Antique Swedish Walnut Parquetry Commode C1880

A stunning antique Swedish ormolu mounted walnut commode of Louis XVstyle c.1880

This piece exemplifies Swedish cabinet making at its very finest. The grain of the wood is truly magnificent.

It is crossbandedwith parquetry inlaid decoration overall.. and the locks and ormolu mounts are all original.

There are three capacious drawers which will give ample storage space.


Condition:

Really Excellent - please refer to the pictures for confirmation.



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).