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Lot Essay
THE CHIPPENDALE COMMISSION
Harewood House, Yorkshire, was by far the largest, most prestigious and valuable commission that Thomas Chippendale (d. 1779), furniture designer and master craftsman, would undertake. In its execution he excelled, producing some of the finest furniture of his career, and fully embracing the new neo-classical vision with his employment of 'antique' ornament. The work at Harewood House would take eleven years to complete and would cost in excess of £10,000; it is partially detailed in an invoice running to fifteen foolscap pages, and a Day Work Book covering the period 1769-76. The commission included not only furniture but upholstery, wall hangings, curtains and even a carved model for a stove to be cast by the local founder! After Chippendale’s death in 1779, his son, Chippendale the Younger (d. 1822), was still active at Harewood House, invoicing pier tables for the Gallery as late as 1796.
The commode is part of the distinguished marquetry furniture commissioned by Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (d. 1795) from Chippendale, as part of the refurbishment of his 'new house at Gawthorpe' (Harewood House) between 1767 and 1778. The commode was probably intended for the 'Saloon’ on the principal floor, and was supplied in the same period as a fall-front secretaire and small dressing commode (Gilbert, op. cit., vol. I, p. 198 and vol. II, fig. 228). Christopher Gilbert refers to this commode as, a 'commode, also in satinwood, crossbanded with tulipwood… no longer at Harewood House, but appears on the evidence of timber and style (particularly the radiating medallion and the wreaths) to belong to the same group'. He initially identifies the commode as being supplied in the period 1770 - 72, though also alludes to the possibility that it was delivered at a later date. The commode doesn’t appear in the Chippendale account (1772-1777) for Harewood but this is incomplete; the extant invoice totals £6,839 but an earlier bill for £3,024 mentioned in 1772 is now lost. The commode is listed in the 1795 inventory but its precise whereabouts are not recorded. At this point in time furniture was being moved, some of it to storage, and in an 1801 amendment to the inventory one commode is crossed out.
THE 'MODERN' STYLE
Referred to in contemporary terms as the ‘Modern' style, the commode draws its roots from French commodes of breakfront form invented in the late 1750s by influential cabinet-makers Jean-François and Simon Oeben. It is similar to a commode formerly in the collection of William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, at The Hill, Hampstead, that in turn compares to the 'Stanmer group’ of furniture, attributed to Swedish cabinet-makers, such as Georg Haupt (d. 1784) and Christopher Fuhrlohg (d. after 1787) who came to London via Paris disseminating French designs to London-based cabinet-makers (L. Wood, op. cit., p. 141, no. 13). The geometric ornamentation, ram's head corner and classical urn apron mounts exemplify the neo-classicism fashionable in the 1770s, which was fully exploited by Chippendale in the exceptional Diana and Minerva commode, supplied in 1773 for the State Dressing room at Harewood House, and the Renishaw commode, of circa 1775 (Gilbert, op. cit., vol. II, figs. 232-236). However, this 'transitional' commode retains some elements from the Rococo, the serpentine form, shaped apron and cabriole supports terminating in sabots suggesting the influence of Chippendale the Younger. The ormolu corner mounts are of the same pattern as those on a 'Boulle' bureau mazarin acquired by Lord and Lady Londonderry, probably while travelling through Paris in 1819 (sold Christie's, London, 23 May 2013, lot 445) and Chippendale senior was certainly involved in trade with France being apprehended by customs officials in 1769 for attempting to import sixty chair-frames. He supplied a related scarlet tortoiseshell bureau in 1759 to Dumfries House (Christie's sale catalogue, 12 July 2007, lot 53) and it is quite possible therefore that he acquired the mounts for the Harewood commode in France.
During the 1770s only a limited number of London-based cabinet-makers were capable of executing such accomplished marquetry in the French and neoclassical styles; Chippendale is regarded as the master and the ornamentation of the present commode is quintessentially Chippendale. The use of small-scale medallions that depended for their effect on the contrast of light and dark woods is characteristic of his work. Very similar decoration is found on a circular rent table, by Chippendale the Younger, in the Picture Gallery at Stourhead, Wiltshire, which has closely related olive wreaths, and identical florets, within framed borders, and crossbanding (National Trust 731558).
