PROBABLY VENICE, SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY, ONE WITH DOOR APPEARS TO BE IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM, THE DECORATION APPARENTLY LARGELY ORIGINAL

Details

A PAIR OF ITALIAN BLACK AND GOLD-JAPANNED COMMODINI
PROBABLY VENICE, SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY, ONE WITH DOOR APPEARS TO BE IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM, THE DECORATION APPARENTLY LARGELY ORIGINAL
Each serpentine top above three drawers, one commode with three false drawers enclosing a fitted interior on wave molded plinth with compressed bun feet, decorated throughout with chinoiserie landscapes and flowers, with replacements to drawer divides, replacements to pulls, one pull lacking, refreshments to decoration, particularly to polychrome flowers
14½ in. (87.5 cm.) high, 28 in. (71 cm.) wide, 16½ in. (42 cm.) deep (2)

Special notice

Christie's is selling all lots in this sale as agent for an organization which holds a State of New York Exempt Organization certificate. Seller explicitly reserves all trademark and trade name rights and rights of privacy and publicity in the name and image of Doris Duke. No buyer of any property in this sale will acquire any right to use the Doris Duke name or image. Seller further explicitly reserves all copyright rights in designs or other copyrightable works included in the property offered for sale. No buyer of any property in the sale will acquire the rights to reproduce, distribute copies of, or prepare derivative works of such designs or copyrightable works.

Lot Essay

These charming commodini, richly decorated with vignettes of playful chinoiserie figures within scrolling strapwork cartouches, typify the fascination Venetian craftsmen had for the products of the Orient, made available through their longstanding trade contacts with the East. Venice was one of the first centres in Europe to develop imitations of Eastern lacquer work, starting with smaller objects such as toilet boxes, but progressing throughout the 18th century to a wide variety of large scale 'lacquer' pieces, including mirrors, commodes and bureaux cabinets.

The sides, with colourful flower-filled urns, are particularly distinctive. Similar flowers can be seen on a Venetian tray-top table, illustrated in S. Levy, Il Mobile Veneziano del Settecento, Milan, 1964, vol. II, fig. LI, and on a series of Venetian trays illustrated in S. Levy, Lacche Veneziane Settecentesche, Milan, 1967, vol. II, figs. 468-73.

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