Etienne Doirat (1675-1732) was one of the most important and talented ébénistes of the Régence period. He is recorded in the Grand-Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine at the time of his marriage in 1704. In 1726 he set up his workshop in the Cour de la Contrescarpe des Fossées de la Bastille, and in 1731 leased a store in the fashionable rue Saint-Honoré, one of Paris' foremost addresses for luxury retailers.

On Doirat’s death in 1732 his son-in-law, Louis-Simon Painsun, took over the responsibility for the business and stock. The mounts to the present commode appear slightly later than 1732, so it is most likely that the basic commode was in production/already produced at the time of Doirat's death and was probably subsequently mounted in the more fashionable manner seen here by Painsun. Interestingly, it appears from plugged holes to the inside of the drawers that the commode was originally intended to have the earlier form of centrally mounted pull-handle, although the lack marking to the veneers suggests that these were abandoned in favour of the present design of handle during production.

A related commode of slightly earlier date and of more elaborate design but decorated with closely related hatched-parquetry ground and with related mask-mounted angles attributed to Etienne Doirat, probably retailed by Pierre Migeon (stamped 'Migeon') was sold Christie's, 6 July 2016, lot 51 (£122,500). It is interesting to note that Painsun's stamp ‘L.S.P.’ appears side by side with Migeon’s stamp on some pieces, which indicates that Painsun must have supplied furniture to Migeon, including pieces from his father-in-law’s stock, raising another possibility for the posthumous mounting of the present commode.



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