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Lot Essay
Adam Weisweiler, maître in 1778.
The form and decoration of this exceptional commode place it firmly at a key transitional point between the Louis XVI and Empire styles. The outstanding quality of the ormolu mounts, whose chasing is as good as can be found on the very best of the Louis XVI Royal commissions, and the careful choice of woods, attest to what would have been a very expensive commission at the time. However, the apparent simplicity of the overall design pays lip service to the austere mood of the time and its Revolutionary ideals.
The market for such an expensive and fashionable commode at that time was probably outside of France and in all likelihood it may have been destined for Russia or Spain. Indeed, the distinctive overall proportions and the form of the apron flanked by paw feet echoes that seen on a series of commodes in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg generally attributed to Weisweiler or to Jacob and listed in P. Lemonnier, Weisweiler, Paris, 1983, p. 176 Nos. 30-32.
Two of these, veneered in thuya and mounted with Wedgwood plaques, were purchased by Tsar Paul I in 1799 for the St. Petersburg Palaces. Another, together with its matching secretaire mounted with panels of Japanese lacquer, was purchased for Gatchina Palace. The only documented piece from this series was made in Paris, circa 1796-98 by Duboiset Rabut and purchased from the Liège dealer Guillaume Culot by Tsar Paul for St. Michael's Castle. A watercolor by Percier, formerly in the Roche collection, was probably the inspiration for these pieces.
Similar pieces may also be found in the Spanish palaces, such as a secretaire with marble plaques in the King's cabinet at Aranjuez. Others include a commode and matching secretaire by Weisweiler, acquired by the Duke of Hamilton prior to 1825 and sold in the Hamilton Palace sale, Christie's, 29 June 1882, lots 176-177 (P. Lemonnier, op cit. pp. 60 and 175-176). A related secretaire and a semainier by Georges Jacob, whose name has also been linked to this series, are illustrated in D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIX e. Siècle, 1989, pp. 288 and 291. H. Lefuel notes numerous commodes with doors with this form of base delivered in the early 1800's in Jacob's mémoires. This includes a commode veneered in citronnier and amaranth on a solid mahogany ground, delivered by Jacob-Desmalter for the Empress Marie-Louise at Fontainebleau in 1810.
This commode also evokes similarities with the taste of the celebrated English collector William Beckford who was commissioning furniture in Paris during his numerous visits between 1788 and 1803. These pieces were usually a collaboration between the sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte and the silversmith Henry Auguste. The forthcoming exhibition 'William Beckford, 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent,' at the Bard Graduate Center, New York, 18 October 2001-6 January 2002, will no doubt throw further light on his documented commissions.
The form and decoration of this exceptional commode place it firmly at a key transitional point between the Louis XVI and Empire styles. The outstanding quality of the ormolu mounts, whose chasing is as good as can be found on the very best of the Louis XVI Royal commissions, and the careful choice of woods, attest to what would have been a very expensive commission at the time. However, the apparent simplicity of the overall design pays lip service to the austere mood of the time and its Revolutionary ideals.
The market for such an expensive and fashionable commode at that time was probably outside of France and in all likelihood it may have been destined for Russia or Spain. Indeed, the distinctive overall proportions and the form of the apron flanked by paw feet echoes that seen on a series of commodes in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg generally attributed to Weisweiler or to Jacob and listed in P. Lemonnier, Weisweiler, Paris, 1983, p. 176 Nos. 30-32.
Two of these, veneered in thuya and mounted with Wedgwood plaques, were purchased by Tsar Paul I in 1799 for the St. Petersburg Palaces. Another, together with its matching secretaire mounted with panels of Japanese lacquer, was purchased for Gatchina Palace. The only documented piece from this series was made in Paris, circa 1796-98 by Duboiset Rabut and purchased from the Liège dealer Guillaume Culot by Tsar Paul for St. Michael's Castle. A watercolor by Percier, formerly in the Roche collection, was probably the inspiration for these pieces.
Similar pieces may also be found in the Spanish palaces, such as a secretaire with marble plaques in the King's cabinet at Aranjuez. Others include a commode and matching secretaire by Weisweiler, acquired by the Duke of Hamilton prior to 1825 and sold in the Hamilton Palace sale, Christie's, 29 June 1882, lots 176-177 (P. Lemonnier, op cit. pp. 60 and 175-176). A related secretaire and a semainier by Georges Jacob, whose name has also been linked to this series, are illustrated in D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIX e. Siècle, 1989, pp. 288 and 291. H. Lefuel notes numerous commodes with doors with this form of base delivered in the early 1800's in Jacob's mémoires. This includes a commode veneered in citronnier and amaranth on a solid mahogany ground, delivered by Jacob-Desmalter for the Empress Marie-Louise at Fontainebleau in 1810.
This commode also evokes similarities with the taste of the celebrated English collector William Beckford who was commissioning furniture in Paris during his numerous visits between 1788 and 1803. These pieces were usually a collaboration between the sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte and the silversmith Henry Auguste. The forthcoming exhibition 'William Beckford, 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent,' at the Bard Graduate Center, New York, 18 October 2001-6 January 2002, will no doubt throw further light on his documented commissions.