Posts Tagged ‘gilded wood’

FILLERS AND CEMENTS
Fillers and cements arc used for the repair of china, glass, wood and occasionally metal. Adhesives are also used as fillers and cements, with the addition of a little colouring matter or powder to give them colour, body or both.
Plastic Padding. Described in the section on adhesives, this makes a useful filler for metalwork because of its colour, and it needs no further additives for this work. It is not usually used for china restoration work.
Wood fillers. There are several makes of plastic wood which are used as fillers for small holes in woodwork.
Wood filling compounds of various kinds and in various colours can be bought, in proprietary brands, and these are tenacious and excellent. When dry, fillers can be sanded to a smooth finish. Epoxy resin fillers such as Araldite, suitably coloured with dry powder pigments or oil paints, can be used as fillers for rebuilding small missing sections of woodwork. The slow drying of sonic types
makes them rather difficult to use, and care must be taken that, in larger repairs, shrinkage does not leave hair cracks between the new pieces and the old.
Various compounds are used for filling, and making casts and pressed moulds, and for modelling new pieces where it is not possible to make moulds.
Bondapaste. This is an excellent adhesive filler which can be built up on itself in layers, and when hard can be worked with files and gravers. It is a good filler and cement for china restoration needing no additive. It dries quickly so any moulding or modelling must be done fast.
Isopon. This is a paste filler which is mixed with a hardener. It dries quickly and doesn’t shrink under heat, and it needs no parting agent to separate it from the mould. It can be fined and abraded with glass paper and other abrasives. It sticks to itself so it can be used in layers, but it does not stick to china, so after hardening and removal of the mould, it must be stuck to the china with Araldite, exactly as if it were an ordinary broken piece. It can only be worked for about ten minutes before it becomes too tacky, but this is an advantage when you are fairly practised and it can be used for quite large pieces without internal support as it sets fast, so will not sag so readily as a slower setting filler. The fact that it will not adhere to plasticine also allows props and pads of plasticine to be used to support it while it is drying.
Plaster of Paris. Widely used for the making of moulds, it is quick drying and easy to handle, but it is not suitable by itself as a filler, being too soft and porous.
Seccotine with dental plaster. A hard setting adhesive mixture which is very useful for small repairs to gesso where the object is never going to come into contact with water.
Cascantite with dental plaster. Another good mixture, which can be cut and shaped with woodworking tools, provided it has not dried out completely (see Adhesives for details of Cascamite). It has the disadvantage that it must be stuck into place as it is not self-adhesive. It is most useful for filling Alabaster which it matches perfectly.
Araldite. The two tube epoxy resin adhesive described in the section on Adhesives is the most versatile filler, having but two disadvantages. It is rather sticky to use, and it dries very slowly so cannot be used for large unsupported pieces. However, it sticks so well to the object being mended, and, when set, it approaches so closely the appearance of biscuit china, that many restorers prefer it to the quicker setting compounds. It can be mixed with whitening, or kaolin or titanium dioxide to make a filler for china. Mixed with these same materials, it is also an excellent cement for use when dowelling.
Sawdust, stone powder, metallic powder, colouring pigments, either dry powder or oil paint, will all mix with Araldite to simulate almost anything you like to name.
will
It blend and adhere to the whole piece and strengthen it enormously. In the old days, plaster of Paris was used for this kind of building and restoration, but it was not strong or waterproof, whereas epoxy resins are both. Ali example mentioned in the section oil Aniis and Armour is the building up of an old worm-eaten gunstock with epoxy resins coloured to match. It can be injected by hypodermic syringe into wooden holes or cracks where it will strengthen and preserve. Unfortunately it will not take a very high Polish which may limit its use.
Fillers for Glasswork. Modern acrylic resins, which are usually powders with which a liquid is mixed, are ideal for glass restoration and repair, as if mixed with care so that there are no air bubbles present, they set to a trans- parent, very slightly yellow material which is as near to glass as you can get. Acrylic resins call be coloured with dry powder pigments to simulate coloured glass or china, and sonic can be bought already coloured.
