laiton Archives • Ébénisterie Mathieu Vath

Louis XV Cartel

November 13, 2025November 14, 2025 Mathieu Vathcartel, Louis XV, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration, 18th century

This is the first cartel clock restoration undertaken by Raphael, focusing on this Louis XV cartel clock in Boulle marquetry of brown tortoiseshell and brass. Restoring a cartel clock is a complex task requiring considerable time and meticulous attention to detail. The curved shapes make gluing delicate operations, and it is generally necessary to reattach large sections of the brass elements. Condition report: This cartel clock presented widespread soiling, an oxidized and tarnished varnish, as well as several lifting and missing pieces in the brass and tortoiseshell marquetry. […]

Regency Cartel

July 3, 2025September 12, 2025 Mathieu Vathcartel, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration, 18th century

The restoration of five Boulle marquetry clocks, begun a few months ago, is now complete. Here is a Regency clock and its console, inlaid with tortoiseshell and brass on an oak frame. Measuring Time: Since the dawn of time, humankind has strived to measure time. From the gnomon, a simple stick planted in the ground—a precursor to the sundial—to the flow of water in the clepsydra, and then to the hourglass using the same principle, all these methods have allowed people to organize their social lives, […]

Regency Cartel

May 18, 2024May 18, 2024 Mathieu Vathcartel, Vacuum bonding, conservation, Boulle marquetry, Veneering - Marquetry, regency, furniture restoration

Restoration of a Regency clock case in Boulle marquetry on a brown tortoiseshell background. Since Antiquity, humankind has sought to master and create a "timekeeper." Egyptian obelisks, water clocks, sundials, hourglasses. But it was in the 15th century that the first mechanical weight-driven clocks were made, with a single hand, but generally equipped with chimes. Then, in the 16th century, the counting of the day in two parts, 12 hours instead of 24, was adopted almost everywhere, even though each city kept its own meridian time until the advent of railways and […]

Louis XV cartel clock with crowned C

April 24, 2024May 7, 2024 Mathieu VathBronzes, cartel, Louis XV, Boulle marquetry, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, 18th century

Restoration of a Louis XV cartel clock in tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, the movement of which is signed by Charles Voisin (born 1686-1760), Master Clockmaker in 1710. The distinctive feature of this clock is that the bronze mounts are stamped with the crowned C mark. The crowned C was established by an edict of 1745, which required bronze workers to mark their pieces with a small, distinctive letter, a C surmounted by a crown, thus subjecting them to a tax. This tax applied to both objects and furniture adorned with it. It is a […]

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 […]

RELIGIOUS CLOCK, Sarrabat Paris

August 24, 2023August 24, 2023 Mathieu VathBronzes, Vacuum bonding, conservation, Louis XIV, Boulle marquetry, pendulum, polite, furniture restoration

Restoration of a 'religious' clock with a striking mechanism on the half-hour, signed (dial and movement) 'Sarrabat à Paris', third quarter of the 17th century. Religious clocks were the earliest form of clocks during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. Their popularity increased from 1660 onwards, thanks to Huygens' discovery of the regulator pendulum. This particular clock features Boulle marquetry of red tortoiseshell, brass, and pewter on a walnut frame, decorated with gilt bronze mounts and ebony moldings. The lower molding is also ebony and rests on […]

Regency Cartel

July 22, 2022July 22, 2022 Mathieu Vathcartel, Vacuum bonding, Boulle marquetry, regency, furniture restoration

Restoration of a large cartel clock (137cm high) and its console-style bracket from the Regency period. It is made of solid oak veneered with Boulle marquetry of brown tortoiseshell and brass. It is decorated with floral garlands, crosshatching, and foliage. The dial is made of chased and gilded bronze with an interlacing design and birds; the Roman numerals are enameled, and the signature St Martin à Paris is inset. The plate is signed with the same name. It is adorned with chased and gilded bronze mounts depicting on its capital […]

Louis XV cartel clock with crowned c

June 30, 2022June 30, 2022 Mathieu Vathcartel, Louis XV, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration

Here are some images of the restoration of a clock case that some of you may have seen during the work at the Mans'Art fair this year. This Louis XV period clock case is inlaid with tortoiseshell and brass, and the frame is oak. The bronze mounts bear the hallmark of the Crowned C. The Crowned C was established by an edict of 1745, which required bronze workers to mark their pieces with a small distinctive letter, a C surmounted by a crown, thus subjecting them to a tax. This tax applied to […]

Mazarine Chest of Drawers

May 4, 2022June 1, 2022 Mathieu Vathconvenient, conservation, Boulle marquetry, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, 17th century, 18th century

Restoration of a Louis XIV period commode, known as a Mazarine commode, veneered in brass and ebony on a softwood frame. This commode features bow-shaped drawers, including two full-length drawers surmounted by two half-drawers separated by an intermediate stile. The fronts are made of softwood, while the sides and backs are walnut. The brass decoration supporting the pendant drawer pulls features a finely inlaid motif of scrolls, foliage, foliage, and arabesques, framed by a geometric brass cartouche and simulating keyhole escutcheons. It […]

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 […]

Louis XVI/Directory Secretary

November 9, 2020May 31, 2021 Mathieu Vathmahogany, conservation, Leather, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, secretary, Louis XVI style, French polish, 18th century

Restoration of a drop-front secretary desk built in oak and veneered with mottled mahogany and mahogany from Saint-Domingue. Its design dates from the late 18th century. Its white Carrara marble top is surrounded by a partially openwork brass gallery. It opens with a drawer at the top, a drop-front in the middle, and three drawers at the bottom; all the original locks are secured with a clover-shaped key. All the panels on the front and sides are framed with brass quarter-round moldings. The drop-front is veneered in mahogany […]

Label signed "Louis David Carré in Paris"«

February 22, 2020May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathBronzes, cartel, oak, Vacuum bonding, graft, Brass, Boulle marquetry, furniture restoration, French polish

After several weeks of work, the restoration of this clock is finally complete. It is a Louis XV period clock in brown tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, with rosewood restorations. The dial is by Louis David Carré, nephew of Jullien le Roy, who became a master craftsman on December 31, 1748. Lodged at the Louvre from 1744, he was elected a juror in 1775. The greatest treasure of this clock lies in its bronze mounts. They are truly magnificent, and above all, they are in very good condition. There is only […]

Secretary Napoleon III

December 21, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu VathBronzes, Vacuum bonding, Brass, Boulle marquetry, Napoleon III, restoration, furniture restoration, secretary

On the restoration side, there wasn't much to do: the brass fittings were reattached with fish glue and by infiltration, then stripped and varnished. The most difficult part of this type of furniture is the black stain. Over time, pear wood darkens, loses its color, and turns gray. It then needs to be stained, without, of course, obscuring the brass. To do this, I fill and polish the piece until the brass becomes a true mirror. Then, I apply a hot logwood stain, and then […]

Louis XVI style games table

June 30, 2019May 31, 2021 Mathieu Vathrosewood, Leather, Brass, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, Louis XVI style, games table, French polish

This week, a small Louis XVI style games table left the workshop. As you'll see, there wasn't much work to be done. It just goes to show that a simple cleaning, revarnishing, and a fresh coat of leather can breathe new life into a rather dull piece of furniture.

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 […]