Huge Bespoke Handmade Marquetry Walnut Extending Dining Table 18 Chairs

Ref: 06494a

For weekly notifications of new arrivals in your categories of interest please click HERE.

Seating up to eighteen people in great comfort, this is a very large Bespoke Handmade Marquetry Walnut Extending Dining Table in a popular Victorian style, supplied with a matching set of 18 chairs.

This table would be equally at home in a corporate or commercial location, e.g. in a company boardroom or in a conference room. With all the extension leaves in place it would easily accommodate up to 18 people.

This handmade large marquetry dining table is a very substantial piece of furniture suitable for a variety of uses. It is made in the Victorian style and it features an array of superb marquetry decoration painstakingly made in our own facility in Italy by third generation artisans.

It is made from burr walnut which has has been used by fine furniture craftsmen for hundreds of years due to its lovely figured grain. This large dining table incorporates exquisite inlaid marquetry decoration featuring a variety of flowers together with urns, vases and lots of ribbons.

Made from a variety of wood veneers of various colours which are shown to their best effect by the French polishing process that has been carried out on this large dining table, by hand, in order to show off the glorious wood grains to the best effect.

A table for many purposes and of variable size

This table is fitted with a double wind out mechanism which is used to alter the overall length in order to accommodate the four expansion leaves. The leaves can be separately added as required or removed, to provide a very flexible length table to suit any occasion.

A table this big needs lots of support and it gets it from the six sturdy legs which ensure it is stable. Each of the legs terminates on brass cap castors for ease of movement.

Condition

This large dining table is new and is therefore in showroom condition.

Winding Mechanism for extending tables

A certain Mr Joseph Fitter became the pioneer developer of the screw mechanism that enables a table winding mechanism to work having bought the patent and business from a Mr Samuel Hawkins in 1864. Mr Fitter adapted the screw expander for tables and also used it for other items of furniture such as piano stools.

More Information and Viewing

Our in-house bespoke furniture team would be delighted to discuss this large dining table with you and our experts are always happy to answer any questions or queries that you may have. Please email or call us on the number shown above quoting reference number 06494A.

We would also be pleased to arrange a viewing of this piece or any other of our large dining tables in our North London showroom and warehouse.

We are open Mon - Fri 10am to 5pm and sometimes also open on a Saturday - call before making a trip, thank you.

Shipping, Delivery and Returns

We ship items free of charge to any mainland UK address.

If you would like to have this large bespoke dining table and chair set shipped to a non-UK destination, we will carefully pack and ship this item anywhere worldwide. Please ask us for a shipping quote first before purchasing the large dining table as we need to be sure we can meet your expectations and requirements.

If you are not satisfied with your purchase in keeping with the Distance Selling Regulations, we offer a 14-day money back guarantee. You must return this large dining table in its original packaging and condition to be eligible for a refund. Please be aware that you are responsible for paying the return shipping charges, unless we sent you the wrong item, i.e. one that is materially different to what you ordered.

Buyers are fully responsible for any customs duties or local taxes that may be incurred on items sent outside of the United Kingdom.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 79 x Width 500 x Depth 150 - fully extended

Height 79 x Width 180 x Depth 150 - when completely closed

Height 105 x Width 56 x Depth 53 - 2 Armchairs

Height 105 x Width 48 x Depth 46 - 16 Side chairs

Height 53 - Seat Height

Dimensions in inches:

Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 16 foot, 5 inches x Depth 4 foot, 11 inches - fully extended

Height 2 foot, 7 inches x Width 5 foot, 11 inches x Depth 4 foot, 11 inches - when completely closed

Height 3 foot, 5 inches x Width 1 foot, 10 inches x Depth 1 foot, 9 inches - 2 Armchairs

Height 3 foot, 5 inches x Width 1 foot, 7 inches x Depth 1 foot, 6 inches - 16 Side chairs

Height 1 foot, 9 inches - Seat Height

Burr Walnut
refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.

Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colours are inserted into surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers.

The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique.

Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs.

French polish is an alcohol and shellac polish for wood, it takes a lot of patience and hard work, but it is one of the most beautiful finishes available, producing an exceptionally high gloss.

Winding Mechanism for extending tables

A man by the name of Samuel Hawkins applied for a patent on a screw expander on June 6th, 1861. Presumably, Mr. Hawkins either died or retired because his business was taken over by a young machinist named Joseph Fitter in 1864.
Joseph Fitter operated a machinist shop where he produced winding mechanisms for extending tables as well as screw expanders for piano stools and other applications at 210 Cheapside, Birmingham England by the name of Britannia Works.

Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)

was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.

While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.

Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.

The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).

Satinwood

is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.

The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.

It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.

Our reference: 06494a

Please feel free to email or call us (+44 20 8809 9605) to arrange a viewing in our North London warehouse.

Inventory