MID-18TH CENTURY

This commode was acquired at the sale of the collection of the Earls of Rosebery at Mentmore, Buckinghamshire. One of the most celebrated collection sales of the 20th century, Mentmore epitomized the opulence of the goût Rothschild, with royal French ébénisterie accompanied by a spectacular array of tapestries, palatial Italian, Russian and German pieces, paintings and works of art. The collection was formed by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (d. 1874), who had commissioned the architect Joseph Paxton to create his astonishing recreation of an Elizabethen prodigy house at Mentmore. It was later added to significantly by his son-in-law the 5th Earl of Rosebery, who in 1878 married Baron Mayer's only daughter Hannah, who had become the richest heiress in England following her father's death. See also lot 76 in this sale for a table de salon from Mentmore.