This is a beautiful antique Victorian figuredwalnutopen bookcase by the renowned retailer and cabinet maker, Maple & Co, circa 1860 in date.
The bookase has a raised back with foliate fretwork carvings highlighted with ormolu anthemion, a central ormolu masque and further ormolu mouldings.
It has a central open bookcase with adjustable shelves and plenty of space for displaying your favourite books, and there is an open bookcase to either side, each with two adjustable shelves.
It is further embellished with an ormolu mounted reeded column to either end, and the rear of the cabinet bears an ivorine label for Maple & Co, London & Paris.
The cabinet is raised on a shaped ormolu mounted plinth base.
Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 146 x Width 217 x Depth 41
Dimensions in inches:
Height 4 foot, 9 inches x Width 7 feet, 1 inch x Depth 1 foot, 4 inches
Our reference: A2635
Maple & Co
the renowned furniture retailer of London, Paris and Buenos Aires, were famous for top quality furniture.
They were by Royal Appointment and became one of the leading furniture manufacturers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. They used only the finest quality timber which was imported directly from all over the world.
Maple and Company were founded in 1841 inTottenhamCourt Road, London and had premises there until 1997. By the1880sthey were the largest and most successful furniture makers in the world, their huge emporium having become a tourist attraction in its own right. In addition to their middle class clientele, they furnished Embassies, hotels, beautiful homes and palaces all over the globe, including Tsar Nicholas's Winter Palace, theHoffburgImperial Palace in Vienna, and many of Britain's country houses.
Walnut & Burr Walnut
Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness' of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.
Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.
Walnut "burrs" were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.
Inlay was commonly used in the production of decorative burr walnut furniture, where pieces of coloured veneers are inlaid into the surface of the walnut, adding delicate or intricate patterns and designs. Inlays normally use various exotic veneers, but other materials such as mother-of-pearl, brass or bone were also be used.
Ormolu - Gilt Bronze(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: T2K8YHW78
- Width (cm):
- 217
- Height (cm):
- 146
- Depth (cm):
- 41
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