Regency style pedestal desk

Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

Restoration of a desk veneered on all sides with yew burl and amaranth, decorated with geometric boxwood stringing. It opens with five drawers in the front and five simulated drawers in the back. The two lower drawers follow the contour of the front and slide down at a 45-degree angle. The top is veneered in amaranth and edged with a bronze molding. It rests on four cabriole legs and terminates in curious acanthus leaf bronze mounts. The frame is entirely oak, except for the drawers, which are made of […]

Regency commode with crowned R

Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

Restoration of a Regency commode, probably from southeastern France, veneered with yew, plum, rosewood, walnut, cherry, amaranth, violet wood, boxwood, and green-stained maple on a softwood frame. Besides its highly unusual marquetry decoration, the commode's distinctive feature is its crowned R bronze mounts. The crowned R hallmark should not be confused with the crowned C hallmark, which corresponds to a tax levied from 1745 to 1749 on copper objects and is found on many […]

Louis XVI commode

Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

This week, we're restoring a Louis XVI commode with a projecting front, veneered in Rio rosewood, amaranth, and violet wood, with marquetry stringing in boxwood and ebony forming a ribbon wrapped around the wood, the background of the engravings filled with red wax. The tapered legs and canted uprights have faux fluting in ebony and boxwood. There's no maker's mark to attribute this beautiful piece and the high quality of wood chosen for its construction. Regarding the restoration, the work isn't very […]

Tool cabinet – The top doors

Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath

For these marquetry designs, I drew inspiration from Pierre Ramond's book, "André-Charles Boulle, Cabinetmaker, Chaser, and Marquetry Maker to the King." I used the marquetry drawings from the Boulle workshop cabinet (circa 1715–1720). I simply modified them by removing the birds and the butterfly to simplify the design. Then, I partially employed the "Boulle" method for the acanthus leaves and the vase. Finally, I used the wood painting technique for the flower bouquets.