PLATE CXXVI.
The particular kind of inlaid-work called buhl was first invented and used for the decoration of furnitureby Boule, an ingenious cabinet-maker of Paris, in the time of Louis XIV . He was born there in 1642, and diedat the advanced age of ninety. He was very much employed by the King, who assigned him a lodging at theLouvre, where he designed and superintended the execution of the rich and elaborate tables, cabinets, &c.,which were the fashion at the Courts of Louis XIV. and his successor, and which are as much celebrated fortheir graceful forms and outlines as for their embellishment with inlaid-work. Reisner, another celebratedebeniste of the same period, was also much patronised by both monarchs. The manufacture appears alwaysto have been almost exclusively carried on in Paris, and though during the period of the Republic and theEmpire it was little in demand, owing to the prevalence of a severe classical taste in all decoration, thevaried demands of fashion at the present day have again brought it into use.
M. Fourdinois, the manufacturer of the chiffoniere, from which the panel engraved is taken, has made himselfa reputation by the works he has exhibited at the different Expositions at Paris . At that in 1844, when he wasassociated with M. Fossey, they obtained the silver medal; in 1849 that distinction was confirmed by a “rappel" toM. Fourdinois, who then appeared alone. The same gentleman obtained the Council medal for his works in theGreat Exhibition ; a distinction which was, perhaps, due rather to the excellent execution than to the correct tasteof the design of some of the articles.
Although both buhl and marqueterie consist of inlaid veneers, they differ considerably in their methods ofexecution, which also affects the style of the ornaments thus executed, the former being confined to decorativescroll-work, frequently in metal, while the latter is more commonly used for representation of flowers andfoliage.
Having already (Plate LXXV.) given some account of marqueterie work, we shall, in the present notice,offer some description of the process of ornamenting with buhl; in doing which, we shall avail ourselves ofMr. Holtzapffel’s description in his admirable work on “Turning and Mechanical Manipulation:"—“In buhlWork, the patterns generally consist of continuous lines, of which the honey-suckle ornament may be takenas a familiar example. To make this, two pieces of veneer, of equal size, are scraped evenly on both sides withthe toothing-plane, and glued together with a piece of paper between them, for the convenience of their separationafterwards. Another piece of paper is glued on the outside, and on this the design is sketched; a minutehole is then made with a sharp-pointed awl, for the introduction of the saw, a spot being selected in whichthe puncture will escape observation. The veneers being fitted in a frame, the saw is then inserted, andthe several lines of the work are followed by the blade, which is kept horizontal, but the frame and work arerapidly twisted about at all angles, to place the saw in the direction of the several lines. Considerable art isrequired in designing and sawing these ornaments, so that the saw may continue to ramble uninterruptedlythrough the pattern.”
“ When the sawing is completed the parts are laid flat on a table, and any removed pieces arereplaced, and one of the veneers is stripped off with a palette-knife, which splits the paper. The pattern