Antique Kingwood Parquetry Marquetry Ormolu Occasional Table

This is a beautiful antique French occasional table, circa 1870 in date

It has been masterfully crafted from beautiful kingwood with stunning gilded ormolu mounts. The shaped circular top has beautifully floral marquetry decoration surrounded with detailed check patterned parquetry. The slender cabriole legs are joined by a shaped undertier.

This stunning table will instantly enhance the style of one special room in your home.

Condition:
In excellent condition having been beautifully restored in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:
Height 72 x Width 45 x Depth 45

Dimensions in inches:
Height 28.3 x Width 17.7 x Depth 17.7

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).

Our reference: 07965