A Queen Anne parcel-gilt red-japanned cabinet on stand

the cabinet opening to an arrangement of small drawers raised on a stand with concave frieze above a pierced foliate carved apron centered by putti riding winged birds raised on tapering foliate-carved legs headed by masks and ending in shaped feet joined by foliate X-form stretchers.  Restorations to decoration.

Overall good condition; the cabinet with extensive inpainting to the side panels, the door panels and interior with the majority of its original surface preserved; some mildew residue to the interior of the front doors in need of cleaning; the red paint to the stand appears to be later and potentially covering gilding underneath; the stand with some old repaired breaks to the apron and with extensive over painting and later gilding; overall with some small chips and losses to the decoration.
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.

The present cabinet on stand is almost identical to one which sold in these rooms January 22, 1994, lot 279 from the collection of Mr. E. F. Wythes and was illustrated in Edwards and Macquoid, The Dictionary of English Furniture, rev. ed., Woodbridge, 1983, vol. I, color plate III.  The stand itself is almost identical with putti riding winged birds and has almost identical supports.  It differs slightly in that the present stand has bifurcated feet which is similar to another stand to a cabinet at Saltram and illustrated in Adam Bowett, English Furniture, 1660-1714: From Charles II to Queen Anne, Woodbridge, 2002, p. 164, plate 5:33.  Each of these cabinets is japanned with Chinese scenes and has gilt-brass mounts and hinges and each open to an arrangement of smaller drawers.  The exuberant foliate baroque bases include classical motifs such as masks to the tops of the legs and putti as well as acanthus leaves.  During this period of time there were numerous Chinese lacquered pieces either made for the export market or for domestic consumption being imported into England and the demand was extremely high.  One of the domestic pieces was the two-door cabinet which encloses small drawers which would normally sit on the floor in a Chinese household, but in England was placed on an elaborately carved stand to be the centerpiece of a room.  To keep up with the demand for lacquered pieces, English craftsman imitated the lacquer by painting their own pieces to look like lacquer in a process known as japanning.  The present cabinet with its finely japanned surface is of the highest quality and imitates the lacquer and the figures very well.  For a full discussion on japanning in the late 17^th/early 18^th century England see Bowett, op. cit. pp. 152-169.