Thomas Chippendale: 18th Century Serpentine Chest of Drawers

A fine George III serpentine chest of drawers, firmly attributed to Thomas Chippendale.

London, circa 1760–70.

Why we like it

The genius of the Paxton Style lies in what is left out. Here, Chippendale foregoes ornament to reveal something rarer — pure form and flawless timber in perfect accord. The serpentine front undulates with authority, the mellow warmth of mahogany glows with richness, and every proportion feels inevitable. ‘Neat and substantially good’ was a simple instruction given by Chippendale’s Scottish patron Ninian Home for the furniture commissioned for his newly purchased home — Paxton House — and in this chest is its most complete expression.

Attribution

The chest of drawers presents a number of idiosyncratic features of Thomas Chippendale’s St. Martin’s Lane workshop:

1. Partially laminated blocks to the bracket feet which conceal lignum castors;
2. A thin red wash applied to the bottom boards and inside of the drawers;
3. The short-grain drawer kickers;
4. The chamfered drawer stops (see https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/exhibition/constructional-features and Rufus Bird, the preface to the Dumfries House: A Chippendale Commission Christie’s sale catalogue, 2007, vol. II, pp. 7-11).
5. Importantly, the chest is complete with all its original fire-gilt brass handles and backplates of a very distinctive pattern, identical to another Chippendale chest, formerly in the collection of Geoffrey Blackwell, sold at Christie’s London, Thomas Chippendale: 300 Years, 5 July 2018, lot 13 (£137,500 incl. premium). This pattern of handle is common to Chippendale’s documented furniture as seen on a mahogany serpentine chest of drawers dated 1774 also at Paxton, and another in the dressing room of Lady St. Oswald’s bedroom at Nostell Priory, Yorkshire.
6. The same distinctive construction of the feet, with part-laminated blocks with identical concealed castors, can be seen on a number of related commodes, including the pair, supplied by Chippendale to Paxton House in 1774 (numbers 260F (i) & (ii) in the Paxton House Trust collection), a chest supplied to Sir Lawrence Dundas for Aske Hall, Yorkshire (currently with Ronald Phillips), and chests sold at Christie’s London 22 November 2022, lot 93 & 15 April 2026, lot 237.
7. The choice of finely-figured mahogany veneers to the cock-beaded drawers combined with the plain square bracket feet recalls the ‘Neat and Substantially Good’ ‘Paxton style’ embodied by a number of documented pieces supplied by Chippendale to Patrick and Ninian Home in 1774–91 for Paxton House and Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire (see David Jones, The Paxton Style, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 2018).

Other closely related chests of drawers, attributed to Chippendale and displaying a number of similar features were sold at Christie’s London, 15 April 2026, lot 237 (£15,240) and at Bonhams London, 18 December 2020, lot 51 (£44,000).

Provenance

Private collection, Norfolk

Dimensions

Height: 32 in / 81 cm 
Width: 46 in / 117 cm 
Depth: 23.75 in / 60 cm

Condition

Ready for placement and immediate use.