directoire Archives • Ébénisterie Mathieu Vath

Louis XVI psyche mirror Weisweiler

June 17, 2026June 17, 2026 Mathieu Vathmahogany, directory, Louis XVI, Veneering - Marquetry, psyche, furniture restoration, 18th century

Restoration of a Louis XVI/Directoire period cheval glass stamped by Adam Weisweiler. This piece of furniture represents one of the innovations in late 18th-century furniture design. Far more than a simple dressing table accessory, it represents a significant evolution in the design of furniture intended for private use. Its appearance coincided with changing lifestyles, the development of new domestic spaces, and evolving practices related to self-presentation. For both the furniture historian and the restorer, the cheval glass is a particularly interesting object. It bears witness to both […]

Directoire armchairs

November 19, 2025November 20, 2025 Mathieu Vathmahogany, Solid Wood, directory, Armchair, furniture restoration, 18th century

Restoration of a pair of Directoire period armchairs (circa 1795–1805), made of solid mahogany, except for the veneered stretchers. These chairs display the clean, balanced lines characteristic of the Directoire style, a transitional period between the strictures of the Louis XVI style and the codes of the Consulate. Assembled using mortise and tenon joints, they are made of solid mahogany. The straight armrests are extended by turned supports, typical of the late Directoire. The legs are turned in a baluster shape and slightly tapered at the bottom. The rectangular backs are framed with simple molding, […]

Directoire Commode

February 14, 2024February 14, 2024 Mathieu Vathmahogany, convenient, conservation, directory, walnut, Veneering - Marquetry

Restoration of a curious Directoire commode in solid walnut and walnut, mahogany, and maple veneer, featuring marquetry of a Medici vase and a Louis XIV-inspired ballet dancer, in brass on an ebony ground. The drawers have walnut bottoms with an ebony stringing surmounted by a quarter-round brass and wood molding, surrounded by a mahogany molding. The uprights are three-quarter-fluted columns terminating in toupie feet. The locks are in the shape of trefoils. A conservation project for this […]

Directoire cylinder desk

January 18, 2022January 19, 2022 Mathieu Vathmahogany, cylinder desk, directory, stamp, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration

Restoration of a late 18th-century Directoire roll-top desk veneered in mahogany burl on all four sides. It bears the mark CD or GD, a mark unknown to me. Any information regarding it would be greatly appreciated! Constructed entirely of oak (not a single piece of poplar, not even for the drawer pulls or panels), the upper section opens with a cylinder, revealing four small drawers surmounted by a niche, as well as a sliding writing surface covered in gilt tooling and two side pull-outs also covered in gilt tooling […]

Barber shop Louis XVI/Directory

March 27, 2021May 31, 2021 Mathieu Vathmahogany, barber, directory, Louis XVI, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, French polish, 18th century

This elegant mahogany-veneered shaving cabinet from the late 18th century rests on four tapered legs with casters and opens with three drawers in the front. The niche, with its blue Turquin marble top framed by fluted columns, is surmounted by two side drawers and a sliding marble shelf with a recessed panel that reveals a sliding mirror on a rack and pinion mechanism, pivoting and framed with ebony and brass stringing. Appearing during the reign of Louis XVI, this style of shaving cabinet is a toilet unit designed to hold a porcelain pitcher and basin […]

Table à la Tronchin

January 15, 2021May 31, 2021 Mathieu Vathmahogany, conservation, directory, Veneering - Marquetry, restoration, furniture restoration, 19th century, 17th century

A little refresh for this lovely Tronchin-style table. Apart from a missing molding and a few small veneer chips on the legs, nothing too serious. A touch-up of the varnish was enough to give it a new lease on life. But do you know where this type of table comes from, and what it was used for? Although today attributed to Théodore Tronchin, a Genevan physician (1709-1781), who at the time published works on bone diseases linked to poor posture at one's desk, he cites the advantages that […]