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COMMODE, ONE OF TWO

Creator(s): Unknown

On view in: Dining Room


About this object

Panels of veneered marquetry enliven the sides and top of this commode and its companion. The rococo cartouches that frame the troubadour scenes and the contrasting veneers cut in diverging direction invest the piece with a dynamism typical of Italian furniture of the mid-eighteenth century. Panels of veneered marquetry enliven the sides and top of this commode and its companion. The rococo cartouches that frame the troubadour scenes and the contrasting veneers cut in diverging direction invest the piece with a dynamism typical of Italian furniture of the mid-eighteenth century.

The commode has veneered marquetry on the top, front and both sides. It has four drawers, the brass handles and keyhole fittings of which appear to be recent. The panel on the slightly bombe front shows two men, one of whom holds a large pot. All the scenes are framed by elaborate scroll cartouches that are interspersed with flowers and foliage. in the top scene within a rococo cartouche a huntsman returns to a waiting lady. Panels on the sides contain similar scenes: on the pight a man sits at a table laid with a carafe of wine, a knife, bread, and cheese; on the left a seated man blows a trumpet and a dog stands at his knee. The front rounded corners have vertical strips of acanthus leaves between shaped bandings. These terminate in two gilt feet carved in the shape of a lion. The legs on the back are plain.Gilt bands of carved wood frame the commode. The remaining areas are veneered with palisander.

Object name:
COMMODE, ONE OF TWO
Made from:
Wood marquetry -- gilt metal
Made in:
Piedmont, Italy
Date made:
ca. 1740
Size:
103.5 × 135.9 × 64.8 cm (40 3/4 × 53 1/2 × 25 1/2 in.)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
33.3
Class:
FURNITURE
Signature marks:
LABEL; MARK on back upper left corner: 204 (paper label); in center: No II (black crayon)
Credit line:
Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973