Tensol Cement No. 7 and Aertilite Cold Curing Resin are two excellent products in this range. his is another versatile acrylic resin mentioned several times in this book. It can be used, mixed fairly thinly, to coat things made from cane or wickerwork to strengthen or preserve them, and to mend glass or certain types of china. With care it can be mixed with dry powder pigments to simulate jasper (`Wedgwood’) ware. Acrylics are not particularly difficult to handle, and in fact they are great fun to experiment with. They make excellent solid `glass cases’ for small objects which you wish to preserve. The technique for doing this is not within the scope of this book, but it is easy enough to work out for yourself, bearing in mind normal casting techniques!
Use acrylics according to makers’ instructions in so far as mixing etc. is concerned.
Gilder’s Coinpo. Invented by the Adam brothers, it has ever since been used for all kinds of moulding work instead of woodcarving, and is still a most excellent material for repairing moulded picture frames or some types of nioulding on furniture and fittings.
Recipe I.
i lb. Scotch glue 2 lbs. resin
i gill real turpentine T pint linseed oil whiting
Dissolve die glue in a gallon of water. Boil the resin, the turpentine and the oil together, and then add to the glue and water. Boil the whole lot together until the liquid has reduced a little, so that the mixture is not too runny. Add this to the whiting powder in a bucket, stirring constantly until the whole has the consistency of dough.Boil all the ingredients together for half an hour, and then add to a bucket containing whiting, rather as one adds milk and eggs to a bowl of flour when making batter. Mix until the compo has the consistency of dough.
FLY MARKS
Fly marks call be scratched offmany objects with a sharp knife or even with the point of a needle. Chalk mixed with a little ammonia will remove fly blows from a hard surface such as stone. Fly blows on glass or any surface which will
can
not be damaged by it ca be removed by washing with a five per cent solution of caustic soda, followed by rinsing. Solvents such as petrol or benzine will remove fly marks, but will also remove varnish, so be careful.
Fly marks on prints call sometimes be removed by alternate baths of ]lot and cold water in that order, and then drying out between pieces of blotting paper.
FRAMES
Painting and Texturing. Picture frames come in all shapes and sizes, complicated and simple, and there are just as many techniques for restoring and renovating them. They can be cleaned and painted with varnish or matching paint, gilded, given two-tone or antique finishes, textured or spattered. It depends a great deal on the type of frame which of these methods is used, and also oil the picture, which could well be killed by all over-weight frame or one coloured incorrectly. The frame should never be lighter in colour than the lightest part of the painting. Don’t put a white frame round a picture which does not contain white. If the frame is too glossy, the highlights distract the eye from the picture itself. Frames can also be made into trays, by adding a suitable centre, or into mirrors. Frames for watercolours, pastels, or photographs, which have glasses, should be as simple as possible so as not to overpower the picture.
First clean the frame thoroughly. Oil a simple wooden one, detergent, water and sandpaper all carefully used should remove old grease and grime. While the frame is drying, the type of repainting or decoration ion can be decided upon. If it is a plain frame in good condition, a light rub down with a fine grade of sandpaper will probably be all that is needed before a new coat of varnish is applied. Of course the varnish call be taken off, and the frame left in its natural wood state and just lightly rubbed with wax Polish, but if the old surface is stained or badly scratched, the new coat must be opaque, and some kind of paint is the answer. Ordinary household paint or plastic emulsion in a suitable colour looks quite well, but with a little more trouble, really exciting finishes call be obtained, and in most cases a broken finish definitely  looks best.
