satiné Archives • Ébénisterie Mathieu Vath

Louis XVI secretary stamped Ohneberg

May 9, 2025October 27, 2026 Mathieu VathVeneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, satin, secretary, Louis XVI style, 18th century

This Louis XVI period secretary bears the stamp of Martin Ohneberg. A masterpiece of sobriety and refinement, it combines a solid wood frame with rosewood and a sumptuous satinwood veneer. Its sinuous, golden veins lend brilliance and depth. Furthermore, the ornamentation remains understated yet exquisite. Indeed, delicately floral, chased bronze frames accentuate the clean lines of the piece, typical of the Neoclassical style. Martin Ohneberg, of German origin, was active in Paris during the last decades of the […]

Flat Greek-style desk stamped DUBOIS

March 27, 2025October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathamaranth, violet wood, Bronzes, Desk, polite, furniture restoration, satin, Louis XVI style, Transitional style, 18th century

One desk, one stamp, three cabinetmakers? This desk is a masterpiece of French cabinetmaking. It alone embodies the culmination of 18th-century Neoclassical taste. Yet, a question immediately arises: why three cabinetmakers for a single desk? In fact, the answer lies in a mixture of succession, talent, collaboration, and opportunism, typical of the craftsmanship of the period. This flat desk, known as a "Greek-style" desk, is a perfect example of the Louis XVI style. It combines marquetry of amaranth, satinwood, and other woods.

Louis XVI Weekly Planner

November 15, 2024October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathamaranth, rosewood, Louis XVI, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, satin

Restoration of a Louis XVI chest of drawers veneered in rosewood, satinwood, and amaranth. It opens with a series of seven drawers framed by rounded uprights with simulated fluting made of boxwood and blackened pearwood. A chest of drawers? The chest of drawers appeared in the mid-18th century. It was primarily intended for women. It is a chiffonier (which appeared during the Regency period, between 1715 and 1723) with seven drawers, one for each day of the week, for storing the day's undergarments. The restoration: This piece of furniture showed little […]

Regency style commode stamped Hédouin

September 19, 2024October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathamaranth, Vacuum bonding, convenient, HEDOUIN, Veneering - Marquetry, Veneering - Marquetry, sawn veneer, regency, furniture restoration, satin

Here is the latest restoration by Raphaël, my apprentice. This commode has all the attributes of a Regency commode. Yet, Hédouin could only have made it well after this period (around 1715-1723). Indeed, he obtained his master craftsman's certificate in 1738, right in the middle of the Louis XV era. It is therefore more accurately described as a commode "in the Regency style," as cabinetmakers of the time called it. Moreover, its frame is entirely oak, except for the back panels, and its veneer combines amaranth and satinwood. Jean-Baptiste HEDOUIN The life of Jean-Baptiste Hédouin remains […]

La Rochelle chest of drawers in "Isles wood"«

September 4, 2024October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathmahogany, Solid Wood, Bronzes, convenient, ebony, polite, furniture restoration, 18th century

A look back at the restoration of this rare port chest of drawers. It is made of solid woods brought back from the Orient and the West Indies. Indeed, it combines four precious woods: mahogany, satinwood, palo santo, and ebony. Most notably, it features a fifth: royal ebony. This chest of drawers opens with three wide palo santo drawers, arranged in three rows, separated by Ceylon ebony crossbars. A solid, framed top covers it. Its parquet flooring combines royal ebony crossbars and a mahogany back, partly mottled or pommeled. […]

Louis XV commode stamped NA Lapie

January 16, 2024October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathamaranth, Vacuum bonding, convenient, Louis XV, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, satin, French polish, 18th century

Restoration of a Louis XV commode stamped Nicolas Alexandre Lapie, veneered in amaranth and satinwood. Its oak frame is of exceptionally high quality. However, the sides and drawer fronts are made of softwood. Finally, the top is a griotte marble from Campan. Nicolas Alexandre Lapie, son of Nicolas Lapie, a pottery merchant in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and brother of the master cabinetmaker Jean Lapie, Nicolas Alexandre (known as the Elder) appears to have been born around 1730. He registered his master's letters at the Châtelet in Paris on August 17, 1764. […]

Louis XV writing table

March 23, 2023October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathrosewood, violet wood, Louis XV, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, coffee table

Restoration of a Louis XV period drawing table, or more precisely, a writing table. It is veneered in rosewood and kingwood, with satinwood on the back. Born from the passion for correspondence in the 18th century, fashionable merchants displayed all their ingenuity. They created numerous models of utilitarian tables, designed to be placed in the center of a room. These differed from ordinary tables: they generally included a writing surface and drawers for ink and quills. The term […]

Small chest of drawers from La Rochelle

December 8, 2022October 27, 2026 Mathieu VathSolid Wood, convenient, furniture restoration, satin, 18th century

Here is the restoration of a small Louis XV commode, made of solid satinwood and ribboned satinwood. Curved on all sides, including the back, it opens with three drawers. In addition, a pull-out candle holder opens at the back. It comes from La Rochelle and dates from the 18th century. Its top, molded with a corbel-shaped edge highlighted by a cavetto molding, is made of ribboned satinwood. This wood is also used on the front and sides. In contrast, the base is made of straight-grain satinwood, with "snail" feet ending in split goat's hoof feet. [… ]

Coffee table stamped P.GARNIER JME

September 1, 2022October 27, 2026 Mathieu VathVeneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, satin, Transitional style, Transition, French polish

Restoration of a Transition period (1750-1774) salon table, veneered in satinwood and stamped by Pierre Garnier (circa 1726-1800). Originally from Paris, the son of master cabinetmaker François Garnier, Pierre Garnier obtained his master's certificate on December 31, 1742. Unlike his father, he left the Faubourg Saint-Antoine for the Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, near the Place Vendôme. His clientele included merchants such as Léonard Boudin and Pierre Migeon, but above all, the wealthiest members of the kingdom. He thus fulfilled numerous commissions for Louis Georges Érasme, Marshal of France, and the Duchess of […]

Louis XVI commode

December 20, 2021October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathamaranth, rosewood, violet wood, Bronzes, convenient, Louis XVI, Rio Rosewood, Veneering - Marquetry, furniture restoration, 18th century

This week, we restored a Louis XVI commode with a projecting front, veneered in Rio rosewood, amaranth, rosewood, and violet wood. Boxwood and ebony stringing forms a coiled ribbon, with engravings filled in red wax. Finally, the tapered feet and canted uprights feature faux fluting in ebony and boxwood. However, no stamp allows us to attribute this very fine piece, crafted from high-quality wood. The restoration required little work. In fact, a colleague was already […]

Transitional chest of drawers stamped LARDIN

April 20, 2021October 27, 2026 Mathieu Vathamaranth, rosewood, Vacuum bonding, convenient, conservation, graft, LARDIN, Veneering - Marquetry, sawn veneer, furniture restoration, satin, Transition

Restoration of a Transition period commode, constructed of fir and oak and veneered with rosewood. It is framed by hornbeam stringing, white and green-stained, with a satinwood band edged in amaranth. The central medallion is made of satinwood veneer assembled in a herringbone pattern. The maker's mark and the JME (Journée des Métiers d'Art) are located at the base of the left rear leg. André-Antoine Lardin (1724 – August 10, 1790) obtained his master craftsman's certificate on July 1, 1750. He established himself on the rue de Charenton, at the sign "Au Bois de Boulogne," and worked there until 1770. He then moved […]