- Pair of plinths
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Pair of plinths
- Place of origin:
Paris
- Date:
1700-1725
- Materials and Techniques:
Substrate of unidentified softwood painted black; veneered with turtleshell inlaid with engraved brass, and with ebonized wood; gilt brass mounts
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by John Jones
- Museum number:
1033&A-1882
- Gallery location:
In Storage
These plinths probably date from the early eighteenth century, and were made to support a pair of small-scale bronzes.
The opulent decoration is achieved using a form of marquetry named after its most famous proponent, André-Charles Boulle, cabinet-maker to Louis XIV of France. This technique involves the simultaneous cutting of layers of brass or pewter and layers of tortoiseshell to create both a dark motif with a light background and a light motif with a dark background, a little like a photograph and a negative. The contrast created by using metal and tortoiseshell is sometimes heightened by staining the shell or backing it with a coloured foil.
