I went to the warehouse this week and came home with a couple of crates of wonderful antiques we'd just never listed. I love 'shopping' our warehouse! One crate I found was full of antique fireplace bellows, and this is one from those. Found in France ages ago, we just lost track of it. Such a beauty, I've cleaned it up and not only does it work well, it's just gorgeous. Worked in colorful French boulle, a marquetry with brass, it's quite unique. The decorative work is on a wood form, and it has a supple and possibly replaced black leather bladder, works well. The back side is black wood, and it displays beautifully. Full measurements noted on the photos.
Very good condition for age and type, usually boulle work has lifts or missing parts and this is surprisingly complete. I have marked just 2 small spots where the blue casein fill has lost a smallish bit. The brass is all complete. I will mention it seems to me it has had a lacquer brushed on at some point, possibly 100 years ago, which has tinted yellow. One could very carefully remove that and return it to the full bright colors and brass brilliance it started with. As it is, it's still beautiful. No loss or damage to the wood, and the tip is gorgeous, as are the sides of the wood panels. Very appealing, and 19" long.
