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Lot Essay
David Roentgen, maître in 1780.
Although not stamped, this commode displays all the hallmarks of David Roentgen's oeuvre: high-quality materials, impeccable construction, the form and the applied ormolu decoration. In contrast to Roentgen's richly-inlaid furniture, this commode reveals another facet of his creative genius in its clean lines and the choice of beautifully-figured mahogany veneers. Accented by restrained ormolu mounts, these give the piece remarkable visual strength. It belongs to a group of furniture made by Roentgen at the very end of the eighteenth century, many of which were intended for his Imperial Russian clientele.
With its refined and restrained Neoclassicism, this lot shares similarities with a handful of other works by Roentgen, including a Hammerklavier signed by Roentgen and now at Gatchina Palace in St. Petersburg (see H. Huth, Roentgen Furniture, Abraham and David Roentgen: European Cabinet-Makers, London and New York, 1974, fig. 113). The closest comparable works by Roentgen include two commodes; one in the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin (inv. W-1984,188); and another formerly in the Löwenthal collection in Berlin, (D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen: Von der Schreinerwerkstatt zur Kunstmöbel-Manufaktur, Bad Neustadt/Saale, 1992, p. 28, fig. 49). The latter was first sold by Lepke, Berlin in 1931 and most recently by Christie’s, London, 14 June 1990, lot 125 (£137,500). The drapery-form ormolu handles, ormolu discs serving as escutcheons, and bead-cast framing mounts are characteristic of Roentgen’s output of the late 1780s and 1790s, when he was most actively transacting with his Russian customers. Whereas the drape-form handles are quite common in Roentgen’s oeuvre, the avant-garde and visually arresting disc escutcheons, of which three are mounted to this commode, are much rarer.
Although not stamped, this commode displays all the hallmarks of David Roentgen's oeuvre: high-quality materials, impeccable construction, the form and the applied ormolu decoration. In contrast to Roentgen's richly-inlaid furniture, this commode reveals another facet of his creative genius in its clean lines and the choice of beautifully-figured mahogany veneers. Accented by restrained ormolu mounts, these give the piece remarkable visual strength. It belongs to a group of furniture made by Roentgen at the very end of the eighteenth century, many of which were intended for his Imperial Russian clientele.
With its refined and restrained Neoclassicism, this lot shares similarities with a handful of other works by Roentgen, including a Hammerklavier signed by Roentgen and now at Gatchina Palace in St. Petersburg (see H. Huth, Roentgen Furniture, Abraham and David Roentgen: European Cabinet-Makers, London and New York, 1974, fig. 113). The closest comparable works by Roentgen include two commodes; one in the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin (inv. W-1984,188); and another formerly in the Löwenthal collection in Berlin, (D. Fabian, Abraham und David Roentgen: Von der Schreinerwerkstatt zur Kunstmöbel-Manufaktur, Bad Neustadt/Saale, 1992, p. 28, fig. 49). The latter was first sold by Lepke, Berlin in 1931 and most recently by Christie’s, London, 14 June 1990, lot 125 (£137,500). The drapery-form ormolu handles, ormolu discs serving as escutcheons, and bead-cast framing mounts are characteristic of Roentgen’s output of the late 1780s and 1790s, when he was most actively transacting with his Russian customers. Whereas the drape-form handles are quite common in Roentgen’s oeuvre, the avant-garde and visually arresting disc escutcheons, of which three are mounted to this commode, are much rarer.