Kingwood antique side cabinet

Kingwood side cabinet in the French taste by I & W Banting, of rectangular form decorated with quarter veneers centred on a ceramic plaque in the Sevres style, cross-banding and fine ormolu mounts. Country house condition.

Footnote: William Banting (1796 – 1878) of St James’s St, London was born into a family of eminent funeral directors. They conducted the funerals of King George III in 1820, King George IV in 1830, the Duke of Gloucester in 1834, the Duke of Wellington in 1852, Prince Albert in 1861, Prince Leopold in 1884, Queen Victoria in 1901, and King Edward VII in 1910. As well as constructing coffins, biers and other funeral perquisites they made decorative and rather more cheerful items of household furniture such as this cabinet. William Banting himself has a second, more contemporary claim to fame as the first person to publish a successful weight loss diet limiting the intake of carbohydrates, especially those of a starchy or sugary nature.