Antique French Louis Revival Vernis Martin Display Cabinet C1880 19th C

A stunning antique French kingwood and Vernis Martin bowfront vitrine in the Louis XV manner, circa 1880 in date.

It has three quarter glazed bow panelled doors with exquisite hand painted decoration and exquisite ormolu mounts. There are four beautiful panels which have been hand painted and signed by Paoli, a top French 19th century artist, the two central panels with romantic courting couples and the outer two with country scenes.

This beautiful cabinet encloses two glass shelves, has a capacious cupboard in the bottom and the interior has been beautifully relined in lemon silk ready to display your collection.

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, waxed and the interior relined in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 168 x Width 166 x Depth 41

Dimensions in inches:

Height 5 foot, 6 inches x Width 5 foot, 5 inches x Depth 1 foot, 4 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.

Kingwood

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.

Our reference: A2690