REGENCY-PERIOD CHEST OF DRAWERS Attributed to Charles Cressent In satinwood and amaranth veneer, with chiselled and partially re-gilded bronze ornamentation, restored griotte red marble top; the front features two drawers with no visible cross-bars, the sides decorated with a female mask surrounded by leaf-motif clasps, the arched legs adorned with bronze feet; restorations H.: 84.5 cm (33 ¼ in.) W.: 131 cm (51 ½ in.) Depth: 65.5 cm (25 ¾ in.) Provenance: Formerly in the Davis collection; Sale, Christie’s London, 8 June 1961, lot 69; Christie’s London sale, 5 July 1984, lot 65; Christie’s London sale, 18 June 1987, lot 191; Gismondi Gallery, Antibes; Formerly in the Marina Picasso collection; Sold at Christie’s Monaco, 17 June 2000, lot 120; Partridge Gallery, London; Sold at Christie’s New York, 17 May 2006, lot 174. Bibliography: A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Editions Faton, Dijon, 2003, p. 286, no. 151 (reproduced). A Regency gilt-bronze-mounted, satinwood and amaranth commode, attributed to Charles Cressent Whilst producing furniture of great opulence and constant innovation, Cressent developed, from the late 1720s onwards, a type of commode whose bronze decoration echoed, in a simplified form, that of the various families of ‘commodes à palmes’. On this model, the central cartouche featured the characteristic bell-shaped design, with two opposing crooks—one fluted, the other scalloped—arranged around a cascade of flowers of varying lengths. The corner scrolls accompanying these pieces may feature mosaic decoration, an openwork scroll motif in the Rocaille style, or, as is the case with our chest of drawers, a twisted scroll motif. In this regard, it is worth noting that these same cascades, which are more characteristic of a Desforges design, are also found on another Cressent chest of drawers sold at Sotheby’s London on 10 June 1994, lot 78 (cf. A. Pradère, ibid, p. 285, no. 144). The pull-out knobs featured on our example are also found on other pieces by Cressent, such as the example held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Lyon or that from the former Boisrouvray collection (see A. Pradère, ibid, p. 285, nos. 150 and 152). The oak construction, which is unusual for Cressent, may indicate that the frame was subcontracted; this is also seen on the Cressent chest of drawers from the former Rudolf von Goldschmidt-Rothschild collection, later the Mannheimer collection, now held in the collections of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (see A. Pradère, ibid, p. 285, no. 146).