Antique French Empire Commode Chest Marble-Top, circa 1880
Located in London, GB
This stunning antique French Empire commode in the fabulous Empire manner, circa 1880 in date was
Antique French Empire Commode Chest Marble-Top, circa 1880
Located in London, GB
This stunning antique French Empire commode in the fabulous Empire manner, circa 1880 in date was
Antique French Empire Commode/ Chest Marble Top c.1820
Located in London, GB
Empire period and is surmounted by an elegant "Marmo Grigio" marble top. The commode has original
Antique French Empire Commode/ Chest Marble Top c.1820
Located in London, GB
Empire period and is surmounted by an elegant "Marmo Nero" black marble top. This exquisite marble
Sold|$4,500
French Empire 19th Century Mahogany Commode
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A fabulous French mahogany commode from 19th century France, circa 1840’s. The stunning gray and
Stone, Marble, Metal
Elegant 19th Century French Empire Napoleon III Commode
Located in Hopewell, NJ
French Empire style mahogany commode, 19th c., having marble top, hidden frieze drawer, over three
Marble, Brass
18th Century Italian Empire Walnut Commode from Lucca
Located in Dallas, TX
Rare 18th century walnut Italian Empire commode from Lucca. Beautiful wood grain along with bronze
Marble
Empire period chest of drawers in walnut with marble top
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Stunning Empire period chest of drawers in walnut with marble top with period detail pulls
Marble
French Empire 19th Century Marble-Top Three-Drawer Walnut Commode
Located in New York, NY
Classic French Empire commode dating to the mid-19th century. There is a grey marble top. Brass
Walnut
Sold|$5,200
Gray Marble Topped Empire Period Chest
Located in Austin, TX
French Empire period chest with grey marble top. It is made of solid walnut and burled walnut in
Marble, Bronze
Sold|$7,400
19th Century French Empire Painted Commode
Located in Dallas, TX
Elegant 19th century French Empire painted commode. Lovely grey color and pretty marble top. Nice
Marble
19th Century French Empire Walnut Commode Chest of Drawers with Black Marble Top
Located in Dallas, TX
commode features three drawers across the front with original bronze pulls and decorative key holes
Bronze
Antique French Empire Commode Chest with Marble Top, circa 1820
Located in London, GB
This is stunning antique French Empire burr walnut chest with light green/grey fossil marble top
Sold|$4,900
Black Marble-Topped Empire Style Chest
Located in Austin, TX
A charming Empire style chest with black marble top. This French antique piece is made of mahogany
Marble, Bronze
Antique French Empire Walnut Commode Early 19th Century
Located in SAINTE-COLOMBE, FR
Antique French Empire Walnut Commode Early 19th Century This impressive Empire Commode features a
Marble, Bronze, Ormolu
Mid-19th Century Empire Style Mahogany and Marble-Top Commode
Located in Houston, TX
The rectangular marble top above a conforming case fitted with a frieze Drawer over three recessed
Mahogany
Antique French Chest of Drawers 19th Century Empire Commode
Located in Buxton, GB
Fabulous Empire Chest of Drawers French Origin 19th Century Blonde Walnut Bronze Details 4
Marble, Bronze
Sold|$1,950
1980s French Empire Style Marble Top Chest
Located in Tarrytown, NY
1980s French Empire style marble top chest with bronze mounts.
Marble
19th Century Italian Empire Mahogany Four-Drawer Commode with Marble Top
Located in Atlanta, GA
19th century Italian Empire mahogany four-drawer commode with grey-marble top, ormolu, caryatid
Pair French Empire Style Marble Top Mahogany Parcel Gilt Carved Commodes 20th C
By Jeffco Furniture
Located in Big Flats, NY
A matching pair of French Empire style commodes by Jeffco offer shaped marble tops surmounting
Marble
Sold|$3,800
Early 19th Century French Empire Commode
Located in Charlottesville, VA
French Empire is so handsome. This piece has lots of quality.
