A FINE WILLIAM AND MARY OLIVE WOOD VENEERED CABINET ON STAND circa 1690

the cushion shaped frieze enclosing a drawer above two doors opening to an arrangement of small drawers centered by a cupboard pulling forward to reveal four small secret drawers, the stand with two drawers.

Restored condition, the upper section with some age cracks and stress cracks to side panels and panels to cupboard doors at centers and along lines of construction, the interior with repairs to hinges of central door now unable to fully open to reveal sliding compartment and secret drawers, the lower section with old plugged repaired break to back left leg, overall with some small chips to veneers and moldings with some patches and areas of inpainting, some shrinkage to the veneers overall and with old marks, scratches, scuffs and bruises.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Primarily designed to contain curiousities or papers, cabinets on stands such as the present example are also found in other woods such as princeswood  the veneers being cut in such a way to enhance the grain and accentuate the play of light on the figuring. Occasionally the drawers are faced with needlework as seen on a cabinet originally bearing the Haynes crest which was sold, Sotheby's, London, November 20, 2007, lot 153. As with this and the present cabinet, many of these were constructed with concealed drawers and compartments considered to be 'secret', although their common nature obviously renders these tricks somewhat moot.

It is difficult to attribute with certainty the cabinet to a particular maker as contemporary manuscript inventories and accounts can rarely be matched to lesser pieces other than those still remaining in collections such as that of the Royal Household. Another method of identification is the use of trade labels. The distinctive veneers, line inlays and banding found on the present cabinet are closely related to two chests of drawers which bear the printed labels of the London cabinetmaker Hugh Granger. Granger is recorded at the Carved Angel in Aldemanbury, where 'All Sorts of Fashionable Household Goods at Reasonable rates', where he was also a churchwarden in 1692. He appears to have ceased trading in 1706 when he advertised the sale of 'Cabinet Work & Glasses'.

The olive tree is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean, its primary use being the production of olive oil, although because of its distinctive figure it was much sought after by cabinet makers in England and Northern Europe in the late 17^th century. Rarely found as a solid timber, it was invariably cut into 'oyster' veneers as seen in the present cabinet. In English Furniture From Charles II to Queen Anne Adam Bowett notes that the timber, 'because of its small size, it cost little to transport by sea' and 'The Customs return shows that in the 1690s olivewood cost around £10 per ton' and the furniture was therefore well within the reach the "middling sort" of people - Merchants, tradesmen and members of professions - borne out by the evidence of contemporary inventories'.

See:
Christopher Gilbert, The Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture, 1700-1849, Leeds, 1996, p. 31 and 234, figs. 419, 420