Antique French King Wood & Marquetry Bonheur Du Jour 19th C

This is a rare Antique French king wood, marquetry inlaid and ormolu-mounted Bonheur du Jour, or Ladies Writing Desk, Circa 1850 in date 

It features cut brass and purple heart inlaid decoration, making it a perfect example of quality and design. 

The desk features a pair of glazed doors, which open to a central shelf and an interior that has been lined in a sumptuous burgundy damask. This is above a bombe-shaped fall front which opens to reveal an inset gold-tooled green leather writing surface with three spacious drawers. There are two sections that slide back and provide access to a hidden well. 

The desk is mounted on elegant, swept cabriole legs, and it is complete with its original locks and keys. 

 

Condition:

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

Dimensions in cm:

Height 138 cm x Width 88 cm x Depth 55 cm

Dimensions in inches:

Height 4 foot, 6 inches x Width 2 foot, 11 inches x Depth 1 foot, 10 inches

King wood

is a classic furniture wood, almost exclusively used for inlays on very fine furniture. Occasionally, it is used in the solid for small items and turned work, including parts of billiard cues, e.g., those made by John Parris. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and occasional irregular swirls. Occasionally, it contains pale streaks of a similar colour to sapwood.

The wood is very dense and hard and can be brought to a spectacular finish. it turns well but due to its density and hardness can be difficult to work with hand tools. It also has a tendency to blunt the tools due to its abrasive properties.

Ormolu - Gilt Bronze (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, adhering to the metal object.

After around 1830, because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury other techniques were used instead. Electroplating is the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used on silver, to produce silver-gilt.

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 marquetr