Antique Drawing Room Commodes
CHESTS: DRAWING-ROOM COMMODES
About 1750-1800
Fine quality drawing-room commode in French style, about 17 75.
Valuable and prestigious objects made for the main rooms of fine houses. Probably seldom used in a practical sense; principally valued for their fine decoration. Usually made in pairs to stand at either end of a room or against the window piers. Gradually replaced by simpler cabinets during the Regency period.
Differently proportioned to bedroom chests; usually longer in relation to height.
Two, three or four drawers, sometimes en-, closed by doors (occasionally interior shelves instead). At first in French rococo style, or bomb shape (i.e. with swelling serpentine sides), keeled corners and splayed feet
with ormolu (gilt bronze) or gilt brass mounts with matched handles. Marble or wooden tops.
Ormolu, mounted on keeled front edges of serpentine commode.
Ousted from fashion about 1770 by straight-sided semi-circular shape with straight, tapering, later turned, legs.
Fine quality woods, particularly mahogany, satinwood. Tulipwood, kingwood, harewood (green-stained sycamore), chestnut, fruit and many other woods used for marquetry and inlay. Oak when japanned. Oak and pine for carcases. Marble or scagliola (a plaster-based material imitating rare marbles) was sometimes used for tops. The latter can be plain or patterned.
Generally standard methods were employed. Mostly veneered. Bombe sections coopered or laminated beneath veneer. On mid-century examples dustboards between drawers (not a feature of French commodes until late in the century).
Many have variously arranged mahogany veneers; often geometric patterns. Before about 1770 the finest have marquetry of floral patterns, musical instruments, trophies, birds. Neo-classical inlay from about 1770
onwards of urns, shells, husks, bell flowers, acanthus leaves, sometimes shaded with scorching or overlaid with pen and ink. Oval and fan shapes were popular.
Painted decoration (not all over) included ovals containing classical figures, borders of flowers, ribbons, garlands etc. Occasionally low-relief Wedgwood plaques incorporated, with gilt brass framing.
Chinoiserie decoration (especially for bedrooms and dressing-rooms) sometimes japanned, occasionally partly composed of genuine Oriental lacquer taken from broken-up imported screens.
Polish, japanning, paint.
VALUES
A specialist market, prices in four, five or even six figures. Not objects to be purchased without expert advice.