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Lot Essay
This elegant commode is conceived in the French ‘pittoresque’ style introduced in England during the 1750s. The distinctive foliate swags on a harewood ground decorating the commode overall, as well as other more subtle differences, directly link it to a group of furniture by a currently unknown cabinet-maker, illustrated and discussed in L. Wood, Catalogue of Commodes, London, 1994, pp. 166-170, figs. 155-169. Wood notes that some of these commodes, which share either the form or decoration of the present lot and have the same distinctive mounts, have partial cursive inscriptions on the upper drawers that could potentially lead to an identification (ibid, p. 170).
The commodes are also distinguished by certain constructional features that relate to European cabinet-making techniques, making it plausible that this group of commodes was in fact constructed by an émigré cabinet-maker - notably including the open framing of the drawer supports and lack of dustboards.
Though Pierre Langlois is perhaps the most well-known émigré cabinet-maker, there were others practising in the distinctly French style as seen in the present commode, producing works individually or under the employ of other workshops. There was a close-knit group of Swedish émigrés which included most notably Christopher Furlohg, a Paris-trained Swedish ébéniste, who was under the employ of John Linnell before establishing his own workshop around 1770. His compatriots included George Haupt, also possibly employed by Linnell, as well as Carl Gustav Martin, the first of the three men to exhibit his inlaid work at the Free Society of Artists in 1771. (C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 324). At times, some of them, as well as other unknown émigrés, worked for Furlohg in his thriving workshop which executed commissions for the Prince of Wales as well as Lord Howard of Audley End. These émigrés also acted as independent subcontractors and executed individual marquetry panels that were incorporated into works by other cabinet-makers. As most work was unsigned, and with the added layer of possible subcontracting the marquetry elements, attributing work to an individual workshop or cabinet-maker remains elusive.
The commodes are also distinguished by certain constructional features that relate to European cabinet-making techniques, making it plausible that this group of commodes was in fact constructed by an émigré cabinet-maker - notably including the open framing of the drawer supports and lack of dustboards.
Though Pierre Langlois is perhaps the most well-known émigré cabinet-maker, there were others practising in the distinctly French style as seen in the present commode, producing works individually or under the employ of other workshops. There was a close-knit group of Swedish émigrés which included most notably Christopher Furlohg, a Paris-trained Swedish ébéniste, who was under the employ of John Linnell before establishing his own workshop around 1770. His compatriots included George Haupt, also possibly employed by Linnell, as well as Carl Gustav Martin, the first of the three men to exhibit his inlaid work at the Free Society of Artists in 1771. (C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, Leeds, 1986, p. 324). At times, some of them, as well as other unknown émigrés, worked for Furlohg in his thriving workshop which executed commissions for the Prince of Wales as well as Lord Howard of Audley End. These émigrés also acted as independent subcontractors and executed individual marquetry panels that were incorporated into works by other cabinet-makers. As most work was unsigned, and with the added layer of possible subcontracting the marquetry elements, attributing work to an individual workshop or cabinet-maker remains elusive.