A George III painted bow-fronted commode circa 1780

the simulated porphyry top with a gilt-brass, guilloche-cast mount, the pair of doors each centred by a ribbon tied en grisaille oval engraving, the interior with an arrangement of six short and one long drawer above a further gilt-brass guilloche mount

Good overall condition. Some minor retouching to the decoration and some inevitable minor wear. A very attractive and unusual cabinet with lovely detail to the pilasters and apron decoration.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The style of the cabinet is very much in the manner of George Brookshaw, born in Birmingham in 1753. His career is fully documented and discussed by Lucy Wood, published in two articles in Apollo Magazine, `George Brookshaw, The case of the vanishing cabinet-maker', May 1991 and June 1991 `Peintre Ebeniste par Extraordinaire' The case of the vanishing cabinet-maker; Part 2'. First recorded as a cabinet-maker in London 1777, he specialised in painted furniture, a number of documented cabinets, commodes, seat furniture and chimneypieces being recorded. He set up his business firstly in Curzon Street and then in late 1782  he moved to 48 Great Marlborough Street where he remained for twenty years. No record of his activities as a cabinet maker appear to exist after the 1790s, Lucy Wood remarking that the following several years of anonymity were probably an attempt to escape financial and/or sexual scandal. He is presumed to have worked as an illustrator of botanical books under the alias of G. Brown who published a sequence of editions of a single work `A Treatise on Flower Painting' published anonymously in 1797 under the authorship of G. Brown. Virtually the same work with an identical title was published in 1816 under the author`s name George Brookshaw Esq,' indicating that they were one and the same.

His house style of decoration of furniture frequently involves as can be expected, panels of flowers but also involves neo-classical decoration in the style of the present commode, examples of which can be seen in Lucy Wood, The Lady Lever Art Gallery, Catalogue of Commodes, London, 1994, pp.239-253.

During his career as cabinet maker, Brookshaw is recorded as having a number of illustrious clients including Lord Delaval ( 1781-83), the Duke of Beaufort (1787), Sir William Middleton of Shrubland Park ( c.1795)  and The Prince of Wales for whom he is known to have supplied a commode in 1783. This commode does not survive in the Royal collection but is described in the account as being elaborately painted with flowers. 

A commode of strikingly similar form to the present lot is recorded in the Royal Collection and is illustrated in M .Jourdain, English Decoration and Furniture, 1760-1820, 1922, p.205, fig.324 (see illlustration) and which is very similar to other Brookshaw examples. Given Brookshaw`s patronage by the Prince of Wales, it seems possible that this piece could also well have been supplied by him for Carlton House. This raises the possibilty that the present lot could also have been supplied to him around the same time..

 The pilasters on both commodes relate to a series of panels decorated by Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King George III for the Cross Gallery in Frogmore House, illustrated  in Country Life, August 16th 1990, p.50, fig.10 which she decorated in the 1790s. Although it is not known whether the Royal commode subsequently had any connection with the Frogmore scheme, it does seem possible and would also suggest a link between the present commode and Frogmore.