  About the Artwork
  
  
  This chest of drawers (commode) is one of four that were in the apartment of Madame Elisabeth, the younger sister of King Louis XVI at Fontainebleau. As the official cabinetmaker to Louis XVI from 1774 to 1785, Jean-Henri Riesener supplied the French crown with hundreds of pieces of case furniture—commodes, roll-top desks, secretaries, gaming tables, and other types—ranging from the plain and utilitarian to objects of extreme richness, and all in a refined neoclassical style.
  
  
  Title
  Commode
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1783
  
  Artist
  Jean-Henri Riesener
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1734-1806
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Mahogany with parquetry inlay and ormolu fittings
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 36 5/8 × 57 × 23 7/8 inches (93 × 144.8 × 60.6 cm)
  Overall (commode): 35 1/4 × 57 × 23 1/2 inches (89.5 × 144.8 × 59.7 cm)
  Overall (marble top): 1 1/4 × 57 × 23 7/8 inches (3.2 × 144.8 × 60.6 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Furniture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Bequest of Mrs. Horace E. Dodge in memory of her husband
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  71.194
  
  
  Copyright
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