A PAIR OF WILLIAM IV ORMOLU AND SEVRES-STYLE PORCELAIN-MOUNTED TULIPWOOD COMMODES

This pair of stamped ormolu and Sèvres-style porcelain-mounted tulipwood commodes exemplify the pioneering practices of the cabinet-makers, Town & Emanuel, who belonged to the first generation of London firms to deal extensively in revivalist and antique furniture. Their elaborate trade label described them as, ‘Manufacturerers of Buhl Marqueterie, Riesner & Carved Furniture, Tripods, Screens . of the Finese & Most Superb Designs of the Times of Louis 14th. Splendid Cabinets & Tables inlaid with Fine Sevre & Dresden China .’ (F. Collard, ‘Town & Emanuel’, Furniture History, vol. 32 (1996), p. 81). In their production of revivalist furniture, the firm was addressing the British aristocratic taste for styles of the French Ancient Régime. One was the production of furniture mounted with porcelain plaques derived from French 18th century models with Sèvres mounts, as demonstrated by the present pair of commodes.