Ebénisterie Mathieu Vath Archives • Page 3 of 3 • Ébénisterie Mathieu Vath

Louis XV commode stamped JC Ellaume

June 10, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu Vathrosewood, Vacuum bonding, convenient, Louis XV, Marquetry, Veneering - Marquetry

Restoration of a Louis XV period commode stamped JC Ellaume. This commode is veneered in rosewood and palisander with floral marquetry on the drawer fronts. The frame is made of oak and softwood. Jean-Charles Ellaume, also sometimes written as Allaume, received his master craftsmanship in Paris on November 6, 1754. Many pieces of furniture bearing his stamp are known. These are mostly Louis XV commodes. It was in his workshop on Rue Traversière that he produced numerous high-quality pieces of furniture for over thirty years, […]

Mazarine Chest of Drawers

June 6, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu Vathconvenient, Marquetry, Uncategorized, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, French polish, 17th century

This week, we're revisiting the restoration of a Louis XIV period commode, a commode known as a Mazarine commode. But where does the name "Mazarine" come from? Well, it seems that the first example was made for the famous Mazarine Library, quite simply. Moreover, the illustrious creator of the commode was none other than André Charles Boulle himself. For Louis XIV's bedroom at Trianon, he revolutionized a type of furniture in 1708: the commode, which takes its name from its "practical" aspect compared to the chests that were widely used at the time. Today, we're presenting […]

Alexandre Morell's Cartel Boulle – The End

May 24, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathMarquetry, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration, French polish

After a few hours of cutting, gluing, re-gluing, and cleaning the surfaces, we finally reach the finishing stage. For this cartel clock, we chose to French polish it because it's a finish that highlights the marquetry, protects it, and is easily reversible (like all my work). I always use a clear shellac varnish, whether on wood or other materials. The varnishing process is difficult to explain; it simply takes hours and hours […]

Alexandre Morell's Boulle Cartel – Marquetry

May 15, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathVacuum bonding, Marquetry, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration

After reattaching the structure, removing the brass, cleaning up any remaining animal glue, and removing any residue of superglue and neoprene adhesive, the next step is cutting out the new pieces of brass and tortoiseshell to fill the gaps. So, as usual, I take an impression of the missing piece. Then I glue this piece of paper onto a brass plate, which is itself glued with fish glue to a piece of 4mm plywood. This makes the brass plate easier to cut. To retrieve […]

Alexandre Morell's Cartel Boulle – Continued

May 8, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathMarquetry, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration

Once the various structural elements were glued back together, I tackled the tortoiseshell and brass marquetry. As you'll see, on this clock it's in very, very bad condition; practically nothing is holding. So, all the brass has to be removed. The tortoiseshell, however, is holding well; it's only partially detached. The first step in restoring this marquetry is therefore to remove and set aside each brass element. The second is to clean off the old glue, […]

Alexandre Morell's Boulle Cartel

May 2, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathMarquetry, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration

Here is my first client, patient… well, whatever you want to call him. It's a Boulle marquetry cartel clock in brown tortoiseshell, ebony, and brass. As you can see in the following photos, it's not in very good condition. There are many missing brass pieces, and the remaining brass is peeling off everywhere. At first glance, it's always difficult to precisely date a Boulle cartel clock: this one doesn't have a maker's mark. However, it does have corkscrew screws (typical of the 18th century […]

Tool cabinet – End

April 3, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathCopy of an old, Creation, Marquetry

And there you have it, it's finished and ready to use. All the tools are in their proper place. All that's left is to find bronze fittings for the handles and keyhole escutcheons. For the finishing technique, I used the same one applied to furniture of that period: polishing. I first scraped the surface, then sanded it with 150-grit sandpaper. Next, I applied Venetian tripoli mixed with olive oil using a piece […]

Tool cabinet – The top doors

March 27, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathCopy of an old, Creation, Marquetry

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.

Tool cabinet – Continued

March 20, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathCopy of an old, Creation, Marquetry

Here are some photos of the marquetry on the tool cabinet. For the corner pieces, I was inspired by those on a table by Pierre Gole, a predecessor and major influence of André-Charles Boulle. For this cabinet, I needed to make 16 corner pieces. So, to save time, I decided to use the Boulle marquetry technique. I made four bundles of different colored woods to obtain four different marquetry designs from a single cut. Therefore, there are four identical designs, but with different flower colors. Then, […]

Tool cabinet – The sculptor

March 3, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathCopy of an old, Creation, Marquetry

The idea behind this tool cabinet was to explore and implement the various projects I was researching. One of these ideas was to tackle the marquetry technique of a famous 18th-century cabinetmaker, David Roentgen. This technique, known as "mosaic marquetry," involves cutting a single sheet of veneer using a conical saw and then coloring it by dipping each piece in a pre-defined dye. However, there were two problems to overcome: Conical sawing, which is difficult to […]