94 
House & Garden 
Spool turned walnut 
armchair with low, 
square, upholstered 
back. Latter half of 
16//; Century. Spool 
turning shows Portu¬ 
guese and Spanish in¬ 
fluence 
French Wall Furniture of the 18 th Century 
(Continued from page 31) 
Louis XIV sofa, with shaped back, cabriole legs 
and pied de biche feet. Last quarter of 17//; 
Century 
JMbert Ji, illiuus 
Sc (En. 
Antiques — Decorations 
FORMERLY 300 FIFTH AVE. 
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13 East 57th Street 
New York 
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iiii 
MILCH 
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Specializing in 
AMERICAN 
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SCULPTURE 
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New illustrated booklet with our 
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iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiili 
1*08 West 57th St., New York 
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ous rather for their pompous and som¬ 
bre appearance. 
The articles of wall furniture most 
commonly in use were console cabinets, 
cabinets, buffets, secretaires or bureaux, 
encoignures, bedsteads, armoires, book¬ 
cases, and commodes. At first glance 
this may not seem a very imposing ar¬ 
ray of furnishings. So far as mere 
nomenclature is concerned, it was not. 
But when we take into account the fact 
that nearly every piece in the list was 
susceptible of three or more variations 
in form and use, it is plain that the re¬ 
sources were not at all restricted. 
The Age of the Commode 
(1) The 18th Century was essentially 
the age of the commode, just as the 
17th Century had been the age of the 
cabinet on a stand. We find it em¬ 
ployed in every conceivable place and 
put to a wide diversity of purposes. 
The commode, defined in the familiar 
terms of English furniture, was a chest 
of drawers—usually two or three in 
number, although occa¬ 
sionally there were more 
—raised from the floor 
on short legs. The draw¬ 
er fronts were sometimes 
concealed by doors, but 
were more commonly 
visible. Very often the 
tops and bottoms of the 
drawer fronts overlapped 
the rails and made close 
joints. Frequently they 
were almost invisible, 
with the drawer fronts 
immediately above and 
below, so that no divid¬ 
ing rails or moldings 
broke the apparently 
continuous surface. This 
arrangement facilitated 
the use of continuous 
decorations. 
The typical Louis XV 
commode commonly had 
two drawers; front and sides shaped 
and swelling; sides often convergent 
towards the front; a shaped and 
ornate apron; front legs canted and 
the knee of the cabriole coinciding with 
the greatest outward swell of the body; 
and the shaped top was often of figured 
marble. One of the typical Louis XVI 
forms of commode had a body alto¬ 
gether rectangular, without the con¬ 
vergent sides, and with the surface of 
front and sides vertically straight; two 
drawers generally, but sometimes a shal¬ 
low third drawer at the top; the apron 
omitted altogether or reduced to an 
ornament pendent at the center; legs 
straight, slightly cabrioled with the out¬ 
ward swell or knee beginning at the 
base of the carcase, or straight with an 
outward splay at the foot. A varia¬ 
tion from this form had a swell or 
shaped front and sometimes slightly 
shaped sides, but the shaping was en¬ 
tirely in the horizontal plane and the 
surfaces were vertically straight so that 
the effect was rectilinear with a strong 
perpendicular accent. 
Another Louis XVI type 
of commode was of 
greater length; had a 
fuller body, sometimes 
extending all or nearly 
all the way to the floor; 
was supported by a base, 
by feet, or by short 
straight legs, or by short 
legs with outward splayed 
feet; and often had ends 
curved into a quadrant. 
This type had either 
drawers or the doors 
closing in the drawer 
fronts. Empire com¬ 
modes were usually whol¬ 
ly rectilinear in structure, 
had a body extending to 
the floor, and were apt 
to have doors rather than 
visible drawer fronts. 
(Continued on page 96) 
Carved oak Cacqueteuse 
chair 
> 
No. 27 West 56th Street 
NEW YORK 
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GALLERIES 
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