What characterises 18th-century Dutch marquetry furniture?

18th-century Dutch marquetry is distinguished by intricate floral, foliate, and bird inlays set into fine veneers, typically walnut. Influenced by Rococo and Queen Anne forms, these pieces feature exaggerated curves, vasiform splats, and cabriole legs.

What materials were traditionally used in crafting Dutch marquetry chairs?

Craftsmen predominantly utilised solid walnut and walnut veneers over oak frames, embedding contrasting fruitwoods, bone, or mother-of-pearl to create detailed marquetry motifs. Seats were historically drop-in designs upholstered in leather or woven textiles.

How can you identify authentic late 18th-century Dutch marquetry chairs?

Look for hand-cut marquetry with subtle gaps and natural shrinkage lines, hand-carved joinery details, and irregular pegging on the timber frame. Authentic period examples also exhibit appropriate age-related patination on the underside of the seat rails.

How can Dutch marquetry dining chairs be styled in modern interiors?

Combine a set of inlaid Dutch chairs with a minimalist oak or stone dining table to create a sophisticated architectural contrast. The rich timber tones and elaborate patterns serve as focal points in both contemporary and classical dining rooms.

How should antique walnut marquetry chairs be cleaned and maintained?

Dust regularly with a dry microfibre cloth and apply a quality beeswax polish twice yearly to protect the timber and grain. Avoid placing marquetry near direct heat sources or direct sunlight to prevent veneer lifting and colour fading.

for sale €4,388 $4,763

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Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

Name: Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA1148605
Price: 3750 GBP
Availability: InStock

18th century

For Sale by Regent Antiques

Description

This is a wonderful and rare antique set of six high backed Dutch walnut and floral marquetry dining chairs, Circa 1780 in date.

The set comprises six side chairs that have been skillfully crafted from solid walnut and burr walnut, and bear profuse bird, flowering urn and floral marquetry inlaid decoration. They are typical of the very best 18th Century period Dutch marquetry furniture.

The luxurious shaped drop-in seats have just been reupholstered in a sumptuous Italian tan leather by Moore & Giles. The chairs are raised on elegant gently curving cabriole legs that terminate in trifid feet joined by wavy H stretchers.

Transform the fine dining experience in your home with this set of dining chairs fit for a king.

Condition:

In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, French polished, waxed and reupholstered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 112 cm x Width 52 cm x Depth 41 cm

Height 49 cm - Seat height

Dimensions in inches:

Height 3 foot, 8 inches x Width 1 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 4 inches

Height 1 foot, 7 inches - Seat height

Marquetry

is decorative artistry where pieces of material 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.

Walnut & Burr Walnut

Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.

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.

Walnut "burrs" were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.

Our reference: A

Physical Dimensions

Height

112cm (44.09")

Width

52cm (20.47")

Depth

41cm (16.14")

Declaration

Regent Antiques has dated these Dutch Marquetry Dining Chairs to the 18th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA1148605

Dealers Internal Reference

A4097a

Description

This is a wonderful and rare antique set of six high backed Dutch walnut and floral marquetry dining chairs, Circa 1780 in date.

“

The set comprises six side chairs that have been skillfully crafted from solid walnut and burr walnut, and bear profuse bird, flowering urn and floral marquetry inlaid decoration.

Regent Antiques

They are typical of the very best 18th Century period Dutch marquetry furniture.

fig 1. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 1. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

The luxurious shaped drop-in seats have just been reupholstered in a sumptuous Italian tan leather by Moore & Giles. The chairs are raised on elegant gently curving cabriole legs that terminate in trifid feet joined by wavy H stretchers.

fig 2. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 2. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

Transform the fine dining experience in your home with this set of dining chairs fit for a king.

Condition:

In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, French polished, waxed and reupholstered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

fig 3. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 3. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

Dimensions in cm:

Height 112 cm x Width 52 cm x Depth 41 cm

Height 49 cm - Seat height

Dimensions in inches:

Height 3 foot, 8 inches x Width 1 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 4 inches

Height 1 foot, 7 inches - Seat height

Marquetry

is decorative artistry where pieces of material 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.

fig 5. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 5. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

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.

fig 6. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 6. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

Walnut & Burr Walnut

Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.

fig 7. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 7. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

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.

fig 8. A set of six late 18th-century Dutch walnut dining chairs featuring elaborate floral marquetry inlay, vasiform splats, brown leather seats, and cabriole legs. — fig 8. Antique Set 6 Dutch Marquetry Walnut High Back Dining Chairs Late 18th C

Walnut "burrs" were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.

Our reference: A