Posts Tagged ‘andre charles boulle’

FRANCE: French 1848-1900 Antique Furniture
IN CONTRAST TO THE reconciliatory stance adopted by Louis-Philippe, Napoleon III sought to align himself firmly with the Classical past as part of his consolidation of power. Designs from the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, were appropriated along with forms and decorative motifs from the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Napoleon III had promised France glory, and he hoped to provide this at least in part by reminding it of a golden age. There was also a pan-European revival of interest in the Classical and Renaissance periods.
LUXURY AND COMFORT
Dark woods, especially mahogany and ebony, were used in abundance by the cabinet-makers of the time. Newer materials such as cast iron, turned out by foundries all over newly industrialized France, and papier-mache, provided a contemporary twist. Precious materials such as gilt bronze heralded the wealth and status of the owner and loaned visual interest to a piece, as did inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl, which provided a dramatic contrast to the dark wood. A revival of the intricate veneering and marquetry work as practised by Andre-Charles Boulle in the time of Louis XIV further added to the sumptuous decadence that is a hallmark of Second Empire furniture.
Comfort was a high priority. Upholstery became far more prevalent due to the widespread availability of the
The Salon de Musique This music room at the Chateau de Compiegne has an eclectic mix of 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century furniture that is typical of interiors of the Second Empire.
coiled spring. Tapissier chairs, named for the richly embroidered upholsteries with which they were covered, became staples of fashionable salons. The
1850s saw the introduction of new forms to the canon of French cabinetmaking, including the round, upholstered ottoman known as the pouffe, which is still in use today. The dos-d-dos and the boudeuse, or courting chair, also date from this period. In such seating, the occupants sat beside each other but facing away from each other, divided by an “S”-shaped seat rail.
ANTIQUARIAN NATIONAL STYLE Architectural elements, such as columns and pediments drawn from Greco-Roman buildings, provided the Classical and Renaissance look that pandered to the Emperor’s desire to root his regime firmly in the glorious past. Egyptian motifs provided a similar link but were the consequence of French archaeologist Marcel Dieulafoy’s keen interest in architecture. Many 19th-century designers were heavily influenced by his studies of excavated Egyptian and Middle-Eastern buildings. All these ingredients combined to produce a national style that became more extreme towards the end of the century, as shown by the kingwood vitrine opposite.
“BOULLE” CABINET
This Louis XIV-inspired cabinet is decorated with premiere-partie boullework on a red tortoiseshell ground. The black, shaped, rectangular marble top has moulded serpentine edges. The conforming front has a frieze above a door, centred with an oval panel and flanked by outset rounded stiles with figural chutes. The shaped skirt is centred with an espagnolette and raised on disc feet.
c.1850.
LOUIS XVI TABLE
Almost an exact copy of an 18th-century piece, this rosewood, marquetry-inlaid, gilt-metal mounted side table has a fitted frieze drawer. The table top is raised on gilt-metal caryatid legs. The legs are joined by a pierced platform stretcher with a bowl at its centre, and stand on spiral, tapered feet. 1880.
TRANSITIONAL-STYLE COMMODE
This kingwood, satinwood, and gilt-metal mounted serpentine commode has a marble top with outset corners. The three long drawers have inlaid panels, each centred by a grotesque mask motif. The capped, splayed legs are joined by a shaped apron and have hoot feet. c.1900.
Gabriel Viardot was an expert woodcarver and was already operating his own business when he took over the reins of the family furniture business in 1861. Records show that in 1885 Viardot employed around 100 men at his premises on Rue Amelot in Paris. I lis renown was such that he was invited to adjudicate at the Expositions Universelles held in Paris. He also submitted his own pieces for exhibition and was the recipient of a series of awards, including a gold medal in 1889. The Viardot name is most closely associated with furniture in the Japanese style, but he also produced Vietnamese stylework – Vietnam was one of Napoleon III’s most prized colonies.
The furniture created by Viardot was solidly constructed, typically from beech or walnut, with decorative motifs drawn from the East. Grotesque masks, very much a feature of mainstream French furniture, were adapted so that they took on an Eastern countenance. Carvings depicting dragons and demons were inspired by Oriental mythology and tradition, and the frequent use of lacquer coating was a direct influence of Chinese style. Viardot’s juxtaposition of European and Eastern forms resulted in the creation of very distinctive pieces that bridged the gap between exotic imports and more prosaic homespun furniture.
