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Lot Essay
Adam Weisweiler, maître in 1778.
This sophisticated commode, incorporating a precious 17th century Japanese lacquer cabinet, is a superbly elegant example of the fruitful collaboration between the ébéniste Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820) and the Parisian marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre, who probably oversaw its conception.
In the late 18th century, Adam Weisweiler supplied Dominique Daguerre with various pieces incorporating lacquer panels which subsequently were delivered to the greatest collections in Europe. The frst recorded commissions of this type occurred in 1784 when Daguerre supplied the celebrated table à écrire for the cabinet intérieur of Marie-Antoinette at the château de Saint-Cloud, now in the Louvre (inv. OA 5509) and a secrétaire à abattant for the cabinet intérieur du Roi à Versailles (private collection, illustrated in P. Lemonnier, Weisweiler, Paris, 1983, p. 63). Another important commission executed by Weisweiler was a group of pieces comprising a pair of secrétaires, a commode à vanteaux and a cylinder bureau, all incorporating Japanese panels and acquired from Daguerre and Lignereux in 1790 and 1792 by Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, for his study at Caserta (discussed in detail by Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios in Daguerre, Lignereux and the king of Naples’s Cabinet at Caserta, Burlington Magazine, June 2005, pp. 431-442). Daguerre also supplied many of the greatest collections assembled by the English aristocracy in the 1780’s and 1790’s, notably the Prince Regent, later George IV, whose passion for lacquer is well-recorded.
This trapezoidal-shaped commode, a shape also called ‘à l’Anglaise’ in the late 18th century, was possibly intended for the English market. Originally conceived with small open shelves to the sides, these were replaced to the present confguration by introducing two curved Japanese lacquer panels, probably in England during the 19th century. Interestingly, an almost identical commode by Weisweiler, which retains its original shelves to the sides, was supplied by Daguerre to Earl Spencer at Spencer
House and now forms part of the Spencer collections at Althorp House (illustrated in F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1973, cat. 149). Furthermore, Daguerre’s stock sale at Christie’s London on 25-26 March 1791 included two commodes possibly of a similar model, although the descriptions are not suficient enough to allow identifcation with any known examples: lot 60 of the frst day is listed as ‘an elegant commode, comprised of the very old raised Japan and veined marble top, rich mounted in or-moulu’ and lot 71 of the second day as ‘A fne commode of the fne old Japan, with marble top and rich arabesque frieze in or-moulu’.
Late 18th century commodes incorporating 17th Century Japanese cabinets were not limited to Adam Weisweiler exclusively. Several pieces of this type, but by other ébénistes, are recorded, such as a pair of commodes by Etienne Levasseur which appeared in the sale of the fnancier Randon de Boisset in 1777 (one of which is now in a private collection, illustrated in A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London, 1989, p. 315) and a related pair of commodes by Molitor with ebony surrounds, of which one is now in the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, and the other in a private collection ( illustrated in U. Leben, Molitor Ebéniste from the Ancien Régime to the Bourbon Restoration, London, 1992, p. 182, cats. 28 a and b.). Another similar commode incorporating a Japanese cabinet, dated early 19th century and unstamped, was sold at Christie’s, New York, 19 October 2007, lot 35.
This sophisticated commode, incorporating a precious 17th century Japanese lacquer cabinet, is a superbly elegant example of the fruitful collaboration between the ébéniste Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820) and the Parisian marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre, who probably oversaw its conception.
In the late 18th century, Adam Weisweiler supplied Dominique Daguerre with various pieces incorporating lacquer panels which subsequently were delivered to the greatest collections in Europe. The frst recorded commissions of this type occurred in 1784 when Daguerre supplied the celebrated table à écrire for the cabinet intérieur of Marie-Antoinette at the château de Saint-Cloud, now in the Louvre (inv. OA 5509) and a secrétaire à abattant for the cabinet intérieur du Roi à Versailles (private collection, illustrated in P. Lemonnier, Weisweiler, Paris, 1983, p. 63). Another important commission executed by Weisweiler was a group of pieces comprising a pair of secrétaires, a commode à vanteaux and a cylinder bureau, all incorporating Japanese panels and acquired from Daguerre and Lignereux in 1790 and 1792 by Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, for his study at Caserta (discussed in detail by Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios in Daguerre, Lignereux and the king of Naples’s Cabinet at Caserta, Burlington Magazine, June 2005, pp. 431-442). Daguerre also supplied many of the greatest collections assembled by the English aristocracy in the 1780’s and 1790’s, notably the Prince Regent, later George IV, whose passion for lacquer is well-recorded.
This trapezoidal-shaped commode, a shape also called ‘à l’Anglaise’ in the late 18th century, was possibly intended for the English market. Originally conceived with small open shelves to the sides, these were replaced to the present confguration by introducing two curved Japanese lacquer panels, probably in England during the 19th century. Interestingly, an almost identical commode by Weisweiler, which retains its original shelves to the sides, was supplied by Daguerre to Earl Spencer at Spencer
House and now forms part of the Spencer collections at Althorp House (illustrated in F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1973, cat. 149). Furthermore, Daguerre’s stock sale at Christie’s London on 25-26 March 1791 included two commodes possibly of a similar model, although the descriptions are not suficient enough to allow identifcation with any known examples: lot 60 of the frst day is listed as ‘an elegant commode, comprised of the very old raised Japan and veined marble top, rich mounted in or-moulu’ and lot 71 of the second day as ‘A fne commode of the fne old Japan, with marble top and rich arabesque frieze in or-moulu’.
Late 18th century commodes incorporating 17th Century Japanese cabinets were not limited to Adam Weisweiler exclusively. Several pieces of this type, but by other ébénistes, are recorded, such as a pair of commodes by Etienne Levasseur which appeared in the sale of the fnancier Randon de Boisset in 1777 (one of which is now in a private collection, illustrated in A. Pradère, French Furniture Makers, London, 1989, p. 315) and a related pair of commodes by Molitor with ebony surrounds, of which one is now in the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, and the other in a private collection ( illustrated in U. Leben, Molitor Ebéniste from the Ancien Régime to the Bourbon Restoration, London, 1992, p. 182, cats. 28 a and b.). Another similar commode incorporating a Japanese cabinet, dated early 19th century and unstamped, was sold at Christie’s, New York, 19 October 2007, lot 35.