{"title":"European Grand Tour","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"item-148-burlwood-french-secretary-w-gray-black-marble-top","title":"Antique French Mahogany Secretaire Desk, Circa 1820","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePrice does not include shipping.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a French secrétaire à abattant from the early 19th century, the fall-front writing cabinet that furnished a study or salon during the Empire period. The front drops to a leather-lined writing surface backed by a bank of small fitted drawers and an open shelf, with a cupboard below and a single drawer above.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIt is built in richly figured flame mahogany with ebonized carved paw feet at the front and a fossil-marble top. The fall encloses a tooled green leather surface stamped with a gilt Empire motif, and the interior keeps its arrangement of small drawers and pigeonhole shelf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Dimensions | 55.5 in H x 38.25 in W x 16 in D\u003cbr\u003e[d]Finish | Old surface, cleaned and waxed\u003cbr\u003e[d]Primary Wood | Flame mahogany\u003cbr\u003e[d]Period | Antique\u003cbr\u003e[d]Date | Circa 1820\u003cbr\u003e[d]Origin | France\u003cbr\u003e[d]Style | Empire\u003cbr\u003e[d]Also Known As | secrétaire à abattant\u003cbr\u003e[d]Maker\/Attribution | Unmarked\u003cbr\u003e[d]Construction | Solid and veneered mahogany over oak secondary wood; hand-cut dovetailed drawers\u003cbr\u003e[d]Secondary Wood | Oak drawer linings; darkened panel back\u003cbr\u003e[d]Top | Grey-black fossil marble\u003cbr\u003e[d]Hardware | Turned brass knobs and pierced brass keyhole escutcheons\u003cbr\u003e[d]Interior | Fitted writing theatre with small drawers, shelf, and tooled leather writing surface\u003cbr\u003e[d]Feet | Carved ebonized paw feet at front\u003cbr\u003e[d]Keys | One key present; all locks tested and functioning\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[condition]\u003cbr\u003eHonest antique condition with wear consistent with roughly two hundred years of use. The mahogany retains an old surface that has been cleaned and waxed; expect scattered scratches, minor veneer nicks, and shrinkage typical of the age. The case sides show scattered scratches and one small filled repair. The fossil-marble top shows natural veining and surface wear and reads as original to the piece. The tooled leather writing surface is worn with loss to the gilding and darkening overall, retaining its Empire stamped motif.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eInterior small drawers and the pigeonhole shelf are present and functional. One key is present and all locks have been tested and are in working order. One drawer shows a full-length shrinkage split to the solid oak bottom board, consistent with age, along with old water staining and oxidation to the un-refinished interior surfaces. A later metal reinforcement bracket has been fitted to the interior of one drawer front.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAt some point later, small circular metal feet were added at the rear of the base to level the piece; these are later additions, not original. The front carved paw feet are original and show expected wear to the ebonized surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe backboards retain a period French railway consignment label from the Paris-Orléans line, shipped as petite vitesse (goods freight) from the station of Meung-sur-Loire to Vendôme. The label documents rail transport within France at some point in the piece's history and reflects shipment, not date of manufacture.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eSpecies assessed as mahogany from figure and construction; secondary wood is oak. Date is a construction-based estimate; there is no maker's mark. Dimensions approximate. Sold as-is; photos are part of the description and govern.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e#148\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Austyn Marie Design","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51482662764822,"sku":"AMD-03587","price":2950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0896\/4623\/5926\/files\/Belgium_FranceInventoryContinued-10395.jpg?v=1785350816"},{"product_id":"antique-belgian-interior-oil-painting-rustic-room-red-door-signed","title":"Antique Belgian Interior Oil Painting, Signed","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eKarel Theunissen is the name written on the back of this small Belgian interior, and it is easy to see why someone reached for it. The painter has taken a dark rustic room, a red plank door, a leaded window throwing green light across a tiled floor, a rush stool in the corner, and worked the whole thing in deep reds and browns with thick, quick paint. A brighter room opens at the right where a plant catches the light. It is the kind of quiet domestic interior that ran through Belgian genre painting for a century, the tradition that goes back to Henri De Braekeleer. The work is signed lower left and now sits in a later gilt frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Artist | Bearing a signature lower left. A verso label attributes the work to Karel Theunissen (Belgian, 1871 to 1948)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Signature | Signed lower