The drawers are inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
KINGWOOD VITRINE
The tapering ogee top of this serpentine vitrine has a central cartouche above a pair of glazed doors and sides, enclosing a mirrored interior. Below is a single central door inspired by Louis XV style with a vernis martin bombe panel of lovers.
The carved dragon motif is inspired by Oriental mythology.
The fret decoration is in the Chinese style.
The surface is inset with velvet.
Dressing table This piece is made of stained beechwood with mother-of-pearl inlays. It has an asymmetrical appearance that is Asian-inspired, but it is of European construction. c.1890.
CONVERSATION SEAT
This Louis XV-style giltwood and upholstered conversation seat is covered in a red and gold striped fabric. The piece has a serpentine back with a shell surmount and stands on moulded, cabriole legs. c.1890.

Pedestal and kneehole desks
Conceived as both dressing tables and bureaux, kneehole desks first appeared in France and The Netherlands in the second half of the 17th century. Since the 19th century, at least, they have been known as bureaux Mazarins after Louis XIV’s First Minister, Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-61). Early examples were commissioned by members of the French court as luxury items. Usually mounted with moulded brass borders and elaborate escutcheons or ormolu keyhole mounts, bureaux Mazarins of the late 17th century are most frequently made of brass-inlaid red tortoiseshell in the style associated with Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732).
WALNUT KNEEHOLE DESKS
At the end of the 17th century the bureau Mazarin kneehole desk was adapted and simplified into the kneehole “burry” or desk. Until c.1740 these were usually made of walnut or red walnut, although
provincial examples in oak and fruitwood also survive. The most sophisticated examples include those made of burr woods or of stained woods, simulating mulberry, and also “japanned” kneeholes, usually black or red. The most elaborate George I and George II kneeholes (1714-60) have both crossbanded and featherbanded decoration; the tops and sides are often quarter-veneered. The ever-larger kneeholes made under George III (1760-1820) were constructed in mahogany, often in the solid, with mahogany drawer-linings; they are often exotically decorated, and stand on shaped bracket feet, which replaced the earlier bun feet.
PEDESTAL DESKS
The introduction of pedestal desks – a predominantly British form – reflected the demand for large, freestanding desks, which were more comfortable to sit at than the kneehole desk. First made in walnut c.1720 to 1730, they became widespread in mahogany during the reign of George II. Late 18th-century desks usually have three drawers in the friezes; the pedestals are fitted with either drawers or folio cupboards, and stand on moulded plinths, often with hidden casters. Pine or oak examples tend to be painted underneath with a reddish wash, and Regency pedestal desks are also blackened. During the early I 9th century, exotic timbers, particularly rosewood, salamander, amboyna, and ebony, were used, and firms such as Marsh & Tatham of London enriched Regency pedestal desks with brass inlay. Reacting to this trend, the cabinet-maker George Bullock (c.1777-1818) championed the use of indigenous woods, particularly pollard oak and holly. This return to natural woods and utilitarian designs influenced the Victorian cabinet-makers, whose desks are distinguished by their squatter, slightly heavier form and plain wooden knob handles. More elaborate examples were produced in the late 19th century in satinwood and marquetry, or with painted decoration, by firms including Edwards & Roberts.

• BUREAUX MAZARINS late 19th-century copies often have inset leather tops instead of marquetry ones.
• KNEEHOLE DESKS crossbanding and featherbanding to the sides, brushing-slides, or fitted drawers add to their desirability; lacquered-brass handles (often replaced) arc a good indication of quality – the finest examples often have either engraved metalwork or elaborately pierced backplates; most examples have thin dovetailed drawer-linings in oak, but provincial kneeholes are Often made of pine; early provincial examples have different and cheaper stained timber on the sides.

Library and writing tables.
The earliest-known tables specifically designed for writing date from 16th-century Italy, when cabinetmakers produced elaborately carved walnut tables with sloping desks fitted into the tops and small drawers below for the storage of writing materials. Similar tables, or bureaux, probably originated in France during the third quarter of the 16th century.