Polymer colour water based paints made either by Rowney under the trade name of Cryla, or by Reeves under the name of Polymer colours, are particularly useful, as they can be applied very thinly producing a pickled effect over stained wood, or else thick as squeezed from the tube, and then figured, or used for two-tone work. Polymer paints contain water and should be water thinned to the required consistency, not with turps or white spirit. They dry very rapidly, but if you want to slow down the process, use the special retarder. The colours, which conic ili the full range of artist’s oil paint colours, mix very well, and when dry will have a slight sheen, which is excellent for frames. A gloss medium is obtainable, or, although it is not really necessary as the paint is quite waterproof when dry, it can be overpainted with a polymer varnish to keep the frame in first class condition for years. Any tools or brushes used to apply the polymer paints should be washed thoroughly in water before they dry out, but if this is forgotten, a soaking overnight iii methylated spirit will the trick. Acetone will also dissolve these colours.
Texturing with polymer colours is not too difficult. The paint should have the consistency of thick cream. It should be painted on to the frame fairly thickly and, while it is still sticky, textured with a comb, toothbrush, an old wire brush, or anything else you caii think of that would scrape interesting patterns in the paint. A little practice on an odd scrap of wood painted with polymer, will give you some idea of texturing. Another method is to put oil different coloured layers of polymer, letting each one dry before adding rile next, and cut through these with varying pressures to get the colours showing through at different levels. Diagonal, cross, mitre or lengthwise strokes can be used, and if you get really ambitious, all sorts of curved lines and squiggles. Another way of texturing is to paint the frame with polymer, and then while it is still sticky, sprinkle on a little sand, or rice, or any other small hard grained substance, shake off the surplus, and when dry overpaint with another thinner layer of polymer, and then finish with polymer varnish. A small sponge gently pressed into sticky paint will also give an interesting finish, especially if the two-tone effect is desired, using a double layer of paint. Spattering gives a nice spotty effect and should be applied over the plain basic colour oil the frame by gently tapping a water paint brush loaded with the colour you want to apply. To make large spots hold the brush near the surface, and with a little experimentation the size of the spots can easily be adjusted.
One very useful process for finishing off plain frames or parts of ornamental ones is to rub on colour. This gives a nice soft finish and it is particularly good for insets, which can look far too hard and glaring against a light toned picture. Any oil based paint call be used and a handkerchief should be lightly smeared with this, and then the surplus paint rubbed off on an old piece of newspaper. The lightly charged cloth is rubbed gently 01, the frame, and the pressure increased until the right effect is obtained. The cloth should be recharged as necessary, but never too much as the more sparingly paint is applied tile softer tile finish will look, and it is not necessary to work it in too evenly. Burnt sienna is a particularly good colour for insets. If you want a simple gilded effect a paste made by Reeves called Restoration or an American product called Treasure Wax Gilt do an excellent job. They come in many roues of gold, bronze or silver, and are very easily applied with a cloth or finger oil to tile cleaned surface. If a bright finish is required, it should be put on fairly thickly and allowed to dry completely before being rubbed down with a soft cloth. This method is by far the best way to touch up any old gilding as the application of gold leaf is really an expert’s job (see Gilding).
heavy piece of chain, are common enough practices with disreputable dealers, but any old frame bought in a junk shop will probably have enough natural blemishes to make this unnecessary, and it all sounds rather too violent. Applications of different paints can make almost any frame look a lot older mid more interesting than it really is. Coats of paint are rubbed oil in, irregular patches and then smoothed down lightly with fine sandpaper. Deep depressions can be left dark, and bright colours should be put on sparingly. Yellow ochre, chrome yellow, raw uniber, venetian red and bumf sienlia, are all suitable colours, and when they have dried out and been sanded down, a thin coat of burnt sienna diluted with turpentine is overpainted, and later spots of gold or silver Restoration or Treasure Gilt call be rubbed oil in small areas, or tile whole frame spattered. The effect of old gold leaf call be obtained by painting the frame with a thick layer of venetian red, and then repainting with a good quality bronze paint such as Treasure Gold Liquid Leaf When it is dry, it should be rubbed with steel wool until the red shows through in places. Restoration wax call be used instead of the bronze paint, just put on rather unevenly, but it must be remembered that genuine gold leaf gets rubbed off in natural wear and tear on the raised surfaces, while tile depressions will keep the gold, and it is not so easy to get a natural finish without any rubbing off.
