Antique Louis XV Solid Oak Commode | Northern France, 18th Century

• Structurally checked
• Adjusted and reinforced where necessary
• Treated against woodworm and borer-free
• Hand sanded
• Furniture ready for use

A curved-front chest of drawers takes up the same space as a straight one. The only difference is that the room is no longer flat.

This antique oak chest of drawers was made in northern France in the second half of the 18th century, in the Louis XV tradition of the Flanders and Liege workshops: bombé body, three serpentine drawers, cartouche-carved stiles, pierced apron, and cabriole legs ending in volutes. Solid oak with a wooden top, never marble. That's how it was done there.

The date isn't indicated by the style; it's indicated by the construction. The drawers are assembled with the side housed in a recess in the front and nailed, without dovetails: the provincial assembly pre-1850. The rails are mortise and tenon jointed into the stiles, with a wooden peg. The back has adze-hewn rails and planed boards, without a single saw mark on the entire piece. Each front is a 4 cm oak plank cut to the curve, with the cartouche molding recessed into the wood itself using a gouge.

Six rocaille-style bronze handles and three keyholes, with no filled holes around them. The oak was stripped and washed in our workshop until it was raw, matte, with an open pore. No varnish or stain. The piece is period, the finish is ours.

110 cm wide, 58 cm deep, and 81.5 cm high. It's a bedroom dresser with real depth, to be placed under a mirror or a print. In a hallway, it solves the entire entrance, and in a living room, it works as a low piece next to a sofa or under a window. The curve demands to be seen from the side: on a wall where people walk past it, not in a corner.

WHAT WE LIKE MOST ABOUT THIS PIECE

→ The drawer assembly. Chisel recess and nail, with the uneven step from one drawer to another. It's the most reliable dating proof a chest of drawers has: style is copied, no one repeats this assembly after 1850 because it costs three times as much.

→ The adze-hewn back. The two rails retain the fiber surface torn by the striking tool, unplaned, just as they came from the bench. No one was going to see it, and that's why it's the most honest part of the furniture.

→ The bombé front. Curved in both directions: serpentine from side to side and belly from top to bottom. Each drawer was cut solid to the curve of its height, and the three close flush with the body without a step.

→ The pierced apron. Three oval medallions open in the wood under an undulating carved line that follows the curve of the front. It's the detail that's lost in a photo and gained at home.

RESTORED IN OUR WORKSHOP IN NAVALCARNERO, MADRID

The entire structure was checked: the plumb of the four legs, the seating of the top on the frame, and the fastening of the back. The wood was treated against wood-boring insects. The three drawers were adjusted on their runners, respecting the original nailed assembly. The oak was stripped and hand-washed until raw, with a matte finish and no coating on top. The bronzes were gently cleaned, preserving their patina.

The washed finish is ours and is declared. The structure, drawers, back, and bronzes are original, with the marks of two centuries of use, which have not been disguised. The three drawers run smoothly, and the chest of drawers sits plumb. It leaves the workshop finished: it's placed and used.

Style: Louis XV, provincial tradition of northern France and Liège (bombé body)
Material: Solid oak; drawer sides and back in pine
Technique: Hand-built: drawers with nailed rebates, mortise and tenon joints with pegs, gouge carving on stiles, cartouches, and openwork apron
Finish: Oak stripped and washed in our workshop, raw and matte, without varnish or stain
Hardware: Six handles and three keyholes in rocaille style bronze, with a well-used patina
Layout: Three full-width drawers
Dimensions: 110 cm (Width) × 58 cm (Depth) × 81.5 cm (Height)
Condition: Firm structure and well-fitting drawers; two centuries of wear and tear, not concealed
Period: Second half of the 18th century (c. 1750-1790)

110 cm (Width) x 58 cm (Depth) x 81.5 cm (Height)

Free shipping to mainland Spain. Includes indoor delivery with packaging removal.