Art Nouveau

Majorelle's Love Letter

Mathieu VathArt Nouveau, love note, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration
Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

Congratulations to Leo, our workshop intern! He has completed his first restoration project here. It's a lady's writing desk, also known as a "billet doux" (love letter), stamped by Louis Majorelle. The "billet doux" appeared in France at the end of the 18th century. It became particularly popular under Louis XVI, and then during the Restoration. It's an intimate and refined piece of furniture, designed for correspondence. It was therefore often placed in a boudoir or bedroom. Later, at the beginning of the 20th century, Louis Majorelle helped to revive its popularity. […]

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Nesting tables by Émile Gallé

Mathieu VathArt Nouveau, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, 19th century, 20th century
Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

Restoration of a set of four Art Nouveau nesting tables, made by the Gallé workshops. Each tabletop bears their marquetry signature. The beechwood base is adorned with a naturalistic decoration of tree branches. The tabletops feature marquetry of daffodils, seascapes, and lapping catkins. This marquetry combines ash, walnut, sycamore maple, rosewood, mahogany, walnut burl, and elm. Émile Gallé (1846-1904) Émile Gallé is an emblematic figure of Art Nouveau. He is indeed […]

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Art Nouveau desk with Primroses by Louis Majorelle

Mathieu VathArt Nouveau, Desk, Veneering - Marquetry, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration
Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

Restoration of an Art Nouveau desk stamped by Louis Majorelle, made in Nancy around 1905. Crafted from solid walnut, it is decorated with primrose marquetry. The work involved replacing some missing veneer, cleaning the piece, and restoring its waxed finish. Louis Majorelle was born in September 1859 in Toul and died in January 1926 in Nancy, at the age of 66. Son of the renowned furniture maker Auguste Majorelle, he developed an early interest in craftsmanship and drawing. He then entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, […]

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Majorelle table and rosewood

Mathieu VathArt Deco, Art Nouveau, conservation, Majorelle, Rio Rosewood, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration
Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

This is the second time I've worked on this type of table, which came from Louis Majorelle's workshop in the 1920s or 30s. You can find all the information about this type of table at the following link: https://ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr/2019/08/29/table-majorelle/ It's primarily a preventative restoration. In fact, there wasn't any major damage. So, a few grafts and re-gluing a large part of the edge veneer were enough to restore this lovely Rio rosewood table. This is therefore an opportunity to tell you about this wood, which is so […]

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Majorelle Table

Mathieu VathArt Deco, Art Nouveau, stamp, graft, Majorelle, Veneering - Marquetry, restoration, furniture restoration
Ebénisterie Mathieu VATH

Here is a table in pure Art Deco style. It is veneered with Macassar ebony, and its legs are mahogany. It probably dates from the 1920s. Louis Majorelle is best known as one of the great cabinetmakers of Art Nouveau. It is too often forgotten that he was also one of the forerunners of Art Deco, as this table perfectly demonstrates. As for restoration, as always, the veneer requires the most work: there are gaps, it is peeling… But the most difficult thing on this table is the […]

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