A Charles II oyster veneered olivewood, rosewood, ebony, stained bone and marquetry cabinet on a later stand

the cabinet circa 1685, the frieze of the stand possibly 18th century but the legs later

Footnotes

Provenance
The offered lot was formerly housed at Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, which was the Darwin family home from the beginning of the 18th century until just after the Second World War.
Thence by descent the present cabinet on stand was passed down to descendants of the Darwin family.
Also it appears in an early 20th century photograph illustrating a seated female figure, referred to as 'Marnie' Darwin, who is evidently reading in the sitting room or drawing room at Elston.

The Darwins at Elston Hall
Although the Darwins of Cleatham, Lincolnshire, had close connections to Elston Hall primarily through William Darwin from 1680 onwards, they did not in fact own the estate themselves until 1708, when Robert Darwin purchased it from the Lascelles family. Later on, another Robert Darwin (1724-1816) inherited the Elston estate in 1754. Robert, an avid lifelong botanist, is perhaps best known for his book entitled Principia Botanica, which was dedicated to his nephew, Robert Waring Darwin M.D., F.R.S., who would become the father of arguably the most famous and widely celebrated naturalist of all time, Charles Darwin.

Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), also born at Elston and ultimately the grandfather of Charles, was one of the founding members of the important Lunar Society. He became a renowned doctor and physician noted for his various inventions, brilliant observations and natural propensity for kindness towards the poor and less fortunate in society than himself. It is clear that Charles, in writing his magnum opus The Origin of Species which was published in 1859, must have been directly influenced by the radical opinions regarding evolution previously espoused by Erasmus. Despite the powerful effect that Erasmus evidently had upon Charles it appears that the latter never actually resided at Elston Hall, but he would have almost certainly visited the estate nonetheless.

During the 20th century Charles John Wharton Darwin D.S.O. (1894-1941) - known simply as John by the family - joined the armed forces as a young man in 1912, transferring for active service to the newly established Royal Flying Corps (which later became the Royal Air Force) from 1916 onwards. John even went on to travel as part of Sir Winston Churchill's retinue to the Paris peace talks which immediately followed the end of the First World War. Although officially resigning his commission in 1928, John was in fact retained in a new role by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). And, following a period of extensive travel in this capacity, he went on to be a key figure in the foundation of the Bletchley Park SIS operations during the early years of the Second World War.

Despite only just escaping with his life following a flying accident in 1940, Christopher Darwin - one of Charles John Wharton's three children born to him by his wife Sybil Rose - still went on to fight in the Second World War. Christopher tragically died at El Alamein in August 1942 and although his body lies buried there, a memorial for him can be found alongside one for his more widely known ancestor Charles Darwin in All Saints Church, which is located in Elston village nearby to the Hall.
With compliments to: Elstonheritage.org.uk