.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This elegant commode epitomises late 18th Century Roman production. Both the elaborate inlaid decoration - depicting a propyleum flanked by ibis, sphinx and spread-winged eagles and the slender turned and tapering giltwood legs, makes the present commode an unusually rare piece.
As Alvar González-Palacios admirably revealed, writing on this very subject, this present commode stands out as one of the most accomplished examples executed in Rome during the papacy of Pius VI (Pope from 1775-1799). Both the rigorously architectural lines and inlaid decoration, inspired by engravings of classical scenes by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), indeed point to the oeuvre of a highly skilled craftsman. Although the latters identity remains tantalizingly unknown, it is probable that this commode was executed by a foreign craftsman working for the Roman Court in the last quarter of the 18th Century. As González-Palacios indeed suggests, the Frenchman Yves Livinec, who was employed by the Borghese family, or the German Gaspare Seiz (or Saiz or Sajz), recorded in Rome between 1784 and 1788 and similarly patronized by the Borghese, rank amongst the closest contenders. The name of Livinec is indeed suggested on the basis of the two pairs of commodes from the Villa Borghese and Palazzo Borghese executed by the French ébéniste and embellished by bronze mounts supplied by Luigi Valadier (illustrated in A. González-Palacios, Il Gusto dei Principi, Milan, 1993, pp.230-232, fig.451 and 461; the latter pair from Palazzo Borghese was later sold Sothebys, London, 10 June 1998, lot 63).
González-Palacios further stresses the importance of the iconography of the present commode, in that it comprises both an eagle and a dragon, suggesting a link to the Borghese family, whose coat-of-arms includes both these elements. It is therefore the name of Antonio Asprucci, who designed the Villa Borghese in its every detail, which comes to mind given the close similarities between the present commode and the furniture executed under his direction for the Villa Borghese.
The present commode appears to have been part of larger group of furniture made en suite, as a commode and a pair of comodini, all executed to the same designs, are recorded. The latter pair, which conforms in all respects to the present lot, apparently first appeared in Nantes, France and was subsequently sold in Italy in 1989 and 1997, as part of 'Le Dimore di un grande collezionista: Palazzo Romano, Semenzato, Venice, 11-16 October 1997, lot 149 (with the present commode sold consecutively as lot 150).
Enrico Colle also discusses the present lot, referring to several comparable examples, amongst which a commode and pair of comodini executed en suite and sold Sothebys, London, 9 June 2004, lots 120 and 121, and a further commode formerly in the Palazzo Pallavicini Rospigliosi (illustrated in Il Mobile Neoclassico in Italia, Milan, 2005, fig. 20). All such examples feature, as in the present case, closely related classical scenes of temples and flaming altars, set within rigorously neoclassical lines. p. 80).
As Alvar González-Palacios admirably revealed, writing on this very subject, this present commode stands out as one of the most accomplished examples executed in Rome during the papacy of Pius VI (Pope from 1775-1799). Both the rigorously architectural lines and inlaid decoration, inspired by engravings of classical scenes by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), indeed point to the oeuvre of a highly skilled craftsman. Although the latters identity remains tantalizingly unknown, it is probable that this commode was executed by a foreign craftsman working for the Roman Court in the last quarter of the 18th Century. As González-Palacios indeed suggests, the Frenchman Yves Livinec, who was employed by the Borghese family, or the German Gaspare Seiz (or Saiz or Sajz), recorded in Rome between 1784 and 1788 and similarly patronized by the Borghese, rank amongst the closest contenders. The name of Livinec is indeed suggested on the basis of the two pairs of commodes from the Villa Borghese and Palazzo Borghese executed by the French ébéniste and embellished by bronze mounts supplied by Luigi Valadier (illustrated in A. González-Palacios, Il Gusto dei Principi, Milan, 1993, pp.230-232, fig.451 and 461; the latter pair from Palazzo Borghese was later sold Sothebys, London, 10 June 1998, lot 63).
González-Palacios further stresses the importance of the iconography of the present commode, in that it comprises both an eagle and a dragon, suggesting a link to the Borghese family, whose coat-of-arms includes both these elements. It is therefore the name of Antonio Asprucci, who designed the Villa Borghese in its every detail, which comes to mind given the close similarities between the present commode and the furniture executed under his direction for the Villa Borghese.
The present commode appears to have been part of larger group of furniture made en suite, as a commode and a pair of comodini, all executed to the same designs, are recorded. The latter pair, which conforms in all respects to the present lot, apparently first appeared in Nantes, France and was subsequently sold in Italy in 1989 and 1997, as part of 'Le Dimore di un grande collezionista: Palazzo Romano, Semenzato, Venice, 11-16 October 1997, lot 149 (with the present commode sold consecutively as lot 150).
Enrico Colle also discusses the present lot, referring to several comparable examples, amongst which a commode and pair of comodini executed en suite and sold Sothebys, London, 9 June 2004, lots 120 and 121, and a further commode formerly in the Palazzo Pallavicini Rospigliosi (illustrated in Il Mobile Neoclassico in Italia, Milan, 2005, fig. 20). All such examples feature, as in the present case, closely related classical scenes of temples and flaming altars, set within rigorously neoclassical lines. p. 80).