vintage pair meuble francais ormolu mounted cocktail cabinets dry bars 20th c

This is a stupendous vintage pair ofMeuble Francais Empire Revivalburr walnut and ormolu mountedcocktail cabinets with fitted and mirrored interiors, of the highest quality anddating from Circa 1970.

The upper parts each comprise a pair of doors. Each door has three beautiful small shelves with brass galleries on their inside, to display small glasses and mixers. One cabinetcomes complete with a suite of 25 vintage hand cut crystal Whitefriars glassware comprising :4x Cognac glasses
6x Large Tumblers
6x MeduimTumblers
2x Champagne glasses
6x Sherry glasses
1x Decanter
The doors open to reveal stunning fitted mirrored interiors with a glass shelf above a marble base, above two drawers, each usefulfor bottle openers and corkscrewswith a pull outmarble inset slide for serving drinks below.
The lower part has two doors that open to reveal a cupboard with a central shelf. The cabinets are smothered in decorative ormolu mounts. They are raised on ormolu feet and are complete with working locks and keys.Bought from a beautiful country house in Sussex, the owners had purchased the pair at great expense, in the late 1970's, fromMeubleFrancaisin Mayfair, London.
Condition:In really excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.Dimensions in cm:Height 139 x Width 88 x Depth 39Dimensions in inches:Height 4 foot, 7 inches x Width 2 foot, 11 inches x Depth 1 foot, 3 inches
Our reference: A2084a
Meubles Francais -
was one of the premier retailers of high quality furniture with fabulous showrooms in Mayfair and Marble Arch, London, in the 1970s.Walnut & Burr WalnutWalnut 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 -(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: GXFENJD8Y

Width (cm):

88

Height (cm):

139

Depth (cm):

39

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