THE 18TH CENTURY
Tables designed specifically for writing were introduced in England after the Restoration (1660). French tables influenced English designs during this period, and both French and English examples were usually made of oak or walnut with a rectangular folding top. The flap was supported by baluster or tapered pillar legs they are often decorated with “seaweed” or floral marquetry and closely parallel the Dutch models. During the early 18th century the Louis XIV concept of a free-standing bureau plat (a flat-topped writing table) invented by Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) was taken up and adapted by English cabinet-makers. Intended to occupy a central position in the library, and to act as a statement of the wealth and power of its owner, such desks reached the zenith of their popularity in England during the mid-18th century, and by the third edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1762) by Thomas Chippendale (1718-79), no less than 11 types of carved open pedestal desk were illustrated.
As postal systems developed, and as paper became cheaper and standards of education improved, so the need arose for less stately versions of the writing table, particularly for use by women. Some of these tables appeared in Chippendale’s Director; while others featured in The Universal System of Household Furniture (1762) by John Mayhew (1736-1811) and William Ince (c.1738-1804). A great range of new forms came into use at this time, which were notably lighter than their predecessors. Neo-classical tables were made in exotic hardwoods such as satinwood, an expensive and very fashionable wood that was particularly suited to this lighter style of table, and many examples were adorned with fine marquetry.
THE 19TH CENTURY
Several new types of writing table developed during the Regency period (c.1790-1830), including the Carlton House desk, named after the London home of the Prince of Wales (later George IV). Another fashionable form featured curved X-shaped supports at either end, with drawers in the frieze, and the flat top enclosed by a three-quarter brass gallery. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, furniture designers were given the opportunity to create a wide range of new forms, when the technology required to marry wood
to metal – developed for military purposes – was applied to furniture. The furniture of the Regency period was therefore characterized by elegant design combined with ambitious construction techniques. New features included galleries at the top of the table, used either for decorative effect or to hold books safely; numerous small drawers, hinged flaps, and curved ramps, which could be pulled out as required, extending the available surface and facilitating activities such as drawing and painting; and screens that extended beyond the main structure in order to shield the writer’s face from the heat of the fire. In addition, revolving circular or polygonal “drum”tables were invented for the library, where they were used for storing and displaying books and paper.
• “BUHL” WORK examples tend to be inferior to those of the 17th and early 18th centuries: the gilding is generally brassier and the tops are inlaid, in contrast to the leather-lined tops of the 17th-century prototypes; the drawer-linings of original examples were usually in oak, while on the copies they are in walnut.
• ALTERATIONS leather tops can get ripped and have often been replaced – this should not affect value; heavy legs have often been replaced with lighter legs of an earlier style to make the table more commercial.

Dressers.
The name dresser is derived from the French dressoir, a medieval piece of furniture used either as a sideboard for displaying plate and for serving wine, or in the service quarters for preparing and serving food, and for storing dishes and utensils. The ceremonial functions of the dressoir were transferred during the 16th and 17th centuries to the buffet or court cupboard. Enclosing the space between the middle and the top shelf with doors established the cupboard as we know it. The later type of court cupboard has an open lower stage and recessed cupboards in the upper section, or is a combination piece with cupboards, drawers, and display shelves –the now familiar dresser.
OPEN DRESSERS
The typical South Wales dresser, with an open rack and an open base below the potboard,
is simply a side table with a rack. Similar “open” types evolved in south-west Britain, where the dresser seems to have been established by the mid-18th century. Early 19th-century Cornish examples can be particularly elegant, with bowed cornices in the Regency fashion. Dressers from Devon, whether designed for parlour or dairy, were usually of oak or elm, and plain in style. Those for use in the dairy had open bases. The type with cupboards in the base evolved into the fully enclosed dresser with glazed upper shelves in the early 19th cent.
Most Somerset dressers were classically  simple. One 19th-century type has a boarded back to the upper stage, which generally consists of three shelves, and a pair of drawers surmounting cupboards in the base; elm and/or pine are the usual timbers. Late 18th-century dressers from the Bridgwater area consist of open shelves throughout, with side supports of continuous planks.
EARLY DRESSERS
The early dresser consisted simply of a side table with drawers supported on turned legs. Some examples had stretchers, and from the late 17th century this base structure became the framework for a “potboard”, or shelf. From the early 17th century these low dressers were also made with cupboards below the drawers and, later, with additional drawers between two cupboards. With the fashion for tin-glazed earthenware after c.1650 the “delft rack” – a set of shelves on which to display delftware – was introduced. It was not long before such racks were set up on dresser bases to form an integrated item of furniture – the dresser with a superstructure.
