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Lot Essay
The commode chest-of-drawers, with its serpentine form enriched with acanthus foliage is designed in the French style described as a 'French Commode Table’ in Thomas Chippendale’s Director (1755, plate XLV).
The commode pattern corresponds closely to a pair of serpentine mahogany commodes formerly at Goldsborough Hall, Yorkshire (now at neighbouring Harewood House), which are likely to have been commissioned by Daniel Lascelles (d. 1784) in circa 1771 (C. Gilbert, The Life and Works of Thomas Chippendale, vol. I, p. 259; vol. II, pp. 126-7, figs. 225-6). The direct evidence that Chippendale supplied furniture to Lascelles at Goldsborough is provided by references in the Day Work Book and correspondence of Samuel Popelwell, the steward at Harewood, to Chippendale’s foreman, William Reid, having made trips to Goldsborough in 1771-6 (op. cit.).
Another closely related commode was almost certainly commissioned by the banker, John Martin (d. 1794) for the Palladian villa, Ham Court, Worcestershire (sold Christie’s, London, 3 July 1997, lot 40, £276,500 including premium). Bank ledgers concerning the personal account of John Martin (extant only for the years 1784-6) reveal a significant payment on 8 May 1786 to 'Haig & Co.’, and it seems likely that Martin was a patron of Chippendale in the early 1770s.
The present commode and the two comparables cited differ in the shape of their apron. In the Director’s description of this design, Chippendale stipulated that 'some part of the carving may be omitted’ illustrating how designs could be modified or simplified to suit the taste of a particular client.
In Cescinsky’s description of the present commode he states that Sir John Ward’s collection included several examples of these commodes after the French fashion, and that the top of this commode was of 'green Irish marble’.
The commode pattern corresponds closely to a pair of serpentine mahogany commodes formerly at Goldsborough Hall, Yorkshire (now at neighbouring Harewood House), which are likely to have been commissioned by Daniel Lascelles (d. 1784) in circa 1771 (C. Gilbert, The Life and Works of Thomas Chippendale, vol. I, p. 259; vol. II, pp. 126-7, figs. 225-6). The direct evidence that Chippendale supplied furniture to Lascelles at Goldsborough is provided by references in the Day Work Book and correspondence of Samuel Popelwell, the steward at Harewood, to Chippendale’s foreman, William Reid, having made trips to Goldsborough in 1771-6 (op. cit.).
Another closely related commode was almost certainly commissioned by the banker, John Martin (d. 1794) for the Palladian villa, Ham Court, Worcestershire (sold Christie’s, London, 3 July 1997, lot 40, £276,500 including premium). Bank ledgers concerning the personal account of John Martin (extant only for the years 1784-6) reveal a significant payment on 8 May 1786 to 'Haig & Co.’, and it seems likely that Martin was a patron of Chippendale in the early 1770s.
The present commode and the two comparables cited differ in the shape of their apron. In the Director’s description of this design, Chippendale stipulated that 'some part of the carving may be omitted’ illustrating how designs could be modified or simplified to suit the taste of a particular client.
In Cescinsky’s description of the present commode he states that Sir John Ward’s collection included several examples of these commodes after the French fashion, and that the top of this commode was of 'green Irish marble’.