Early 20th Century French Kingwood Marble-Top Vitrine Cabinet

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Early 20th Century French Kingwood Marble-Top Vitrine Cabinet

About the Item

This is a beautiful antique French Louis XV revival kingwood and ormolu-mounted marble-top vitrine, circa 1900 in date. This beautiful display cabinet has an abundance of exquisite ormolu mounts, a white Marmo di Carrara top, the interior is lined in a beautiful burgundy damask, there are two glass shelves and it stands on elegant slender cabriole legs. Add a touch of unparalleled style to your home. It is perfect for displaying your collection of silver or porcelain. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully restored in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 172 x width 128 x depth 37. Dimensions in inches: Height 5 feet, 8 inches x width 4 feet, 2 inches x depth 1 foot, 3 inches. Kingwood is a Classic furniture wood, almost exclusively used for inlays on very fine furniture. Occasionally it is used in the solid for small items and turned work, including parts of billiard cues, e.g., those made by John Parris. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and occasional irregular swirls. Occasionally it contains pale streaks of a similar colour to sapwood. The wood is very dense and hard and can be brought to a spectacular finish. it turns well but due to its density and hardness can be difficult to work with hand tools. It also has a tendency to blunt the tools due to its abrasive properties. 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-coloured 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 colour. 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). 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 government 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.

Dimensions:
Height: 67.72 in (172 cm)Width: 50.4 in (128 cm)Depth: 14.57 in (37 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Kingwood,Ormolu
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1900-1909
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1900
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 072011stDibs: LU95065644113