vintage empire style walnut ormolu mounted writing table 20th c

This is a grand Empire Revival Vintage writing table in walnut with beautiful ormolu mounts and tooled leather writing surface,dating from the last quarter of the20thcentury.

The table features large ormolu circular ormolu plaques around its rim, which shout of wealth and grandeur.The overall design is very formal with straight edges and abrupt corners, rendering this a very special furniture piece.There is no mistaking its unique quality and fine Empire style design, and it will soon become thecentrepieceof your furniture collection.
Condition:In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:Height 80 x Width 151.5 x Depth 71.5Height 64 x Width 127-Kneehole DimensionsDimensions in inches:Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 5 feet x Depth 2 foot, 4 inchesHeight 2 feet, 1 inch x Width 4 foot, 2 inches-Kneehole Dimensions
Our reference: 00693
Walnut
The Walnut woods are probably the most recognisable and popular of all the exotic woods, having been used in furniture making for many centuries. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness' of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.
Figured Walnut and Burr Walnut (often referred to as Burl Walnut) were considered as the most attractive varieties of Walnut. Burr Walnut veneer was taken from the specific part of the tree where ‘growths' sprouting smaller branches and/ or roots would occur. As these ‘growth' areas were limited in both occurrence and size, larger veneers were hard to source and often on bigger furniture (tables, desks, bureaus, cabinets etc), these veneers would have to be carefully joined by matching up the pieces or blending them together.Rosewood
is a rich warm reddish brown wood that has a distinct grain with dark brown and black outlining. One variety of Rosewood can vary significantly from another even though it is of the same species. These Rosewoods, native of India, South East Asia and Brazil, were dense and awkward to work with. It was renowned for quickly bluntening cutting tools and visibly darkening in colour when over prepared.The Brazilian species of Rosewood was by far the most beautifully figured and therefore it became the most sought after and rare. This was the wood of choice for the great box makers, David and Thomas Edwards who used it to veneer some of their finest pieces.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.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.Electroplatingis the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used onsilver, to producesilver-gilt(also known asvermeil).

Antiques.co.uk Ref: YR47HTK9Q

Width (cm):

151.5

Height (cm):

80

Depth (cm):

71.5

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