A George I gilt and scarlet-japanned bureau-cabinet, circa 1720, in the manner of John Belchier

This spectacular bureau-cabinet belongs to a small but distinct group of japanned cabinets from the early Georgian era. The Chinese influenced decoration has been harmoniously grafted onto a classically informed architectural cabinet, perfectly demonstrating to the two great influences on English design of the period.

Bureau-cabinets emerged in the early part of the 18^th century and very quickly rose to prominence ousting late 17^th century precursors such as the scriptor. Their ambitious architerual designs made them visually striking whilst technical innovations in cabinet-work meant they were also extremely versatile pieces of furniture. The glazed upper section – with candle slides beneath each door – allowed the piece to act as a pier mirror. The finely executed arrangement of pigeonholes, drawers and concealed compartments to the interior provided secure storage for moneys, correspondence and valuable books. The fall-front writing slope transformed the lower section into a desk or dressing table, supported by that distinctly English invention the loper. The lower drawers were likely used for storing linen or clothes. The personal and private nature of its functionality mean bureau-cabinets were usually found in dressing rooms or bedchambers.

The influence of the East on European culture cannot be overstated. The taste in England for all things 'Indian' (that is Chinese), became firmly established after the restoration of the monarchy in the 1660's at a time when tea-drinking became extremely fashionable in London. Goods including silk, porcelain, tea, spices and lacquerware were initially supplied by Portuguese traders who held a virtual monopoly of trade with China until the end of the 17th century. The Dutch traders were a little more successful than the English in circumventing by nefarious means this monopoly, both countries trading with Chinese merchants in Formosa and at Bantam in Java.

Demand quickly outstripped supply in the early part of the 18^th century which was significantly curtailed during the Spanish War of Succession (1702-1713). London joiners profited immensely from a thriving local trade which arose in England with wares that were decorated to imitate oriental lacquer. The methods used by the English proponents of this art were outlined in a book published in 1688 by John Stalker and George Parker entitled A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing Being a compleat Discovery of those Arts with The best way of making all sorts of Varnish for Japan Wood...The Method of Gilding, Burnishing and Lacquering..... The volume also included 'Above an Hundred distinct Patterns for Japan-work in Imitation of the Indians, for Tables, Stands, Frames, Cabinets, Boxes, &c.'. Although it is dated some thirty years after Stalker and Parker's publication, the influence of A Treastise on the present bureau-cabinet is clear and the decoration draws heavily on a fascinating series of plates illustrating Oriental scenes, pursuits, flowers, trees, birds, animals and butterflies.

The present bureau-cabinet closely compares with a double-domed japanned cabinet attributed to the London maker, John Belchier of `The Sun', St Paul's Churchyard, and which was supplied to John Meller (d. 1733) by Belchier in circa 1720, and is recorded in the `Blew Mohair Room' at Erddig Castle, Denbighshire in 1725 (see The National Trust, Erddig, 1999, p. 71, M. Drury, `Early 18th Century Furniture at Erddig', Apollo, vol. CVIII, July 1978, p. 52, pl. II and A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture 1715-1740, China, 2009, p. 61, pl. 2:16). John Belchier is recorded as trading at The Sun, on the south side of St. Paul's Churchyard in 1717 until his death in 1753 at the age of seventy. His trade label is headed by his shop sign, an ornamental sun, and states that Belchier was a maker of 'fine Peer and Chimney-Glasses, and Glass Sconces, Likewise all Cabbinet Makers Goods.' Belchier whose name is thought to reflect Huguenot origins, was possibly the son of another important craftsman of the same name, who may well be the tradesman who worked extensively for Ralph, 1st Duke of Montagu, at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, during the latter part of the 17th century. John Belchier, the younger, received his most significant commission from John Meller at Erddig, Wales, for whom he produced together with other items, a celebrated suite of gilt and silvered gesso furniture during the 1720s. Interestingly, Bowet suggests the shaped apron seen on the present lot is possibly a forerunner of the ‘bracket’ foot. The introduction of a swan-neck pediment is perhaps a further indication that this bureau-cabinet is something of a transitional design heading towards the later Georgian architypes (A. Bowett, op. cit., p. 63, pl. 2:17).

This bureau-cabinet is believed to have come from Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire and was probably acquired by Sir Herbert Samuel Leon (1850–1926). In 1883, Sir Leon purchased the 581-acre Bletchley Park estate situated in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and set about expanding the country house by combining Victorian Gothic, Tudor and Dutch Baroque styles. After the death of Sir Herbert Leon in 1926, the estate continued to be occupied by his widow, Fanny Leon (née Higham) until her death in 1937. In the May of 1938, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service at the time, Sir Hugh Sinclair, bought the mansion and 58 acres of land for the sole use by the Government Code and Cypher Schools (GC&CS) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6). Furthermore, Sir Hugh Sinclair financed this purchase himself as the Government did not have the budget to do so.

During World War II, Bletchley Park became the principal centre for Allied code-breaking, with the key advantage being the geographical centrality to the West Coast rail line connecting London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, close proximity to both Oxford and Cambridge universities who were expected to supply the main code-breakers and the main road (now the A5), linking London to the north-west and the high-volume communication links at the nearby Fenny Stratford telegraph and telephone repeater stations. The team of codebreakers included Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, Hugh Alexander, Bill Tuttle and Stuart Milner-Barry, with the nature of their work at Bletchley remaining a secret until many years after the war as all information about the wartime operations was classified until the mid-1970s.

For other comparable examples sold recently at auction see:

- A George II gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, circa 1730, attributed to John Belchier sold Sotheby’s London, Important Furniture, Silver, Ceramics and Clocks, 07 July 2009, lot 10 (£169,250 with premium);

- A Queen Anne gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, circa 1710, sold Sotheby’s London, Important Furniture, Ceramics, Clocks, Tapestries, Silver & Vertu, 6 London 2011, lot 53 (£289,250 with premium) and subsequently sold Christie’s New York, The Exceptional Sale, 20 April 2018, lot 10 ($324,500 with premium);

- A George I gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, sold Christie’s New York, 20 May 2014, lot 134 ($329,000 with premium); A George II gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, circa 1730, attributed to Giles Grendey, sold Christie’s New York, The Exceptional Sale, 14 October 2020, lot 27 ($200,000 with premium);

- A George I gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, sold Sotheby’s London, 13 November 2020, lot 63 (£107,100 with premium);

- The Warwick Castle George II gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, circa 1740, attributed to Giles Grendey, sold Sotheby’s New York, 20 October 2021, lot 67 ($126,000 with premium); and

- A George II gilt and scarlet japanned bureau cabinet, circa 1730, attributed to Giles Grendey, sold Sotheby’s London, Town & Country: A Private Collection, 14 December 2021, lot 41 (£126,000 with premium).