EMPIRE COMMODE. MAHOGANY, OAK, ORMOLU BRONZE, SAINT ANNE MARBLE. FRANCE, 19TH CENTURY.

Empire chest of drawers. Mahogany wood, oak, gilt bronze, Sainte Anne marble. France, 19th century. Rectangular chest of drawers with Sainte Anne marble top, made of carved mahogany and oak wood, which has three front drawers decorated on the front with two rings that emerge from the jaws of two lion protomes in gilded bronze and a shield of lock with two crossed cornucopias; Under the board there is another hidden drawer with internal divisions; The front legs have been carved in the shape of a claw, and the rear legs are rectangular. What is known as Saint Anne marble is a dark gray marble with veins from Belgium and widely used for furniture panels, monuments, etc., although Louis XV and Victorian style fireplace fronts and other objects made of this stone are preserved. The high-quality gilded bronze sconces, the composition of the furniture and its decoration link the piece with the French Empire Style, so called because it developed mainly during the First French Empire (although it began during Napoleon's military campaigns in Italy and Egypt). However, it is necessary to highlight the lack of decorative elements for which the French examples are known. Examples similar to the present one can be found in prominent European residences, mainly in France. In Spain, similar chests of drawers are preserved in different palaces and institutions such as the National Museum of Decorative Arts or the Museum of Romanticism in Madrid, for example.

· Size: 128x60x95 cms.