Mending. Old picture frames get pretty knocked about in junk shops, especially when tile pictures have been removed and tile glass broken. Usually it is the corners which go, the whole frame wringing in all directions. Corners can be strengthened quite easily (see Fig. 17)_ If the glue and the tacks which secure the frame have gone, take the frame to pieces, and remove the remains of the tacks and clean off  Sand the faces of the comers down to the natural wood, so that you have a clean surface to work on, and then put an impact adhesive, on both faces of the comers and leave it for the time specified by its makers before bringing the two faces together. In order to get good right-angled corners, use a comer cramp. These c.-ui be bought at hardware stores and arc so useful that I really do suggest that you get one and do not try to square the comer any other way, although it can be done. One method is to work with the frame on its face. Put the two faces together and square the comer using a try square to measure it and then tack a thin piece of wood diagonally across, so that the frame is held rigid until the join has set. This will hold the corners accurately, but will not put any tension on the join. To hold the comer, in addition to the adhesive, drive tacks in diagonally across the join, making sure that you don’t use tacks so long that they come right and also try to get them into the through the other side, and
thickest section of the frame. Small holes can be drilled across the corner, and a woodc’, peg inserted. If you mean to do this, it is best to drill the hole with the frame held tight in the corner cramp, before putting on the glue.
If it is not possible to mend the frame iri this way, or if you do not want to dismantle it entirely, the corners can be dowelled, or a plate can be screwed on to the corners, at the back. Depending on how big and heavy the frame is, put in a strip or triangular corner plate (see Fig. 17). If a strip is used, sink it into the frame by cutting right across the corner to the depth of the strip with a tenon saw, and then chipping out the piece with a chisel. Wooden strips and plates are better than metal ones, and plywood is fine for the job.
If you wish to make a frame smaller, this can be done without separating all the covers. Measure opposite sides to the correct lengths, at opposite ends, then cut through the two corners using a mitre box, and rejoin (see Fig. 18). When measuring frames, always remember that the edge of the frame overlaps the glass and the picture, and that you must allow for this when measuring. It is easier to measure your picture and/or glass, and then measure the frame at the inside edge of the rebate which takes the picture.
Mending Mouldhnq. If the plaster moulding of a picture franc is really badly damaged, you can always strip it all off and just use the basic wooden frame. A power drill with a rough sanding disc will take off a lot of the old plaster quickly, but some of the awkward angles will have to be done with a hand scraper.
Clean all mouldings with a hog’s hair paint brush, a sponge mid methylated spirit. Never make a frame too wet or the plaster may dissolve.
plaster mouldings are all too often broken off in great lumps. Replace these quite simply by making a moulding from an identical, but unbroken section of the frame. This is done in the same way as pressed moulding for china (see Fig. rg). Make a mould with Plasticine for small sections, and then cast a piece by pouring plaster of Paris in the mould, or preferably for small sections by making a filler with Araldite mixed with kaolin powder (use a parting agent in this case), or Cascamite and dental plaster, and pressing this into the mould. The pressing is allowed to harden and then, before it is so hard that it will not stick, is carefully put in place on the break. A little straight Araldite adhesive on the face of the broken part will help adhesion. To make a mould of a large section, or one which has any undercutting which would hook round a plasticiric pressing, use dental impressioncompound (Paribar) and make a pressed mould with this, first greasing the moulding with vaseline. Paribar can be reused many times, and no parting agents are needed before putting in
the plaster of Paris filler.
Gilder’s Compo can be used (see Fillers) and this is recommended for extensive work. It has many other uses for moulding of all kinds and is the traditional material—superseded, but not necessarily improved upon, by plastics and resins.
