William & Mary English chest of drawers

William & Mary commode. England, ca. 1680.
Walnut root and rosewood.
Marquetry depicting borders and birds.
Metal keyholes and handles.
With marks of use.
Measurements: 90 x 110 x 58 cm.

English chest of drawers made of walnut root and rosewood, which stands on rounded legs and consists of five drawers, the last two united in a single register. The design, sober and elegant in the style of the William & Mary period, has as its only decorative element a fine marquetry work based on borders and synthesized birds. The William & Mary style is a furniture design common between 1700 and 1725 in the Netherlands, England, Scotland and, later, in England's American colonies. It was a transitional style between Mannerist and Queen Anne furniture. It was a sturdy piece of furniture whose design emphasized both straight lines and curves, with elaborate wood carvings and turnings, and was one of the first to imitate elements of Asian design, such as Japanese. In 1688, James II of England was deposed by his daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, in what became known as the "Glorious Revolution." William and Mary brought a taste for Dutch furniture styles to their reigns, as did several of the Dutch furniture makers. Although the movement toward what would become known as the William and Mary style had begun during the reign of Charles II of England, primarily due to the influence of his Portuguese-born queen, Catherine of Braganza.