[*] Langlois commode

Commode. Oak or pine carcass veneered with rosewood and various other woods. Stringing lines of pewter; small sections of brass stringing on the lute. Ormolu mounts and with marble top.
The commode of of bombe form, this shape being carried right through to the back corners. The two large drawers meet without any division between them and the front is decorated as a single unit. A central motif is contained within an irregular cartouche framework of ormolu mounts with leaf scrolls and this shape is echoed by a pewter stringing line which runds just inside the framework. The marquetry design consists of a trophy of musical instruments and flowers suspended from a ribbon and surrounded by acanthus leaves. At the top is a keyhole escutcheon of asymetrical rocaille form. The lock operates down through the thickness of the top drawer, the tenon passing through a metal tab projecting through the drawers into the top of the lower drawer.
The ormolu framework continues from the cartouche shape along the top of the upper drawer, down the sides of the drawers and back along the lower edge of the bottom drawer to the cartouche and each of the secondary enclosures so formed is outlined in pewter stringing lines and decorated with marquetry acanthus leaves.
These outer reserves also contain the asymetrical drawer handles of elaborate rococo form which are set diagonally and at opposing angles on the two drawers. There is an apron piece, having a serpentine edge and mounted with a pouting mask flanked by acanthus scrolls.
Each side of the commode has a trophy of musical instruments and flowers in an oval reserve outlined by a stringing line in a light wood.. Four irregularly shaped frames of ormolu with acanthus leaves occupy the four spandrels at the corners and their shape is repeated just inside the frame by a stringing line of light wood.
The four corners of the commode have elaborate mounts of acanthus foliage and stylised husk motifs which spring from French scroll mounts embellishing the feet. On the back feet these mounts extend backwards beyond the rear of the commode.
There is a chalk sketch on the underside of the wooden top. It is not clear if this refers to the construction of the commode. Part of the inscription appears to be '9 inche'. The mounts are identical to those on a commode convincingly attributed to Langlois now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. This is related to a pair at Woburn, for which Langlois charged £40 in 1760.

Purchased with the assistance of the Murray Bequest

Probably made by Pierre Langlois (active 1759-1767) in London.

The mounts on the front corners of this commode are identical in design to those on the commode W.3-1962, but there is some uncertainty as to whether the mounts on that commode (about 1765) have been added at a later date.

Object Type
Commodes were first made in France in the late 17th century. This example was inspired by mid-18th-century French furniture. French-style commodes with floral marquetry were made in London from 1759.

People
Pierre Langlois (active 1759-1767) must have trained in one of the best Paris marquetry workshops, possibly that of Jean-Fran‡ois Oeben (1721-1763). Langlois shared his London premises in Tottenham Court Road with his son-in-law, the bronze-caster and gilder Dominique Jean, who made the mounts for his furniture. Langlois's London clients included John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (1710-1771), George William, 6th Earl of Coventry (1722-1809), and Horace Walpole. He sent furniture to Lady Louisa Connolly in Ireland at Castletown House, County Kildare, and to Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland, at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland.

Materials & Making
The original marble top is an unusual feature in Langlois's London work, for the tops of his commodes are usually inlaid with marquetry. The shading of the inlay (achieved by scorching in hot sand) is particularly effective (for example, the corners of the eyes of Pan's mask on the side panels). The ormolu (gilt bronze) mounts are identical to those on documented commodes supplied by Langlois to the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Coventry. The commode still has its original key with an ormolu handle.

W.8:1 to 4-1967