The commode sauteuse appears to have been invented during the Regency period, between 1705 and 1730, by the cabinetmaker Charles Cressent. It became widespread during the reign of Louis XV. It typically has only two drawers, or two rows of drawers. Its body is raised on cabriole legs of medium height: the body occupies half the height of the piece, the legs the other half. This gives the observer the impression that the piece has legs allowing it to hop like a frog. The width offers straight, curved, or crossbow-shaped forms. The marble top follows the line of the front and sides. A horizontal rail separates each drawer; the bottom one is adorned with a bronze-mounted finial.
The frame of this chest of drawers is made of solid beech. It is veneered with rosewood, framed with violet wood. The three front rails are veneered with satinwood.
State of affairs report
Upon arrival at the workshop, this chest of drawers presented a major problem: nothing was holding together. All the joints and glues had come loose, and the back legs were completely detached from the side panels. A considerable amount of veneer was also missing, precisely because of the poor condition of the frame.
Restoration
To begin, the piece of furniture had to be completely disassembled. It wasn't very difficult; half the work was already done. A small surprise that I greatly appreciated: a small piece of evidence of a former colleague's visit, with this barely legible inscription: "Restored in 1881 on August 11th." The disassembly also allowed us to identify some tool marks and observe previous restorations.
After disassembling the piece, I reattached the rear legs to the sides. I first positioned the missing veneer patches, scraping, sanding, and sizing them to the correct thickness to avoid having to redo them once glued. I then applied a vacuum sealant and re-glued the veneer. I did the same for the drawer fronts. For the crossbeams, I re-glued the veneer using traditional methods, with a hot block and clamps.
Before gluing the box back together, I adjusted the panels to the correct width by gluing a piece of wood to each side, set in a groove to remain invisible. I glued the frame back on with fish glue.
I then stripped the old varnish with a product that removes the film without affecting the wood pores, thus preserving the original filler. I oxidized the grafts, then applied a French polish made with sandarac, elemi, mastic, and colorless shellac. I found this recipe in a late 19th-century book.
You can see some of the steps involved in restoring this chest of drawers in the following video…
To see previous restorations : https://ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr/en-ce-moment-a-latelier/
It's wonderful! Here I have the office of the head of loans at the Banque Lyonnaise. It's similar to Charles de Gaulle's. I'd like to know how to clean the bronze on the feet, handles, locks, and corner pieces of the desk. My desk top is leather edged in gold. It seems to be the same type of wood as yours. I'm going to start the renovation this winter. Thank you, it's encouraging to see your results. You do excellent work.