THE PROPERTY OF A LADY (Lots 125-126)
A REGENCE ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY, RED TORTOISESHELL, MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND POLYCHROME BOULLE MARQUETRY COMMODE

ATTRIBUTED TO NOEL GERARD

Details
A REGENCE ORMOLU-MOUNTED EBONY, RED TORTOISESHELL, MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND POLYCHROME BOULLE MARQUETRY COMMODE
Attributed to Noel Gerard
Inlaid en contre-partie with scrolling foliage and vases of flowers, the bowed rectangular top with moulded edge centred by a trellis-patterned medallion depicting Bacchus and a satyr flanked by Apollo and a King, within a strapwork border filled with floral and fruiting garlands, above two short drawers centred by a satyr-mask and two further long drawers, all divided by trellis-patterned banding, the shaped apron and bowed angles headed by a winged grotesque mask, the sides with further foliate scrolling panels and shaped aprons, on shaped bracket feet, extensive restorations to the surface, the aprons re-backed
51¼ in. (130cm.) wide; 33 in. (85.5 cm.) high; 27 in. (69 cm.) deep

Lot Essay

Belonging to a group of the same form and decoration, with some variations, this commode can be attributed to the marchand-ébéniste Noël Gérard, who flourished between 1710 and 1736.
In particular the decoration of the drawer fronts and top is closely related to a one attributed to Noël Gérard offered in the Kotschoubey Collection in 1906 aswell as the one sold anonymously, Sotheby's Monaco, 23 June 1983, lot 290.

The attribution of these two commodes to Noël Gérard is based on the rosewood commode, stamped N.G., now recognized as the stamp of that maître ébéniste, sold from the collection of Madame Camoin, Paris, 2 April 1987.
Further commodes of this model that have come to light, include that with an identical decoration but with ormolu claw feet and a marble top, offered anonymously at Sotheby's London, 24 November 1988, lot 2, a further commode with a different top sold from the collection of the duchesse de Talleyrand, Sotheby's Monaco, 15 June 1981, lot 149, another with a marble top sold by Charles Butler Esq., in these Rooms, 7 December 1989, lot 74, and finally one sold from the Keck Collection, Sotheby's New York, 6 December 1991, lot 245.

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