left, with a two-digit date\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Medium | Oil on board\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Subject | Rustic interior with red door and lit window\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Origin | Belgian\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Age | Antique, early 20th century, on stylistic grounds\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Panel Size | 9.75 in. W x 8.25 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Frame Size | 13.5 in. W x 12 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Format | Framed panel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Frame | Later gilt frame, not original to the work\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Style | Belgian genre, tonal interior\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Support | Board\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Provenance | Verso label reading Karel Theunissen, As 1871, Bosvoorde 1948. Mid to late 20th century Belgian framing by J. Hermans, Tienen\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[condition]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eOil on board, in a later gilt frame. The surface is worked and heavily textured, with impasto concentrated in the window where the outside light comes through. There is edge wear and small losses at the board edges, consistent with a panel that predates its current frame. A few small surface nicks and specks are visible across the darker passages. The board appears stable. All surface observations here are from photographs and should be confirmed in hand. The later gilt frame shows a repaired corner joint at the upper left and light rubbing to the gilding. The reverse carries a hand-lettered identification label and a J. Hermans framer's label from Tienen, Belgium. Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e#175\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Austyn Marie Design","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51482663813398,"sku":"AMD-03614","price":395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0896\/4623\/5926\/files\/19016C9A-50D7-4D5E-9BF0-40E46A7A1E4A.jpg?v=1788979094"},{"product_id":"antique-victorian-style-brass-plant-stand","title":"Antique Victorian Style Brass Plant Stand","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA trivet like this sat at the edge of the hearth with a kettle or teapot on top, close enough to the fire to stay warm without coming back to a boil. The part I keep returning to is the base, where each of the three cast iron legs ends in a dolphin's head beneath a brass top cut through in scrollwork. It makes a very good plant stand now, which is how most people will use it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Dimensions | 9.75 in. Dia. x 9.75 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Surface | Unpolished. The brass carries a dull oxidized gold with verdigris in the recesses, and the cast iron retains an old dark rusted surface. No evidence of buffing or replating\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Primary Material | Brass, top plate and column\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Secondary Material | Cast iron, base\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Period | Antique\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Style or Movement | Victorian style\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Also Known As | hearth trivet, kettle stand, footman\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Construction or Technique | Cast and pierced brass top plate with a scalloped apron, secured through the central rosette to a turned brass baluster column by a single iron rivet, mounted on a cast iron tripod base with a gadrooned collar and dolphin mask feet\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Hardware or Mounts | One iron rivet at the center of the top plate\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[condition]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eSound and stable, with the wear of a piece that spent its working life at a fireplace. The brass top is unpolished and has gone a dull olive gold, with darker oxidation collected in the pierced scrollwork and small spots of green verdigris beside the central rosette. The iron rivet at the center has rusted and has stained the surrounding brass a light orange. The scalloped apron carries shallow dings and a few small casting pits that read in raking light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe cast iron base is dark with old rust throughout, with lighter surface rust and small flake losses along the tops of the legs and around the fluted collar. The undersides of the three feet are worn smooth where they have carried the weight. Nothing has been stripped, blasted, or refinished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePlease review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Austyn Marie Design","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51844479615254,"sku":"CCC-90083","price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0896\/4623\/5926\/files\/Belgium_FranceContainerInventory-11584.jpg?v=1789004858"}],"url":"https:\/\/austyn-marie.myshopify.com\/collections\/european-grand-tour.oembed","provider":"Austyn Marie Design","version":"1.0","type":"link"}