Lot Essay
The original model for the present commode, although not stamped, is almost certainly the work of the maître ébéniste Charles Cressent (d.1768) and dates from the early 1730s. Formerly in the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton, the commode was sold at Christie's Hamilton Palace sale (Lot 1806) in 1882 for 6,247 pounds 10s and is now at Waddesdon Manor.
The son of a sculptor, Cressent's work is dominated by his own use of sculptural decoration, which in many cases was chased and gilded in his own workshop and in certain instances was cast from models actually made by Cressent himself.
The opulence of this particular commode would suggest that it was a special commission. However, judging by the content of the three auctions of stock held by Cressent in 1748, 1757 and 1765, such richness was not intended for any one individual. Furthermore, the presence in the sales, as well as in the inventory drawn up after Cressent's death, of at least two pairs of encoignures bearing the same bird and oak-branch mounts as the commode, implies that the three pieces were envisaged by Cressent as an ensemble.
It is probable that the present example of the Cressent model was inspired by the Hamilton Palace sale in 1882 and consequently dates from that period.
The son of a sculptor, Cressent's work is dominated by his own use of sculptural decoration, which in many cases was chased and gilded in his own workshop and in certain instances was cast from models actually made by Cressent himself.
The opulence of this particular commode would suggest that it was a special commission. However, judging by the content of the three auctions of stock held by Cressent in 1748, 1757 and 1765, such richness was not intended for any one individual. Furthermore, the presence in the sales, as well as in the inventory drawn up after Cressent's death, of at least two pairs of encoignures bearing the same bird and oak-branch mounts as the commode, implies that the three pieces were envisaged by Cressent as an ensemble.
It is probable that the present example of the Cressent model was inspired by the Hamilton Palace sale in 1882 and consequently dates from that period.