Chippendale replicas produced in Bloxham
S
ome time ago, I was commissioned to make a replica of a Chippendale commode, writes David The gent
vid Gibbard of entleman conc ood, who kind oncerned
only pair of ommod in Yorkshire, so I wrot Harwood
of commodes at Harwood indly invit
The next task was to obt mahogany for in the antiqu two and These
nd a half mont or the legs. For
ote to the curator of vited me to visit
ned had seen the or of
ient
of Bloxham. ood House visit,
and also allowed me to measure and take photographs of
ique trade had some. months carving
of these very valuable pieces. obtain sufficient ortunat
These had to be very carefully mor the rails, which, not on
some. I then spen ving the legs. morticed
carcase, but also acted as drawer runners.nner
Historically, Chippendale made his draw runners from pine, but on inspection at Harwood I noticed that they were showing signs of wear and decided to make the runners, and the front and back rails using oak. The two side panels were old pine securely fixed to the oak side rails and the top was a choice piece of Cuban mahogany from an old drop leaf table.
One of the most difficult tasks, following the carving of the legs, was making the drawers, since they all had serpentine fronts. A former was made to accommodate the curves, and the drawer fronts were laminated and pressed into this former. Luckily I had plenty of clamps.
nately, a friendiend spent
A COMMODIOUS TASK ed to receiv not onlly supported the sides of eive of the
A trip to London was needed to obtain the right veneers. The sides were veneered on to the old pine and the cabinet was completes All that remained were the drawers. The veneers were carefully pressed onto the serpentine fronts after the dovetails were cut, thus hiding the joint. The ends of the drawers were rebated for the cock beads, and then the beads were cut from the best mahogany. They were then applied to the top, bottom and sides of the drawers.
The draw sides were again made of oak and old pine was used for the draw bottoms. Oak runners were attached to the bottoms; these were waxed and should last a good many years.
I contacted a firm in Devon that specialises in replica handles and fittings. The handles fitted are an exact copy of the Chippendale original, even down to the screw threads! Finally I gave the whole fitting four coats of good wax polish.
The customer was highly delighted. I only hope that Mr Chippendale would have approved!
properties of the month
Matthew Allen of Fisher German Estate Agents selects three of the most interesting properties currently available within the Four Shires Area
• Where: Fenny Compton • Agent: Fisher German • Price: £299,000 • Matthew says: period cottage with spacious accommodation
• Where: Adderbury • Agent: Stanbra Powell • Price: £229,950 • Matthew says: three bedroom cottage in need of updating
• Where: Shutford • Agent: Chancellors • Price: £280,000 • Matthew says: cottage with a wealth of features in popular village
Contact Matthew at
matthew.allen@
fishergerman.co.uk • 01295 271555 •
www.fishergerman.co.uk
PROPERTY & HOMES Four Shires
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