The mouldings can also be made in Isopon or Bondapaste filler, which dries much more quickly than Aralditc. It is a matter of personal preference, really. All these materials make mouldings which when set can be cleaned tip with needle files and abraded with glass paper until they are satisfactorily smooth.
ruler with a bevel edge and a Stanley knife (see Tools), and cut the board with a bevel. Special mat trimmers can be bought from artists’ suppliers. The secret is to cut the bevel the same all the way round and to get the comers neat. The knife must be perfectly sharp. It is difficult to stop the ruler from slipping about, and a strip of very fine sandpaper stuck oil will the bottom of it wihelp. The bevel edge can be gilded if liked.
The mat is placed oil the picture, which in turn has been put on a mount which is bigger than the hole in the mat. Photographic mountant is excellent for this job, either the paste type, or, if there is no danger involved in heating your picture, the type which is painted on with a brush and then bonded by pressure with a warm iron.
Mounts arc just pieces of cart{    which the picture is stuck; the mount being big enough to fit the frame exactly.
Linings are rather more complex, and call be most effective, both for bringing a frame down in size, and for making a picture look better. A lining may be just a strip of gilded wood inside the main frame, or it may be a wider inner frame covered with material such as linen or velvet or sheet metal. The wood inner frame is made exactly to fit the rebates of the main frame, and is mitred at the corners. The covering material may be stuck or pinned to the lining. In order to make a neat job at the corners, it is usually best to cover the pieces before joining them.
One last word—always check wire, cord and screws used for hanging up pictures—more often than not the wire is rusted, the string is rotten, and screw rings are rusted or loose. It call be a little disappointing if two weeks later all your hard work oil painting, moulding and mending together with that expensive piece of glass end up in a shattered heap on the floor.

EARLY 19TH CENTURY
BRITISH EXOTICISM
A RICH MIX OF BOTH FOREIGN AND HOME-GROWN INFLUENCES AFFECTED THE DESIGN OF BRITISH FURNITURE DURING THE REGENCY PERIOD.
FROM MOGUL DOMES to Islamic arches, Regency designers drew on a wide variety of exotic sources. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in July 1798, his invasion force included not only soldiers, but artists and poets, botanists, zoologists, and cartographers. The ensuing publication of Descriptions de I’Egypt established a vogue in France for all things Egyptian.
ANCIENT EGYPT
The Egyptian craze surfaced in Britain following Nelson’s subsequent defeat of Napoleon in 1798 at the Battle of the Nile. Sphinx heads appeared on the pilasters of bookcases and side cabinets and lotus leaves were carved on chair splats and printed on textiles and wallpaper designs.
Thomas Hope designed furniture based on the engravings of the French Egyptologist, Baron Denon, and Thomas Chippendale the Younger, who had inherited his father’s famous workshop, created a suite of furniture for Stourhead in 1805, resplendent with sphinx masks. These pieces were made in mahogany, but the foreign motifs of the period were often complemented by the use of highly polished, unusual, imported timbers: streaky salamander, dark ebony, or flecked amboyna.
CHINOISERIE REVIVAL
An integral part of the Rococo repertoire in Britain during the mid 18th century, Chinoiserie enjoyed a revival in the early 19th century. The Royal architect,
A DWARF GOTHIC CABINET
This lacquered cabinet has a crenellated
Lipper section with octagonal corner
towers. A deeper base with a pierced
quatrefoil gallery sits above a pair of
tracery panelled doors flanked by
clasping buttresses. The cabinet
stands on a plinth base. Early 19th
century.
REGENCY TORCHERE STAND This stand is made, of bronzed and gilded wood. Below the top is a guilloche moulded frieze and three gilt supports, with lion masks, joined by Cross supports with applied rosettes. The concave base rests on gilt paw feet.
A CHINESE EXPORT BUREAU This bureau has u fall front above three drawers, a shaped apron, and is raised on cabriole legs. All the surfaces are black and gilt lacquered with lake scenery and flowers.
