Two Nightstands (Comodini)
furniture maker
Unknown
Datelate 18th century
Place MadeVeneto, Italy, Europe
MediumPainted and gilded pine
Dimensions78.2 x 61.3 x 41.2 cm (30 13/16 x 24 1/8 x 16 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberF26n3.1-2
eMuseum ID717258
EmbARK ObjectID16186
TMS Source ID4531
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryPainted a creamy white, these two nightstands have a restrained elegance typical of Neoclassical taste in Vencie and the Veneto. The fronts bow out slightly while the sides taper towards the front in a subtle s-curve. The fluted legs taper down to brackets, carved with leaves, that rest on ball feet. The posts and rails are also carved with leaves. At the center of the bottom rail is a male head in profile, framed by delicate scolls. The drawer fronts and the side panels have richly articulated leaf moldings. The cabinets are painted in creamy white, with some of the molding and carving highlighted with gilding.
One chest has three drawers. The front of the other is a door with a false front. Its top swings back to reveal a blue-painted interior with spaces for a chamer pot and washcloths. The two commodes were entirely repainted and re-gilded in the nineteenth century. The iron locks are original, but the handles and escutcheons appear to be replacements. F26n3.1 is missing a handle, while F26n3.2 has a replacement handle at lower right.
One chest has three drawers. The front of the other is a door with a false front. Its top swings back to reveal a blue-painted interior with spaces for a chamer pot and washcloths. The two commodes were entirely repainted and re-gilded in the nineteenth century. The iron locks are original, but the handles and escutcheons appear to be replacements. F26n3.1 is missing a handle, while F26n3.2 has a replacement handle at lower right.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), p. 226. (Italian)
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 255, no. 117.
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 255, no. 117.
ProvenanceNotesPossibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner’s husband, John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837–1898), from the antiques dealers Moisè Dalla Torre and Co., Venice, on 22 June 1892, for 40 lire.
