A Fine Mid-Century Eggshell Lacquer Coffee Table with Etruscan Waves

China, circa 1950. A pair of mid-twentieth century Chinese rectangular low tables in aubergine lacquer, the glass tops supported on faux bamboo legs with gilt decorations throughout...

An early 20th century red lacquer panel, decorated with a Chinese urn holding a spray of flowers, with further foliate decoration to the corners, now mounted in a brass frame with go...

England, circa 1760. A fine mid-eighteenth century Japanned lacquer cabinet, with two doors revealing an interior fitted with eleven drawers with ring handles, all decorated with naturalistic scenes including fishermen and rural life. Retaining the original mid-eighteenth century stand, also with comparable chinoiserie decoration and X form stretcher with central pierced quatrefoil. Height 161.00 centimetres. Width 98.00 centimetres. Depth 51.00 centimetres. The art of 18th-century Japanning was a European practise that sought to imitate Japanese lacquerware and became a method of emulating the aesthetics of East Asia within the home. The term originates from the late 17th century as the opening of trade routes in the East triggered an interest in Chinese and Japanese fashions in Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands. It’s popularity reflected this era of imperial ambition when the West was fascinated by the exoticism of the East and saw the rise of an orientalist attitude. During this time, Europe’s demand for lacquerware began to grow and The East India Company's importation of lacquered objects and screens created a desire for larger, more practical items with similar decorative finishes. To replicate the appearance of oriental lacquerwork, European cabinet-makers turned to John Stalker and George Parker's 1688 ‘A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing: Being a Compleat Discovery of Those Arts’. This book contained formulas for creating and applying lacquers as well as various chinoiserie illustrations for readers to copy and modify, having made a concerted effort to reference designs on Chinese porcelain and textiles. European japanning differed from traditional East Asian lacquer work which used sap from the Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree (also known as the Chinese lacquer tree...

A fine early 19th century mahogany writing table with 6 drawers, 3 to the back and 3 to the front, with Egyptian mask handles, green leather top, all suppor...