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| Clothes Press Made for the Prince Regent, 1815 The Victoria & Albert Museum |
A triumph of high-quality japanning, this cabinet and stand are inset with cartouches of actual Chinese lacquer-work. The cartouches are set in a background which has been adorned with delicate touches of gold paint to imitate the look of lacquered snakeskin. The doors of the case open to reveal three trays which have been veneered in expensive rosewood, exceptionally, on all sides.
This magnificent piece once belonged to a suite of furniture which (including a day bed and a sécretaire) which was designed by Frederick Crace for a bedroom at the Brighton Pavilion, the Orientalist fantasy palace commissioned by the Prince Regent (later King George IV).
Frederick Crace (1779-1859) was the son of the fashionable and celebrated decorator John Crace (1754-1819). Together, they supplied their high-tone London customers with numerous objects for the home ranging from textiles and ivories to furniture and art—mostly from East Asia.
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