Antique Pair Burr Walnut & Marquetry Bonheur Du Jours Consoles Desks 19th C

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Antique Pair Burr Walnut & Marquetry Bonheur Du Jours Consoles Desks 19th C

About the Item

This is an elegant pair of Victorian burr walnut and marquetry Bonheur Du Jour's, or Ladies writing desks, circa 1860 in date. They feature superstructures that each comprises a large central bay with a mirror inset door and a three quarter brass gallery above to each. The doors open to reveal a small cupboard with a central shelf, flanked by three short drawers on either side and another below. They each have a stunning gilt tooled chocolate brown leather inset writing surface with a full width frieze drawer below. The desks stands on beautiful cabriole legs and are further decorated with ormolu mounts and handles. The handles are all original and they are complete with working locks and keys. They are an example of superb quality and design. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned waxed and polished in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation Dimensions in cm: Height 125 x Width 105 x Depth 59 - each Dimensions in inches: Height 4 feet, 1 inch x Width 3 foot, 5 inches x Depth 1 foot, 11 inches - each A bonheur du jour - (in French, bonheur-du-jour, meaning "daytime delight") is a type of lady's writing desk. It was introduced in Paris by one of the interior decorators and purveyors of fashionable novelties called marchands-merciers about 1760, and speedily became intensely fashionable. The bonheur du jour is always very light and graceful, with a decorated back, since it often did not stand against the wall but was moved about the room. Its special characteristic is a raised back, which may form a little cabinet or a nest of drawers, or open shelves, which might be closed with atambour may simply be fitted with a mirror. The top, often surrounded with a chased and gilded bronze gallery, serves for placing small ornaments. Beneath the writing surface there is usually a single drawer, often neatly fitted for toiletries or writing supplies. Early examples were raised on slender cabriole legs; under the influence of neoclassicism, examples made after about 1775 had straight, tapering legs. The marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirierhad had the idea of mounting bonheurs du jour with specially-made plaques of Sèvres porcelainthat that he commissioned and for which he had a monopoly; the earliest Sèvres-mounted bonheur du jours are datable from the marks under their plaques to 1766-67. The choicer examples of the time are inlaid with marquetry or panels of Oriental lacquer, banded with exotic woods, with gilt-bronze mounts. By the mid-1770s the bonheur du jour was being made in London, where it was simply called a "lady's writing-desk". 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. 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 around 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). Our reference: A2983

Dimensions:
Height: 49.22 in (125 cm)Width: 41.34 in (105 cm)Depth: 23.23 in (59 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Victorian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Walnut,Marquetry
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1860-1869
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1860
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A29831stDibs: LU950634282332

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