Chest
Category
Furniture
Date
1720 - 1750
Materials
Pine, oak, lacquer, brass, iron and gold leaf
Measurements
85.0 x 73.9 x 43.5 cm
Order this imageCollection
Chastleton House, Oxfordshire
NT 1430004
Summary
A gold, black and red japanned chest of drawers, English, nineteenth century. Of three graduated long drawers, decorated in gold on black with cranes among rocks and reeds, the front of the chest between the drawers japanned red, raised on bracket feet. Intended to harmonise with and act as a support for Japanese lacquer cabinet NT 1429949.
Full description
Japanese lacquer was popular in seventeenth-century Britain, and British artisans began to develop their own versions of it (often called ‘japanning’), using European pigments and varnishes. The decoration of this chest of drawer was specifically inspired by that of the Japanese lacquer cabinet it supports. Emile de Bruijn, Assistant National Curator (Decorative Art) – May/June 2024