Louis XV Antique Commode

This beautifully ornate bombe-shaped commode is a gorgeous example of the Louis XV, or Rococo, style. The term “Rococo,” derived from rocaille (pebble), referring to the small stones and shells used to decorate the interiors of grottoes, is applied to the Louis XV period in France (1715-1774). Such designs were the principal motifs in Rococo ornament.

After a reign of 72 years, Louis XIV died in 1715 and there arose in Paris a new class of private patrons: nobles created by the sale of offices, nouveau riche tax collectors, and millionaires and bankers fat on the spoils of financing 25 years of disastrous wars. They luxuriated in a new artistic freedom, indulged their highly individualistic tastes, and welcomed fresh ideas in decoration. A society devoted to material comfort and preoccupied with personal pleasure demanded constant variety, surprised, and originality. The French nobles abandoned Versailles after 1715 for the excitement of Paris. The “hotels” or townhouse of Paris soon became the birthplace of a new, softer style. Rococo appeared in France in about 1700, primarily as a style of interior design. The French Rococo exterior was most often simple, or even plain, but Rococo exuberance reigned over the interior. French Rococo interiors were designed as lively works of art in which the architecture, relief sculptures, and wall paintings were complemented by elegant furniture, enchanting small sculpture, ornamented mirror frames, delightful ceramics and silver, a few paintings, and decorative tapestry.