Marble
French Empire painted commode with a faux marble top, circa 1810
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
French Empire painted commode, circa 1810
Wood, Paint
Sold|$12,885 / set
Matched Pair of Early 19th Century Italian Empire Walnut Commodes
Located in Atlanta, GA
Matched pair of Empire period walnut commodes/chests of drawers with inlaid white marble tops
Marble
19th Century French Empire Painted Commode with Greek Key Pattern
Located in Dallas, TX
Beautiful 19th century French Empire painted commode with decorative Greek Key pattern. The piece
Marble
Sold|$26,500
Pair of Empire Mahogany and Ebonized Commodes
Located in Pembroke, MA
A pair of very similar Empire period mahogany commodes with detached ebonized columns and ebonized
Marble, Ormolu
Empire Flame Mahogany Commode by and Stamped Jean Frédéric Ratié
Located in London, GB
A fine early nineteenth century Empire commode with flame mahogany timber, with three graduated
Marble, Brass
Empire Flame Mahogany Commode by and Stamped Jean Frédéric Ratié
Located in London, GB
A fine early nineteenth century Empire commode with flame mahogany timber, with three graduated
Marble, Brass
19th Century French Empire Marble-Top Chiffonier
Located in Austin, TX
Antique French Empire period "chiffonier" with gray marble top. Solid mahogany construction
Marble, Bronze
White Marble-Top Commode in the Style of French Empire, France, 1980s
Located in New York, NY
1980s French three drawer commode in the style of French Empire Walnut with ebonized trim
Wood
Sold|$6,769
19th Century Mahogany Marble-Top Commode
Located in Martlesham, GB
19th century, French mahogany commode with a later marble top, decorated profusely on both sides
Mahogany
Sold|$13,179 / set
Pair of 19th Century Italian Empire Ebonised Commodes
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
An amazing pair of 19th Century Italian Empire ebonised commodes with Carrara marble tops. Raised
Marble
Antique French Empire Three Drawer Commode with Bronze Mounts Circa 1890
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A 19th century, French Empire-style, three-drawer commode or chest, in mahogany with Egyptian-style
Marble, Brass
French Empire Marble Top Chest With Secret Drawer
Located in Hixson, TN
A fine five drawer French Empire marble top chest with a secret drawer. Made with mahogany and burl
Marble
Pair of Italian Rosewood Inlaid 'Empire' Commodes C1820
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
An Exceptional Pair of Italian Rosewood and Inlaid "Empire" Commodes c.1820. In the fashionable
Marble
Sold|$4,500
Empire Mahogany Marble Top Chest of Drawers
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
French Consulate mahogany marble top chest of drawers, early 19th century. With a hand cut marble
Marble, Brass
Sold|$6,622
19th Century Empire Period Ebonised Commode
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Fab early 19th Century Empire three drawer marble topped commode. Of French origin, circa 1820
Ebony
French Empire Period Marble-Top Chest of Drawers
Located in Austin, TX
Antique French Empire period chest of drawers of Cuban flamed mahogany with a lustrous French
Marble, Bronze
Empire period blond mahogany and bronze neoclassical commode
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Empire period blond mahogany and bronze neoclassical commode
Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Empire Chest with Black Marble Top
Located in New Orleans, LA
This is a beautiful 19th Century French Empire chest with a black marble top. The French Empire
Marble
Vintage Empire Revival Marble Top Chest 20th C
Located in London, GB
This is a beautiful vintage Empire Revival maple and walnut marble topped chest, late 20th Century
Marble, Ormolu
Pair of Early 19th Century French Empire Walnut Commodes
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
An Excellent Pair of Early 19th Century French Empire Walnut Commodes with Original Marble Tops
Marble
French Empire Bronze Mounted Marble Top Chest
Located in Bradenton, FL
19th century French Empire Commode With Bronze Mounts and Marble Top. Commode features three
Bronze
Early 19th Century Small Scale French Empire Period Walnut Commode or Chest
Located in Fayetteville, AR
This early nineteenth century French walnut Empire period small scale commode or chest features a
Marble, Bronze
French 19th Century Walnut Commode with Fossil Marble Top
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A handsome French walnut and fossil-marble commode from the 19th century, closely resembling the
Marble, Brass
Pair of 19th Century French Empire Period Mahogany Commodes
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A Very Fine Pair of French Empire Period Mahogany Commodes with Marble Tops. Made in the early
Marble
Sold|$3,420
19 Century French Empire Marble top Chest
Located in Nashville, TN
This handsome 19th-century French Empire commode was crafted from figured fruitwood and features
Fruitwood
Sold|$4,750
Napoleon III Period Marble Top Commode
Located in Dallas, TX
Crafted by master artisans during the Second French Empire, marble top commodes like this excellent
Marble, Bronze
19th Century French Mahogany Marble-Top Commode
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
19th century French mahogany commode with a later marble top, decorated profusely on both sides and
Mahogany
19th Century Bronze Mounted French Empire Marble Top Walnut Chest
Located in Richmond, VA
19th century bronze mounted French Empire marble top walnut chest with lion head pulls.
