A commode with in-curved sides and a serpentine front, raised on low fluted feet (replaced). Access to the commode is from the sides. The front shows a single panel of marquetry in purpleheart, mahogany and other woods, on a ground of harewood, centreing on a circular medallion, hanging from a ribbon bow, flanked by swags of husts also pendant from ribbon bows. The side panels of the commode show marquetry of large, neo-classical vases on a ground of harewood. The marquetry of the top centres on a large, oval paterae (rosette).

A commode of oak and softwood, veneered with a variety of woods including tropical hardwoods, with in-curved sides and a serpentine front, raised on low fluted feet (replaced). Access to the commode is from the sides. The front shows a single panel of marquetry in purpleheart, mahogany, satinwood, holly and other woods (some originally stained), on a ground of harewood, centreing on a circular medallion, hanging from a ribbon bow, flanked by swags of husks also pendant from ribbon bows. The corners of the main panels are inlaid with quarter-rounds similar to the central motif. The side panels of the commode show marquetry of large, neo-classical vases on square bases, on a ground of harewood. The two handles of each vase are in the form of serpents, with swags of laurel pendant from them.The marquetry of the top centres on a large, oval paterae (rosette), the centre with inlay showing triangular segments similar to the sections of an umbrella. This is framed with a broad band showing a 'squared serpentine' band, the sections inlaid with a formal flower head.

Bequeathed by T.H. Loveless Esq.

A pair of commodes of very similar design and apparently from the same workshop, is in the possession of Earl Mountbatten at Broadlands, Hampshire.

By the 1780s many commodes had lost any sense of being useful for storage and had been transformed into pieces of furniture that were entirely for show. At first glance it is difficutl to see how this piece opens at all (it does, from the sides) but its supremely elegant and decorative marquetry would have played a vital role in the decoration of the role for which it was originally made. The harewood base veneer would originally have been a light, silver grey, with the main roundel and the urns on either side is a variety of colours, many of stained wood that has now lost its colour. The effect would have been much closer to painted decoration. The commode may originally have been made as one of a pair, or with matching corner cupboards. Such suites of furniture were fashionable in France and were much copied in Britain.

W.10:1to:6-1917