Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 45TP
A French late 19th century/early 20th century ormolu mounted bois satine, fruitwood and stained sycamore marquetry commode after the original commode by Jean-Henri Riesener
17 November 2021, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £9,000
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A French late 19th century/early 20th century ormolu mounted bois satine, fruitwood and stained sycamore marquetry commode
after the original commode by Jean-Henri Riesener
Of breakfront D-shaped outline, the moulded marble top above two long triple panelled drawers, the central panel inlaid sans traverse with a Neoclassical ewer, a basket overflowing with fruit, flowers and ribbon-tied garden implements and an urn, flanked by two smaller flowerhead-embedded trelliswork panels inlaid sans traverse, the panels mounted with one putto emblematic of Justice and the other putto emblematic of Temperance, surmounted by a ribbon-tied entwined laurel branch and sunburst mount centred with an Apollo mask, over an apron mounted with a central globe with three fleur du lys, interspersed by four ormolu caryatids modelled as Mars, Hercules, Prudence and Temperance, each bowed end door with rosette embedded trelliswork inlay and each mounted with ribbon-tied floral swags and two different military trophies, enclosing two shelves, on four stiff-leaf and acanthus mounted tapering supports and sabots, 207cm wide x 79cm deep x 99cm high, (81in wide x 31in deep x 38 1/2in high)
Of breakfront D-shaped outline, the moulded marble top above two long triple panelled drawers, the central panel inlaid sans traverse with a Neoclassical ewer, a basket overflowing with fruit, flowers and ribbon-tied garden implements and an urn, flanked by two smaller flowerhead-embedded trelliswork panels inlaid sans traverse, the panels mounted with one putto emblematic of Justice and the other putto emblematic of Temperance, surmounted by a ribbon-tied entwined laurel branch and sunburst mount centred with an Apollo mask, over an apron mounted with a central globe with three fleur du lys, interspersed by four ormolu caryatids modelled as Mars, Hercules, Prudence and Temperance, each bowed end door with rosette embedded trelliswork inlay and each mounted with ribbon-tied floral swags and two different military trophies, enclosing two shelves, on four stiff-leaf and acanthus mounted tapering supports and sabots, 207cm wide x 79cm deep x 99cm high, (81in wide x 31in deep x 38 1/2in high)
Footnotes
The design of the offered lot closely follows a commode supplied in 1775 by Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. This original was made for the Chambre de Roi at Versailles and was intended to replace a model executed by Antoine-Robert Gaudreaux (1680-1746) and Jaques Caffieri (1678-1755) in 1739, the latter having been previously provided for the Royal Bedchamber during the reign of Louis XV. The central panel on Riesener's commode was inlaid with the cyphers of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette which, following the start of the Revolution in 1789, was replaced with a pastoral scene, also evident on the present example. This highly important and influential piece of 18th century cabinet making is now housed in the Musee Conde, Chateau de Chantilly.
A number of virtually identical commodes to the offered lot have sold at auction. Most notably these include; a pair which sold Christie's, London, 22 March 2001, The 19th Century Interior, lot 283; one Christie's, London, 1 October 2002, 19th Century Furniture, lot 7; an example sold Christie's, London, 20 March 2003, Important 19th Century Furniture, lot 91; another pair Sotheby's, London, 27 April 2010, Fine Furniture, lot 151; a single comparable was purchased Christie's, New York, 17 & 18 October 2012, 500 Years Decorative Arts Europe, lot 159; and a further model sold Bonhams, San Francisco, 18 May 2015, The Collector's Cabinet; European Furniture and Decorative Arts, lot 1357. More recently a commode of this type sold Bonhams, New Bond Street, 16 October 2019, The Contents of a 19th Century Baltic Villa, lot 12.