The medieval dressoir, combining usefulness and display, was thus re-invented c.1790 for the homes of the middle classes, particularly in the rural northern and western areas of Britain.
The dresser flourished as an important item of furniture, most particularly in Wales, but also in the north-west and south-west of England, with each type having strong regional characteristics. The dresser was a country type, distinct from fashionable metropolitan furniture, and the object of desire of the well-to-do farmer. Designs were therefore traditional and conservative rather than modish, which makes dating them difficult.
CLOSED DRESSERS
Dressers from north Wales and northern England (Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire) are nearly always closed, with boards behind the shelves in the upper part. A distinctive early type from the Caernarvon area in north-west Wales has a pair of spice cupboards set into the rack, and such cupboards also appear in dressers from northern and western England. Small spice drawers placed in varying parts of the upper stages are features of many 18th-century dressers from northern Britain. The “dog-kennel” dresser, with its cupboards flanking a central open space in the base, originated in the Carmarthen area, but was later made in other parts of Wales, and in England.
Sonic mid-Wales dressers combine the “northern” and “southern” forms, having potboards below and racks boarded at the back. A version of this pattern is the Montgomery dresser, characterized by its broad proportions and pilaster cupboards flanking the shelves in the rack. The Shropshire dresser has cabriole legs, some resting on potboards, while others are freestanding. Either way their broadness is emphasized by square cupboards in the upper section, in contrast to the slender pilaster cupboards of the Montgomery dresser.
TIMBER AND DECORATION
Most dressers were made from oak, but fine examples in elm, ash, fruitwood, yew, chestnut, and walnut exist. Pine dressers were made in Scotland, Ireland, and Southwest England, and many of them were painted. While they too can be identified by their regional characteristics, these dressers were primarily utilitarian, in contrast to those made in Wales, the West Midlands, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the north-west of England, which were important showpieces, handed down from generation to generation.
Decorative motifs as well as patterns of construction sometimes spread far beyond their areas of origin. The inlaid floral motif, sometimes known as “line and berry”, familiar on dressers from around Swansea, appears on dressers from the eastern coastal areas of North America. Oak furniture with inlaid decoration or mahogany crossbanding on drawers suggests a West Yorkshire, Lancashire, or Cheshire origin.
In the 19th century many dressers were decorated with grained paintwork or stains. In Ireland the dresser, which hardly appeared before the 19th century, had a vigorously fretted and often pierced cornice with pilasters flanking the rack, and shaped sides projecting forward to enclose the sides of the working surface. The bases of some arc open and may have been curtained, while others have chicken coops in the base. Scottish dressers also typically have upstanding lips at either end of the boards; some have sloping tops to the racks to accommodate the low, angled roofs of crofters’ cottages. The so-called hen coop in the centre of sonic Scottish dresser bases was actually a slat-fronted food cupboard.

MADE-UP DRESSERS during the 19th century dressers
were made from recycled timbers, or as reproductions although from new timbers; with over 100 years of patination, many of these look 18th century MARRIAGES Often bases and racks arc put together; some low dressers may have had racks added to them.
• ALTERATIONS backboards have often been added to open racks; repairs to the feet are inevitable because of the ravages of wear, damp floors, and woodworm; shaped aprons and carved friezes have often been added to “improve” plain dressers.

Cabinets-on-stands
Created for the storage of papers and valuables, the earliest cabinets, known as “table-cabinets” as they stood on tables rather than stands, came into fashion in the 16th century. During this period they were made in Tuscany with inlaid architectural decoration, and in Augsburg with stylized Mannerist marquetry depicting architectural ruins and mythical beasts in the style of Lorenz Stoer’s Geometrica et Perspectiva ( 1567); in Spain cabinets were made with Moorish-inspired mudejar (marquetry), or in ebony with parquetry (these were also produced in the Spanish Netherlands).
