ATTRIBUTED TO MATTHIJS HORRIX, THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

This commode, with its daring absence of marquetry decoration, achieves a striking effect through the quality of the mahogany veneers and beautiful beading. This subdued decoration accentuates the curvilinear shapes and rounded surfaces of the commode, which has no single straight surface to any of its vertical planes. The bold bombé shape, paired with distinctive ormolu mounts, reflects the fashion in Holland in the 1760s for Louis XV furniture. In fact, so much French furniture was imported into Holland at that time, that by the early 1770s cabinet-makers in Amsterdam and The Hague demanded a ban on this threat to their livelihood. As a result, numerous Dutch cabinet-makers emulated the fashionable French style. Although veneered furniture of this type was undoubtedly made in several Dutch towns, it was probably most admired in The Hague where, as the base of the Stadholder's court and foreign embassies, the French court style had been dominant throughout the 18th century, (R.J. Baarsen, 'In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag, Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw', Oud Holland, vol. 107, 1993, pp. 161-255, p. 163).
Matthijs Horrix, of German origin, was admitted to the Hague guild as Mr. Kabinetwerker in 1764, and as the most prominent representitive of 'French' cabinet-making, Horrix rapidly became The Hague's most successful furniture-maker, which gained him prestigious commissions from the Stadholder's court early on in his career. Clearly Horrix was aware of the reason for his success - he called his shop 'In the commode from Paris', and The Hague's newspaper, 's-Gravenhaegse Courant of 28 February 1772 contained an advertisement in which he stated that his furniture was 'in the latest Paris fashion' (ibid, pp. 166, 169-170).
Although no direct comparison to a commode attributed to Matthijs Horrix is possible - the known examples all having been executed in various veneers and floral marquetry - there are certain aspects of design and construction which do correspond to this group of commodes. The outline of the beading with concave cut corners, as well as the shape of the apron forming the lower edge of the bottom drawer, can be found on a commode in the Royal Palace Huis Ten Bosch. This commode has similar concave-cut corned panels delineated by the background veneer (R.J. Baarsen, Aspecten van de Nederlandse meubelkunst in de tweede helft van de 18de eeuw, Alphen aan de Rijn, 1993, p. 62, pl. 1; p. 84, pl. 7). Furthermore, the quality of the cabinetwork on the present commode, with its thick drawer linings and carcass executed in the best quality oak, is of a quality only achieved in the Netherlands by Matthijs Horrix and his workshop.
The distinctive ornamental gilt-bronze mounts which embellish Dutch furniture in the French style were, however, rarely produced in Holland. Remarkably, the mounts of this period can be traced to Britain and appear in sales catalogues of a Birmingham metalwork firm, which was almost certainly manufacturing mounts for export. Variations occur in the mounts of the commodes attributed to Horrix, although the mounts on the apron of this commode can be found on three other commodes (Baarsen, op. cit., pls. 12-14, 24, 32).