Empire Period English Mahogany Commode, Attributed To Jacob Desmalter

Rare chest of drawers in mahogany and flamed mahogany veneer from Cuba. This refined piece of furniture is said to be English dresser since the opening of the two leaves reveals a series of 3 drawers veneered in mahogany. Another belt drawer. Beautiful decoration of chiseled and gilded mercury bronzes, such as lyre, keyholes, lion's muzzle. The join between the 2 leaves is hidden by a bronze simulating a reed ring with an articulated rosette to hide the entry of the lock. Our beautiful piece of furniture is covered with a thick pink marble from Languedoc (very rare color for an Empire piece of furniture). The latter is original, since we feel the waves of the cut with the wet saw while passing the hand under it. Parisian manufacture at the end of the Empire period, 1810s. The use of the reed (allegory of water) as a bronze motif leads us to think that this chest of drawers was designed for a bathroom and probably for a room. lady's bath (taking into account the choice of an atypical pink marble, lighter and less martial). This piece of furniture is also characterized by a very great care attached to multiple qualitative details: rich garnish of gilded mercury bronzes, clover locks, pink marble, English drawers which are a great refinement, structure entirely in blond oak without any knot, beautiful regular and neat assemblies including on the hidden parts. Another particularity, our chest of drawers is equipped with removable feet (original assembly) to be able to present the furniture on raised feet or on a plinth which is the most luxurious version (but also more fragile in maintenance). These different elements are proof of a special order. Our dresser is not stamped, but certainly the work of one of the greatest cabinetmakers of the Empire. A detail puts on the track of its author: the crosspieces below are elegies (thinned), which is a characteristic of Jacob and which one finds on many seats left their workshops. For us the attribution to Jacob Desmalter is beyond doubt, but it can also be the work of another cabinetmaker of the same level. Beautiful piece of amateur in excellent condition, varnished with the buffer remade in new and in a traditional way in 2015 (with some times of veneer). We had it cleaned and refreshed by our cabinetmaker. The marble is intact, the mercury gilding very beautiful. Length 124cm Depth 65.5cm Height in high position on feet 90cm Height in low position on plinth 76.5cm