Beschreibung:

Y A FINE AND RARE PAIR OF GEORGE III SATINWOOD COMMODES PROBABLY BY SEDDON, SONS & SHACKLETON, CIRCA 1790Each cross-banded overall in Amaranth, the breakfront D-shaped tops above a panelled frieze fitted with a drawer, above oval-panelled doors decorated with a group apple picking and the other of a shepherdess, enclosing a shelf, on taper-hermed supports, the gilt brass handles original each 83cm high, 81cm wide, 35.5cm deep Provenance: Acquired from Jeremy Ltd, London, April 1978 Thence sold from the collection OF THE LATE W.N. RUMBALL ESQ at Christies, Important English Furniture, London, 28th Nov 2002, Lot 65, £50,190. These exceptional commodes, veneered in beautifully figured West Indian Satinwood, have indented and rounded columnar corners, in the French manner introduced to the Prince of Wales' Carlton House mansion in the 1780s, and illustrated in Thomas Sheraton's, The Cabinet and Upholsterer's Drawing Book, 1793. In his Appendix (plate IV) discussing pier tables 'for ornaments under a glass', he notes 'they are generally made very light, and the style of finishing them is rich and elegant. Sometimes the tops are solid marble, but most commonly veneered in rich satin, or other valuable woods, with a cross-band on the outside'. A satinwood and painted cabinet with similar French corners and taper-hermed legs, has been attributed to Messrs. Seddon, Sons & Shackleton (C. Gilbert, 'Seddon, Sons & Shackleton', Furniture History, 1997, fig. 27). The engravings on the offered lot depict attractive scenes of rural life, such as feature in the paintings of James Ward, R.A. ( 1769-1859).