A la commode

In the most recent episode of ‘Cocktails with a Curator’, Xavier Salomon from The Frick Collection sips a Kir Royale from a champagne coupe and reflects on furniture made by Jean-Henri Riesener that belonged to the French Queen, Marie Antoinette. The topic and chosen drinking glass are relevant as this week ‘celebrates’ the events of the French Revolution from 1789 which were, in part, due to the excesses of the Ancien regime. While legend has it that the champagne coupe was modelled on the left breast of Marie Antoinette, the glass was actually designed in England over a century earlier. It was, however, fashionable in France during the reign of the Queen. The episode can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5FKMkjgg-A&list=PLNVeJpU2DHHR_0y_Zvgn3MgZQQFcFx2eI&index=2&t=0s

Salomon discusses two items of furniture by the German craftsman, Riesener – a commode and a secretaire. Since 1907, the National Gallery of Victoria has had a commode by Riesener in its collection.

The name ‘commode’ (meaning convenient or suitable) originates in the vocabulary of French furniture around 1700 and originally meant a cabinet or chest of drawers that sat at the height of the dado rail (à hauteur d’appui).  Commodes were made by ébénistes (the French word for cabinetmakers derived from ebony) and often featured many varieties of timber inlaid to create scenes (marquetry). Further detailing was provided by ormolu drawer pulls and decoration protecting the vertical edges. The cabinet was topped with a marble slab to match the marble of the fireplace in the room.

The earliest forms resembled sarcophagi and were called commodes-tombeau. The shapes of commodes changed to reflect prevailing fashions. In the early 18^th century, outlines were gently curved with slightly convex sides and a serpentine front (commode bombé). During the Rococo period, the shape was more extravagantly rounded with flamboyant ormolu additions; whereas in the later Neoclassical period (as seen in the commodes in The Frick and NGV collections) the cabinet was more restrained and rectilinear with spindle legs.

Whatever the style, the commode was a significant item of furniture and was either placed against the pier between windows surmounted by a mirror, or a pair of identical commodes would be placed on either side of a chimneypiece.

As the item of furniture became popular internationally, the word commode came to mean a washstand with basin, jug and towel rail, often with a space or cupboard to store a chamber pot – the earliest ‘ensuite’. Today, this connection with toileting is its most common usage.

While the furniture was ornate in 18^th century French palaces, it also reflected the complicated etiquette around personal space. For example, knocking on doors was considered a faux-pas so courtiers had to scratch on door frames to announce their presence. This led to courtiers growing one of their fingernails specifically to scratch on doors. While many of the doors were double, ushers only opened one of the two doors for the majority of courtiers – reminding them of their place at court.

Seating arrangements signified importance and hierarchy. The king and queen were seated in armchairs (as were other visiting monarchs of appropriate rank); royal princes and princesses were entitled to armless chairs; duchesses were allocated stools; and courtiers were only allowed to sit at the mass, the comedy, and the card-table.

High ranking individuals were granted the privilege of receiving lower ranking visitors while lying in bed. Richly decorated ‘parade beds’ became popular objects that displayed wealth, taste, privilege and power. The king’s bedroom was situated at the centre of Versailles acknowledging his centrality on earth.

However, for all the strict rules that governed court life, some behaviours were wildly inconsistent. For example, in his memoirs about life at Versailles, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, recalled that Princess d’Harcourt routinely relieved herself whenever she felt like it while walking down the hallways – leaving her servants to clean up after her. Many visitors noted that the palace’s plumbing was poor (of the 700 rooms only nine had something resembling a bathroom facility) and that Versailles smelled horrible. Perhaps the development of the commode as a receptacle for chamber pots was an outcome of this bad behaviour!