antique louis revival kingwood & ormolu mounted bureau plat desk 19th c

This is a gorgeous antique French Louis Revival gilt bronze mountedkingwoodand amaranth bureau plat, Circa 1860 in date.

The shaped top has a decorative gilt bronze border, raised corner cartouches and an inset gold tooled green leather writing surface, above three frieze drawers on one side and dummy drawers on the other.
It is freestanding, has fabulous decorative ormolu handles and mounts including female masks at the shoulders and Bacchic masks to the sides.
It features working locks and keys and three capacious oak lined drawers for all your storage needs.
It is raised on elegant cabriole legs with stunning figural ormolu mounts and lion's paw feet.
This is a truly lovely piece which will display beautifully in any interior.
Condition:In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished waxed and releathered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:Height 78 x Width 163 x Depth 91Dimensions in inches:Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 5 foot, 4 inches x Depth 3 feet
Our reference: A2137
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 JohnParris. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and occasional irregular swirls. Occasionally it contains pale streaks of a similarcolourto 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 hasa tendency to blunt the tools due to its abrasiveproperties.
Ormolu -(from French 'or moulu', signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-caratgoldin amercuryamalgamto an object ofbronze.The mercury is driven off in akilnleaving behind a gold-coloured veneerknown as'gilt bronze'.The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding orfire-gilding, in which a solution ofnitrate of mercuryis applied to a piece ofcopper,brass, or bronze, followed by the application of anamalgamof 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.Electroplatingis the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used onsilver, to producesilver-gilt..

Antiques.co.uk Ref: XUTJXFGAM

Width (cm):

163

Height (cm):

78

Depth (cm):

91

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