Thomas Moore
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Lot 85TP
A large and imposing George III mahogany commode attributed to a St. Martin's Lane of London cabinet maker 1770-1785, probably the forerunner to a design by Thomas Shearer
13 – 14 July 2022, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £7,012.50 inc. premium
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A large and imposing George III mahogany commode attributed to a St. Martin's Lane of London cabinet maker
1770-1785, probably the forerunner to a design by Thomas Shearer
The large inverted breakfront central bank of drawers of serpentine form, the overhanging half-veneered top with an ogee moulded edge, above four long graduated oak-lined drawers flanked by two smaller banks totalling eight drawers, each bank comprising four short graduated oak-lined drawers, over a reverse ogee moulded plinth base, on shaped ogee bracket feet, the Rococo handles are 18th century, 164cm wide x 67cm deep x 106cm high, (64 1/2in wide x 26in deep x 41 1/2in high)
The large inverted breakfront central bank of drawers of serpentine form, the overhanging half-veneered top with an ogee moulded edge, above four long graduated oak-lined drawers flanked by two smaller banks totalling eight drawers, each bank comprising four short graduated oak-lined drawers, over a reverse ogee moulded plinth base, on shaped ogee bracket feet, the Rococo handles are 18th century, 164cm wide x 67cm deep x 106cm high, (64 1/2in wide x 26in deep x 41 1/2in high)
Footnotes
The present lot appears to be closely comparable to a design by Thomas Shearer from his 1788 publication, "Cabinet-Makers' London Book of Prices", which is illustrated in R. Fastnedge, Shearer Furniture Designs, 1962, London, pl. 17, fig. 1 & p.22. This same drawing also appears replicated in the Pictorial Dictionary of British 18th Century Furniture Design, compiled by E. White, 2000, Woodbridge, pl. 20 fig. 1, p.185.
The offered commode has certain characteristics which have traditionally been solely associated with the documented output of Thomas Chippendale's workshop, especially during the third quarter of the 18th century. Two examples of these elements which are evident on the present chest are the use of red wash to the secondary timbers in parts, as well as the incorporation of 'stacked' or 'laminated blocking' to the bracket feet.
However, following research undertaken in more recent years, it appears to have been the case that a number of cabinet makers operating in England during the second half of the 18th century employed many of the same or similar constructional features as Thomas Chippendale.
At that time the vast majority of such firms, which were producing fashionable furniture to an extremely high standard largely but not exclusively for a wealthy and/or noble clientele, were located on St. Martin's Lane in London (or at least within its immediate environs). Aside from Chippendale, it is recorded that cabinet makers and 'upholsterers' as prominent and historically important as William Hallett, John Channon, William and John Linnell, William Vile and John Cobb, Benjamin Goodison and James Paine had their businesses located in this historically renowned area of the city.
Another aspect of this striking commode is the exceptional quality of its densely grained mahogany timber which is particularly notable with regard to the half veneered top. Whilst the top itself, with its strikingly overhanging rear ends, elegant shaping overall and lovely moulded edge, is certainly reminiscent of some of Chippendale's finest output of the 1760s and 1770s.