Piece of furniture resembling the English chest of drawers, used in France from the late 17th century.
Most had marble tops, and some were fitted with pairs of doors. André-Charles Boulle was among the first to make commodes, which were heavy in form and elaborately decorated in marquetry veneers and ormolu. In the Louis XV period (1715–74), extravagant curves and flamboyant surface ornament became fashionable. The 19th-century commode lost its decorative features and became purely functional.