Fine Venetian Walnut & Tulipwood Bombé Commode - Italian c.1760

Fine Venetian Walnut & Tulipwood Bombé Commode - Italian c.1760 This fine commode is of exaggerated bombé form, meaning that the piece has double serpentine shaping to the front and single serpentine shaping to the sides and the top, creating a piece with great visual impact. Equally visually striking is the surface of the piece, the commode being veneered in walnut with rococo cartouches of bookmatched tulipwood being used for contrast on the sides and drawer fronts. The top is formed from four quarter-veneered pieces of timber, laid so as to create a charming geometric patterns which is then framed with checkered stringing in the form of a further rococo cartouche. The metalware on the commode is exemplary, being beautifully cast and chased, and consistd of a series of large escutcheon plates and very large-scale drop handles, all of the hardware being of clear rococo form. Even the lower apron on the piece is serpentine shaped and inlaid in the manner described above, and the cabriole legs have a visual line that continues upwards throughout the stiles of the piece, framing each of the drawers. Speaking of drawers, the piece has five drawers of varying shapes and sizes as well as a pull out brushing or writing side underneath the central drawer in the top bank of three. This slide has Chippendale-style axe head handles, showing a distinct English influence on a piece which is otherwise clearly of French inspiration. Italian rococo furniture, and particularly that from Venice, has a distinct character of its own, however, taking its influences and creating something very different from the sum of their parts. A related commode of similar magnificence was offered by Christie’s in their Important European Furniture and Sculpture sale on the 5th of July 2001, lot 65 and other fine examples appear in the standard literature on the subject such as G. Morazzoni, Il Mobile Veneziano del ‘700, and S. Levy, Il Mobile Veneziano del Settecento.