MARQUETRY AND LACQUERED CABINETS
The Baroque love of rich, florid decoration led to the fashion for oyster-veneered and marquetry cabinets-on-stands, the production of which was dominated by Huguenot craftsmen trained in Amsterdam and The Hague. In the late 17th century oyster-veneering was gradually superseded by such elaborate decoration as “seaweed” marquetry, which in turn gave way to Boulle marquetry on a tortoiseshell or kingwood ground. Interestingly the illusionistic floral marquetry panels executed by Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) at the Gobelins workshops in Paris were no doubt inspired by Dutch 17th-century  still-life paintings. Floral marquetry cabinets, often enriched with mother-of-pearl or green-stained ivory, were executed throughout Europe from the 1660s, but the most celebrated makers were Jan van Mekeren (1658-1733) in Amsterdam, and Pierre Gole c.1620-84) in Paris. Often decorated with flowers and birds, even exotic parrots, Dutch and English examples of the William and Mary period (1689-1702) arc usually of walnut with oak-lined drawers, the stands enclosing two drawers and supported on four, five, or six baluster or bar-twist legs with waved stretchers and bun
Japanese and Chinese lacquer cabinets were first imported by the Fast India companies in the 17th century. Usually decorated with gilt chinoiseries on aubergine, black, or red lacquer grounds, they were mounted in silver, copper, or brass, with chased hinges and escutcheons. Oriental cabinets were exported without stands, and late 17th-century stands made in The Netherlands, Britain, and Germany tend to be in the florid Baroque taste, with caryatids in the angles and deep, pierced foliate aprons.
In the late 17th century, in response to the demand for and cost of Oriental lacquer, European craftsmen created japanning. This technique was first practised in Berlin by Gerard Dagly (1657-1710, and in England by John Stalker and George Parker who wrote A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing (1688). Later 18th-century examples are distinguished by the design of their stands, which were usually also japanned, and often enriched with Chinese fret angle-brackets.
In the 19th century the cabinet-on-stand was replaced by the display cabinet. As a result, 19th-century cabinets-on-stands tend to hark back to 17th-century prototypes, in particular those with ebony-and-tortoiseshell veneer, or of a full-blown Baroque character, with Boulle or floral marquetry and Pietro dure plaques.
• MARQUETRY CABINETS a flat stretcher is commonly used on the stand; frequently the legs have been replaced, and this will reduce value; ivory inlay is a sign of good quality; the marquetry on the inside of the cabinet should be of a rich contrast to the outside, as it has not been exposed to sunlight, and should retain its vibrant colours; during the 1770s and again in the 1840s there was an interest in antiquarianism, and 17th-century marquetry door panels were often removed and reused in more fashionable pieces of furniture.
• JAPANNING when chipped, it reveals a whitish gesso.

Chests-of-drawers before 1840.
BACHELORS’ CHESTS
Bachelors’ chests, so-called because they were originally placed in a “bachelor’s bedroom apartments”, were conceived as multi-purpose chests for storage, dressing, and writing. Predominantly of walnut, although oak and elm were used for more provincial examples, the earliest bachelors’ chests date from the late 17th century. Betrayed by their bun feet and broad, domed moulding framing the deep drawers, early bachelors’ chests are usually veneered with straight-grained walnut and simplecross banding. During the early 18th century the form became increasingly sophisticated, with neat dovetailing and the introduction of a brushing-slide above the top drawer; the heavy bun feet were discarded in favour
of shaped bracket feet. Although the form was replaced by the fashionable French commode design in the mid-18th century, provincial furniture-makers continued the tradition throughout the 18th century. However, these later examples are usually betrayed by their larger scale, often with mahogany-lined drawers, and Rococo or Neo-classical handles.
BOMBE COMMODES
The concept of a free-standing chest-of-drawers was first introduced by Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732). Initially known as tables en bureaux, and representing perhaps the earliest fusion between the table form and a sarcophagus-shaped coffer, Louis XIV Boulle commodes are characterized not only by their brass inlaid decoration but by their swollen “sarcophagus” or Roman-tomb form. During the Regence (1715-23), this developed into the commode en tombeau, which was widely manufactured by Parisian cabinet-makers. Under Louis XV bombe commodes became increasingly Rococo. Veneered on pine or oak carcases and usually with oak-lined drawers, they arc invariably enriched with parquetry or marquetry decoration, usually embracing fruitwoods and numerous exotic woods, particularly tulipwood and amaranth. More elegant and serpentine in shape than their predecessors, these commodes stand higher from the ground on slightly splayed legs with ormolu sabots (”shoes”). The geometric parquetry was often subtle, while the ormolu Mounts conveyed the full-blown Rococo spirit, perhaps nowhere more so than in the commodes of Charles Crescent (1685-1768).
