Object History
This rare commode by Sormani dates to the late 19th century and is a superb replica of the original by Georg Haupt made in 1779, which is in the Jones Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum. A measured drawing of the commode was made in the 19th century while in the South Kensington Museum (the forerunner to the V&A) from which it can be assumed Sormani was given permission to make this replica.
Georg Haupt, a celebrated Swedish cabinetmaker, was living in Paris in 1765. He returned to Sweden and was appointed cabinetmaker to the King of Sweden in 1769. He died in Stockholm in 1784. Examples of his work are found in The Musée Condé, at the Château de Chantilly, and the Royal Collections of Stockholm.
Stockholm was the centre of furniture making in Sweden and operated a guild system that received masters and controlled manufacture. Haupt’s masterpiece was a desk created in 1770 for Queen Louisa Ulkrika, Gustaf III’s mother. The fashion for furniture was similar to contemporary French work, which is now known as the Louis XVI style. The most important items were secretaires and commodes, which were often richly inlaid with marquetry garlands, Greek key, urns and other classical motifs. Haupt’s commode in the V&A may have been made for a royal commission because the central motif of the marquetry, a wheatsheaf supported by two putti, is a central element in the coat of arms of King Gustav III, representing the arms of the House of Vasa
The author and Swedish antique specialist Håkan Groth provides some context: “The King and his court also amused themselves with more or less innocent pleasures of other kinds. At Christmas, for instance, Gustaf liked organizing surprises, pranks and practical jokes, and used to travel to Stockholm, accompanied by a couple of courtiers, to buy gifts. On Christmas Eve, all the guests would gather in the Green Salon, where a lottery would take place; everybody won something, but usually it would be something valueless, designed to make a fool of the recipient. This caused much merriment, and afterwards another lottery would take place in which the prizes were more substantial. Members of the royal family would give each other valuable presents: in 1779, for example, the King gave his sister-in-law, Princess Charlotte, a beautiful commode made at great expense by Georg Haupt.” (H. Groth, Neo-Classicism in the North: Swedish Furniture and Interiors, 1770-1850, New York, 1990, p.48)
