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Lot Essay
This marquetry commode is designed in the George III ‘French’ fashion introduced around 1760, and is attributed to the ébéniste Pierre Langlois (d. 1767) of Tottenham Court Road, London. Langlois’ name has become synonymous with this style of furniture; in 1971-2, Peter Thornton and William Rieder proposed in a series of articles on Langlois how his furniture can be distinguished from that of his contemporaries like John Cobb (d. 1778) based on specific constructional and stylistic features. They noted particularly how in Langlois’ commodes the doors are hinged on the front, the apron is fixed to the carcase (rather than forming the lower part of the drawer front) and the tops are usually moulded at the sides when made of wood, all distinctive features of the present commode.
This commode closely relates to a group of commodes by or attributed to Langlois, which have been identified as ‘Group XI’ by Thornton and Rieder, and include:
* a commode at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire
* a pair of smaller commodes, also from West Wycombe
* a pair of commodes from the S. Eckman Jr. collection, sold Sotheby’s, London, 6 October 1967, lot 227, subsequently with H. Blairman & Sons, London, 1969, then Sotheby’s, New York, 23 May 1980, lot 177, and later, ‘The collection of John W. Kluge’, Christie’s, New York, 11 October 1990, lot 124
* a commode with Moss Harris, London, 1965 (ibid., p. 260)
To this group can be added:
* a pair of commodes sold Christie’s, London, 24 April 1980, lot 141
* a commode formerly in the collection of the Earls of Coventry, Croome Court, Worcestershire, sold Sotheby’s, New York, 11 October 1996, lot 181
* a pair of commodes sold Sotheby’s, New York, 7 April 2004, lot 193
This commode additionally displays the bombé form that characterises Langlois’ work although the weakening of the shape suggests a transitional phase further emphasised by the aesthetic severity of the contrasting dark and light veneers. The prominent chevron banding and marquetry ribbon of this commode is also found on the pair of smaller commodes from West Wycombe, and on ‘the Eckman’ and ‘Moss Harris’ commodes. The distinctive gilt-bronze mounts of this commode were possibly supplied by Langlois’ son-in-law, Dominique Jean (c. 1736-1812), bronze caster and gilder, with whom he shared his London workshop. Virtually identical mounts are also found on other Langlois furniture including the single West Wycombe commode, a commode formerly in the Leverhulme Collection and a commode sold from Bolney Lodge, West Sussex in September 2006.
VISCOUNT DOWNE, DINGLEY HALL AND WYKEHAM ABBEY
The present commode was formerly in the collection of Richard Dawnay, 10th Viscount Downe (d. 1965) at Wykeham Abbey, North Yorkshire, where it was photographed by Apollo in 1948. As Margaret Jourdain notes in her article, many of the furnishings at Wykeham Abbey were inherited and transferred from Dingley Hall, Northamptonshire. Dingley Hall and its contents were purchased by Hugh Richard Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe (d. 1924), in 1883. The commode may have been transferred to Wykeham Abbey, which became the Downe family seat in 1909. However, Lord Downe was also an important collector, and this commode may have been one of his acquisitions.
This commode closely relates to a group of commodes by or attributed to Langlois, which have been identified as ‘Group XI’ by Thornton and Rieder, and include:
* a commode at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire
* a pair of smaller commodes, also from West Wycombe
* a pair of commodes from the S. Eckman Jr. collection, sold Sotheby’s, London, 6 October 1967, lot 227, subsequently with H. Blairman & Sons, London, 1969, then Sotheby’s, New York, 23 May 1980, lot 177, and later, ‘The collection of John W. Kluge’, Christie’s, New York, 11 October 1990, lot 124
* a commode with Moss Harris, London, 1965 (ibid., p. 260)
To this group can be added:
* a pair of commodes sold Christie’s, London, 24 April 1980, lot 141
* a commode formerly in the collection of the Earls of Coventry, Croome Court, Worcestershire, sold Sotheby’s, New York, 11 October 1996, lot 181
* a pair of commodes sold Sotheby’s, New York, 7 April 2004, lot 193
This commode additionally displays the bombé form that characterises Langlois’ work although the weakening of the shape suggests a transitional phase further emphasised by the aesthetic severity of the contrasting dark and light veneers. The prominent chevron banding and marquetry ribbon of this commode is also found on the pair of smaller commodes from West Wycombe, and on ‘the Eckman’ and ‘Moss Harris’ commodes. The distinctive gilt-bronze mounts of this commode were possibly supplied by Langlois’ son-in-law, Dominique Jean (c. 1736-1812), bronze caster and gilder, with whom he shared his London workshop. Virtually identical mounts are also found on other Langlois furniture including the single West Wycombe commode, a commode formerly in the Leverhulme Collection and a commode sold from Bolney Lodge, West Sussex in September 2006.
VISCOUNT DOWNE, DINGLEY HALL AND WYKEHAM ABBEY
The present commode was formerly in the collection of Richard Dawnay, 10th Viscount Downe (d. 1965) at Wykeham Abbey, North Yorkshire, where it was photographed by Apollo in 1948. As Margaret Jourdain notes in her article, many of the furnishings at Wykeham Abbey were inherited and transferred from Dingley Hall, Northamptonshire. Dingley Hall and its contents were purchased by Hugh Richard Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe (d. 1924), in 1883. The commode may have been transferred to Wykeham Abbey, which became the Downe family seat in 1909. However, Lord Downe was also an important collector, and this commode may have been one of his acquisitions.