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Baltic Commode, Circa 1800

About the Item

This mahogany commode has the fluted rails and canted corners typical of case furniture made along the coasts of the Baltic and North Seas around 1800. More difficult to pinpoint, however, is the exact place of its making, since this geographical region stretches from Germany to Russia, and north from Poland to Scandinavia. That said, a strikingly similar, if slightly plainer commode in a private German collection bears an old paper label that identifies it as having been made in the city of Altona. It also bears the seal of King Christian VII of Denmark who reigned until 1808. At the time, Altona was in the independent Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, located between Denmark and Prussia. Both nations tried to annex the Duchy, and in 1848 it was ceded to Prussia, which became part of Germany in 1871. A North Sea port, Altona was a member of the Hanseatic League, an association of seaports that was established in the 14th century to foster trade and police the high seas. Around 1800, the aforementioned King Christian of Denmark, who was also the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, allowed Jews to freely settle in Altona to increase the tax base. This allowed them to conduct business in neighboring Hamburg, a larger financial hub that maintained quotas. The prosperous Jewish families of Altona built villas there, and decorated them with furnishings that were made locally and imported. Many of those makers owned copies of furniture-pattern books, which were widely disseminated among these seaports, accounting for the difficulty in determining if a piece was made in Altona, Stockholm, or St. Petersburg. We can’t trace our commode to a Danish king or a known Altona merchant, but we can link it to the New World empire builders David and Vivian Campbell. In 1945, with a $2,000 loan, they opened a record store in Montreal and expanded it to sell household electronics and appliances. They went on to establish a cable television company, and online systems for banking and brokerage houses. As philanthropists, they endowed the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Campbell Centre for Contemporary Art, and were patrons of the Toronto Symphony and the University of Toronto. They also formed an art collection, concentrating on contemporary photography, and modern painting from Edvard Munch to David Hockney. Not bad for the son of a penniless Jewish immigrant who, in 1915, set sail to Halifax from Vilnius in Poland, then under the thumb of the Czar, but an independent Hanseatic port in better days. On arrival, Samuel Kimmel didn’t speak English, and so, being incomprehensible to immigration officials, his papers were processed under the name Samuel Campbell. Decades later, on buying this commode, his son may or may not have known of its Baltic origins, or of the role of Jewish financiers in Altona.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 37.75 in (95.89 cm)Depth: 20.25 in (51.44 cm)
  • Style:
    Neoclassical (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1800
  • Condition:
    Repaired: Replacement of missing drawer edging, and assorted touchups before it was polished. There were earlier repairs to veneers. Overall, in good condition, and no need for further restoration. Replacements made: One key escutchoen replaced with a perfect match. Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1061426085542
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