Commode

The word commode, from which was derived the Polish term for the chest of drawers – ‘komoda’ – comes from French and means ‘convenient’ or ‘suitable’. The term first appeared around 1700 to describe a new type of chest-shaped rectangular furniture, the height of which was dictated by the line of the lower part of the Baroque wood panelling. The prototype of the chest of drawers was a cabinet containing numerous lockers for storing valuable items. Over the course of the 18th century, many variants of such chests were developed with utilitarian, auxiliary and representative roles. Deep into the 19th century, the chest of drawers, although it remained an elegant piece of equipment, usually played a practical role. The Łańcut castle was furnished with many pieces of furniture of this type, which were restored, purchased or ordered at the end of the 19th century, when – at the time of Elżbieta and Roman Potocki – the interiors were modernised and turned into representative and residential apartments. Noteworthy among them is the large chest of drawers in question – a cabinet on turned legs, designed for storing bed linen and clothes. The furniture is located in the so-called Dressing Room on the second floor. The front of the ash veneered chest is flanked by pairs of double semi-columns at the top and bottom framed by smooth cubes. Under the top there is a finial protruding from the face imitating a drawer with two fixed handles. The deep spacious interior, accessible by opening the door, is divided by a wide shelf. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967