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English classic
A Chippendale period serpentine mahogany chest with marquetry inlay
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A Chippendale period serpentine mahogany chest with marquetry inlay
31 1/4 in (79 cm) high; 42 1/2 in (108 cm) wide; 22 1/2 in (57 cm) deep
A Chippendale period serpentine mahogany chest with marquetry inlay
31 1/4 in (79 cm) high; 42 1/2 in (108 cm) wide; 22 1/2 in (57 cm) deep
Serpentine dressing commodes were used in a gentleman or lady's apartment, often placed against a window pier below a mirror. These chests were used to store clothing and sometimes the top drawer was also fitted with divisions for holding brushes and other implements for the toilette.
This beautiful mahogany serpentine chest was made around 1770. Gillows of London and Lancaster are known to have made several commodes of similar inspiration and design. The marquetry inlay may have been the work of John Norris, who was employed by Gillows between July 1772 & August 1773. Norris was responsible for ‘inlaying several pairs of commode corners, large in festoon way’ which may link him to the inlay on the present commode. One of the most famous pieces of furniture by Gillows, a large cabinet made for Mary Hutton Rawlinson, wife of the wealthy Lancaster merchant Thomas Hutton Rawlinson.
Two closely related commodes on the art market in the past two decades also feature inlaid foliage at the angles: one was made for the duke of Dorset in 1772 by Gillows in Lancaster. It is recorded in their Journal for 1769-1774, under the delivery date 29 June 1772 as 'Shop in London, for a neat mahogany comode [sic], 3 foot, drawer wth [sic] toilet drawer and inlaid corners, intended for the Duke of Dorset.' It was retailed at £8.18s.6d. That commode was sold by the trustees of the Knole Second Trust Fund, Christie's London, 9June 2005, lot 279 (£33,600). A paper label on the reverse was inscribed in ink 'From Messrs Gillows & Taylor / At 176 Oxford Street London'.
Similar inlay is also found on a commode illustrated in S. Whittington and C. Claxton Stevens, The Norman Adams Collection, Woodbridge, 1999, p. 371, and on a chest of drawers sold Bonhams, 9 March 2016, lot 98.
Literature:
S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, vol. I, pp. 364-5.
Description:
A George III mahogany serpentine dressing-chest, circa 1770.
The shaped rectangular top above four graduated drawers between canted angles inlaid with foliage, on bracket feet
Please see downloadable pdf for higher resolution images and price.
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.svg)
A Chippendale period serpentine mahogany chest with marquetry inlay
31 1/4 in (79 cm) high; 42 1/2 in (108 cm) wide; 22 1/2 in (57 cm) deep
Serpentine dressing commodes were used in a gentleman or lady's apartment, often placed against a window pier below a mirror. These chests were used to store clothing and sometimes the top drawer was also fitted with divisions for holding brushes and other implements for the toilette.
This beautiful mahogany serpentine chest was made around 1770. Gillows of London and Lancaster are known to have made several commodes of similar inspiration and design. The marquetry inlay may have been the work of John Norris, who was employed by Gillows between July 1772 & August 1773. Norris was responsible for ‘inlaying several pairs of commode corners, large in festoon way’ which may link him to the inlay on the present commode. One of the most famous pieces of furniture by Gillows, a large cabinet made for Mary Hutton Rawlinson, wife of the wealthy Lancaster merchant Thomas Hutton Rawlinson.
Two closely related commodes on the art market in the past two decades also feature inlaid foliage at the angles: one was made for the duke of Dorset in 1772 by Gillows in Lancaster. It is recorded in their Journal for 1769-1774, under the delivery date 29 June 1772 as 'Shop in London, for a neat mahogany comode [sic], 3 foot, drawer wth [sic] toilet drawer and inlaid corners, intended for the Duke of Dorset.' It was retailed at £8.18s.6d. That commode was sold by the trustees of the Knole Second Trust Fund, Christie's London, 9June 2005, lot 279 (£33,600). A paper label on the reverse was inscribed in ink 'From Messrs Gillows & Taylor / At 176 Oxford Street London'.
Similar inlay is also found on a commode illustrated in S. Whittington and C. Claxton Stevens, The Norman Adams Collection, Woodbridge, 1999, p. 371, and on a chest of drawers sold Bonhams, 9 March 2016, lot 98.
Literature:
S. Stuart, Gillows of Lancaster and London, vol. I, pp. 364-5.
Description:
A George III mahogany serpentine dressing-chest, circa 1770.
The shaped rectangular top above four graduated drawers between canted angles inlaid with foliage, on bracket feet
Please see downloadable pdf for higher resolution images and price.
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