Antique Burr Walnut Work Box Property of Lord Kitchener, 19th Century

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Antique Burr Walnut Work Box Property of Lord Kitchener, 19th Century

About the Item

A superb burr walnut, marquetry and ebonised sewing table, Circa 1860 in date The ornately floral marquetry inlaid lid with ormolu border enclosing a fitted interior with drawers and compartments and raised on tapering reeded legs joined by an H stretcher and terminating in toupie feet. Complete with working lock and key. Provenance: Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC (died 1916). During his long and illustrious career as a soldier in the British Empire, Lord Kitchener spent many years in Egypt. He was appointed Inspector General of the Egyptian Police in 1890 and was made Commander in Chief of the Egyptian Army in 1892. He then served for several years in other countries before he returned to Egypt in 1911 as British Agent and Consul General during the rule of Abbas Hilmi II. This marquetry sewing table belonged to Lord Kitchener and was in his house in Cairo. After Lord Kitchener's death in 1916, the vendor's grandmother, Mrs H W (Jessie) Dudgeon, attended the sale of his household effects and purchased the sewing table, then by descent to the current vendor, see photograph of letter. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 68 x Width 69 x Depth 42 Dimensions in inches: Height 2 foot, 3 inches x Width 2 foot, 3 inches x Depth 1 foot, 4 inches 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. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) 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 shell and brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs. Our reference: A1605

Dimensions:
Height: 26.78 in (68 cm)Width: 27.17 in (69 cm)Depth: 16.54 in (42 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Walnut,Marquetry
Period:
1860-1869
Date of Manufacture:
Circa 1860
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A16051stDibs: LU950622937802