The cabinet has been consigned by the niece of Alex McEwin of Adelaide who had purchased it from him in 1983.
Jim Elder, of Elder Fine art said Alex McEwin was a an Adelaide-born businessman, who was known as a connoisseur of antique paintings, bronzes, clocks, and particularly silver and porcelain.
He died in 2003 and his collection was auctioned over two days by Elder Fine Art in March, 2009.
By repute, Alex McEwin purchased the cabinet in London from Sir Phillip and Lady McBride and it is believed it came from Kimbolton Castle, the seat of the Duke of Manchester.
Because of the Italian Renaissance style carving, the vendor believed the cabinet to be Italian in origin, but the auction house believed a more careful examination should be made to identify its origin, and carefully checked the cabinet in the usual places where a maker's signature is usually found.
When this did not yield results, they examined the ornate carving and on the lower door, where there are two carved cupids, one holding a book, they found some faint impressions on the page of the open book that required washing back so that it could be deciphered.
The signature, "A. Hayball, Sheffield" did not bring to mind any of the well known Victorian cabinetmakers and he was not listed in any of the standard texts on Victorian furniture.
Without the benefit of the internet the origins of the cabinet may have continued to be elusive.
A search for the name of the cabinetmaker, returned a treasure trove of information that included the entry in the catalogue of the 1851 Great Exhibition, images of the cabinet, an extensive description published in one of the Great Exhibition official publications, "The Art Journal, The Industry of All Nations" and page on the internet site of the Sheffield History Society.
The cabinet was the Gold Medal Winner for Furniture, Upholstery, Paper Hangings, Paper Mache and Japanned goods in the Great Exhibition.
Arthur Hayball (1822-1878), the son of a Sheffield builder and joiner, was a wood carver who supplemented his income as a portrait photographer and teacher.
He trained and later taught at the Sheffield School of Art being influenced by Alfred Stevens, Godfrey Sykes and later John Ruskin.
He enjoyed much success in his short life working on commissions with renowned architects and receiving many important commissions to execute work in churches in England, Ireland, America and Spain.
No doubt his business success was assisted by his gold medal winning entry in the Great Exhibition of 1851, at the age of 29.
It is extremely rare for documented exhibits at the Great Exhibition of 1851 to be offered for sale by auction.
In July 2010 Tullochs Auctions of Launcestonoffered abirdseye huon pine centre table by Tasmanian cabinetmaker James Lumsden, the underside bearing an inscription "this loo table I bought at the Great Exhibition ?? 1851".
A table matching the one offered is described in the Great Exhibition catalogue, but unlike the Hayball cabinet, there was no supporting illustration.
The Lumsden table had an estimate of $100,000 - $150,000 and sold for $146,250 (including buyers premium) which makes the $60,000-90,000 estimate on the Hayball cabinet appear conservative.