VENICE, MID-18TH CENTURY

Conceived in the mid-18th century, the opulent bombé form, cartouche-shape drawers and delicate ornamentation of grisaille vignettes and floral sprays identify the present commode as a typical example of Venetian furniture. Venetian and Genoese lacquerware was often decorated with naturalistic motifs in contrast to other centres where the imitation of chinoiserie lacquer predominated. Designed to impress, the commode was possibly intended to be en suite with a lavish Rococo boiserie in a principal room on the piano nobile of a fashionable Venetian palazzo.
A related example is illustrated in F. de Dampierre, The Best of Painted Furniture, London, 1987, pp. 68-69 where it has been suggested a stronger ground colour is used to compliment the painted motifs.