BY MATTHAUS FUNK, BERN, CIRCA 1760

Details

A SWISS ORMOLU-MOUNTED WALNUT COMMODE
BY MATTHAUS FUNK, BERN, CIRCA 1760
The shaped grey-veined red marble top above two feather-banded frieze drawers divided by brass fluting
34 ¼ in. (87 cm.) high; 37 ½ in. (95 cm.) wide; 22 in. (56 cm.) deep

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Charlotte Young

cyoung@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2730

Lot Essay

Matthäus Funk (1697-1783) was one of the most celebrated Swiss cabinet-makers. With his two brothers, Johann Friedrich, a carver and sculptor and Daniel Beat Ludwig, a watchmaker, he established an atelier which soon became a large and successful workshop in Bern. It is assumed that together they manufactured entire interiors. The present lot is characteristic of Funk's long standing and most popular commode model.
Comparable models can be found in the comprehensive literature by H. von Fischer, FONCK A BERNE, Möbel und Ausstattungen der Kunsthandwerkfamilie Funk im 18 Jahrhundert in Bern, 2001, pp. 102-103, nos. 170,172,173,174. A comparable example was sold at Christie’s London, Noble & Private Collections Part I , 26 April 2016, lot 134 (GBP 19,000) and another pair sold Christie's, London, Au Bord de la Mer & A Swiss Villa, 17 April 2013, lot 320 (GBP 61,875, including buyer's premium).

More from Noble & Private Collections

View All