An Important George II Carved Mahogany Commode Attributed to Paul Saunders circa 1755

the serpentine crossbanded top lined with leather above a conforming base fitted with three drawers in the frieze above a recessed cupboard with an arched molded frame with foliate carved spandrels above fluted columns, the canted corners richly carved with foliate scrolled brackets above swags of flowers, the bases with shaped cartouches enclosing peanut cabochons within foliate and C-scroll ornament, handles later, the cupboard possibly originally sliding forward.

The collection of Jules Bache

Purchased from Ginsburg and Levy, New York City

Cross banding to top with some re-laying and replacements, back edge later replaced with a straight band - molded edge with rubbing and small losses to extreme corners; old but not original leather stained and with losses and with old age cracks following lines of construction; both sided with vertical old age cracks, the one on the right with infilling, the back edges with some replacement veneers; the plinth with some small losses and replacements to the veneers overall; carving with some rubbing as usual commensurate with age; drawers with old age cracks to linings and with later paper linings; later handles but in original holes; pin holes indicating that there were originally escutcheons; retains some but not all original locks; the fitted shelf to the interior of the cupboard now lacking; the underside with later corner blocks - the original blocks almost certainly were fitted with castors; back edge of plinth replaced; construction indicates that the bottom of the cupboard probably moved in some.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present commode is virtually identical to '2 Exceeding Rich Mahog. Commodes of fine wood & wrought ornaments on Casters £45.' which were part of a large group of furniture commissioned in 1752 from the London Cabinetmakers William Kilpin, William Chesson and Paul Saunders for the State Bedchamber at the Mansion House, London, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London.  These three firms appear to have acted together to execute this important and prestigious commission for perhaps the then major public building in the City of London, although the commodes themselves were almost certainly supplied by Paul Saunders. Saunders (b. 1722-d. 1771) was a leading upholder in 'London in the 1750s and 1760s supplying the important strata of London and country house clients as well as holding the position of Tapestry Maker to His Majesty George III' (see: Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, pp. 782-785). In 1751 he appears to have entered into partnership with George Smith Bradshaw, the size of their business being indicated by a notice in the  Public Advertiser of February 6, 1755, which recorded 'an unhappy fire' at the workshop which consumed 'the Chests & Working tools of thirty-seven journeymen there employed'. The other upholders involved in the commission do not appear to be of the same stature as Saunders, William Kilpin (1725-d. 1762) of Mark Lane being recorded as working for Lord Folkestone at Longford Castle in 1754 before becoming insolvent in 1759. William Chesson (1744-47) of Fenchurch Street is also recorded as an auctioneer and in 1764 was paid £76 for 'Furniture and Upholsterer's work' at East India House. Their partnership was presumably only entered into to execute the Mansion House Commission as it appears to have been terminated in 1757, although Chesson himself submitted further accounts until after 1767. 

 

    

The Mansion House commodes have an identical profile to the present lot differing only in their handles and variations to the carved ornament of the swags and spandrels which, however, betray the same hand. The Mansion House commodes were probably originally placed as pier tables between the windows and were almost certainly intended as show pieces rather than being of functional use. In the 1762 inventory of the contents of the Mansion House they are described as 'Mahogany Serpentine dressing drawers with leather covers', the latter also having been supplied in 1754 by Kilpin, Chesson and Saunders in 1754 'for the commodes in the State Bed Chamber' at a cost of £1 5s. As with the Mansion House commodes, the present commode also has a leather inset top which might seem to be a curious feature for a piece not intended for writing, although two 'Mahogany  Tables with Tearmes' supplied by John Boson to the Countess of Burlington the Garden Room at Chiswick House in 1735 have tops similarly lined in leather (see: Burlington Magazine, October, 1985, T. S. Rosoman, 'The decoration and use of the principal apartments of Chiswick House, 1727-1770', pp. 663-677, fig. 10).

 

 

Although the present commode does not have an earlier provenance, it was at one time in the collection of Jules Bache, the prominent German-born American financier, philanthropist and art collector.

 

See:

The Connoisseur, December 1952, H. Clifford Smith, 'Two Hundred Years of the Mansion House London, and Some of its Furniture', pp. 181-185, fig. II

Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, London, 1968, p. 175, no. 19 and fig. 19

F. Lewis Hinkley, A Directory of Queen Ann, Early Georgian and Chippendale Furniture, New York, 1971, fig. 424, a closely related commode from the collection of the Marquess of Lincolnshire

Geoffrey Beard and Christopher Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, Leeds, 1986

Sally Jeffrey, The Mansion House, London, 1993, pp. 165-166, fig. 138