This is a piece of vestry furniture, probably from Liège, from the late 18th/early 19th centuries. Notice the top, covered in black marble and hemmed with a wavy fringe of white marble. The legs’ ends are made of the same material. One of the most unique and interesting types of furniture is antique furniture, which intrigues because of the rich history it contains and charms with its ageless beauty. As everything is done by hand, there is no such thing as mass production, each item is special, which constitutes the biggest appeal of antique furniture.
The Renaissance saw the evolution of simple-lined furniture into beautiful furniture with inlays and carvings, giving birth to the figure of the woodworker.The carpenter evolved into a cabinetmaker, producing one-of-a-kind furniture with mosaics, carvings, or genuine designs utilising different types of wood with variable values as well as other materials like brass or ivory.The interiors of the furniture were embellished with semi-precious stones and metal inlays throughout the Baroque and Rococo eras, which transformed it into a genuine work of art that is today highly sought after by collectors.The cabinetmaker creates one-of-a-kind or limited-edition pieces of exquisite or imaginative furniture that are manufactured to order. The profession, which has historically been linked to the use of rare and expensive woods, now includes the use of Corian, textiles, metal, glass, etc.
Do you know what skills are required for furniture conservation and restoration? We recommend that you look them up in the profile of Christian Schouwey, a Swiss carpentry professional and licensed restorer. His abilities enable him to restore inlays, architectural embellishments, and artefacts using a wide range of materials, from exotic and tropical woods to bronze. He has worked on significant historical structures such as Neuchâtel’s town hall.
