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Lot Essay
These elegant pier commodes, conceived in the George III 'French' picturesque manner were meant to be placed beneath a gilded pier glass, but were ingeniously designed so that they can also be arranged back-to-back to form a large library desk for the middle of a room, arguably making this configuration an early form of metamorphic furniture. Meanwhile, they are beautifully finished in the round with mahogany backs, further evidencing they are meant to be viewed from all sides. The fashion for the back-to-back library desk formed from two commodes or 'buroe dressing tables' originated in the second quarter of the 18th century, and in Chippendale’s words: ‘both sides were made useful’ (R.W. Symonds, ‘Back-to-back Writing-tables’, Country Life, 13 September 1956, pp. 533-534).
The exceptional quality of design and execution of the present lot suggests an attribution to a top London maker. It can certainly be attributed to a member of the 'St. Martin's Lane Syndicate' of furniture makers based in Covent Garden. This exclusive group included William Vile, William Hallett, and John Cobb, all of whom were a short distance away from the premises of Thomas Chippendale's workshop. Vile and Cobb became partners in 1750, held a Royal Warrant as 'Cabinet makers and Upholsterers to His Majesty King George III' from 1761-1764, thus they supplied a large quantity of furniture to the King and to Queen Charlotte at St. James's Palace and the Queen's House (the future Buckingham Palace).
THE COLLECTION OF ERIC MOLLER
The celebrated collection of English furniture formed by Eric Moller (d. 1988) was one of several formed in the 1940s and 1950s under the expert, almost mythical, guidance of the furniture historian R.W. Symonds (d. 1948). Moller's collection formed the basis of Symonds' 1955 book Furniture Making in 17th and 18th Century England, which became a benchmark reference for English furniture scholars. This pair of commodes is discussed on page 135 and illustrated in figures 159-161. In 1943 Moller purchased the historic home of Thorncombe Park in Surrey, which prompted his start as a collector. A large proportion of his collection was sold at Sotheby's, London, 18 November 1993, and included these commodes, where they were acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty. Other Moller pieces in the Getty collection include the Hampden House mirrors and Northumberland consoles, lots 447 and 449 in Day 3.
The exceptional quality of design and execution of the present lot suggests an attribution to a top London maker. It can certainly be attributed to a member of the 'St. Martin's Lane Syndicate' of furniture makers based in Covent Garden. This exclusive group included William Vile, William Hallett, and John Cobb, all of whom were a short distance away from the premises of Thomas Chippendale's workshop. Vile and Cobb became partners in 1750, held a Royal Warrant as 'Cabinet makers and Upholsterers to His Majesty King George III' from 1761-1764, thus they supplied a large quantity of furniture to the King and to Queen Charlotte at St. James's Palace and the Queen's House (the future Buckingham Palace).
THE COLLECTION OF ERIC MOLLER
The celebrated collection of English furniture formed by Eric Moller (d. 1988) was one of several formed in the 1940s and 1950s under the expert, almost mythical, guidance of the furniture historian R.W. Symonds (d. 1948). Moller's collection formed the basis of Symonds' 1955 book Furniture Making in 17th and 18th Century England, which became a benchmark reference for English furniture scholars. This pair of commodes is discussed on page 135 and illustrated in figures 159-161. In 1943 Moller purchased the historic home of Thorncombe Park in Surrey, which prompted his start as a collector. A large proportion of his collection was sold at Sotheby's, London, 18 November 1993, and included these commodes, where they were acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty. Other Moller pieces in the Getty collection include the Hampden House mirrors and Northumberland consoles, lots 447 and 449 in Day 3.