The Story Behind This TV Unit Set
A three-piece set has one requirement a single unit does not: the pieces must match each other exactly. Paint mixed in two batches will not be identical, and gold laid by two hands on different days will differ - so all three carcasses are built, carved, painted and gilded alongside each other from the same batch, by the same hands, rather than made in sequence. That is why a set takes longer than three times a single piece would suggest.
The towers are the demanding pieces. A tall, narrow glazed cabinet has to stay dead square or the door will not close flush against its glass, so the carcasses are framed and panelled in seasoned solid teak and dry-assembled under load before finishing. The pierced crests are carved as separate compositions and cut clean through. The cabriole feet are shaped by hand from solid blanks, since a cabriole curves in two planes and cannot be turned.
The ivory is then built up in thin coats and cut back between each, so the colour is dense without drowning the carving, and the gold is picked out by hand and rubbed back at the high points. Lighting is fitted and tested before dispatch.