Print Specifics:
- Type of print: Lithograph - Original French antique print
- Publisher: Librairie de Firmin Didot, Paris, Rue Jacob 56, 1885-1887.
- Condition: 1 (1. Excellent - 2. Very good - 3. Good - 4. Fair).
- The print is rectangular, the slight distortion in the photo was caused by the camera.
- The slightly uneven color tone in the photo was caused by the light coming from one side only.
- Dimensions: 11 x 15.5 inches (28 x 40 cm), including blank margins (borders) around the image.
- Paper weight: 2 (1. Thick - 2. Heavier - 3. Medium heavy - 4. Slightly heavier - 5. Thin)
- Reverse side: Blank
- Notes: 1.
Green color 'border' around the print in the photo is a contrasting background
on which the print was photographed. 2. Detail of the print is sharper than the photo of the print.
Legend to the illustrations:
- This
console, drawn from a photograph and now displayed in the Apollo
Gallery at the Louvre, is also the work of Charles-Andre Boulle. It is
more discreetly decorated with carving and the marquetry is its
principal ornamentation. The plan of the console included below is
useful in demonstrating the role of the bottom shelf in unifying the
piece and in pointing out the position of the legs, the axis of which
is slightly different from front to back in order to modify the
perspective and give the console an appearance of greater depth. The
ornamental technique of this piece is referred to as contre-partie (or
contre-Boulle) marquetry as opposed to premiere partie (or Boulle
marquetry). The latter consists of a ground of tortoiseshell inlaid
with a pattern of brass. In the former a pattern cut in the sheet of
brass which forms the ground is inlaid with tortoiseshell.
- While Boulle marquetry was more
highly prized, our example illustrates the subtle possibilities of
contre-Boulle marquetry. Among the organic materials used in marquetry
were tortoiseshell, horn, ivory and mother-of-pearl. The metals most
commonly used include brass, pewter, silver and gold. Not only the
metal parts but also the flattened tortoiseshell could be engraved, and
once the engravings were made, black mastic and melted rosin were
applied to the cuttings to make them visible. The white element in our
example is pewter, an alloy with which Boulle worked wonders. Its
surface has been treated with chemicals so as to lend it pearly
iridescent tones which complement the sheen of the polished ebony. The
engravings of patterns cut from sheets of brass displayed at the bottom
of our plate, signed by Daudet, one of the masters of the period, were
intended as models for craftsmen.
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