Suite of one Commode and four matching Corner-cupboards

Period

Louis XVI; ca. 1780-1795

Material

oak frame veneered with mahogany, sycamore, buxuswood and bois tentée. Japanese lacquered panels.

Sizes

(height) 96.00cm. (width) 55.00cm. (Length) 125.00cm.

Description

The commode stands on four tapered legs that rest on brass knobs. The legs are decorated with a sycamore motive that give the impression of an octogonal shape. The commode is fitted with brass decorations and handles that are mounted on mahogany bases to emphasize their presence.
The commode has two drawers that are decorated with lacquered panels. These panels are ingeniously mounted to the frame and can be removed together with the framing.
The corner cupboards fitted with a plank in the interior have similar decoration. The doors, that can be locked, are decorated with a large lacquered panel. The inside of the doors show a latch that allow the lacquer panels to be removed, in this case however without their framing.
This rare set of a commode with matching corner-cupboards can conceivably be attributed to Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809) who worked in the Hague, but this not altogether certain because the pieces are not signed. The bamboo frames around the lacquered panels and the shape of the legs show remarkable resemblance to the work that with certainty can be attributed to Horrix.
The remarkable fact that the lacquer panels can easily be removed, can be explained from the practice of changing the decoration of a room every half year, to adjust to the season. There was a summer and a winter outfit to decorate the room. Lighter in colour and with matching covers for the seating in summer, darker and with a more warm tone in winter. An additional set of lacquered panels might have been part of such a summer or winter decoration.
Side-cupboards were manufactured in large quantities during the 18th century. With the help of these ‘encoignures’ the optical shape of a room could be influenced.