As 'Cabinet maker in Ordinary to the Crown', Jensen's name appears frequently in the Royal accounts of the William and Mary period. Complex seaweed marquetry, arabesque scrolls and foliate ornamentation with small figures were his forte.
A cabinet of this precise design - with the same drawer arrangement and identical dimensions of 3ft 11in x 5ft 7in (1.17 x 1.70m) - sold for £50,000 at Christie's in 2013. It had been acquired around 1958 for Gosterwood, Surrey.
Brightwells' cabinet had been bought as a marriage gift in 1967 from the Wells dealer Edward Nowell. Although needing attention to a support attacked by worm and lifting veneers, it attracted potential buyers from as far away as Australia.
The final throes of bidding at the sale on March 19-20, well above the £8000-10,000 estimate, came from a phone and the successful trade buyer in the room.
The buyer's premium was 17.5%.
