IN THE MANNER OF PAUL SAUNDERS, CIRCA 1740

This bureau bears the hall-marks of a top London workshop, with chamfered door stops, short-grain kickers, and the use of red wash to the back. With its serpentined and Gothic-cusped tablets and truss-scrolled feet, it is conceived in the George II 'picturesque' fashion of the 1740s, later popularized by Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, published in three editions from 1754 to 1762. In particular it relates to Chippendale's patterns for 'Buroe Dressing Tables' which each have a long upper drawer the 'whole Length of the Table' which, like the related 'Lady's Dressing Table' may be fitted with 'all Conveniences for Dressing' (ibid., 3rd ed., 1762, pls. LII and LXII). The present commode would have been designed for a lady's bedroom apartment and the upper drawer is neatly with a secretaire fitted for writing.

The dramatically scrolled feet and gilt-embellished pattern on the legs relates to the favored designs of Paul Saunders (1722-71), an 'upholder' (upholsterer) and cabinet-maker of Soho, London, who subscribed to Thomas Chippendale’s Director, and was undoubtedly inspired by its designs. The carved acanthus foliage seen here is a variation of a recurring motif on Saunders’ seat-furniture, and is found on the supports of two sets of dining-chairs at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, which were part of Saunders’ documented commission for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (1697-1759). This motif was also used by Wright and Elwick of Wakefield, and it is interesting to note that Richard Wright (1745-1771) in the early part of his career worked for Saunders as a director of ‘The Royal Tapestry Manufactory’ (see: A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, figs. 378-379).