LATE 18TH CENTURY, ATTRIBUTED TO GILLOWS

Details

A George III mahogany and satinwood-crossbanded demi-lune commode
Late 18th Century, attributed to Gillows
With a central tambour shutter flanked by a door to each side, the interior with a total of six shelves, on square tapering legs, the legs with later bracket supports to the underside, restorations to the back legs, with a later paper property label for Princess Margaret
39 in. (99 cm.) high; 51 in. (129.5 cm.) wide; 24½ in. (62 cm.) deep

Provenance

Placed in the Drawing Room of the Private Apartment of H.R.H. The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon at Kensington Palace.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This elliptic commode's herm-tapered and stump-footed pilasters are inlaid with trompe-l'oeil flutes, and with its corner cupboards inlaid with beribboned medallions it reflects the 1780's 'Roman' fashion popularised by Messrs. A. Hepplewhite and Co.'s Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1788. This type of elliptic commode pattern, with or without drawers and with oval panels to the side doors that could either be plain, marquetry or painted, features amongst designs in Gillows' Estimate Sketch Books for 1788, such as that supplied for J. C. Curwen of Workington Hall (I. Hall, 'Models with a choice of leg the Gillows Furniture Designs - II', Country Life, 15 June 1978, fig.7). Its French-fashioned 'tambour' slide, however, were also popular in contemporary Dutch buffet-fitted ('klapbuffet') commodes.

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