19th century.
Henry Holland. was profoundly influenced by Sir
George Stauntons An Authentic Account of an Embassy
“M the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China n 1797: and interest in the Far East increased after Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, when further British envoys ere sent to the new emperor of China, Chia-Ch’ing.
Furniture was japanned black with gilt to simulate lacquer – as in the late 17th century – while lacquer cabinets (or lacquer panels reused from early screens) were incorporated into British cabinet work. Oriental bamboo was also echoed in the ring turnings on late Regency chairs. Many pieces of furniture were made out of genuine bamboo, while others were turned
and painted to simulate it.
The Prince Regent gave the royal seal of approval to this trend when he furnished several rooms at the Brighton Pavilion with bamboo furniture imported from China. Indeed, this architectural folly became the most famous mixing pot of all the exotic styles of the Regency period.
Western styles of lacquer and bamboo furniture were also imported from Canton. The trade in goods from China to Britain had been established since the early 17th century, but the scale of Chinese imports in the 19th century was unprecedented. As well as imported, Chinoiserie-style furniture, Oriental motifs such as dragons appeared on the crestings of convex mirrors, while latticework and Chinese panelling were applied to chair backs, commode friezes, or brass grills on side cabinets or chiffoniers.
STYLES FROM THE SUBCONTINENT
India, as well as China, influenced the decoration of the Brighton Pavilion. Nash was inspired by William and Thomas Daniell’s book, Oriental Scenery, and included pierced screens, copied from Indian jails (perforated stone screens from Madhya Pradesh), in his designs. The interest in India manifested itself more in the importation of Western-style furniture, than in the application of Indian motifs to British furniture. Exotic ivory-inlaid rosewood furniture and boxes came from Vizagapatam, and ebony chairs of Regency form were shipped from Ceylon.
HISTORICISM
Towards the end of the Regency period, designers and furniture-makers turned away from exoticism and towards their own traditions for inspiration. The Napoleonic wars and their subsequent victories spawned a surge in nationalist feeling. This, along with the historic novels of Walter Scott, inspired designers such as George Bullock and Richard Bridgens to include Elizabethan and Jacobean motifs in furniture for Abbotsford and Aston Hall in the late 1810s and early 1820s. Gothic motifs were always prevalent, particularly as tracery in glazing bars and in panels for cabinet doors. Pointed arches appeared as early as 1807 in the backs of hall chairs published by George Smith. This furniture, often commissioned by a new breed of antiquarian collectors such as William Beckford, was usually made in oak or other native timbers.

Antique Mid 19th Century Russian Furniture.

WHILE RUSSIA’S SERFS scraped a meagre
existence tied to the land, the affluent society centred around the Imperial Court in St Petersburg enjoyed an extremely high standard of living that was reflected in the grand furniture they commissioned.
EUROPE’S MELTING POT
St Petersburg was a cosmopolitan city in the mid 19th century, with strong ties with France, the Low Countries, and the German and Italian states. Craftsmen from each of these areas flowed into the Russian capital, bringing with them ideas and designs from across Europe. French influence, in particular, was very
strong. Many of these journeymen were masters of their professions – Leo von Klenze, for example, was Court architect to Ludwig I of Bavaria before he designed interiors for the New Hermitage. He continued to champion the Russian Empire style well into the mid 19th century with his malachite and marble furniture. Russian rule over Finland meant that there was a free exchange of information between the two countries, and many Finnish craftsmen plied their trades in St Petersburg. As a result, the dominant Russian style of the period was an amalgam of fashions from many different places. The heavy
aspect of polite Russian furniture, designed for use in large spaces, was complemented by grand mounts of gilded wood or brass, featuring Classical motifs drawn from the European tradition.