Inspired by French prototypes, mid-18th-century bombe commodes with parquetry decoration were made throughout Europe, particularly in southern Germany (usually in elm and fruitwood, with long drawers above low aprons), Genoa and Naples (with distinctive dished aprons and
starburst kingwood cube parquetry), and Sweden (upright bombe form, pine carcases, and spring-locking drawers, such as those by the cabinetmaker Johann Christian Linning; 1759-1801).
The desire throughout Europe for all things “exotic”, particularly lacquer, encouraged such specialist “japanners” as John Stalker and George Parker in England, Gerard Dagly ( 16,57-1715) in Berlin, and the Martin family in Paris to produce their own versions. The name Martin became synonymous with the art of japanning, and indeed the technique is still known as vernis Martin. Louis XV commodes mounted with panels in vernis Martin painted in imitation of Oriental lacquer, with posies of flowers, and arcadian landscapes, were invariably commissioned by marchand-merciers (dealers in luxury goods) such as Simon-Philippe Poirier (1720-85). Regarded as the height of fashion and extremely expensive, they were mounted with luxurious ormolu mounts, and many can be accurately dated to between 1745 and 1749 through a tax mark.
GEORGIAN CHESTS-OF-DRAWERS
The commode reached England through such celebrated pattern-books as The Universal System of Household Furniture (1762) by John Mayhew (1736-1811) and William Ince (c.1738-1804) and The GGentleman Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1754-62) by Thomas Chippendale (1718-79), who described the form as a “French commode tables)”. However, the majority
of George II and George III chests-of-drawers are simple and plain, and the vast majority of those that correspond closely to published patterns arc usually Victorian. They are often of mahogany, with canted rectangular or
serpentine-fronted moulded tops above graduated drawers and moulded plinths with shaped bracket feet refinements to this basic form include fitted dressing-drawers or brushing-slides; canted angles carved with either trailing foliage, cluster-columns, or Chinese blind-fret; ogee or carved bracket feet; and luxuries such as superb lacquered-brass handles, cedar-lined drawers, and S-pattern keyholes, all of which are characteristic of Chippendale’s workshop. However, during the 1760s sumptuous marquetry commodes in the Louis XV manner, introduced by Pierre Langlois (active 1759-81) of Tottenham Court Road, London, became increasingly fashionable. As a result, plain figured mahogany was often discarded in favour of exotic woods, including sabicu, rosewood, and ebonny, and later satinwood, often with parquetry. During, the 1770s the marquetry style that had been so swiftly adopted for commodes by cabinet-makers such as John Cobb (C. 1715-78) and the firm of Ince & Mayhew (est. 1787) became increasingly linear and Neo-classical in design.
TRANSITIONAL AND NEO-CLASSICAL COMMODES
The explosion of Neo-classicism was slow to filter through, and sometimes during the 1760s there was an unhappy fusion of Neo-classical decoration on Rococo forms. Commodes of this type are known as Transitional, a form particularly identified with the French cabinet-makers Jean-Francois Oeben (1721-63) and Roger Vandercruse ( 172 8-99 ).
As the Transitional style became more refined, plain linear commodes, veneered in satinwood or mahogany and virtually denuded of mounts, were made. During the 1770s and 1780s the cabinet-makers Jcan-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) and Gilles Joubert (1689-1775) continued to supply the royal household with sumptuous commodes enriched with lavish Neo-classical ormolu Mounts and pictorial marquetry panels, while Etienne Levasseur (1721-98) and Adam Weisweiler (17441820) promoted a return to the “antique” style of the late 17th century particularly the brass inlay associated with Boulle. On a more modest level the basic commodes remained remarkably unchanged throughout the Louis XVI and Directoire (1795-9) periods. Made in the solid (as opposed to veneered) and usually of mahogany, although more provincial examples arc often of fruitwood, they have cared, moulded marble tops above two or three short frieze drawers and long panelled lower drawers, flanked by fluted angle columns, and stand on turned, tapering legs with toupie feet in brass caps. Dependent again on the figuring of the timber for impact, although this is often enhanced by brass stringing, they are restrained examples of architectural Neo-classicism. Particularly inspirational to English cabinet-makers through the influence of architects such as Henry Holland (1745-1806), this general form of commode was widely copied throughout Europe. It was through the work of the cabinet-makers David Roentgen (1743-1807), in Germany, and Christian Meyer (active 1787), who worked in Russia but may have trained under Roentgen, that this style reached its apogee.
