Commode with Marquetry Decoration

Artist Joseph Baumhauer (French, died 1772)

Place of OriginFrance

Dateabout 1767-1772, possibly a decade earlier

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 34 3/4 × 47 1/2 × 24 3/4 in. (88.3 × 120.7 × 62.9 cm)

Mediumoak veneered with tulipwood (bois de rose), kingwood, casuarina, and purple-heart; gilded bronze mounts; breccia marble top

ClassificationFurniture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1976.38

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 27

Label TextAn early 18th-century creation, the commode was originally conceived as a hybrid of a table and a chest. By the second half of the century, the decoration of these chests of drawers sought to conceal the division between the drawers to allow the front to be treated as a single decorative unit. On this piece, gilded bronze mounts have been skillfully integrated with the marquetry—inlaid wood—design. Joseph Baumhauer, known simple as Joseph, was a German furniture-maker who settled in Paris prior to 1745. He later received a royal appointment as master cabinetmaker, allowing him to use fleurs-de-lis (the French royal symbol) with his name stamp. This commode is stamped “Joseph” between two fleurs-de-lis on an interior surface.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 201, repr. (col.).