Harewood House, Yorkshire, was by far the largest, most prestigious and valuable commission that Thomas Chippendale (d. 1779), furniture designer and master craftsman, would undertake. In its execution he excelled, producing some of the finest furniture of his career, and fully embracing the new neo-classical vision with his employment of 'antique' ornament. The work at Harewood House would take eleven years to complete and would cost in excess of £10,000; it is partially detailed in an invoice running to fifteen foolscap pages, and a Day Work Book covering the period 1769-76. The commission included not only furniture but upholstery, wall hangings, curtains and even a carved model for a stove to be cast by the local founder! After Chippendale’s death in 1779, his son, Chippendale the Younger (d. 1822), was still active at Harewood House, invoicing pier tables for the Gallery as late as 1796.
The commode is part of the distinguished marquetry furniture commissioned by Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood (d. 1795) from Chippendale, as part of the refurbishment of his 'new house at Gawthorpe' (Harewood House) between 1767 and 1778. The commode was probably intended for the 'Saloon’ on the principal floor, and was supplied in the same period as a fall-front secretaire and small dressing commode (Gilbert, op. cit., vol. I, p. 198 and vol. II, fig. 228). Christopher Gilbert refers to this commode as, a 'commode, also in satinwood, crossbanded with tulipwood… no longer at Harewood House, but appears on the evidence of timber and style (particularly the radiating medallion and the wreaths) to belong to the same group'. He initially identifies the commode as being supplied in the period 1770 - 72, though also alludes to the possibility that it was delivered at a later date. The commode doesn’t appear in the Chippendale account (1772-1777) for Harewood but this is incomplete; the extant invoice totals £6,839 but an earlier bill for £3,024 mentioned in 1772 is now lost. The commode is listed in the 1795 inventory but its precise whereabouts are not recorded. At this point in time furniture was being moved, some of it to storage, and in an 1801 amendment to the inventory one commode is crossed out.
THE 'MODERN' STYLE
Referred to in contemporary terms as the ‘Modern' style, the commode draws its roots from French commodes of breakfront form invented in the late 1750s by influential cabinet-makers Jean-François and Simon Oeben. It is similar to a commode formerly in the collection of William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, at The Hill, Hampstead, that in turn compares to the 'Stanmer group’ of furniture, attributed to Swedish cabinet-makers, such as Georg Haupt (d. 1784) and Christopher Fuhrlohg (d. after 1787) who came to London via Paris disseminating French designs to London-based cabinet-makers (L. Wood, op. cit., p. 141, no. 13). The geometric ornamentation, ram's head corner and classical urn apron mounts exemplify the neo-classicism fashionable in the 1770s, which was fully exploited by Chippendale in the exceptional Diana and Minerva commode, supplied in 1773 for the State Dressing room at Harewood House, and the Renishaw commode, of circa 1775 (Gilbert, op. cit., vol. II, figs. 232-236). However, this 'transitional' commode retains some elements from the Rococo, the serpentine form, shaped apron and cabriole supports terminating in sabots suggesting the influence of Chippendale the Younger. The ormolu corner mounts are of the same pattern as those on a 'Boulle' bureau mazarin acquired by Lord and Lady Londonderry, probably while travelling through Paris in 1819 (sold Christie's, London, 23 May 2013, lot 445) and Chippendale senior was certainly involved in trade with France being apprehended by customs officials in 1769 for attempting to import sixty chair-frames. He supplied a related scarlet tortoiseshell bureau in 1759 to Dumfries House (Christie's sale catalogue, 12 July 2007, lot 53) and it is quite possible therefore that he acquired the mounts for the Harewood commode in France.
During the 1770s only a limited number of London-based cabinet-makers were capable of executing such accomplished marquetry in the French and neoclassical styles; Chippendale is regarded as the master and the ornamentation of the present commode is quintessentially Chippendale. The use of small-scale medallions that depended for their effect on the contrast of light and dark woods is characteristic of his work. Very similar decoration is found on a circular rent table, by Chippendale the Younger, in the Picture Gallery at Stourhead, Wiltshire, which has closely related olive wreaths, and identical florets, within framed borders, and crossbanding (National Trust 731558).
