The making of a marquetry masterpiece
The making of a bespoke marquetry dining table involves many phases - carried out with the highest level of attention to detail - by third generation master craftsmen in our workshop in Italy.
First the design of the marquetry is drawn on paper.
The paper is then glued on to a sheet of plywood and the veneers are attached to the underside with pins.
There can be a maximum of 16 sheets of veneer. In this case, there are 8 for the burr walnut and 8 for the marquetry.
With a fret cutter, using a very fine blade, the marquetry is cut out, using the burr walnut and various coloured veneers to compose the flowers. Today we use an electric fret cutter, although in the 18th and 19th centuries the cutters were operated by treadles.
All of the cut out pieces of veneer are then placed on a large tray.
They are then singed by being placed in hot sand in a red hot crucible. This singed effect gives different shades to the various veneers, depending on how deep and how long they are left in the hot sand.
The various items of veneer are then inserted into the burr walnut one by one. After they are inserted, tape is placed over them to keep them in place. They are then turned over and a sheet of glued paper is placed over them all, after which the tape can be removed.
The prepared solid mahogany table is then veneered with mahogany - twice on the under side, horizontally and vertically, and then once on the top side.
The prepared marquetry and burr walnut sheet is then placed on top and the whole table top is placed into a hot press, which glues the sheet to the top.
The backing paper can then be sanded off.
The table top is then veneered 4 times to prevent the top from bowing or warping.
Once the assembly is complete, the table is French polished by hand using natural products, resulting in a stunning bespoke masterpiece of marquetry.
Walnut & Burr Walnut
Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.
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.
Walnut "burrs" were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.
