A pair of Georgian silhouette portraits by George Atkins (British c1785 -1851) of Captain Henry Alexander (born 1738 at Wiveton, Norfolk) and his wife, circa 1820 in date.
The pair of silhouettes are painted in black watercolour with gilt highlights and feature Captain Henry Alexander and his wife in full body profile and superbly framed in beautiful Birdseye Maple frames.
Add and elegant touch to your home with this lovely pair of silhouettes.
Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 38 cm x Width 26 cm x Depth 2 cm - Frame
Height 25 cm x Width 14 cm - Silhouette
Dimensions in inches:
Height 1 foot, 3 inches x Width 10 inches x Depth 1 inch - Frame
Height 10 inches x Width 5 inches - Silhouette
Birdseye Maple
occurs primarily in Sugar Maple and is a very hard wood with divergent grain structure caused by the presence of the Birdseyes.
In the days when all furniture was made
...essentially by hand, Birdseye Maple was used by only the most capable cabinetmakers. These artisans had developed the tools and skills to work and finish Birdseye Maple successfully. Antique furniture made out of Birdseye Maple is rare and beautiful.
The divergent grain that makes Birdseye Maple beautiful also makes it difficult to work. Early woodworking machines ran at low rpms and had only 2 knives per cutterhead. This often produced Birdseye surfaces that were chipped and torn. It took many hours of hand planing and scraping to get these surfaces to a high sheen.
This limited the use of Birdseye maple to projects whose value could justify the extra labour cost. Examples of this are fine furniture and musical instruments.
Our reference: A4012
Internal Reference: A4012
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA1081131
Dateline of this antique is 1800
Height is 38cm (15.0inches)Width is 26cm (10.2inches)Depth is 2cm (0.8inches)
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