A German lacquered and parcel-gilt cabinet on stand, circa 1750

the two doors decorated with scènes galantes in the manner of Jean-Baptiste Pater and castles in a mountainous landscape on the sides within trelliswork borders on a red ground, the interior with an arrangement of two rows of three short drawers above two rows of two long drawers all with architectural coastal scenes within red and gold borders, the interior of the doors with chinoiserie gilt decoration on a blue ground, on a moulded red and gold lacquered stand with cabriole legs terminating in pad feet 

Overall in good conserved condition. The painted lacquer surface with typical minor old marks, scratches, chips and losses. There are areas of re-touching and restoration to the decorated surface throughout and there is a light yellowing of the lacquer's varnish. There are signs of movement along the joints of construction commensurate with age. The moulded edge to the lower right return of the cabinet with a notable chip. Left side door with a conserved shrinking crack.The lock mechanism is no longer functioning, and the latch to the top of one of the cupboard doors is lacking. A highly decorative and elegant piece.
"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."

Comparative Literature:
G. de Bellaigue, The Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Catalogue of Furniture Vol. I, Fribourg 1974, no. 48, p. 223. 
Hans Huth, Lacquer of the West, Chicago, 1971, pl. 197.
Sächssisch Lacquirte Sachen, exhibition catalogue, Museum für Lackkunst, Münster 1998, n. 14-15, p. 48-51.
Monika Koppln, Chinois, Dresdener Lackunst in Schloss Wilanow, Poland , 2005/6, nos. 1 & 2, pp. 86-95.
Vernis Martin, exhibition catalogue, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 2014, no .13 p. 59.

The European fashion for decorating furniture with layers of varnish in imitation of Oriental lacquer commenced in the last quarter of the 17th century in England and Holland, a direct result of their strong trading links with Asia via their East India companies.

The fashion for lacquer in Germany is traditionally believed to have begun in the port cities of Bremen and Hamburg but was significantly launched by the arrival of Gerard Dagly in Berlin in 1686. Born in Spa, Belgium, at the time a specialist centre for the production of objects imitating Oriental lacquer, Dagly (1660-c.1715) introduced lacquering techniques into the Prussian realm and was appointed court artist the following year, later becoming master of the Kunstkammer and Intendant des Ornements under the Elector Frederick III. Dagly’s workshop quickly grew into the leading producer of lacquer furniture in Germany and trained many artists, including Martin Schnell, who in 1710, entered the service of Augustus the Strong and made a major contribution to the development of lacquer furniture in Dresden. 

The decorative scheme of gold flowers and foliage on a deep red ground is influenced by earlier English examples and became a specialty of Martin Schnell (1675-1740), seen for example on a bureau cabinet now at Schloss Pillnitz and a games table in a private collection, both attributed to Schnell illustrated in Sächssisch Lacquirte Sachen, exhibition catalogue, n. 14-15, p. 48-51. It also appears on an important group of four lacquer bureau cabinets of circa 1745, delivered to the Saxon minister Count Brühl at Schloss Seifersdorf and attributed to Christian Reinow (1685-1749), another court lacquerer known to have worked with Schnell. As on the present cabinet, this set uses contrasting colour grounds for the outside and inside: two are decorated with a turquoise ground externally and red interior (V & A, London and Schloss Pillnitz, Dresden), and the other two with an external red ground and turquoise interior (one now in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, illustrated by Huth, op. cit., pl. 197).

Dr Monika Köpplin of the Museum für Lackkunst points out, that the combination of oriental-inspired decoration combined with European-style oil painting was an innovation in the art of lacquer introduced in the mid 18th century by the Martin brothers in Paris. Prior to this the Martin brothers were leading exponents of simulated Chinese and Japanese lacquer decoration on case furniture, carriages, keyboard instruments and small boxes and objets de vertu, so much so that all French lacquer work became collectively known as vernis Martin. After 1750 the Martin brothers and others began incorporating areas of large-scale oil painting based on work by contemporary artists, such as on two commodes stamped Grandjean, one decorated with a hunting scene after Jean-Baptiste Oudry and the other with a Bacchanalian putti composition, both now at Waddesdon Manor, the former illustrated  de Bellaigue, no. 48 p. 223; the latter in Vernis Martin, exhibition catalogue, no. 13 p. 59.

This front of this cabinet depicts two bucolic figural compositions based on the genre of scènes galantes launched several decades earlier by Watteau and his followers including as Jean-Baptiste Pater and Nicolas Lancret. The interior, however, is painted with harbour and river views and the sides with a fortified mountaintop castle, all in the earlier manner of  the Italian landscape school of the 17th century.