Showing posts with label inlaid furniture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inlaid furniture. Show all posts

Friday, March 12, 2010

Silas Kopf - A Marquetry Odyssey


"Demystifying marquetry and bringing it into the 21st century is welcome and timely. It's wonderful that the person who is 'best at it' is open to sharing his uncommon vision."
Wendell Castle, furniture artist


From the review on Amazon: 

"Neatly interwoven with chapters on the evolutionary history of inlay and marquetry, Silas Kopf takes us on a fascinating journey of how his own work has evolved. His influences are concisely documented and it is intriguing to see how they have been absorbed into his many and varied masterpieces. In the finest of colour plates, the reproductions of historically significant works as well as a comprehensive catalogue of Silas' own work, are simply magnificent. Whether your interest is in the history of wood as a form of decoration through the ages, or how one master craftsman soaked up this history and developed into a major figure in the making of 'art furniture' as it can only be described, it is all here in abundance.
With a thirst for knowledge and desire to learn, Silas took every opportunity to travel and work with major figures in furniture making as well as study at the famous l'Ecole Boulle in Paris. Clearly happy to tell us of the help he's had along the way, the revealing story he tells of his own development makes the reading even more enjoyable.
On top of all this, there are appendices on technique which, I'm sure any reader will find of great interest, whether a practitioner or not. How appropriate for this to be called an 'Odyssey', it certainly is the most adventurous of journeys. A must buy - and a super read."


Article about Silas Kopf


Silas in his studio


Saturday, March 6, 2010

YannickChastang | Design


"Egret Cabinet"

A collector’s cabinet decorated with marquetry of pink ivory, ebony, and holly.
1.2 metres wide by 45 cm deep and 1.3 metres high

Yannick Chastang with Egret Cabinet


Designed and made by Yannick Chastang

This collector’s cabinet, fitted with 14 drawers behind a pair of marquetry doors, is an uncompromising, luxurious piece of furniture. Its shape is strongly influenced by the furniture made during the 1920s by Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (1879-1933) while the marquetry decoration finds its source in the great lacquer works produced in Japan during the 17th century, so well known for the quality of their drawing and understanding of space.