What defines Boulle work furniture?

Boulle work is a decorative marquetry technique developed in 17th-century France by Andre-Charles Boulle, involving cut patterns of brass inlay set against tortoiseshell or ebonised timber substrates.

What materials are traditionally used in 19th-century Boulle credenzas?

These cabinets typically incorporate ebonised hardwood frames, brass inlay, tortoiseshell veneers, cast gilt-bronze (ormolu) mounts, and glass panel doors with plush fabric linings.

How can authentic 19th-century Boulle work be identified?

Authentic pieces feature heavy cast bronze mounts with hand-chiselled detailing, solid timber carcases beneath the ebonised veneer, and age-appropriate lifting or patination along the brass inlay.

How can a Boulle credenza be incorporated into a modern interior design scheme?

Position the piece as a statement focal point against a plain neutral wall, balanced with modern minimal artwork or simple lighting to complement the intricate decorative metalwork.

What care is required to preserve antique Boulle inlay furniture?

Maintain stable relative humidity to prevent brass inlay from lifting from the wood base, dust gently with a soft microfibre cloth, and avoid liquid chemical polishes near the tortoiseshell and metalwork.

for sale €11,115 $12,065

£9,500

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Serpentine Side Cabinet

Gilt Bronze Mounted Credenza

Id #SA768330

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Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

19th century

For Sale by Regent Antiques

Description

This is an important antique, Victorian, ebonised, ormolu mounted, and red Boulle marquetry serpentine credenza, circa 1870 in date.

It is beautifully inlaid in cut brass, in addition there is scrolling acanthus foliage with flowers and honeysuckle. It is further adorned with a plethora of fabulous ormolu mounts.

The central cupboard door, with raised oval panel, encloses a burgundy velvet lined interior with a shelf, and is flanked by a serpentine glass door opening to shelves on each side..

The credenza is raised on a plinth base and has its original working locks and keys.

This is an absolutely breathtaking piece which is certain to make it a talking point in your home, it is nearly identical to one that can be seen in the Award Winning Television Drama, Downton Abbey, which is filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire and is the home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. The exterior shots and much of the interior filming takes place there

Condition:

In excellent condition having been beautifully restored and the interior relined in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 106 x Width 197 x Depth 47

Dimensions in inches:

Height 41.7 x Width 77.6 x Depth 18.5

André-Charles Boulle (1642 – 1732), was the French cabinetmaker who is generally considered to be the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry. His fame in marquetry led to his name being given to a fashion of inlaying known as Boulle (or in 19th-century Britain, Buhl work).

Boulle appears to have been originally a painter, since the first payment to him by the crown of which there is any record (1669) specifies ouvrages de peinture. He was employed for many years at Versailles, where the mirrored walls, the floors of wood mosaic, the inlaid paneling and the marquetery furniture in the Cabinet du Dauphin were regarded as his most remarkable work. These rooms were long since dismantled and their contents dispersed, but Boulle's drawings for the work are in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

His royal commissions were numerous, as we learn both from the Comptes des B timents du Roi and from the correspondence of Louvois. Not only the most magnificent of French monarchs, but foreign princes and the great nobles and financiers of his own country crowded to him with commissions, and the mot of the abbé de Marolles, Boulle y lourne en ovale, has become a stock quotation in the literature of French cabinetmaking.

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, adhered 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..

Our reference: 06442E

Physical Dimensions

Height

106cm (41.73")

Width

197cm (77.56")

Depth

47cm (18.50")

Declaration

Regent Antiques has dated this Boulle Work Serpentine Credenza to the 19th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA768330

Dealers Internal Reference

06442E

Description

This is an important antique, Victorian, ebonised, ormolu mounted, and red Boulle marquetry serpentine credenza, circa 1870 in date.

“

It is beautifully inlaid in cut brass, in addition there is scrolling acanthus foliage with flowers and honeysuckle.

Regent Antiques

It is further adorned with a plethora of fabulous ormolu mounts.

fig 1. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 1. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

The central cupboard door, with raised oval panel, encloses a burgundy velvet lined interior with a shelf, and is flanked by a serpentine glass door opening to shelves on each side..

The credenza is raised on a plinth base and has its original working locks and keys.

fig 2. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 2. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

This is an absolutely breathtaking piece which is certain to make it a talking point in your home, it is nearly identical to one that can be seen in the Award Winning Television Drama, Downton Abbey, which is filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire and is the home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. The exterior shots and much of the interior filming takes place there

fig 3. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 3. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

Condition:

In excellent condition having been beautifully restored and the interior relined in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 106 x Width 197 x Depth 47

Dimensions in inches:

fig 4. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 4. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

Height 41.7 x Width 77.6 x Depth 18.5

André-Charles Boulle (1642 – 1732), was the French cabinetmaker who is generally considered to be the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry. His fame in marquetry led to his name being given to a fashion of inlaying known as Boulle (or in 19th-century Britain, Buhl work).

fig 5. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 5. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

Boulle appears to have been originally a painter, since the first payment to him by the crown of which there is any record (1669) specifies ouvrages de peinture. He was employed for many years at Versailles, where the mirrored walls, the floors of wood mosaic, the inlaid paneling and the marquetery furniture in the Cabinet du Dauphin were regarded as his most remarkable work. These rooms were long since dismantled and their contents dispersed, but Boulle's drawings for the work are in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

fig 6. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 6. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

His royal commissions were numerous, as we learn both from the Comptes des B timents du Roi and from the correspondence of Louvois. Not only the most magnificent of French monarchs, but foreign princes and the great nobles and financiers of his own country crowded to him with commissions, and the mot of the abbé de Marolles, Boulle y lourne en ovale, has become a stock quotation in the literature of French cabinetmaking.

fig 7. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 7. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

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'.

fig 8. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 8. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

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, adhered to the metal object.

fig 9. A nineteenth-century ebonised serpentine credenza featuring brass and tortoiseshell Boulle marquetry, cast gilt-bronze ormolu mounts, a central panelled door, and glass display sides. — fig 9. Antique Ormolu Mounted Serpentine Boulle Credenza C.1870 19th C

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..

Our reference: 06442E