A George III cream-painted and parcel-gilt side cabinet circa 1785, in the manner of Henry Holland

now with a white marble top

Good overall condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present cabinet shares similarities with a design for a pier table and wardrobe by Henry Holland for Woburn Abbey, circa 1788 (see Peter Ward-Jackson, English Furniture Designs of the 18th Century, pl. 302). In particular these feature the sames form of pilaster columns wreathed in spiralling foliage headed by stiff leaf capitals.

Henry Holland was the Prince Regent's architect from the late 1780s, and worked at both the Brighton Pavilion and Carlton House. He was an authority on contemporary French design and decoration, an influence which he employed with great success in the interiors of Carlton House, integrating colours and styles to form complete interiors such as the Flesh Coloured Room or Rose Satin Drawing Room.

In association with the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre, Holland purchased French neo-classical furniture for the Prince Regent by makers such as Weisweiler, Jacob and Hervé and it is from these sources, rather than his British contemporaries, that Holland's own furniture designs derive. Comparable furniture from Southhill, Bedfordshire - Holland's most complete surviving interior - is illustrated in Frances Collard, Regency Furniture, 1985, pp. 38-43.

Holland employed most of the major cabinet-making firms of the day in one or another of his projects - notably Morel, Marsh, Tatham, Mayhew and Ince and Bailey and Saunders - and exerted considerable influence on a whole generation of British designers. Thomas Sheraton's pattern book The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book 1793 includes two illustrations of the Chinese Drawing Room at Carlton House. 

Closely related cabinets sold Sotheby's London, 8-22 May 1992, lot 278 and 22 November 2006, lot 158 and a further comparable example is illustrated in Clifford Musgrave, Regency Furniture, 1961, pl. 51.