To Pick a Colour…

We are revisiting one of our favourite topics today: working with antiques allows you to see a piece transform and come back to life, all with a simple change of upholstery.  It is incredible to see how much a chair's carved or gilded appearance can be enhanced with the right colour fabric.  We thought we would …

Take a Look Inside: A George III Chippendale Chest of Drawers

Whenever we share photographs of a piece of furniture in our collection, we almost always show either a front on view or an angled view to show more three dimensional detail.  But with furniture, it is just as important to take a closer look inside: especially when there are drawers, doors, or other interior compartments. …

Never Taking a Back Seat: The Incredible Chair Backs of Thomas Chippendale

A while ago we wrote about an exceptional pair of George III mahogany side chairs from our archive--the carved pierced backs of the chairs closely follow the designs on Plate IX of Thomas Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director. Today, we are highlighting two exceptional George III mahogany specimen chairs that also feature fantastic carved backs.  Specimen …

Thomas Chippendale: An Exciting Discovery from the Past

We are excited to see that Thomas Chippendale's tercentenary is being celebrated by the art world in a big way.  In addition to the Leeds City Museum hosting an exhibition entitled Thomas Chippendale: A Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, 1718-2018 from February 9 to June 9, there will be additional events held at Dumfries House, Harewood …

Gilt Gesso: The Technique from A to Z

With our exhibition on gilt gesso furniture now underway, it is time to dig deeper and focus on the extraordinary and fascinating technique behind gilt gesso decoration. Gesso is a type of plaster that is prepared of finely ground chalk and a type of adhesive and water.  This material is applied onto the wooden surface …

The ABCs of Decorative Arts: Dovetailing

Back to the ABCs with our journey through the decorative arts, with today's topic focusing on dovetailing.  This technique is startlingly simple yet so fundamental to cabinetmaking that it can be found on almost every piece of case furniture in our gallery.     Dovetailing is a technique in joinery that secures two pieces of …

Anatomy of an Art Exhibition: Starting at the Beginning

We were excited to announce our forthcoming exhibition this morning in our latest Gallery Newsletter this morning (interested in receiving a copy? Email us and we will add you to the list!).  The exhibition is entitled Gilded: Golden Treasures of Georgian Furniture, which will run at our St. James's gallery from June 22 to July …