Née à la fin du XVIIe siècle mais n’ayant obtenu son nom seulement au début du XVIIIe siècle, voici le premier modèle classique de commode. Bien que typiquement de style Louis XIV elle n’a peut-être pas vu le jour avant l’époque de la Régence. Avec des pilastres d’angles arrondis dont la face légèrement bombée, ses profondes cannelures de cuivre, son placage et ses bronzes géométriques, elle s’ouvre à trois rangs de tiroirs. Elle perpétue l’esprit du mobilier Louis XIV durant une grande partie du XVIIIe siècle.
Bibliography: French and European Furniture from the Middle Ages to the Present Day – Pierre Kjellberg – Les éditions de l'Amateur
This chest of drawers is made of fir and veneered with rosewood. It arrived at the workshop in fairly good condition. There were a few small areas where the veneer was missing and, as usual, significant dehydration of all the glues.
The restoration therefore consisted of regenerating all the adhesives by infiltrating all the veneered surfaces and pressing them for several days. The few missing veneers were then replaced with rosewood veneer that was sawn, scraped, and sanded, then cut to the correct thickness before being glued with hot glue. The drawers were adjusted so that they function perfectly and do not damage the front veneers.
The varnish was then thinned and reapplied with several coats of colorless French polish. The bronzes were cleaned with Panama wood and then returned to their original positions.
To see previous restorations : https://ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr/en-ce-moment-a-latelier/
