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Lot Essay
Most probably conceived for a private apartment these exquisite commodes are of slender proportions but display the full splendour of the Spindler brothers' famous marquetry.
Johann Friedrich (1726-1812) and Heinrich Wilhelm (1738-1788) most certainly trained with their father before taking over his atelier at the court in Bayreuth. Assisted by their brother Jacob (1724-1792), they executed the famous 'Marquetry Chamber' at Schloss Fantaisie near Bayreuth (the surviving panels of the boiserie being now preserved at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich) before relocating to Potsdam in circa 1763 where they became Court ébénistes or Hofebenisten to Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712-1786). Their style was influenced by the prints and drawings of Jean-François Cuvilliès and Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt (Directeur des ornements for Frederik the Great) as well as by the works of Swiss sculptor Johann Melchior Kambly (1718-1783) who is known to have collaborated with the Spindlers and who embellished their furniture with sumptuous tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl and bronze mounts. But it is undoubtedly the furniture and boiseries which they supplied for the rooms in the Neues Palais in Potsdam, that gave the Spindler brothers the unconditional recognition they deserved.
Among examples most closely related to the present pair, a commode of comparable proportions, floral marquetry and mounts, also attributed to the Spindler brothers, was offered at Christie's, London, 14 July 1990, lot 120. For further comparables and information on the Spindler brothers, please refer to the catalogue note for lot 142.
Johann Friedrich (1726-1812) and Heinrich Wilhelm (1738-1788) most certainly trained with their father before taking over his atelier at the court in Bayreuth. Assisted by their brother Jacob (1724-1792), they executed the famous 'Marquetry Chamber' at Schloss Fantaisie near Bayreuth (the surviving panels of the boiserie being now preserved at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich) before relocating to Potsdam in circa 1763 where they became Court ébénistes or Hofebenisten to Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712-1786). Their style was influenced by the prints and drawings of Jean-François Cuvilliès and Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt (Directeur des ornements for Frederik the Great) as well as by the works of Swiss sculptor Johann Melchior Kambly (1718-1783) who is known to have collaborated with the Spindlers and who embellished their furniture with sumptuous tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl and bronze mounts. But it is undoubtedly the furniture and boiseries which they supplied for the rooms in the Neues Palais in Potsdam, that gave the Spindler brothers the unconditional recognition they deserved.
Among examples most closely related to the present pair, a commode of comparable proportions, floral marquetry and mounts, also attributed to the Spindler brothers, was offered at Christie's, London, 14 July 1990, lot 120. For further comparables and information on the Spindler brothers, please refer to the catalogue note for lot 142.