Mathias Ortmann: Signed Commode by the Master Himself

Ortmann's furniture pieces are of an exceptional quality and represent the finest within the Northern European Rococo style. What sets Ortmann apart from other contemporary cabinetmakers, however, is his habit of signing his furniture. Ortmann's name has in this way been immortalized for posterity, and his furniture has become increasingly sought-after, yet rarely offered, collectors' items.

It was on a Grand Tour around Europe, mainly to Louis XV's France, that Ortmann experienced the benefit of signing his furniture. The label is today the collector's guarantee of "a genuine Ortmann". However, not all Ortmann furniture carries the coveted signature – he only used it in the period 1745-1757.

Ortmann was born in Sweden as the son of a cabinetmaker. The family moved to Copenhagen to open a workshop in the Nyhavn area. Early on, Ortmann became an apprentice in his father's workshop, which produced furniture for Frederik IV's brother Prince Carl's "Charlottenborg" Palace. Ortmann's mother continued the workshop after the father's death in 1723. Two years later Ortmann passed his final test, and in 1727 he obtained citizenship as a cabinetmaker.

When it comes to commodes, a characteristic element of Ortmann's style is the inspiration he found on his travels to France, but the style is not entirely French. The furniture has local features added that are only known from Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark. Where French furniture is often made from exotic wood materials, Ortmann mainly used walnut imported from Italy. Another distinctive feature in his style is the corner ornaments of gilt-lead – it was far more common, among other cabinetmakers of the time, to use giltwood carvings or bronze fittings for the corner ornaments of the furniture. Among the typical characteristics of Ortmann's commode are also the giltwood edges on the drawers and the plaster frieze under the edge of the top, which does not appear on, for instance, French furniture.