Pair of Sicilian Rococo Commodes “with a Hundred Mirrors”

An Exceptional Pair of Sicilian Rococo Commodes

Surmounted by lacquered faux Rouge de Vérone marble tops and opening with two drawers of polylobed outline, the commodes are trapezoidal in form, approaching the so-called “sarcophagus” shape. Built on limewood and fir frames, they are curved on all sides, both in plan and elevation, and exceptionally richly carved with roses and peonies in high relief, the most opulent flowers serving as drawer handles. They are inset with mirrors — exactly eighty-eight on each commode — and articulated by an exuberant carved decoration of C- and S-scrolls, volutes and counter-volutes forming the surrounds of the mirrors, the whole finished in “mecca” varnish and gilding.
One of the commodes bears on its back the branded inventory mark of the Thurn and Taxis family.

These pieces were conceived as sculptural compositions and may indeed be regarded as examples of sculptor’s furniture, or Bildhauermöbel: furniture whose creation reflects the combined work of a designer, cabinetmaker, sculptor, gilder and painter.
The model is astonishing, even extraordinary, and may justifiably be regarded as an artistic creation in its own right. It represents the culmination of a decorative formula carried through with remarkable confidence and technical mastery. One need only imagine the challenge facing the craftsman: eighty-eight individual mirrors on each commode, eleven flowers carved in high relief and more than eighty C-scroll movements — without allowing such abundance to overwhelm the composition.
Through this accumulation of mirrors, carved flowers, gilding and mecca varnish, these commodes do more than furnish a room: they fragment and reflect the surrounding space and transform it into an almost theatrical setting.
It is easy to understand why such pieces appealed to distinguished collectors. Beyond their inherent splendour, their provenances are particularly eloquent: important auction houses, internationally renowned antiques dealers, major châteaux and aristocratic families, followed in one case by one of the great figures of Italian cinema — Marcello Mastroianni, whose father was a cabinetmaker and whose uncle was a sculptor.

The two commodes are of virtually identical proportions, and the principal motifs of their ornament are likewise closely related. They therefore form perfect pendants, if not a true pair. Variations occur in details of the carving rather than in its manner or conception. Far from detracting from the ensemble, such differences are characteristic of hand-carved Italian furniture and can be observed in period pairs.
A comparable phenomenon could be seen in a pair of 18th-century Turin transformation corner cupboards formerly in our collection:
Pair of 18th-century Italian corner cupboards
Close comparison of those two pieces revealed subtle variations in the motifs despite their remarkable overall homogeneity and our conviction that they were made by the same hand. We were particularly struck by the confidence of the master carver, who evidently worked with considerable freedom — a freedom suggesting both experience and complete command of his craft.

Reunited today, these two commodes seem to bring together two independent histories — that of a princely European family and that of Italian cinema — within the same dazzling Rococo vision.

Condition:
Both commodes are in superb condition.
The drawers of the “Mastroianni” commode retain an old red and gold
silk and cotton damask, while those of the “della Torre e Tasso”
commode are lined with a silk and cotton “Meillant Rouge” damask
in similar colours by the celebrated Lyon firm Tassinari & Chatel.

Dimensions:

Height 91 cm × width 108 cm at the front
(122 cm at the back) × depth 58.5 cm.

The della Torre e Tasso Commode

The Marcello Mastroianni Commode