This is a stunning antique French Louis Revival marquetry and ormolu mounted kingwood serpentine commode, circa 1880 in date.
The serpentine top with a moulded edge over three long drawers and a shaped apron, on tapered slightly outswept legs, with foliate and floral marquetry decoration throughout and mounted with ormolu mounts
It was crafted from the most beautiful kingwood with decorative hand cut floral marquetry decoration, has oak lined drawers, the most wonderful gilt ormolu mounts, handles and escutcheons.
A truly gorgeous piece, this commode deserves pride of place in any furniture collection.
With working locks and original key.
Condition:
In really excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 86 x Width 90 x Depth 44
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 foot, 10 inches x Width 2 foot, 11 inches x Depth 1 foot,
...5 inches
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.
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.
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).
Marquetry
is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) 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 roya
Internal Reference: A3166
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA975970
Dateline of this antique is 19th Century
Height is 86cm (33.9inches)Width is 90cm (35.4inches)Depth is 44cm (17.3inches)
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