Vintage 10ft Marquetry Burr Walnut Dining Table 20th Century

About the Item

A fabulous Vintage burr walnut and floral marquetry 10ft dining table, dating from the late 20th Century. It is made from burr walnut which has a beautiful colour and grain and to highlight the grain it has been expertly French polished in our workshops. The table has two leaves which can be added or removed as required to suit the ocassion by a special double wind out mechanism. The table is raised on four elegantly carved legs that give the table its superb stability, and they terminate in brass cap castors. The table features exquisite hand cut marquetry decoration and these regal decorations include bouquets of flowers, vases, swirls and geometric designs. This table will make a profound impact on your guests and will receive the maximum amount of attention wherever it is placed. Provenance: Purchased from an Embassy in a large five storey house in Knightsbridge, London. Condition: In really excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 79 cm x Width 290 cm x Depth 140 cm - Fully Extended Height 79 cm x Width 170 cm x Depth 140 cm - With both leaves removed Dimensions in inches: Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 9 foot, 6 inches x Depth 4 foot, 7 inches - Fully Extended Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 5 foot, 7 inches x Depth 4 foot, 7 inches - With both leaves removed Walnut & Burr Walnut Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable. Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find. Walnut "burrs" were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks. Inlay was commonly used in the production of decorative burr walnut furniture, where pieces of coloured veneers are inlaid into the surface of the walnut, adding delicate or intricate patterns and designs. Inlays normally use various exotic veneers, but other materials brass or bone were also be used. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, pewter, brass silver etc) of different colours are inserted into surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers. The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique. Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Our reference: A3937

Dimensions:

Height: 31.11 in (79 cm)Width: 114.18 in (290 cm)Depth: 55.12 in (140 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Walnut

Period:

Late 20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1980

Condition:

Seller Location:

London, GB

Reference Number: