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Lot Essay
This strikingly bombé commode was obviously inspired by Parisian examples of around 1755-1765, notably by Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763) and his followers. The combination of floral panels with cube marquetry and other geometric patterns, divided and linked by scrolled and entwined ribbons, was introduced by Oeben (R. Stratmann-Döhler, Jean-François Oeben, Paris 2002, figs. pp. 53, 58, 128). Whereas this great ébéniste himself often tended to keep the various types of marquetry separate, the mixing of them on the front of this commode is more reminiscent of the work of his many followers in Paris.
It is clear that this commode was not itself made in Paris, but it is not immediately obvious where it was produced. From the 1760s floral marquetry commodes in the French manner were created by specialist furniture-makers all over Europe, from Pierre Langlois in London to the Spindler brothers in Berlin, from Carl Peter Dahlström in Stockholm to Joseph Canops in Madrid. Indeed, Louis XV floral marquetry commodes may be considered to have been the most easily recognizable emblem of à la mode taste in European interiors of the late 1760s.
The construction of the commode, almost entirely of oak, points to it having been made in Northern Europe, perhaps in Holland. There, cabinet-makers like Andries Bongen (c. 1732-1792) in Amsterdam and Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809) in The Hague, both originating from Germany, specialised in the fashionable marquetry furniture in the French style (R. Baarsen, 'Andries Bongen (c. 1732-1792) en de Franse invloed op de Amsterdamse kastenmakerij in de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw', and R. Baarsen, ''In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw', Oud Holland 102 (1988), pp. 22-70, and 107 (1993), pp. 161-255). However, the pronounced curvature of this commode cannot be matched on any piece securely attributed to a Dutch maker, and no precise parallel for the marquetry can be found in their work either. The commode may be the work of an unknown cabinet-maker working in Holland. Another intriguing possibility is that it was made in Brussels, where ébénistes were also producing marquetry furniture in the Parisian manner. Unfortunately, very little is as yet known about their work (R. Baarsen and L. de Ren, 'Ebénisterie' at the court of Charles of Lorraine', The Burlington Magazine 147 (2005), pp. 96-99).
It is clear that this commode was not itself made in Paris, but it is not immediately obvious where it was produced. From the 1760s floral marquetry commodes in the French manner were created by specialist furniture-makers all over Europe, from Pierre Langlois in London to the Spindler brothers in Berlin, from Carl Peter Dahlström in Stockholm to Joseph Canops in Madrid. Indeed, Louis XV floral marquetry commodes may be considered to have been the most easily recognizable emblem of à la mode taste in European interiors of the late 1760s.
The construction of the commode, almost entirely of oak, points to it having been made in Northern Europe, perhaps in Holland. There, cabinet-makers like Andries Bongen (c. 1732-1792) in Amsterdam and Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809) in The Hague, both originating from Germany, specialised in the fashionable marquetry furniture in the French style (R. Baarsen, 'Andries Bongen (c. 1732-1792) en de Franse invloed op de Amsterdamse kastenmakerij in de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw', and R. Baarsen, ''In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw', Oud Holland 102 (1988), pp. 22-70, and 107 (1993), pp. 161-255). However, the pronounced curvature of this commode cannot be matched on any piece securely attributed to a Dutch maker, and no precise parallel for the marquetry can be found in their work either. The commode may be the work of an unknown cabinet-maker working in Holland. Another intriguing possibility is that it was made in Brussels, where ébénistes were also producing marquetry furniture in the Parisian manner. Unfortunately, very little is as yet known about their work (R. Baarsen and L. de Ren, 'Ebénisterie' at the court of Charles of Lorraine', The Burlington Magazine 147 (2005), pp. 96-99).