Antique Swiss Walnut Marquetry Occasional Table 19th C

This is a superb antique 19th Century Swiss carved walnut and marquetry inlaid centre table, Circa 1870 in date.

It has a striking shaped top which is centred by a cartouche decorated with a chamois goat on a mountain top. The  table is raised on a carved central column on three cabriole carved shaped legs.

It is a very handsome piece which would look perfect in any study or library.

Condition:

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

Dimensions in cm:

Height 74 cm x Width 80 cm x Depth 59 cm

Dimensions in inches:

Height 2 foot, 5 inches x Width 2 foot, 7 inches x Depth 1 foot, 11 inches

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.

Our reference: A4749