.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The commode is designed in the George III French fashion introduced around 1760 by the Paris-trained ébéniste Pierre Langlois (d. 1767) of Tottenham Court Road, and popularised by the the most fashionable London designers and cabinet-makers. Of bombé form and enriched with gilt-bronze mounts and Japanese lacquer veneer, it was most probably executed by John Cobb (d. 1778), a neighbour and contemporary of Thomas Chippendale.
Langlois' name has become synonymous with this style of furniture and an attribution can be problematic. However Peter Thornton and William Rieder, suggested in a series of articles on Langlois that the distinctive 'Corsham Group’ of commodes (to which the present lot relates) should be attributed to Cobb on the basis of specific constructional and stylistic features. They noted that the 'doors are hinged on the side faces and not on the front of the commode (as was Langlois’ practice) so that each door moves as one piece with the corner. The apron forms an integral part of the doors and is thus divided in two when they are opened – Langlois’ aprons are fixed to the carcase’ ('Pierre Langlois, Ébéniste’. Part 5’, Connoisseur, May 1972, p. 32).
In addition, the finely chased gilt-bronze mounts of the present commode are found on other furniture attributed to Cobb, in particular a pair of serpentine marquetry side tables, formerly but erroneously attributed to Chippendale, sold from the collection of the late Victor Alexander, 4th Baron Wrottesley (Sotheby’s, London, 28 June 1968, lot 161, subsequently Christie’s, London, 9 April 1981, lot 93; L. Wood, Catalogue of Commodes, London, 1994, p. 133). The apron and corner mounts are virtually identical in form including the plain bands along the edge of the leg, and the foot mounts are the same albeit slightly more attenuated on the tables. These tables relate to a group of marquetry tables recognised as Cobb’s workshop, including a pair from Kenwood House, London, and in turn to the 'Corsham commode' supplied by Cobb to Lord Methuen for Corsham Court, Wiltshire in 1772. Other related commodes include examples from Victoria and Albert Museum, the Leverhulme Collection and another formerly owned by Lord Lever (Ed. G. Jackson-Stops, The Treasure Houses of Britain, New Haven and London, 1985, pp. 328-329, no. 252; museum no. W.30-1937; L. Wood, op. cit., pp. 88-97, no. 7; op. cit., p. 93, figs. 81-82). The same mounts also feature on a related marquetry side table, sold Christie’s London, 23 November 1972, lot 83, and another attributed to Cobb, sold Christie's, London, 9 April 1981, lot 93.
The use of Japanese lacquer veneer on an English commode of this type is rare, sometimes recovered from screen panels as in the case of the superb secretaire supplied by Chippendale to Edwin Lascelles Esq., for Harewood House in 1773 (sold Christie's, London, 3 July 1997, lot 80, £309,500 including premium). Given the subject matter displayed on the present commode it is conceivable that the lacquer panels were originally intended for a small three-wheel Japanese carriage or cart probably modelled after a festival float from the Edo period (late 17th-early 18th century); a carriage of this type almost certainly made for the export market is in the Royal Collections of Sweden (HGKK687).
Langlois' name has become synonymous with this style of furniture and an attribution can be problematic. However Peter Thornton and William Rieder, suggested in a series of articles on Langlois that the distinctive 'Corsham Group’ of commodes (to which the present lot relates) should be attributed to Cobb on the basis of specific constructional and stylistic features. They noted that the 'doors are hinged on the side faces and not on the front of the commode (as was Langlois’ practice) so that each door moves as one piece with the corner. The apron forms an integral part of the doors and is thus divided in two when they are opened – Langlois’ aprons are fixed to the carcase’ ('Pierre Langlois, Ébéniste’. Part 5’, Connoisseur, May 1972, p. 32).
In addition, the finely chased gilt-bronze mounts of the present commode are found on other furniture attributed to Cobb, in particular a pair of serpentine marquetry side tables, formerly but erroneously attributed to Chippendale, sold from the collection of the late Victor Alexander, 4th Baron Wrottesley (Sotheby’s, London, 28 June 1968, lot 161, subsequently Christie’s, London, 9 April 1981, lot 93; L. Wood, Catalogue of Commodes, London, 1994, p. 133). The apron and corner mounts are virtually identical in form including the plain bands along the edge of the leg, and the foot mounts are the same albeit slightly more attenuated on the tables. These tables relate to a group of marquetry tables recognised as Cobb’s workshop, including a pair from Kenwood House, London, and in turn to the 'Corsham commode' supplied by Cobb to Lord Methuen for Corsham Court, Wiltshire in 1772. Other related commodes include examples from Victoria and Albert Museum, the Leverhulme Collection and another formerly owned by Lord Lever (Ed. G. Jackson-Stops, The Treasure Houses of Britain, New Haven and London, 1985, pp. 328-329, no. 252; museum no. W.30-1937; L. Wood, op. cit., pp. 88-97, no. 7; op. cit., p. 93, figs. 81-82). The same mounts also feature on a related marquetry side table, sold Christie’s London, 23 November 1972, lot 83, and another attributed to Cobb, sold Christie's, London, 9 April 1981, lot 93.
The use of Japanese lacquer veneer on an English commode of this type is rare, sometimes recovered from screen panels as in the case of the superb secretaire supplied by Chippendale to Edwin Lascelles Esq., for Harewood House in 1773 (sold Christie's, London, 3 July 1997, lot 80, £309,500 including premium). Given the subject matter displayed on the present commode it is conceivable that the lacquer panels were originally intended for a small three-wheel Japanese carriage or cart probably modelled after a festival float from the Edo period (late 17th-early 18th century); a carriage of this type almost certainly made for the export market is in the Royal Collections of Sweden (HGKK687).