.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This elegant commode can confidently be attributed to the Mainz Hofschreiner Heinrich Ludwig Rohde (1683-1755) on the basis of comparison with a small group of ivory-inlaid marquetry furniture which he executed circa 1725-1735. The group represents different furniture types with varying rectilinear forms, and the main similarities lie in the characteristic marquetry decoration, which consists of foliate scrolls of ivory and various woods and scrolling interlaced strapwork framed by ivory or boxwood lines (H. Zinnkann, Meisterstücke Mainzer Möbel des 18. Jahrhundert, Frankfurt, 1988, pp. 96-104, nrs. I-V).
Besides close similarities with the entire group, the marquetry decoration of the present commode is perhaps most closely linked to a writing-cabinet now in the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein in Vaduz, which is embellished with identical foliate and acanthus clasps to the drawers-fronts and sides and similar interlaced strapwork. It is Rohde's earliest known piece, which he executed shortly after returning from Schloss Pommersfelden, where he had worked for Kurfürst Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655-1729). The Liechtenstein kabinettschrank bears an intriguing inscription:'Mich hat fertig gemacht Ludwig Rohde, kurfürstl. Maintz Hofschreiner 2 Jahr Arbeit bin ich gewesen. An' 1725 angefangen, An' 1726 im Juny fertig geworden. Ich gehör dem Hof Camrath von Nietschke' (H. Zinnkann, ibid, p. 96).
We are grateful to Dr Reinier Baarsen for his help in cataloguing this lot.
Besides close similarities with the entire group, the marquetry decoration of the present commode is perhaps most closely linked to a writing-cabinet now in the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein in Vaduz, which is embellished with identical foliate and acanthus clasps to the drawers-fronts and sides and similar interlaced strapwork. It is Rohde's earliest known piece, which he executed shortly after returning from Schloss Pommersfelden, where he had worked for Kurfürst Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655-1729). The Liechtenstein kabinettschrank bears an intriguing inscription:'Mich hat fertig gemacht Ludwig Rohde, kurfürstl. Maintz Hofschreiner 2 Jahr Arbeit bin ich gewesen. An' 1725 angefangen, An' 1726 im Juny fertig geworden. Ich gehör dem Hof Camrath von Nietschke' (H. Zinnkann, ibid, p. 96).
We are grateful to Dr Reinier Baarsen for his help in cataloguing this lot.