A William & Mary oyster-veneered olivewood, walnut, ebony, green-stained bone and fruitwood marquetry chest of drawers, the ripple-banded top with panels of marquetry depicting birds and flowers divided by an oyster-veneered olivewood ground, above four long drawers and sides similarly banded and inlaid with sprays of green leaves and birds amongst branches and flowers, raised on bun feet

A fine example of fluent, wonderfully coloured and shaded floral marquetry, of which first mention in England was in the 1670 edition of John Evelyn’s Silva, the present chest is part of a small group of exceptional quality inlaid commodes of this period. Strikingly decorated throughout with the rare and distinctive feature of ripple banding, the present chest can be associated with the magnificent cabinet supplied to Ham House, Middlesex for the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale between 1679 and 1683, which features identical banding.

Such chests as the present example reflect the advancements in cabinet-making which followed the Restoration in 1660. The rebuilding and refurnishing of Royal Palaces continued throughout much of Charles II’s reign and the furnishing of the new houses of London built after the Great Fire of 1666 revealed the power of the Royal purse to stimulate every branch of furniture making. English floral marquetry – deployed to decorate cabinets-on-stands, mirrors and chests alike – was one of the most important developments of this period, prompted by influences from France, re-admitted after the isolationist Protectorate, where Pierre Gole pioneered the technique.

The present chest therefore represents the height of cabinet-making at this time and contemporary technique. This was the moment when marquetry graduated from early, crude forms in oak to an artform, establishing the tradition of great English marquetry which in the second half of the eighteenth century would be taken to its final height by firms such as Langlois, Chippendale Jnr. and Mayhew & Ince producing furniture in the Neoclassical style.

The present chest features the important and desirable refinements of a ground of oyster-cut veneers and inlays of vibrant, green-stained bone, elevating it considerably above other examples.