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Exhibit of the Month 6 / 2021
Writing cabinet made of Victorian gilded brass (ormolu). It is adorned with cast brass decorations with frames and medallions, inlaid with slate plates featuring floral patterns made using the pietra dura technique.
Inside the cabinet, there is upholstery made of blue silk and velvet. The interior space is divided into three compartments intended for writing supplies, stationery, two inkwells, etc. The cabinet is lockable with a functional lock marked with the name of the manufacturer G. Betjemann & Sons, London. The item is not complete – a part of the internal writing board is missing, which has been removed secondarily.
Betjemann & Sons, George Betjemann and his two sons George William and John Betjemann were innovative manufacturers of luxury cabinets and furniture. The company was based in London and operated from the mid-19th century until the end of the 1930s. They created high-quality jewelry boxes with intricate opening mechanisms.
Pietra dura is the Italian term for the technique of inlaying and assembling carved, highly polished pieces of colored stones that together create an image. Pietra dura means "hard stone," but it is also used in the plural "Pietre dure." Generally, this term encompasses all engraving of gemstones and artistic carving from hard stone. For example, semi-precious stones, usually one piece, typically in Chinese jade.
Ormolu or moul (a French term referring to ground gold) has been used since the 18th century. It involves the application of finely ground high-carat gold in a mercury amalgam onto an object made of bronze or brass. The mercury is driven off in a furnace, leaving behind a gold veneer known as "gilded bronze." In the production of true ormolu, a process known as mercury gilding or fire gilding is used, where a solution of mercuric nitrate is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of a gold and mercury amalgam. The object is then exposed to intense heat until the mercury evaporates and the gold remains adhered to the metal surface.
Writing boxes are sought-after collector's items. In the collections of the Regional Museum and Gallery in Most, there is this unique specimen, which originally belonged to the parish priest of Mariánské Radčice, Nivard Krákora. After his death, the estate was partially transferred to the museum collection and partially to the archive in the 1980s. Father Krákora himself purchased the cabinet in an antique shop and presumably used it for sewing supplies.
Photo: Pavel Krásenský (2x), Lucie Marková (1x)