Among the peculiarly Russian specialities of the period was metal furniture, which was used more frequently here than elsewhere in Europe. The Tula Imperial Armoury, an important weapons foundry, became famous for its iron furniture, such as the dressing room suite on display at the Pavlovsky Palace Museum. Carl Faberge, jeweller to the Imperial Court from 1884, designed a
handful of superb items of furniture that exerted an enormous influence on the fashionable elite. These high-fashion pieces were the exception, however, as a general decline took place in the Russian furniture industry during the late 19th century. Increased mechanization was the death knell for many craftsmen who could not compete with the new factories in terms of output or cost. In these factories, machine-cut pine carcasses were covered with very thin machine-cut hardwood veneers before finally being finished by hand. In this way, furniture that appeared to equal the quality of that created by the artisan was produced far more cheaply.
UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR
From a suite of furniture made for the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, this carved and gilded armchair is upholstered in crimson silk. It was created in Louis XV style.
Winter Palace interior Designed by Alexander Bryullov, the Malachite Room was rebuilt in 1837 as a drawing room for Alexandra Fyodorovna, the wife of Tsar Nicolas I. The richly gilded furniture was produced by the workshop of Peter Gambs from sketches by Auguste de Montferrand.
GOTHIC CHAIR
This Gothic-style, high-backed chair carved out of walnut was designed by E. Gambs for the Gothic Study of the Golitsyn-Stroganov estate in Maryino. Mid 19th century.
CYLINDER BUREAU
The drum-shaped case of this mahogany desk is supported by two shaped legs with carved and gilded swans at the top and partly gilded claw-and-ball feet at the bottom. The legs are joined by a flat, carved cross-stretcher. The
desk has a fitted interior, containing shelves and compartments for letters and writing equipment, and a leather writing slide. A series of wooden slats attached to a single piece of cloth composes the roll-top lid, which retracts to the back. Late 19th century.

MALACHITE TABLE
Alexandre II malachite low table is mounted with lour scroll and foliate ormolu cartouches. Beneath the table lop, a baluster stern, ending in a foliate motif carving, is flanked by four scroll legs on scroll and foliate sabots. The table stands on glass bun feet, which were added at a later date. The malachite used to create this table
was mined at Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. Malachite from the same source was also used to create the Malachite Room at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg (see above right). Russian craftsmen from the Peterhof and Yekaterinburg works used the Russian mosaic technique to cover large surfaces; they cut pieces of malachite into 3mm thick slices and attached them to a base to produce an attractive overall pattern. c.1860.
SILVER-MOUNTED TABLE
The top of this Louis XVI-style Faberge table has a beaded silver border, The drawer is applied with a silver laurel wreath with ribbon cresting. The fluted legs are joined by a silver-mounted stretcher. Late 19th century.
MAHOGANY BOOKCASE
This two-door glazed bookcase has a broken pediment with a brass moulded edge and brass fluted decoration to the central frieze. The doors have well-figured mahogany frames with central glazed panels and boldly modelled
brass astragals. The doors have canted corners with brass flutes, surmounted and supported by brass square paterae. The sides are inset with panels, bordered by brass lines. The whole
stands on a plinth, supported on square, tapering legs, terminating in brass sabots. c.1840.

Antique 19th Century Spanish and Portuguise Furniture.
ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA, styles from
countries that had close relationships with Spain and Portugal, in particular, Morocco, were fused with a dominant French aesthetic. This resulted in
distinctive, solid furniture peppered with lighter touches.
SPANISH FUSION
“Isabellino” furniture was the Spanish interpretation of the French Second Empire style. Richly decorated with contrasting colours, it was more
exuberant than its French counterpart, and its symmetry allies it more closely with the Baroque than with the Rococo revival that swept across the rest of
Europe. Pieces made for the court of Isabella 11 (1833-68) were the most sumptuous of all and set the agenda for the aspiring merchant classes.
The use of mother-of-pearl inlays, frequently in geometric patterns, was very widespread. Other fashionable decorative elements included mounts of bronze or gilded wood, and painted decoration applied directly to the timber. Classical motifs, including carved putti and acanthus leaves, were also commonly used.
