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Lot Essay
This elegant and richly-mounted commode features several elements that are characteristic of the oeuvre of André-Louis Gilbert (maître in 1774). Among such, the recessed stiff-leaf surrounds flanked by rosettes to the corners, and the distinctive pierced apron mount which can be found on related commodes by Gilbert, including one sold, Christie's, Paris, 28 April 2005, lot 326, another from The Edward James Collection, West Dean Park, Chichester, West Sussex, sold, Christie's house sale, 2-3 and 6 June 1986, lot 135.
The angle mounts - cast with elaborate trophies emblematic of the Applied Sciences, incorporating ribbon-hung caduceus, terrestrial globe, compass and book, and ending in tassels - are of particular interest. These seemingly idiosyncratic angle mounts can be found on related commodes by Gilbert, among which a commode in the Frick Collection, New York (ref. 18.5.38), illustrated in The Frick Collection, V, Furniture Italian & French, Princeton, 1992, p. 373, and another, offered, Christie's, Paris, 21 June 2007, lot 255. A variation on the same theme - with ribbon-hung musical attributes and tassel boss - can be found on the above-mentioned commode by Gilbert from the Edward James Collection.
The angle mounts - cast with elaborate trophies emblematic of the Applied Sciences, incorporating ribbon-hung caduceus, terrestrial globe, compass and book, and ending in tassels - are of particular interest. These seemingly idiosyncratic angle mounts can be found on related commodes by Gilbert, among which a commode in the Frick Collection, New York (ref. 18.5.38), illustrated in The Frick Collection, V, Furniture Italian & French, Princeton, 1992, p. 373, and another, offered, Christie's, Paris, 21 June 2007, lot 255. A variation on the same theme - with ribbon-hung musical attributes and tassel boss - can be found on the above-mentioned commode by Gilbert from the Edward James Collection.