Regent Antiques has dated this piece to the 1880s.
The lower section door has a beautiful hand-painted panel depicting a courting couple and it opens to reveal a capacious cupboard. The side panels have stunning paintings of countryside scenes. The interior has been relined in a stunning burgundy velvet.
The cabinet is raised on elegant outswept ormolu-mounted legs, and is complete with working locks and keys.
This magnificent piece is in excellent condition and the quality and attention to detail throughout is second to none.
Add a touch of unparalleled style to your home.
Condition:
In excellent condition, having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed and the interior relined in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 172 cm x Width 72 cm x Depth 39 cm
Dimensions in inches:
Height 5 foot, 8 inches x Width 2 foot, 4 inches x Depth 1 foot, 3 inches
Vernis Martin
is a lustrous lacquer substitute widely used in the 18th century to decorate furniture and such personal articles as brisé fans, snuffboxes and clocks. The process of adding bronze or gold powder to green varnish was perfected by the French brothers Guillaume and Etienne-Simon Martin, hence its name “Vernis Martin”, as Vernis is French for varnish. It is said to have been made by heating oil, copal and amber and then adding Venetian turpentine and the Martin brothers perfected the process with inclusions in the varnish, sprinkling spangles of silver plated copper wire into the wet varnish ground. Highly praised by Voltaire, it was developed to imitate East Asian lacquerware which was being imported into France during the Louis XV period. Vernis Martin was made in several colours, green, black and a golden red being the most characteristic.
Ormolu - (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.
No true ormolu was produced in France after around 1830 because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury. Therefore, other techniques were used instead but nothing surpasses the original mercury-firing ormolu method for sheer beauty and richness of colour. Electroplating is the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used on silver, to produce silver-gilt (also known as vermeil).
Our reference: 07876 x
Regent Antiques has dated this piece to the 1880s.
We specialise in english and continental furniture, silver, porcelain and decorative items.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Regent Antiques Profile Page
Regent Antiques is a registered member of LAPADA CINOA
Antique French Vernis Martin Vitrine Display Cabinet C1880 19th C
