and Works of Art (1995), no.4).
Thirdly, the bold brass inlay and borders are also familiar features on Oakley’s documented oeuvre.
The fashion for oriental lacquer in the West has its origins in the seventeenth century; for instance, there are many examples of lacquer cabinets with English carved and silvered or gilded stands and crestings. In eighteenth-century France, under the influence of the marchands-merciers, oriental lacquer was re-used to veneer commodes, cabinets and tables. In early nineteenth-century England this exotic, francophile taste had great appeal to the Prince Regent (later George IV) and his circle.
The ambition of the present cabinet, with its embellished seventeenth-century Japanese lacquer, gilt-bronze mounts and extravagant S-scroll base, exceeds that of many contemporary pieces.
For example, the marble-topped cabinets altered in 1810 by Nicholas Morel for the Prince Regent, with gilt-bronze feet by the Vulliamys, do not much disguise their original form (see Geoffrey de Bellaigue, ‘George IV: his Approach to Furniture’, Furniture History, XXI, 1985, pp.203-10, figs 4-7).
Other modest adaptations in the Royal Collection include cabinet stands dated around 1810 and 1828 respectively (see Hugh Roberts, For the King’s Pleasure: the Furnishing and Decoration of George IV’s Apartments at Windsor Castle, London, 2001, figs 317 and 318).
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