Antique French Walnut & Marquetry Commode Rouge Marble, 19th Century

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Antique French Walnut & Marquetry Commode Rouge Marble, 19th Century

About the Item

This is a stunning antique French Louis Revival burr walnut serpentine fronted bombe' marble top commode, circa 1880 in date. This gorgeous commode has three graduated drawers for ample storage, and was inspired by the Louis XV style. Elaborately detailed, the commode features exquisite floral marquetry throughout and has a beautiful "Marmo di Brescia" rouge marble top. The marquetry decoration is complimented by the exquisite gilded ormolu mounts. A lot of intricate detailing has gone into the creation of this chest. Provenance: Sold by : South Audley Art Gallery 36 South Audley Street, London, W1 to Storth House Fulwood Sheffield. Condition: In excellent condition having been carefully cleaned and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 88 x Width 80 x Depth 40 Dimensions in inches: Height 34.6 x Width 31.5 x Depth 15.7 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 color 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 color, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its color, 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 favorite material for shotgun stocks. Inlay was commonly used in the production of decorative burr walnut furniture, where pieces of colored 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 such as mother of pearl, brass or bone were also be used. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colors 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-17th 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. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing shell and brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs. 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: 34.65 in (88 cm)Width: 31.5 in (80 cm)Depth: 15.75 in (40 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Marble,Ormolu,Walnut,Marquetry
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1880-1889
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1880
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 092801stDibs: LU950612504162