Louis XVI Style Dresser, France, 19th Century

The two drawer commode stands on slightly curved legs which are decorated with foliate bronze sabots. The special part about this piece is the beautiful marquetry on top and front. On the front the artisan created a marquetry with an illustration of the fable “The Fox and the Crow”, one of Aesop’s famous Fables. It was also published in La Fontaine’s collection of fables in the late 17th century. Since the fable stands at the beginning of La Fontaine’s fables, generations of French children commonly learned it by heart. This explains also the many settings by French composers. The fable is depicted no less than three times in the border of the Bayeux Tapestry and it has been speculated that a political commentary is intended.

It was also very popular in other European countries and we can find depictions of it in various illustrations, paintings and decorative art objects.
The dresser ships from Germany and includes shipping costs and to Boston.