17ft Marquetry Bespoke Dining Table, Pewter, Lapis Lazuli & Agate Inlaid

This is a wonderful bespoke large handmade Louis Revival  dining table.

Crafted in burr walnut it features exceptional quality marquetry with pewter, lapis lazuli and agate.Seating sixteen people in royal comfort, it is an amazing piece of luxury furniture which will add splendour to any room. Also appropriate for a conference room or any commercial space such as a feature piece in a hotel dining room or lobby, it is sure to be a talking point.

Due to its beautifully figured grain, burr walnut has been used for centuries by fine furniture makers. This large dining table has been further embellished with superb inlaid floral marquetry with burr walnut inlaid in pewter and various coloured veneers comprising cherry, pear, amboyna, burr walnut, magnolia, and tulipwood  with inserts of lapis lazuli.

To highlight the natural grain of the wood and the excellent artistry of the marquetry, we have French polished this large dining table by hand.

The skirt of the table is decorated with ormolu mounts inset with semi precious stones, such as agate, cornelian, malachite, etc,.

This wonderful large dining table is raised on two burr walnut ebonised and inlaid pedestals that are raised on  hand carved  lion's paw feet.

Being a bespoke handmade table we can make it to your specifications and size.

The set of chairs shown in the photos are also available at additional cost, they are not included in the price of the table.

The Making of this Marquetry MasterpiecePlease take a few moments to watch our video which explains how this wonderful large dining table was made.

We are very lucky to have third-generation master craftspeople working in our Italian workshop where this wonderful large dining table was made. It has been made with the greatest care and attention to detail.

As you can imagine, making such fine large dining tables is a complex process involving lots of phases requiring a great deal of skill and craftsmanship.

Condition:

In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 80 x Width 500 x Depth 128

Dimensions in inches:

Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 16 foot, 5 inches x Depth 4 foot, 2 inches

The making of a marquetry masterpiece

The making of a bespoke marquetry dining table involves many phases - carried out with the highest level of attention to detail - by third generation master craftsmen in our workshop in Italy.

First the design of the marquetry is drawn on paper.

The paper is then glued on to a sheet of plywood and the veneers are attached to the underside with pins.

There can be a maximum of 16 sheets of veneer.  In this case, there are 8 for the burr walnut and 8 for the marquetry.

With a fret cutter, using a very fine blade, the marquetry is cut out, using the burr walnut and various coloured veneers to compose the flowers. Today we use an electric fret cutter, although in the 18th and 19th centuries the cutters were operated by treadles.

All of the cut out pieces of veneer are then placed on a large tray.

They are then singed by being placed in hot sand in a red hot crucible. This singed effect gives different shades to the various veneers, depending on how deep and how long they are left in the hot sand.

The various items of veneer are then inserted into the burr walnut one by one. After they are inserted, tape is placed over them to keep them in place. They are then turned over and a sheet of glued paper is placed over them all, after which the tape can be removed.

The prepared solid mahogany table is then veneered with mahogany - twice on the under side, horizontally and vertically, and then once on the top side.

The prepared marquetry and burr walnut sheet is then placed on top and the whole table top is placed into a hot press, which glues the sheet to the top.

The backing paper can then be sanded off.

The table top is then veneered 4 times to prevent the top from bowing or warping.

Once the assembly is complete, the table is French polished by hand using natural products, resulting in a stunning bespoke masterpiece of marquetry.

Marquetry
is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colours are inserted into surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers.

The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique.

Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing shell and brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs.