Lot Essay
This type of serpentined commode, with brass ribbon-banded top and husk-festooned angles terminating in foliate scrolls, evolved from the French marquetry commodes popularised by the Tottenham Court Road workshops established by the ébéniste Pierre Langlois (d. 1765) in the 1750's (see: P. Thornton and W. Reider, 'Pierre Langlois, Ebéniste', Apollo, April 1972, p. 32), and adopted by London cabinet-makers such as John Cobb (d. 1778). While the form of this commode relates to one supplied by Cobb for Corsham Court, Wiltshire, in 1772 (Thornton and Reider, op.cit, p. 31), its refined geometric flowered-trellis marquetry reflects the more refined style of the 1780's, as illustrated in A. Hepplewhite & Co., Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1788.