A Danish giltwood and walnut commode, Altona, third quarter 18th century

Sotheby's, London, 28 May 2009, lot 89.

Altona lies just to the west of Hamburg and is today regarded as part of the city, but for centuries the two were culturally quite distinct, with Altona under Danish control from 1640 until the German-Danish conflicts of the 1860s. Altona flourished during the eighteenth century to become one of the largest cities in the Danish territories, and the area developed a signature style of Rococo furniture blending pierced giltwood with walnut veneers. There are numerous commodes of this form in the definitive study of furniture from Altona, Annette-Isabell Kratz's Altonaer Möbel, Hamburg, 1988, pp. 214-224, figs. 37-53, and they are usually attributed to the Köster family of cabinetmakers. An Altona commode of similar form, though with a wooden top, recently sold at Nagel, Stuttgart, 13 November 2024, lot 751.