Huge Bespoke Handmade 17ft Marquetry Burr Walnut Dining Table
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This bespoke handmade large dining table measures 5 meters (17 feet) when fully extended. In the Victorian style, it features superb marquetry and seats sixteen people in total comfort.
This large dining table is a wonderful piece of luxury furniture which would equally as well be at home as a conference table or bespoke piece for a commercial venue such as a hotel or restaurant.
Burr walnut has been used by fine furniture craftsmen for centuries due to its beautifully figured grain. This particular large dining table also incorporates exquisite inlaid marquetry featuring flowers, urns, vases and ribbons. Made from wood veneers of various colours, we have French polished this large dining table by hand to show off the glorious wood grains to best effect.
This lovely large dining table has six legs to ensure it is fully stable and each leg terminates with a brass cap castor.
Available as a separate purchase, why not go the whole hog and order the matching chair set as shown in the photographs?
Condition
This large dining table is newly made and is therefore in pristine condition.
The Making of this Marquetry Masterpiece
We have made a video to show you how this spectacular large dining table was made. Please take a few moments to watch it. You can also read about the process of making this large dining table below.
In our Italian workshop we are very lucky to have third-generation master craftspeople where this lovely large dining table was handcrafted to a bespoke design. As you can see from the photos and video it has been made with the greatest attention to detail, right down to individually hand colouring each small piece of marquetry veneer.
As you can imagine, making such a fine large dining table is a process that requires a lot of phases and dedication from our master craftspeople.
The whole process for making this large dining table starts with developing the marquetry design that is in perfect keeping with the Victorian era. This design is then pasted onto a sheet of plywood and the veneers are then pinned to the underside. Only sixteen sheets of veneer can be worked with and for this large dining table we used eight sheets for the marquetry and eight for the burr walnut.
We use a fret cutter with a very fine blade and cut out the marquetry shapes, ensuring that we use appropriately coloured woods for the veneers to make the urns, ribbons, flowers and foliage In the 18th and 19th century this type of work would have been done with cutters that were powered by treadles, these days we have the advantage of electric cutters, although it still takes a great deal of skill to get this intricate piece of work right.
Each piece of veneer is put on a large tray and these are then individually selected and singed in hot sand which is heated in a red hot crucible. Each piece is carefully placed and the shade of the wood changes according to how deep and how long it is left in the sand. This is highly skilled artistic work ensuring that each element of the marquetry design is toasted to just the right colour.
Like a very elaborate jigsaw puzzle, each piece is then hand inserted into the burr walnut and taped in place. When the whole design is finished it is turned over and a piece of glued paper is placed on the back to hold it all in place. The tape on the front can now be removed.
The solid mahogany table is prepared by being veneered with the top being veneered once on the top side and twice on the underside - both vertically and horizontally. The marquetry and burr walnut sheet is then attached to the table top using a hot press which fixes it in place. The whole top is then veneered an additional four times to prevent bowing or warping.
Once everything is ready, the whole table is French polished by hand ensuring that all the glorious colours of the various wood grains are brought out to perfection. This results in a truly spectacular large dining table.
About Burr Walnut
Burr walnut is a wonderfully figured wood, particularly when the wood it cut and polished from the area of the tree where the trunk connects with the roots. True burr walnut comes from a tree where a rare growth of hundreds of tiny branches has started. Burr walnut is highly prized by fine furniture makers because of the highly decorative nature of the wood figure which adds elegance and style to their pieces. This is the reason we have decided to use burr walnut veneers for our bespoke large dining tables.
Marquetry
Marquetry is the technique of creating designs and patterns by inlaying different materials into a piece of stone or wood. It was developed in the early 16th century in Florence, where stone masons inlaid different types of marble, precious stones and jaspars to create intricate patterns in their stonework, particularly in churches. A similar expertise arose in Flanders for wood marquetry, and this region produced master craftsmen in the art.
The seventeenth century saw the rise of the craft in France, when the era of conspicuous consumption of the French monarchy gave marquetry a boost as highly ornate designs created extremely luxurious looking furniture which was also prized for the skill needed to produce it. Louis XIV commissioned a large amount of marquetry furniture and fittings for his royal palaces and residences and the French aristocracy followed suit.
Early marquetry masters included the Flemish craftsman Pierre Golle. He and his son-in-law, Andre-Charles Boulle founded a dynasty of cabinet makers in Paris who became famous for their marquetry using brass and pewter in intricate foliage designs. They were also suppliers to the royal household and helped to popularise the art.
Marquetry continues to flourish today and uses modern techniques and designs. However, we consider ourselves very lucky to have third generation skilled marquetry craftsmen and women in our Italian workshop capable of producing marquetry that matches any of that produced in bygone eras. This enables us to create this exquisite marquetry large dining table for you.
Winding Mechanism for extending tables
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 Samuel Hawkins in 1864. Fitter adapted the screw expander for tables and also used it for such things as piano stools.
French Polish
French polish is made from alcohol and shellac, but it is more of a process than just the application of a type of polish. French polishing requires a lot of repetitive work of buffing and polishing that results in a very high gloss on the wood surface. It also is probably the best way to bring out the fine detail of wood figuring and as such has been used for luxury furniture items since the 18th century when it became prominent.
Surfaces that are French polished are soft and can stain easily, but can be more easily repaired than varnished or lacquer surfaces as patch fixes can be blended easily into the surrounding finish.
More Information
We would be delighted to discuss this large dining table with you and our experts are always on hand to answer any questions or queries that you may have. Please don’t hesitate to email or call us on the above number quoting reference number 06494. We would also be delighted to arrange a viewing of this piece or any other of our large dining tables in our North London warehouse. Email or call to make an appointment.
Our warehouse and showroom is open for public viewings between 10am until 5pm every weekday and on occasional Saturdays. We do not open every Saturday so please call before making a special journey.
Shipping, Delivery and Returns
This large dining table a very fine piece of work and we always ensure that it is properly packed before we ship it to you. We ship worldwide to any destination, but please do call for a shipping quotation before you order this item so that we can be sure we meet your full requirements.
We ship to any address in the mainland UK free of charge.
We offer a 14-day money back guarantee in accordance with Distance Selling Regulations if you are not satisfied with your purchase. Please note that you will be liable for return shipping charges unless we have provided you with an item that is materially different from the one that you thought you had purchased. You must return your large dining table in its original packaging and in its original condition for the guarantee to be valid.
You are also responsible for any customs duties or local taxes that are incurred by shipping this large dining table outside the European Union.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 79 x Width 500 x Depth 150 - when fully extended
Height 79 x Width 180 x Depth 150 - when fully closed
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 feet, 7 inches x Width 16 feet, 5 inches x Depth 4 feet, 11 inches - when fully extended
Height 2 feet, 7 inches x Width 5 feet, 11 inches x Depth 4 feet, 11 inches - when fully closed
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: 06494
Please feel free to email or call us (+44 20 8809 9605) to arrange a viewing in our North London warehouse.
