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Lot Essay
This impressive George III serpentine marquetry commode reflects the emerging appetite for commodes in the ‘French taste’ in England in the 1760s; a style which has become synonymous with the work of Pierre Langlois (1717-1767), the master cabinet-maker whose workshop was found ‘at the sign of the commode table’, 39 Tottenham Court Road, London. That his ‘sign’ was a commode surely reflects, as Thornton and Rieder summarize, that ‘commodes were his speciality’. The complex curvilinear form seen in this commode was new to English cabinet-makers at this date. It was first seen in Paris at the start of the 1750s but the Seven Years War delayed uptake of the new fashion in England and only began to emerge in England in the very late 1750s. Such an accomplished grasp of this difficult form, as seen here, points to the work of a Paris-trained craftsman. In addition, the idea of a marble, rather than wooden top, as seen on this commode, is an entirely French concept.
Through a series of five articles written for The Connoisseur in 1971-1972, Peter Thornton and William Rieder explored Langlois’ known commissions, including those for the Duke of Bedford in 1759, the Earl of Coventry at Croome Court and Powys Castle, and were able to discern a set of common features to help identify Langlois’ work on a constructional, rather than purely stylistic basis. These include the use of distinctive gilt-bronze mounts, which are thought to have been supplied by his son-in-law Dominique Jean, who shared his premises. The angle mounts on the present commode are identical to those seen on one of a pair of small commodes at West Wycombe which Rieder and Thornton refer to as Group XI and the bifurcated foot mount is also a common Langlois feature. The choice of strongly patterned banding – in this case laburnum alternating with Brazilian rosewood – to frame the lighter marquetry panels is also a typical Langlois feature as is the choice of black wash to the chamfered panelled back, in contrast to the typically English method of applying the back in planks.
Lucy Wood revealed in ‘New Light on Pierre Langlois (1718-1767)’ (The Furniture History Society Newsletter, no. 196, November 2014, pp. 5-6) that Langlois died much earlier than previously thought – in 1767 – and that his son Daniel (d. 1816) and his widow, Tracey (d. 1781), continued to oversee the workshop after Pierre’s death until circa 1773-74 at which date there were at least two significant sales of stock. It is thus possible that this commode was supplied posthumously from Langlois' workshop.
Through a series of five articles written for The Connoisseur in 1971-1972, Peter Thornton and William Rieder explored Langlois’ known commissions, including those for the Duke of Bedford in 1759, the Earl of Coventry at Croome Court and Powys Castle, and were able to discern a set of common features to help identify Langlois’ work on a constructional, rather than purely stylistic basis. These include the use of distinctive gilt-bronze mounts, which are thought to have been supplied by his son-in-law Dominique Jean, who shared his premises. The angle mounts on the present commode are identical to those seen on one of a pair of small commodes at West Wycombe which Rieder and Thornton refer to as Group XI and the bifurcated foot mount is also a common Langlois feature. The choice of strongly patterned banding – in this case laburnum alternating with Brazilian rosewood – to frame the lighter marquetry panels is also a typical Langlois feature as is the choice of black wash to the chamfered panelled back, in contrast to the typically English method of applying the back in planks.
Lucy Wood revealed in ‘New Light on Pierre Langlois (1718-1767)’ (The Furniture History Society Newsletter, no. 196, November 2014, pp. 5-6) that Langlois died much earlier than previously thought – in 1767 – and that his son Daniel (d. 1816) and his widow, Tracey (d. 1781), continued to oversee the workshop after Pierre’s death until circa 1773-74 at which date there were at least two significant sales of stock. It is thus possible that this commode was supplied posthumously from Langlois' workshop.