9168 A large late Louis XVI mahogany and gilt bronze mounted commode by Bernard Molitor, shaped grey marble top above two drawers with swag handles, the canted corners with bronze festoon mounts, on square tapering legs with bronze sabots. Remounted.
Stamped B.MOLITOR and JME
Bernard Molitor (1755-1833) (Maitre 1787)
French circa 1790
Width; 60.5 ins (152 cms)
Depth; 23.5 ins (59.5 cms)
Height; 34.5 ins (88 cms)
£28,000
Description
Bernard Molitor (1755-1833) was born and trained in Luxembourg. He worked in the Germanic style of neat, classically straight mahogany surfaces usually with fine, lustrous veneers and highlighted with simple gilt bronze mounts. These German speaking craftsmen inevitably moved to Paris to further their ambitions and brought this refined taste with them. The designs perfectly suited the new Louis XVI style which was reacting against the exaggerated curved surfaces and extravagant mounts of the earlier styles current under Louis XV.
Molitor arrived in France in 1777 and within ten years he was working at the Paris Arsenal for the Royal court and was connected the greatest cabinetmaker of the period, Jean-Henri Riesener.
This fine commode, as with much of Molitors work shows the influence of Riesener and he is believed to have worked together on projects at this time. The grey blue St Anne marble top is beautifully cut and polished and typical of marble tops of this period, the substantial weight requires a very solid construction, which this commode has. The configuration of two full width drawers is unusual, and contributes to the grandeur of the piece which measures 152 cms in width against the standard 130 cms.
The gilt bronze handles of this commode have been changed in the later 19th century
