Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 9TP
A George III mahogany serpentine commode of relatively compact proportions in the manner of Thomas Chippendale
17 November 2021, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£5,000 - £8,000
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A George III mahogany serpentine commode of relatively compact proportions
in the manner of Thomas Chippendale
1765-1770, the top with a reverse ogee moulded edge above three long graduated oak-lined drawers, on shaped ogee bracket feet, the acanthus clasped and C-scroll cast brass handles apparently original, 109cm wide x 61cm deep x 82cm high, (42 1/2in wide x 24in deep x 32in high)
1765-1770, the top with a reverse ogee moulded edge above three long graduated oak-lined drawers, on shaped ogee bracket feet, the acanthus clasped and C-scroll cast brass handles apparently original, 109cm wide x 61cm deep x 82cm high, (42 1/2in wide x 24in deep x 32in high)
Footnotes
Certain characteristics evident in the construction of the present lot recur throughout a significant amount of the furniture produced by the firm of arguably the most renowned English cabinet maker of all time, Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779). These aspects comprise the use of a light red wash, short-grain drawer kickers and a distinctive handle pattern, the latter of which was used on many pieces made by the Chippendale workshop during the period 1765-1774.
The handle model on the offered example is very similar to the one used on a larger serpentine commode, dated circa 1770 but attributed to Thomas Chippendale, which sold Bonhams, New Bond Street, 18 December 2020, Fine Decorative Arts, lot 51. Added to this, a virtually identical handle pattern and comparable shaped ogee bracket feet to those on the above chest feature on one made for Wilton House, Salisbury, in circa 1770. This latter version is illustrated in C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, 1978, London, fig. 205, p. 117.
The more unusual three, rather than four, drawer configuration is used by Chippendale on a 'neat black rosewood Commode with a slider and glass, drawers and good locks' supplied to Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1768 for Mersham Le Hatch, Kent, which also appears Ibid., fig.203, pp.'s 116 and 230. Likewise, another three drawer mahogany variant, albeit of a slightly earlier date of construction, also sold Bonhams, New Bond Street, 18 November 2009, Fine English Furniture, lot 64.
