Antique Empire Style Walnut Breakfront Sideboard, circa 1880

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Antique Empire Style Walnut Breakfront Sideboard, circa 1880

About the Item

This is an exceptional antique Empire style and ormolu-mounted marble topped breakfront sideboard, circa 1880 in date, with room for all your plates, china, glassware and cutlery. It has three useful and capacious drawers in the frieze, the central drawer fitted with compartments for cutlery, above three panelled cupboard doors and it is surmounted with a superb and substantial "Verde Antico" marble top. The cupboards each have a central shelf, and the sideboard stands on a plinth base that is raised on six bun feet. It has been crafted from fabulous walnut and is smothered in fabulous high quality ormolu mounts reminiscent of the Empire style with classical figures, lozenge surrounds, urns, laurels and Napoleonic symbols. Complete with working locks and the original keys. Condition: In excellent original untouched condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 107 x width 234 x depth 55. Dimensions in inches: Height 3 feet, 6 inches x width 7 feet, 8 inches x depth 1 foot, 10 inches. 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-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). 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.

Dimensions:
Height: 42.13 in (107 cm)Width: 92.13 in (234 cm)Depth: 21.66 in (55 cm)
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1880-1889
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1880
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 073421stDibs: LU95065029663