Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 22

Thread: Found this in Florence Italy - What is it?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857

    Found this in Florence Italy - What is it?

    I found this door and carvings in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence Italy. What kind of wood is it?
    20170407-0604.jpg
    20170407-0592.jpg20170407-0598.jpg

  2. #2
    I am voting Walnut, saw so much beautifully done Walnut paneling in the Galleria Accademia in Florence (yeah, pretty sick I am looking at the millwork in a art museum). That's some pretty nice carving there also..

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Three Rivers, Central Oregon
    Posts
    2,340
    Mahogany? Just a guess.
    Scott Vroom

    I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857
    Walnut would be my guess also, but there must be more to it than that. The walnut that I get here (Houston TX) is much darker and so hard that it is virtually impossible to carve. Is there some sub-species that I should be asking for?

  5. #5
    Well Walnut lightens and gets redder in color with exposure to sunlight, I would guess the Walnut in Italy is not a species typically available in the US. Possibly English Walnut
    Last edited by Robert LaPlaca; 07-16-2017 at 10:57 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    West Central Alberta, East of the Rockies - West of the Rest
    Posts
    656
    Considering the age, history and location walnut is the most likely wood, it's hard to tell.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    857
    Here is a higher resolution picture of a bench that was in the same room. I think that it is the same wood as the door. Do the worm holes tell us anything about the wood species?
    20170407-0616.jpg

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    West Central Alberta, East of the Rockies - West of the Rest
    Posts
    656
    Quote Originally Posted by Robert LaPlaca View Post
    Well Walnut lightens and gets redder in color with exposure to sunlight, I would guess the Walnut in Italy is not a species typically available in the US. Possibly English Walnut
    Maybe better known as European Walnut, and the sap wood was never used in a project which explains the even color.

  9. #9
    The silk like grain threads looks like it could be birch,and it does grow there. Since it's got some worm holes in wood that is not sap wood, I don't think its mahogany.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    7,252
    Blog Entries
    7
    The doors are not usually as old as the building.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    West Central Alberta, East of the Rockies - West of the Rest
    Posts
    656
    I don't think the builders of the Palazzo Pitti (which was built between the 15th and 17th century and became the residence of the king of Italy in the late 1800's) would have settled for birch even though it shows some similarities (correct me if I'm wrong), it had to be a much more precious wood. Mahogany was unknown to them at the time (Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492), it became the wood of choice for the upper class during the Victorian era in England and later Germany and North America. Historians to the rescue.

  12. #12
    Mahogany was being used in England in the first half of 18th century. Some say as early as 1730. I can't agree that birch was not fine enough for carving, ...fine china is made from clay!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    West Central Alberta, East of the Rockies - West of the Rest
    Posts
    656
    Tom, this is all your fault you should have brought your block plane

  14. #14
    One thing for sure, Florence has some of the most impressive stone and wood carving..

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Phoenix AZ Area
    Posts
    2,505
    Not sure on your sample but it may be faux finished to match the bench. We spent a good amount of time in Paris and I saw a lot of doors like that where the faux finish was worn off lower couple of feet and the top was so well done it was hard to tell it wasn't real wood. The grain on the vertical member of the third pic looks Faux to me. I can't imagine a door could last in the elements for even 100 years with a clear finish. It would have been neglected by some generation I'd expect.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •