Commode

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Commode
Datec. 1800–1825
Made inNew York , New York, United States
MediumMahogany; mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, and cedrela
Dimensions44 3/8 × 48 5/8 × 23 7/8 in. (112.7 × 123.5 × 60.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.83
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Bayou Bend Dining Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

This French-derived form was introduced to America during the Rococo period and, while infrequent, continued to be produced throughout the Neoclassical era. The New York price books first record it in 1810 and continue to list it as late as 1834, its description “with Eliptic Ends, and Straight Middle,” corresponding to the Bayou Bend example. Thomas Sheraton comments that the commode could be used in a variety of settings for distinct purposes. Some were “chiefly for ornament, to stand under a glass in a drawing room,” while others were “used by ladies to dress at, in which there is a drawer fitted up with suitable conveniences for the purpose.” The Bayou Bend example was intended for the latter, as its top drawer is arranged for an adjustable looking glass, jewelry, powder, pomade, scent bottles, and other grooming accessories.

Technical notes: Mahogany; mahogany (top drawer rachet), cedrela (drawer sides, bottoms, bottom drawer blocks, backs, drawer stops), eastern white pine (drawer dividers, side cupboards’ shelves, vertical interior sides, interior top framing), yellow-poplar (dustboards). All four legs are fully reeded. The side doors and drawers are hinged at the back. The top central drawer is lined with a vertical partition corresponding to its interior compartments. The latter consists of a rectangular center flanked on either side by four identical cubicles. The presence of diminutive corner posts implies that originally they were outfitted with covers. The center retains its ratchet support, presumably for a looking glass. The hardware is replaced. 

Related examples: Antiques 27 (April 1935), p. 128; Antiques 65 (March 1954), p. 179; Comstock 1962, no. 491; Antiques 102 (December 1972), p. 941, the latter outfitted with a looking glass in the top drawer while the drawer below functions as a writing desk.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


ProvenanceEric Bayer (1898–1958), Poughkeepsie, New York; [Charles Woolsey Lyon, New York]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1947; given to MFAH, 1969.

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Desk and Bookcase
c. 1760–1790
Mahogany; eastern white pine, soft maple, chestnut, red cedar, poplar-aspen or cottonwood, white oak, and Spanish cedar or cedrela
B.69.22
Gentleman's Secretary
c. 1790–1820
Mahogany, eastern white pine, soft maple, and unidentified inlay; birch, yellow-poplar, and eastern white pine
B.61.94
scan from file photograph
c. 1815–1825
Mahogany, mahogany veneer, and yellow-poplar; eastern white pine, mahogany, paint, and gilt
B.67.31
Sofa Table
c. 1815–1825
Mahogany, mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow poplar, cherry, and mahogany
B.71.106
Sofa
c. 1750–1801
Mahogany; red oak, yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, white oak, and eastern white pine
B.59.73
Sideboard
Joseph Meeks & Sons
c. 1825–1835
Gilded mahogany and mahogany veneer; white oak, soft maple, ash, eastern white pine, and yellow-poplar
B.67.6
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany; chestnut, southern yellow pine, eastern white pine, and yellow-poplar
B.69.89
scan from file photograph
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany; southern yellow pine, eastern white pine, and yellow-poplar; marble
B.69.67
Writing Table and Bookcase
c. 1825–1835
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, gilding, glass, and gilt-bronze mounts
B.82.4
Desk and Bookcase
c. 1745–1780
Mahogany; mahogany, eastern white pine, yellow-poplar, and black cherry
B.69.363
Card Table
c. 1820–1825
Mahogany, mahogany veneer, rosewood, and ebony; yellow-poplar, cherry, eastern white pine, and brass
B.68.32
Center, or Loo, Table
c. 1825–1835
Painted and gilded mahogany; mahogany veneer, yellow-poplar, and eastern white pine
B.67.7