Openwork carving often made use of themes drawn from Morocco, Spain’s closest neighbour to the south, and one that has lent a distinctive
Islamic twist to the Spanish decorative arts for centuries. Moorish forms and decoration, such as woven upholstery and turned spindles, were widespread throughout Spain during this period. In fact, Moroccan influence was by now so well established that it broadened to include elements from other Islamic cultures.
Isabella It’s bedroom at the Palacio Real, Aranjuez The solidity of the dark wood furniture and fittings is offset by the sumptuous gilded carving that adorns the bed.
SPANISH MOORISH DRESSING TABLE
This walnut and ebony dressing table is inlaid with intarsia. The cabinet is surmounted by an arched mirror, at the base of which are two small drawers. A frieze drawer sits above a pair of panelled doors, which enclose a fitted interior. The case stands on block feet with casters. Mid 19th century.
SPANISH CABINET
The parquetry top of this tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and walnut cabinet has projecting corners. The case has seven drawers, flanked by free-standing columns, and arranged around a central door and two drawers below. The Moorish influence is apparent in the Arab-style
design. Mid 19th century.
PORTUGUESE COMMODE
This is one of a pair of carved Rosewood petite commodes. The exaggerated waisted shape is a very common Portuguese form during this period. The ball-and-claw feet on cabriole legs are taken from mid 18th-century English designs. Late 19th century.
PORTUGUESE CENTRE TABLEPORTUGUESE SIDE TABLE
This centre table is made of rosewood and is in the style of those popular in the late 17th century. The rectangular table top has brass mounts at the corners and the frieze is fitted with drawers and dummy drawers. It stands on bulbous, twist-carved legs joined by twisted stretchers. c.1880.
This side table is made of stained walnut. Beneath the plain top is a single frieze drawer. The overall form, with its H-stretcher and central uprights, is 17th-century French, but the style of carving gives it a Portuguese provenance.
Cyrillic script betrays the central Asian provenance of some Moorish furniture constructed in Spain at this time. Carpets used as upholstery were sourced from the Tekke of Turkestan, for example. Heavy silver adornments were another decorative element borrowed From this part of the world.
The drawing-room suite, usually comprising a sofa and a pair of armchairs, became extremely popular in Spanish homes during this period. The occasional table continued to enjoy the popularity it had won in the earlier “Fernandino” period. Around 1870, Ater a period of civil war that Followed the end of Isabellas reign, designers
began to seek inspiration in traditional Spanish furniture from the 16th and 17th centuries.
PORTUGUESE ASSIMILATIONS The Portuguese had suffered greatly Lit the hands of Napoleon’s Forces but had been impressed by a system of government that freed them from the yoke of a repressive monarchy. Rebellion and civil war plagued the reigns of Maria 11, Pedro V, and Luis 1, the rulers of Portugal during the mid 19th century.
French influence had declined after liberation From Napoleon, and designers began to follow the work
of British cabinet-makers more closely. As a result, features such as the cabriole leg and paw foot became widespread in Portuguese furniture. Another important outside influence came from Germany. The Portuguese embraced the Fading Biedermeier style through Maria 11, who had a number of German consorts.
Towards the end of the century, Spain began to embrace styles based on the more distant past of their own peoples, while Portugal embarked on an
enduring affair with designs from the Joao V period (1706-50). Rosewood continued to be the favoured wood because of Portugal’s colonial interests.
LATIN AMERICAN NEOCLASSICISM The thriving Latin colonies in Central and South America had never been exposed to the French Empire style that had pervaded Europe and from which the bulk of European mid 19th-century furniture had developed. The widespread diaspora of patterns originally drawn by 18th-century masters, such as Chippendale and Hepplewhite, did reach these distant western outposts and were the basis for a Latin American Neoclassical revival. Latin American furniture in the mid 19th century was, therefore, far closer to British forms than that produced on the Iberian mainland.