Antique Victorian Burr Walnut Credenza Sevres Plaques 19th C

A Victorian burr walnut and ebonised credenza, with ormolu mounts with four Sevres style porcelain plaques, with four knopped columns and pair of glazed doors flanking central panelled door on bun feet, 119c high x 190cm wide x 46cm deep

This is a superb antique Victorian burr walnut and ebonised Sevres Porcelain and ormolu mounted line inlaid breakfront credenza, circa 1860 in date.

It has a striking central panelled door which is adorned with a beautiful ormolu mounted and hand painted Sevres porcelain plaque depicting a courting couple with chaperone, flanked by an elegant glazed door on either side. There are three similar Sevres porcelain plaques in the frieze, and it is further decorated with four corinthian columns and exquisite ormolu mounts.

The glazed side doors open to reveal two shelves in each section, ideal for displaying your collectables, the central door opens to reveal a central shelf and plenty of storage space for drinks, glasses, crockery, etc,. The interior is lined in it's original violet velvet.

it is raised on ebonised bun feet and is complete with working locks and keys.

This is a stunning piece which is sure to attract a lot of attention.

Condition:

In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned and polished, and the interior relined, in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 119 x Width 190 x Depth 46

Dimensions in inches:

Height 46.9 x Width 74.8 x Depth 18.1

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.

Sevres Porcelain traces its roots in France to early craftsmen who had small manufacturing operations in such places as Lille, Rouen. St. Cloud, and most notably Chantilly. It is from Chantilly that a cadre of workers migrated to the Chateau de Vincennes near Paris to form a larger porcelain manufactory in 1738. French King Louis XV, perhaps inspired by his rumoured relationship with mistress Madame de Pompadour, took an intense interest in porcelain and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres. Sevres was also conveniently near the home of Madame de Pompadour and the King's own Palace at Versailles.

From the outset the king's clear aim was to produce Sevres Porcelain that surpassed the established Saxony works of Meissen and Dresden. Though the French lacked an ample supply of kaolin, a required ingredient for hard-paste porcelain (pate dure), their soft-paste porcelain (pate tendre) was fired at a lower temperature and was thus compatible with a wider variety of colours and glazes that in many cases were also richer and more vivid. Unglazed white Sevres Porcelain "biscuit" figurines were also a great success. However, soft-paste Sevres Porcelain was more easily broken. Therefore, early pieces of Sevres Porcelain that remain intact have become rare indeed.

The Sevres Porcelain manufactory always seemed to be in dire financial straits despite the incredibly fine works it produced. In fact, the king's insistence that only the finest items be created may have contributed to the difficulties. Only a limited number of European nobility could afford the extravagant prices demanded for such works. King Louis XV and eventually his heir, the ill-fated Louis XVI, were obliged to invest heavily in the enterprise. Ultimately, the Sevres Porcelain Factory produced items under the name of "Royal" and thus the well-known Sevres mark was born. King Louis XV even mandated laws that severely restricted other porcelain production in France so as to

Internal Ref:

09077

Date of manufacture : 19th Century