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Lot Essay
The commode is closely related to a commode likely to have been supplied to Edward, 5th Lord Leigh at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire in circa 1763, the year he came of age. In this period the firm of William Gomm & Son, cabinet-maker and upholsterer of Clerkenwell Close, London, were the principal suppliers of furniture at Stoneleigh Park; the commission from 12 May 1763 to October of the following year totaled a substantial £818 9s (Ed. G. Beard, C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, 1986, p. 350). At least six 'Exceeding fine Serpentine Commode Dressing Tables' were supplied to Lord Leigh by William Gomm & Son, five of these were charged at 12 guineas each and one at 15 guineas.
A design for a related chest of drawers is included in Gomm's sketchbook dating from the early 1760s (now in the John Downs Collection, Winterthur Library, Delaware, USA), illustrated in L. Boynton, 'William & Richard Gomm', Burlington Magazine, June 1980, fig. 33. William Gomm subscribed to Mortimer's Universale Director, 1754, and Richard Gomm subscribed to Thomas Chippendale's Director, 1754, which included designs for related 'French commode tables'.
The present commode is similar to a pair of commodes supplied to Lord Leigh, included in Christie's London sale, 3 May 1963, lot 53 that have a similar form and comparable acanthus carving to the canted angles. Another commode from Stoneleigh Park with very ornate decoration, supplied to Lord Leigh probably for a bedroom apartment, lot 54, has a similar band of carved decoration on the apron. Another pair of commodes with related carving on the angles sold Christie's New York, 27 January 1990, lot 121 ($176,000 inc. premium).
A design for a related chest of drawers is included in Gomm's sketchbook dating from the early 1760s (now in the John Downs Collection, Winterthur Library, Delaware, USA), illustrated in L. Boynton, 'William & Richard Gomm', Burlington Magazine, June 1980, fig. 33. William Gomm subscribed to Mortimer's Universale Director, 1754, and Richard Gomm subscribed to Thomas Chippendale's Director, 1754, which included designs for related 'French commode tables'.
The present commode is similar to a pair of commodes supplied to Lord Leigh, included in Christie's London sale, 3 May 1963, lot 53 that have a similar form and comparable acanthus carving to the canted angles. Another commode from Stoneleigh Park with very ornate decoration, supplied to Lord Leigh probably for a bedroom apartment, lot 54, has a similar band of carved decoration on the apron. Another pair of commodes with related carving on the angles sold Christie's New York, 27 January 1990, lot 121 ($176,000 inc. premium).