Marble
1820s French Empire Marble-Top Chest of Drawer With Paw Feet
Located in High Point, NC
This 1820s French Empire chest of drawers exemplifies refined Neoclassical elegance with its clean
Marble
20th Century Italian Empire Chest of Drawers with Marble Top
Located in San Marino, CA
An early 20th century Italian empire style chest of drawers featuring marquetry inlay design
Marble, Ormolu
Antique Empire or Restoration Commode with Lion Paw Feet, Completely Restored
Located in BENSENVILLE, IL
Antique French Empire style commode with its original marble top. Our Old Plank restoration
Mahogany
19th Century Inlay Empire Style Chest of Drawers with Marble Top
Located in Old Town Orange, CA
19th century inlay Empire style chest of drawers with marble top working locking original key
Marble
French Empire Style Flame Mahogany Bronze Mounted Marble Top Chest, Dresser
Located in Plainview, NY
dresser top is made of green marble. This exceptional French Empire style symbolizes the the purity of
Marble, Bronze
Period Empire Chest of Drawers in Walnut & Marble
Located in Round Top, TX
Period Empire Chest of Drawers in Walnut. This is a beautiful piece with the original hand-cut
Marble
French Empire Chest of Drawers in Mahogany with Ormolu and Grey Marble
Located in INTERLAKEN, NY
A fine Empire or Charles X commode in book matched, flame Cuban mahogany with original grey marble
Marble, Ormolu
French Empire Style Small Size Chest of Drawers with Carrare Marble Top
Located in Grenoble, FR
white carrare marble top over a drawer decorated with the typical Empire decorative vocabulary inspired
Carrara Marble
Antique French Bombé Chest or Commode with Original Marble Top
Located in BENSENVILLE, IL
Bombé chest or commode, technically means; swollen out, or bulbous shape. This is a first half of
Wood
Shopping for a commode or a chest of drawers?
Commode is the French term for a low chest of drawers, but it is also sometimes used to denote any case piece with a particularly intricate design. The commode dates to circa 1700 France, where it was used as an alternative to a taller cabinet piece so as to not obscure paneled, mirrored or tapestried walls. Coffers, or chests, which were large wooden boxes with hinged lids and sometimes stood on ball feet, preceded chests of drawers, a fashionable cabinet furnishing that garnered acclaim for its obvious storage potential and versatility. The term commode was also used to refer to a piece of bedroom furniture — a washstand or nightstand that contained a chamber pot.
As time passed, French and British furniture makers led the way in the production of chests of drawers, and features like the integration of bronze and ornamental pulls became commonplace. Antique French commodes in the Louis XV style were sometimes crafted in mahogany or walnut, while an Italian marble top added a sophisticated decorative flourish. This specific type of case piece grew in popularity in the years that followed.
So, what makes a chest of drawers different from a common dresser? Dressers are short, and chests of drawers are overall taller pieces of furniture that typically do not have room on the top for a mirror as most dressers do. Tallboys and highboys are variations of the dresser form. Some chests of drawers have one column of four to six long drawers or three long drawers in their bottom section that are topped by a cluster of small side-by-side drawers on the top. To further complicate things, we sometimes refer to particularly short chests of drawers as nightstands.
Even though chests of drawers are commonly thought of as bedroom furniture to store clothing, these are adaptable pieces. A chest of drawers can house important documents — think of your walnut Art Deco commode as an upgrade to your filing cabinet. Nestle your chest near your home’s front door to store coats and other outerwear, while the top can be a place to drop your handbag. Add some flair to your kitchen, where this lovable case piece can hold pots, pans and even cookbooks.
When shopping for the right chest of drawers for your home, there are a few key things to consider: What will you be storing in it? How big a chest will you need?
Speaking of size, don’t dream too big. If your space is on the smaller side, a more streamlined vintage mid-century modern chest of drawers, perhaps one designed by Paul McCobb or T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, may best suit your needs.
At 1stDibs, we make it easy to add style and storage to your home. Browse our collection of antique and vintage commodes and chests of drawers today.