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Lot Essay
This boldly drawn commode is a magnificent example of the output of Abraham Roentgen’s Neuwied workshop in the mid-18th Century, when the distinct German Rokoko was at its height. This commode is the embodiment of the qualities of design, craftsmanship, and above all fashion, which were the hallmarks of Germany’s most renowned rokoko cabinet maker.
The refined diamond parquetry and diagonally quarter-veneered end panels in combination with moulded brass inlay are prominent characteristics of the elder Roentgen’s oeuvre, with their roots amongst his earlier work. By the time this ‘French’ commode was produced he had all but abandoned the traditional English forms on which he had capitalised when he returned to Germany a decade earlier; however, small links persisted, such as the cockbeaded drawer edgings and English handles used here. He employed this mode of decoration to great effect on furniture supplied as part of his most important commission, that for Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, Archbishop and Elector of Trier. The Walderdorff commission comprised a great variety of forms, from seat furniture to commodes, including Abraham’s acknowledged masterpiece, the famed Walderdorff desk (see Koeppe, op. cit, pp.76-81, no. 12). It is, however, the magnificent commodes Abraham supplied as part of this group, which, in both decoration and form, bear close comparison to this example (see Fabian , op. cit., 1992, fig. 45 and 1996, p. 118, figs. 258-260), and one of these famed commodes was recently sold at auction (Grisebach, Berlin, 26-29 November 2014, 2nd day, lot 318). A further related corner commode from this group was included in the seminal exhibition of the Roentgens’ work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2012 (Koeppe, op. cit., p. 74, no. 11). Fabian illustrates two further near identical commodes (op. cit. 1996, p. 122, figs. 270 & 271), which he attributes to the elder Roentgen, whilst acknowledging their slight deviation from the form he typically employed; the first of which was later exhibited at the Roentgen Museum, Neuwied as part of the ‘Edle Mo¨bel fu¨r ho¨chste Kreise: Roentgens Meisterwerke fu¨r Europas Ho¨fe’ exhibition.
The distinctive model of English writhen foliate handle used here was employed repeatedly by Abraham Roentgen, for example, it appears on a grand mahogany bombé commode from the collection of the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel (W. Koeppe, op. cit., pp. 68-69, no. 8), as well as to the commode exhibited at Neuwied. These handles would almost certainly have been acquired through contacts made during Abraham’s time working in England and the pattern is documented in the 18th century pattern book of an unidentified Birmingham maker, now in the collection of The Victoria & Albert Museum, London (N. Goodison, op. cit.).
It is interesting to note that a further group of closely related commodes has been identified in the Netherlands which have been attributed to the cabinet-maker Matthijs Franses (d.1788). Abraham Roentgen had spent time in the Netherlands as a journeyman and he may have established a link with Frances then, equally Frances may have employed German journeymen from Roentgen’s workshop or the a link may have been established through Roentgen’s connection with the Moravian brotherhood in the Nertherlands. Whatever the connection, the clear parallels between these groups seem too strong to be merely coincidence. However, the generous use of pine in the construction of this commode (as opposed to purely oak) is a strong indicator of German manufacture, which, in combination with the close comparisons already drawn with Abraham Roentgen’s documented work allows for a confident attribution to his Neuwied workshop.
The refined diamond parquetry and diagonally quarter-veneered end panels in combination with moulded brass inlay are prominent characteristics of the elder Roentgen’s oeuvre, with their roots amongst his earlier work. By the time this ‘French’ commode was produced he had all but abandoned the traditional English forms on which he had capitalised when he returned to Germany a decade earlier; however, small links persisted, such as the cockbeaded drawer edgings and English handles used here. He employed this mode of decoration to great effect on furniture supplied as part of his most important commission, that for Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, Archbishop and Elector of Trier. The Walderdorff commission comprised a great variety of forms, from seat furniture to commodes, including Abraham’s acknowledged masterpiece, the famed Walderdorff desk (see Koeppe, op. cit, pp.76-81, no. 12). It is, however, the magnificent commodes Abraham supplied as part of this group, which, in both decoration and form, bear close comparison to this example (see Fabian , op. cit., 1992, fig. 45 and 1996, p. 118, figs. 258-260), and one of these famed commodes was recently sold at auction (Grisebach, Berlin, 26-29 November 2014, 2nd day, lot 318). A further related corner commode from this group was included in the seminal exhibition of the Roentgens’ work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2012 (Koeppe, op. cit., p. 74, no. 11). Fabian illustrates two further near identical commodes (op. cit. 1996, p. 122, figs. 270 & 271), which he attributes to the elder Roentgen, whilst acknowledging their slight deviation from the form he typically employed; the first of which was later exhibited at the Roentgen Museum, Neuwied as part of the ‘Edle Mo¨bel fu¨r ho¨chste Kreise: Roentgens Meisterwerke fu¨r Europas Ho¨fe’ exhibition.
The distinctive model of English writhen foliate handle used here was employed repeatedly by Abraham Roentgen, for example, it appears on a grand mahogany bombé commode from the collection of the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel (W. Koeppe, op. cit., pp. 68-69, no. 8), as well as to the commode exhibited at Neuwied. These handles would almost certainly have been acquired through contacts made during Abraham’s time working in England and the pattern is documented in the 18th century pattern book of an unidentified Birmingham maker, now in the collection of The Victoria & Albert Museum, London (N. Goodison, op. cit.).
It is interesting to note that a further group of closely related commodes has been identified in the Netherlands which have been attributed to the cabinet-maker Matthijs Franses (d.1788). Abraham Roentgen had spent time in the Netherlands as a journeyman and he may have established a link with Frances then, equally Frances may have employed German journeymen from Roentgen’s workshop or the a link may have been established through Roentgen’s connection with the Moravian brotherhood in the Nertherlands. Whatever the connection, the clear parallels between these groups seem too strong to be merely coincidence. However, the generous use of pine in the construction of this commode (as opposed to purely oak) is a strong indicator of German manufacture, which, in combination with the close comparisons already drawn with Abraham Roentgen’s documented work allows for a confident attribution to his Neuwied workshop.