Vintage Louis Revival Marquetry Commode Chest 20th C

About the Item

This is a stunning Louis revival marble topped 'bombe' marquetry commode, dating from the last quarter of the 20th century. This beautiful commode is made from walnut and features exquisite floral marquetry decoration and ormolu mounts. It has two capacious drawers and a large dark cream "Marmo di Siena" marble top. This lovely commode will instantly enhance the style of one special room in your home. It is sure to receive the maximum amount of attention wherever it is placed. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation of condition. Dimensions in cm: Height 94 x Width 133 x Depth 63 Dimensions in inches: Height 3 feet, 1 inch x Width 4 foot, 4 inches x Depth 2 feet, 1 inch Walnut The Walnut woods are probably the most recognisable and popular of all the exotic woods, having been used in furniture making for many centuries. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, pewter or brass silver) 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. 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 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.T.

Dimensions:

Height: 37.01 in (94 cm)Width: 52.37 in (133 cm)Depth: 24.81 in (63 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Marble,Ormolu,Walnut,Marquetry

Period:

1980-1989

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1980

Condition:

Seller Location:

London, GB

Reference Number: