A Pair of Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Commodes one stamped P. Marcion Empire, and each with a rectangular fossilised black marble top above four long drawers retaining their original gilt bronze mounts and flanked by Egyptian female terms. The commodes standing on ebonised paw feet,

French, Circa 1820

Pierre-Benoit Marcion (1769-1840)
Pierre-Benoit Marcion received in April 1801, an order coming from the administrative Commission of the Preserving Senate for eighty two chairs, known as curule, intended for the Room of the Deliberations. Marcion would then go on to become a significant supplier of Imperial Furniture, but would never obtain the official title of cabinetmaker.

The style Empire is born with the Napoleonic epic and is an adapted interpretation of the forms and decorative motifs prevalent in Classical times. The symbols of the military glory and the power: trophies, winged crowns of laurel, victories and eagles all to celebrate the triumph of the new Caesar.

The Empire is also characterized by the severity of its design, the predominance of rectilinear and symmetrical structures and surfaces that are smooth and flat. The decoration was almost exclusively of golden bronze or ormolu andintended to emphasize the surface of the mahogany.

Height: 39 " 100cm

Width: 50 " 128cm

Depth: 22 " 58cm