MAGGIOLINI COMMODES
Neo-classical marquetry commodes were made throughout Europe from the 1770s. The fashion originated in Paris and rapidly spread across Europe. In Italy the Neo-classical style is synonymous with the Giuseppe Maggiolini (1738-1814) in Milan. His work is characterized by superb Neo-classical and arabesque marquetry in walnut, olivewood, and tulipwood, although he also used rosewood in the early 19th century. “Maggiolini” commodes are usually loosely constructed, with a rough-hewn softwood carcase and thickly dovetailed poplar-lined drawers. Owing to the prolific production of commodes from Maggiolini’s workshops during the early 19th century not to mention that of his competitors and imitators, the quality of work inevitably suffered. However, the enormously popular Maggiolini commode continued to be made during the 19th century.
EMPIRE AND RESTAURATION COMMODES
Empire furniture heralded a return to the ornament of Classical antiquity, inspired partly by Aventures dams la basse et la haute Egypte (1802) by Baron Vivant Denon ( 1747-1825). The French Empire style dominated European taste through such influential publications as Recueil de decorations interieures ( 1801-12) by Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre Fontaine (c.1762-1853). These pattern-books illustrate the finest commodes executed for Napoleon I in the huge workshops of cabinet-makers including
Francois-Honore-Georges Jacob (1770-1841) and Bernard Molitor (c.1730-1833).
However, it is the designs of Pierre de La Mesangere, published as Collection de Meubles et Objets de gout (1802-35), that most clearly reveal the type of commode commissioned by less elevated patrons. These were initially veneered with mahogany on oak carcases, but the British blockade of 1806 prevented colonial timbers from getting to France, and the price of mahogany rose so high that cabinet-makers were forced to resort to such indigenous woods as maple, walnut, elm,ash, and yew. Empire commodes, both those with drawers and those
with doors (a vautaux), are linear in form, the marble tops often supported above panelled friezes with ormolu mounts, the drawers flanked by columns or Egyptian herm or caryatid figures, and often supported on ebonized hairy-paw feet.
Following the defeat of Napoleon (1815) and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, commodes became increasingly restrained and visually heavy relying on flame-figured timber for impact. Often with overhanging frieze drawers and largely denuded of mounts, even handles, they frequently stood on plain plinth bases, although shallow bun feet or plain square legs were also sometimes employed. As this style inspired European cabinet-makers, particularly those in Spain and Germany, it is often difficult the origin of Restauration commodes.
Under Charles X (1824-30) commodes in a lighter, less monumental taste again became fashionable, both in lighter woods, particularly bird’s-eve maple, and in the Gothic or a la troubadour style. Closely related in form to Restauration commodes, and largely unmounted, commodes in light woods were initially inlaid with stringing in exotic timbers such as amaranth and ebony, but during the 1830s and 1840s this evolved into increasingly lavish Boulle-style marquetry. In contrast, commodes made in the Gothic taste were made in mahogany and oak and were decorated with such carved ornament as crocketed finials and arcades. Although a revival of the Gothic taste had first been proposed by the architect Mansion as early as 1804, it was not until the 1830s and 1840s that it gained more widespread interest.
• VENEERING 17th- and 18th-century veneers are hand cut and thick ( 1-3min/tt in); later veneers were machine Cut and are paper thin; often the tops of chests-ofdrawers have been revenered because of damage (water, splitting), so it is important to check that the veneers are of the same uneven thickness all over.
• ALTERATIONS check that each of the drawers in chestof-drawers is of the same construction, as often one of them will have been changed because of damage.
• SHRINKAGE this is a common occurrence and is
frequently seen in the drawer bases; this is perfectly acceptable, and sometimes the splits have been repaired with canvas; those examples that do not show signs of shrinkage should alert suspicion.
• CONSTRUCTION Italian commodes are typically rather loosely constructed and made of cheap timber.