A George III sycamore and amaranth commode circa 1760-65, Irish

of breakfront serpentine outline, the shaped rectangular top with projecting canted corners and crossbanded border, above a frieze fitted with three drawers, each applied with a circular gilt-brass handle and inlaid with bucrania and ribboned swags, stylised foliate motifs and pendant ornament, the central section with a large cupboard door inlaid with an urn issuing an abundant bouquet of flowers and foliage, flanked by a pair of similarly inlaid cupboard doors, each decorated with a naturalistic flowering spray, the canted angles with further marquetry detail, raised on four shaped cabriole legs, the whole crossbanded and line-inlaid throughout, bearing trade labels for 'P. J. Walsh & Sons, 20 Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin', and 'Frank Partridge, King Street, St. James' and New York', bearing trade labels for 'P. J. Walsh & Sons, 20 Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin', and 'Frank Partridge, King Street, St. James' and New York', 123cm wide, 58cm deep, 88cm high, Possibly supplied to James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster (1722-1773), for Leinster House, Dublin, or Carton House, Maynooth, County Kildare, circa 1767–68; P J Walsh & Sons, 20 Bachelor's Walk, Dublin, at an unknown date before 1922; the collection of Mrs Edward Mitchell; Christie's, London, 21 May 1970, lot 113; The Hon. David Lawrence Robert Nall-Cain (1930–2004), younger son of Arthur Ronald Nall-Cain, 2nd Baron Brocket, at Carton House, Maynooth, County Kildare; thence by descent to the present owner, Hertfordshire, UK. Literature: J F Hayward, 'Christopher Fuhrlogh, an Anglo-Swedish Cabinet-Maker', 'The Burlington Magazine'; J F Hayward, ‘A Newly Discovered Commode Signed by Christopher Fuhrlohg’, 'The Burlington Magazine'; Helena Hayward and Pat Kirkham, 'William and John Linnell: Eighteenth Century London Furniture Makers', London, 1980; The Knight of Glin, 'Dublin Directories and Trade Labels', 'Furniture History', 1985, p. 272; Lucy Wood, 'The Lady Lever Art Gallery: Catalogue of Commodes', London, 1994, particularly pp. 98-147 and p. 145, no. 13, fig. 142; Christopher Gilbert, 'Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840', Leeds, 1996, figs. 368-369; Christie’s, London, 11 November 1999, lot 160, for discussion of the related 'Carton' group. Among the most sophisticated pieces of cabinet furniture associated with 18th-century Ireland is a small group of marquetry commodes whose distinctive combination of French form, classical ornament and floral inlay has long presented an intriguing question of authorship. The present commode, veneered principally in sycamore and amaranth and richly decorated with floral marquetry, belongs closely to this remarkable group. Its breakfront outline, canted angles, shaped cabriole legs and delicate inlay reflect the cosmopolitan character of fashionable furniture in the late 1760s, when ideas moved readily between Paris, London and Dublin. Central to an understanding of the group is the Swedish-born cabinetmaker Christopher Fuhrlohg. Having travelled through Amsterdam and Paris, Fuhrlohg arrived in London in late 1766 or early 1767 and is thought to have worked in the Berkeley Square workshop of John Linnell. Their association is supported by a design for a marquetry commode preserved among Linnell's drawings and a corresponding commode signed and dated 'Christopher Fuhrlohg fecit 1767', probably supplied to the 5th Earl of Carlisle for Castle Howard. The group was examined in detail by Lucy Wood in 'The Lady Lever Art Gallery: Catalogue of Commodes' (1994), where documented and attributed examples demonstrate the emergence in England of the French commode transition, combining the lingering curves of the rococo with the increasingly disciplined ornament of neoclassicism. Wood also identified a subsidiary group with Irish connections, sharing the distinctive forms and decorative vocabulary associated with Fuhrlohg and the Linnell workshop. Earlier studies by John Hayward established Fuhrlohg as an important figure in introducing this sophisticated Franco-Swedish vocabulary into British cabinetmaking. The Irish group has subsequently been associated particularly closely with the FitzGerald family. Two related interpretations of its origins have emerged. One connects the commodes with Sir William Chambers' redecoration of the principal apartments at Leinster House, Dublin, from 1767, undertaken at precisely the moment when Fuhrlohg, Georg Haupt and Linnell were introducing this sophisticated Franco-Swedish vocabulary into London cabinetmaking. An earlier Christie's study proposed instead that the pattern may have been devised for Carton House following James FitzGerald's elevation to the Dukedom of Leinster in 1766. No documentary commission has yet been found to resolve the question, but the recurring combination of breakfront form, floral marquetry, classical bucrania and laurel ornament defines a coherent family of furniture with particularly strong Irish and FitzGerald associations. A closely related commode was sold from the Duke of Leinster's collection at Christie, Manson & Woods on 13 May 1926, lot 107. Further examples include a commode recorded in the collection of Temple Williams in 1955 and sold at Christie's in 1976; another sold there in 1986; and an example sold in 1999 which had previously been on loan to Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery for more than twenty years. Intriguingly, Christie's described the distinctive metalwork found on the group as 'Carton' pattern handles. There is also clear precedent for important cabinet furniture moving from Leinster House to Carton following the sale of the Dublin residence in 1815. A pair of inlaid satinwood encoignures, almost certainly commissioned for Leinster House, was recorded at Carton in the 1818 inventory and again in the 1887 Schedule of Heirlooms. Their history provides a particularly useful example of fashionable Dublin furniture entering the family's country collection. The present commode can itself now be followed through part of its later history. It bears trade labels for P J Walsh & Sons, 20 Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin, and Frank Partridge. Walsh & Sons, who traded at Bachelor's Walk between 1870 and 1922, dealt in both modern and antique furniture and were also active as restorers. The present commode was subsequently in the collection of Mrs Edward Mitchell and was sold at Christie's, London, on 21 May 1970, lot 113, where the P J Walsh & Sons label was specifically noted. The commode subsequently formed part of the Nall-Cain family collection at Carton House, Maynooth, County Kildare, where it is remembered by the present vendor. Its 18th-century history nevertheless remains tantalisingly unresolved. Yet its close relationship to the recognised 'Carton' group, the documented presence of a related commode in the Leinster collection, and the established movement of important furnishings between Leinster House and Carton combine to place this exceptional piece within one of the most intriguing chapters of Georgian Irish furniture. commode transition, Condition Report, Condition Report, This lot does not have a condition report, if you would like further information, please click the 'Request A Condition Report’ button below. Request A Condition Report, Request A Condition Report

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