Commode
Carlo Randoni (1755-1831)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1820 - 1827
Materials
Pine, poplar, paint, gilding, ormolu
Measurements
89.5 (height excluding top) x 123 x 59.5 cm
Place of origin
Genoa
Order this imageCollection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 608156.1
Summary
A bow-fronted commode, of white-painted and parcel-gilded pine and poplar, and with ormolu mounts, after a design by Carlo Randoni (1755-1831) for Palazzo Tursi, Genoa, circa 1820-1 or 1824-7. Its Carrara marble top NT 608156.2. Topped by an acanthus-carved moulding above a frieze drawer with applied carved foliate sprays and with two deep long drawers, with ribbon-tied garlands of leaves and berries below. The drawers between a pair of pilasters carved with a quiver of arrows, or a torch, all flanked by a pair of cupboards with curved doors decorated with applied leaves. With leaf-carved base moulding and four leaf-carved turned and tapering feet. The handles and keyhole escutcheons of gilt bronze.
Full description
Recent research by National Trust furniture curators has attributed this commode to the architect and designer Carlo Randoni (1755-1831). One of his designs, drawn either around 1820-1 or 1824-7, when he was directing the remodelling and refurbishment of Palazzo Tursi, Genoa, shows this chest in both plan and elevation, with only one or two minor differences in the execution of the decoration. There are two other pieces of furniture - NT 608155 and NT 608166 - at Attingham for which his designs survive. In addition, many pieces of the white and gold Italian seat furniture at Attingham bear the signatures of craftsmen (carvers and gilders) known to have worked for Randoni on Palazzo Tursi. The significance of the inscription to the top of this commode (beneath the marble top) is not clear. Comments made by a National Trust conservator in 2004 suggest that the white paint was originally embellished to simulate marble. Palazzo Tursi, the residence of King Vittorio Emanuele I (1759-1824) and Queen Maria Teresa (1773-1832), was converted into a royal palace in 1819-21 and was modified again in 1824-27. An inventory of May 1822 listed ten sofas, twelve armchairs, 136 stools, eighteen 'x'-frame stools and thirty-eight chairs amongst the contents of the Palazzo. Maria Teresa (by then the Queen Dowager following Vittorio Emanuele's death in 1824) died in 1832 and, although no evidence of a sale, or a dispersal auction, has been found, it is believed that William Noel-Hill, 3rd Baron Berwick (1773-1842), acquired this furniture when returning home to England via Genoa in 1833. Throughout his time in Italy as a diplomat, William Noel-Hill had lived in close proximity to the Sardinian court, initially in exile at Cagliari (1808-14) and then Turin (1814-24), and after his diplomatic move to Naples (1824-33) he retained a house in Genoa. In 1842, when an inventory was taken at Attingham his death, the bulk of the furniture was in storage in the Old Dining Room, but was subsequently used to furnish the house. Most of it remains in situ, and it is said to form probably 'the largest collection of its kind in the British Isles'.
Provenance
3rd Lord Berwick collection: William Noel-Hill, 3rd Baron Berwick (1773-1842). Acquired by the 3rd Lord Berwick, who had been in Italy as British envoy and ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples and the Two Sicilies. By descent bequeathed to the National Trust with the estate, house and contents of Attingham by Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick (1877-1947) on 15th May 1953.
Marks and inscriptions
Top of chest (underneath marble): Segundo Gabbindo
Makers and roles
Carlo Randoni (1755-1831), designer
References
Rowell & Burchard 2020: Christopher Rowell & Wolf Burchard, 'Italian Furniture at Attingham Park', Furniture History LVI (2020), 107-176, 127-8, 137, and see footnotes 78 & 79 Figures 26 & 27 Drury, 1984: Martin Drury. “Italian furniture in National Trust houses.” Furniture History, vol. XX, 1984., 38-44