Commode

French furniture of the highest quality during the 1700s was adorned with gilt-bronze, called ormolu, mounts. Charles Cressent (1685–1768), a leading French cabinetmaker, was especially noted for his elaborate Rococo gilt-bronze mounts. He trained as a sculptor before turning to cabinetry, and his mounts display a strong three-dimensional organic quality. On this commode, or cabinet, the mounts are of acanthus and ivy leaves. Cressent had his furniture mounts engraved and gilded in his own workshop, allowing him to maintain quality and to stop others from copying his work.