A pair of fine French ormolu-mounted ebony and lacquered commodes a vantaux

After the model by Adam Weisweiler, by Henry Dasson, adapted from cabinets-on-stands, the cases circa 1882, the aprons, feet and marble tops after 1959
Each with an associated coquillier de Bilboa marble top above a scrolling breakfront frieze centred by an Apollo mask and a pair of goats, flanked on each side by a further inset frieze centred by a pair of trumpeting fauns amidst fruiting grapevines with perched doves, over two cupboard doors applied with lacquer panels depicting robed sages within a lush nighttime landscape, opening to a single adjustable shelf, the sides with similar lacquer panels decorated with fronds and blossoms, the angles mounted with scantily-clad, basket-bearing caryatids, on a later base with sprirally fluted toupie feet; stamped with retailer's mark WHITE ALLOM & CO., the reverse of each stamped CM&W/19[...]; one commode stamped 'G' below Prince of Wales feathers, the other stamped 'M' below a crown, the reverse of each applied with a type-written paper label; one commode with PROPERTY OF THE LATE QUEEN MARY, the other with Property of his Majesty King George V
37 5/8 in. (95.5 cm.) high; 64 5/8 in. (164.3 cm.) wide; 19¾ in. (50 cm.) deep (2) - Estimate: $150,000-250,000

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of King George V and Queen Mary, as Prince and Princess of Wales, at Marlborough House.
Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., London, Objects of Art, English and French Furniture, Curtains and Carpets from Marlborough House, sold by Order of Her Majesty the Queen, 1-2 October 1959, lot 180 (£661.10s).

Literature: A.H. Beavan, Marlborough House and its Occupants Present and Past, London, 1896.

Notes: Built by Sir Christopher Wren at the turn of the 18th century for the first Duke of Marlborough, at the behest of his Duchess, Sarah, Marlborough House stands immediately east of St. James's palace, between The Mall and Pall Mall. Their descendents continued to maintain the residence until it passed to the Crown around 1817, essentially becoming a Royal residence through the 19th and early 20th centuries until its de-accession to the British government in 1959. Marlborough House now houses the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Based on a secrétaire à abattant attributed to Adam Weisweiler and completed for Louis XVI's cabinet intérieur at Versailles, these exquisitely-executed commodes were originally conceived by Parisian ébéniste, Henry Dasson, as cabinets-on-stands (see illustration, opposite), and remained so during their installation in the collection of King George V and Queen Mary, then as Prince and Princess of Wales.

Though previously believed to have been purchased directly from Dasson's Paris showroom by George V's predecessor, King Edward VII, the original cabinets-on-stands were almost certainly acquired by Queen Mary and George V following their relocation to Marlborough House in 1903. It is unlikely that that Edward VII purchased the cabinets given his well-documented preference for the English firms, Holland & Sons in particular, and his strict policy on 'warrant-holders'. In fact, it is said that Edward VII did his "utmost to encourage home manufactures in every department - with the exception of Eastern Art work, the tapestry and Sèvres china, everything in Marlborough House, broadly speaking, is said to be of British make" (see A.H. Beavan, op. cit., p. 55-56).

Mary, known for her personally- and well-chosen objets d'art and antique furniture, effectively suspended the stringent requirements on 'warrant-holders', which principally required firms, to supply the household satisfactorily for one year before acquiring a warrant. Under her instruction, an extensive refurbishment of Marlborough House followed, likely aided by the interior design firm of White, Allom & Co., who exclusively advised the Royal family during the first quarter of the 20th century and for whom the present commodes bear a retailer's stamp.

In 1959, six years following Queen Mary's death, Christie's London saleroom held an auction comprising a selection of decorations and furnishings sold by order of Queen Elizabeth II. The aforementioned cabinet-on-stands were offered and subsequently sold to a purchaser by the name of H. Davis for a mere £661.10s (see Christie's London, Objects of Art, English and French Furniture, Curtains and Carpets from Marlborough House, sold by Order of Her Majesty the Queen, 1-2 October 1959, lot 180). However, it is presently not know when after the date of sale the cabinets were separated from their integral stands and converted to their present state.

Interestingly, both stands, later fitted with 'russet' marble tops, were individually offered at public auction in the United Kingdom and United States in the 1990s. The first, bearing marks for George V and signed Henry Dasson 1882, appeared at Sotheby's London, 11 March 1994, lot 113 (£54,300). The second, with respective markings for Queen Mary and bearing the White, Allom & Co. retailer's stamp, appeared at Sotheby's New York, 5 November 1997, lot 326A ($64,500). Also of note are the indistinct branding marks, CM&W 19[...], alluded to in both sale catalogues and present on the commodes, which were later added upon their sale at Christie's in 1959, known then as Christie, Manson and Woods Ltd.

Christie's. 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture, Works of Art and Ceramics. 9 April 2008. 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York www.christies.com