Boulle furniture

Elegant Napoleon III period side cabinet, featuring magnificent "Boulle" marquetry, named after Charles-André Boulle, the master cabinetmaker of King Louis XIV, who made this technique famous by using inlaid chiselled brass on a background of tortoiseshell. This ornamentation process is found in various places, notably at the top, on the façade and on the uprights, always against a black background of darkened pear wood, thus offering a beautiful contrast. The chiselled brass inlays form intertwined scrolls, garlands, and arabesques. This piece opens with a door that pulls out from the right, composed at the corners of four concave elements: these are separated by chiselled bronze fittings, one of which is equipped with a key for opening. The lock is functional. The oval-shaped motif in the central part features an important bronze moulding, decorated with flowers accompanied by beading. The interior in mahogany is structured with two shelves of the same wood.