Frédéric-Louis Durand French, 1874 - 1964 A pair of Louis XVI style gilt bronze-mounted flame figured mahogany commodes à vantaux Paris, early 20th century, after the model by Adam Weisweiler

each surmounted by a veined white marble top, fitted with three frieze drawers, the cupboard doors all open to one shelf, the carcass stamped several times with G. DURAND and F. DURAND FILS

Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIX Siècle, Les Éditions de l’Amateur, Paris, 2000, pp. 181-4

Nice proportions with beautiful figuring to mahogany cabinet door fronts. Marble tops with light surface scratches and small chips and abrasions to corners and edges. Gilt bronze with oxidation, surface dirt and some loss to gilding due to atmospheric conditions. Some minor age cracks visible to door fronts. Some of the veneer to fluting at feet is lifting. Small chips and losses to veneer. Some brass elements slightly loose. One mount to one front right foot loose with a loss to veneer.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Weisweiler had a wide repertoire of commodes which all derived from a similar form: those fitted with drawers and those with hinged panels, called à vantaux. Although Weisweiler did not appear to be the inventor of the commode à vantaux - they formed a major part of his production. According to Lemmonier, op. cit., of the fifty commodes listed, forty-three have panels and only seven are fitted with drawers. 
In an inventory drawn up at Versailles in 1787, one finds such a commode in the bedroom of Madame de Pompadour, `une commode en bois d'acajou demi-régence, ouvrante à trois vantaux dont deux à brisure, orné de pieds à gaine cannelés à godrons, les pieds à gaine isolés et cannelés, idem chapiteaux à moulures unies. Le tout bronze or moulu avec dessus de marbre griotte d'Italie veiné'. 
Weisweiler was particularly fond of this form of commode and utilized all the materials he had at his disposition: they were in mahogany as well as thuya wood and a number were also decorated in pietre dure and lacquer. For a related commode in pietre dure stamped Weisweiler, now in the British Royal Collection, see Pradère, op. cit., p. 402, fig. 498. This commode was also sometimes called a `commode à brisure'. Without changing the initial construction of the commode, Weisweiler made certain changes in style from 1789-90 and during the Empire period, although he kept its basic form.

The present commodes are a faithful copy of the original supplied in 1788 by Daguerre for the Cabinet intérieur of Louis XVI at the Château de Saint-Cloud for 3,000 F. 

Frédéric-Louis Durand (b. 1874). The stamp F. Durand & Fils refers to Gervais' son Frédéric -Louis and grand-son Pierre. Frédéric took over his father’s business in 1920 and was active until 1934 assisted by Pierre. From their premises on rue Saint-Antoine, the firm moved to 10, rue des Lions and subsequently closed in 1933.