An Irish George III satinwood, sycamore, kingwood, tulipwood, purplewood and marquetry demi-lune commode

in the manner of William Moore of Dublin

in the manner of William Moore of Dublin
Circa 1780, the top inlaid with a sand shaded oval fan patera encompassed by two berried flowerhead roundels, a scrolled foliate-issuing palmette, a demi-lune sunflower rosette and two fan angles, above a rosette roundel and anthemia inlaid frieze centred by an oval fan, with flute inlaid angles, incorporating one long mahogany-lined drawer, over a pair of doors each inlaid with a sand shaded oval fan patera, enclosing one shelf, flanked by two panels each inlaid with a patera within an oval, interspersed by projecting pilasters, terminating in square tapering feet, 111cm wide x 51cm deep x 80cm high, (43 1/2in wide x 20in deep x 31in high)

Provenance
The offered lot was purchased at Frank Partridge & Sons, Ltd. by Carlos Sartorius y Diaz de Mendoza, 3rd Marquis de Marino for the Spanish Embassy in London, 22 August 1947. The 3rd Marquis himself was the grandson of Don Luis Jose Sartorius y Tapia, 1st Count of San Luis. Thence the commode passed by descent within the family of the Counts of San Luis.

Elements of the inlay on the offered lot such as: palmettes and anthemia, sand shaded oval fans, simulated fluting, bellflowers, paterae and berried rosettes are recurrent characteristics of the output of William Moore, who flourished as a cabinet maker during the last quarter of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century. Also typical of Moore's output is the segmental veneering which is evident on the front panels as well as to the top of the present example.

Moore trained, evidently as a marqueteur, under the renowned partnership of Mayhew and Ince until moving to 22 Abbey Street in Dublin, circa 1779, from where he established his own firm and supplied 'Inlaid Work' in the elegant Neoclassical style of the time. By 1791 Moore had moved to an adjacent location on the fashionable Capel Street, where he worked until his death in 1815.

Moore developed a reputation as the foremost cabinet maker and provider of marquetry in Ireland at the end of the 18th century, whilst the furniture he produced was directly influenced by, and often closely comparable to, the exceptional oeuvre of Mayhew and Ince. Moore incorporated similar ornament and conforming classical motifs in his inlay to much of the marquetry designs found on the work of Mayhew and Ince. Although Moore's idiosyncratic approach differs from the latter's in that his decoration tends to be purposefully more two dimensional and restrained.

Although evidently highly prolific, only one piece of furniture can be definitively attributed to Moore and that is a demi-lune commode, circa 1782, which was supplied to William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (d. 1809) while he was Viceroy of Ireland. Among the various models sold at auction, a pair of marquetry demi-lune commodes and a pair of marquetry pier tables, both attributed to Moore, sold Christie's respectively London, 19 November 2015, The English Collector, lot 600 and New York, 500 Years: Decorative Arts, 19-20 October 2011, lot 567.

On 26 April 1782 an advertisement in the Dublin Evening Post proudly proclaimed: 'To the Nobility and Gentry... William Moore, most respectfully acknowledges the encouragement he has received, begs leave to inform those who may want Inlaid Work, that by his close attention to business, and instruction to his men, he has brought the Manufacture to such perfection... with every article in the Inlaid Way, executed on the shortest notice, and hopes from his long experience, at Messrs. Mayhew and Ince, his remarkable fine coloured woods, and elegant finished work, to meet the approbation of all who shall please to honour him with their commands', Country Life, 31 May 1946.

In conclusion, the view of Glin and J. Peill is that Moore is 'By far the most important cabinet-maker who reflected the new taste for Neoclassicism and the Adam style. Glin and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, New Haven, 2007, p. 162.

Don Luis Jose Sartorius y Tapia, 1st Count of San Luis (1820-1871), was an aristocrat, statesman and journalist who served Spain as Prime Minister between 1853-54, while Queen Isabella II was on the throne. As a prominent moderate during a period referred to as the 'Moderate Decade' (1844-1854), the Count of San Luis held the important position of Minister of the Interior three times before becoming Spain's political leader. Don Luis Jose Sartorius, who was actually of German descent, married Maria de los Remedios Chacon y Romero de Cisneros and together they had seven children.