19th Century Set of Four Napoleon III Mahogany & Ormolu Armchairs

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About the Item

This is a beautiful antique set of four Napoleon III mahogany fauteiul or open-armchairs in the fabulous Empire Style, circa 1850 in date. The mahogany is beautiful in color and has been embellished with striking ormolu mounts. The padded arms have gilt bronze rosettes and are supported by square section tapering front legs with finely cast gilt bronze sphinx head mounts and terminating in gilt bronze claw feet, with plain sabre legs to the rear. The chairs have been beautifully reupholstered in a striking emerald green velvet. Add a touch of class to your home with this exceptional set of antique armchairs. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully restored and reupholstered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 98 x width 65 x depth 56 Dimensions in inches: Height 3 feet, 3 inches x width 2 feet, 2 inches x depth 1 foot, 10 inches Mahogany is probably one of the largest ‘families’ of hardwood, having many different varieties within its own species. Mahogany has been used for centuries in ship building, house building, furniture making etc and is the core structure of just about every 19th century vanity box, dressing case or jewelry box. It became more of a Victorian trend to dress Mahogany with these decorative veneers, such as Rosewood, Kingwood, burr walnut and Coromandel, so that the actual mahogany was almost hidden from view. Mahogany itself is a rich reddish brown wood that can range from being plain in appearance to something that is so vibrant, figured and almost three dimensional in effect. Although Mahogany was most often used in its solid form, it also provided some beautifully figured varieties of veneer like ‘Flame’ Mahogany and ‘Fiddleback’ Mahogany (named after its preferred use in the manufacture of Fine musical instruments). Cuban Mahogany was so sought after, that by the late 1850s, this particular variety became all but extinct. Empire style, is an early 19th century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts followed in Europe and America until, circa 1830. The style originated in and takes its name from the rule of Napoleon I in the First French Empire, where it was intended to idealize Napoleon's leadership and the French state. The style corresponds to the Biedermeier style in the German-speaking lands, Federal style in the United States and to the Regency style in Britain. The previous style was called Louis XVI style, in France. The Empire style was based on aspects of the Roman Empire. It is the second phase of Neoclassicism which is also called "Directoire", after a goverment system. Furniture typically had symbols and ornaments borrowed from the glorious ancient Greek and Roman empires. The furniture was made from heavy woods such as mahogany and ebony, imported from the colonies, with dark finishes often with decorative bronze mounts. Marble tops were popular as were Egyptian motifs like sphinxes, griffins, urns and eagles and the Napoleonic symbols, the eagle, the bee, the initials "I" and a large "N." Gilded bronze (ormolu) details displayed a high level of craftsmanship. Ormolu (from French 'or moulu', signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th century English term for applying finely ground, high-carat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze. The mercury is driven off in a kiln leaving behind a gold-colored veneer known as 'gilt bronze'. The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object. No true ormolu was produced in France after circa 1830 because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury. Therefore, other techniques were used instead but nothing surpasses the original mercury-firing ormolu method for sheer beauty and richness of color. Electroplating is the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used on silver, to produce silver-gilt (also known as vermeil).

Dimensions:
Height: 38.59 in (98 cm)Width: 25.6 in (65 cm)Depth: 22.05 in (56 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 4
Style:
Napoleon III (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Mahogany,Ormolu,Velvet
Period:
1850-1859
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1850
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 08252b1stDibs: LU95068889493

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