The Buzz: Antique Fretwork

By Buzz Kaplan, Decorati Contributing Antiques Editor and author of The Buzz on Antiques.

In this recession, a lot of us fret about our work or lack thereof. I’d call this “fretwork” but I can’t because that means something entirely different in antiques.

So what do I call worrying the day away? Being a “Nervous Nellie”. And I sure don’t want to be one of those, so I try to think positively and never watch the local news. But getting back to fretwork:

Fretwork is a carpentry technique of cutting thin pieces of wood with a fine-bladed saw (called a fret saw) to form shapes or patterns. The fretwork pattern might be left “open” (meaning you can see through it), as often seen on mirrors (see above) or table galleries, or it might be “blind”, meaning it’s carved into or applied to a solid surface and therefore can’t be seen through. Here’s an example of blind fretwork on the top of a English chest on chest:

And here’s a terrific 1760 English Georgian Gothic Revival mahogany tea table with open fretwork gallery, legs, and apron detailing:

Open fretwork is also sometimes backed by fabric such as pleated silk or by mirrors, as shown here on an 18th century Italian giltwood looking glass:

Fretwork was a favorite technique of Thomas Chippendale, especially on his Chinoiserie pieces. See my earlier post on  Chippendale and his furniture. Chippendale would often have multiple tiers of open fretwork stacked on top of each other. What most people don’t know is that Chippendale never duplicated any fretwork patten when he did these multiple tiered layers. On a real Chippendale piece, each layer was completely different as shown here:

Although fretwork is most commonly associated with English furniture, it was used throughout Europe and Asia as a decorative technique. Here’s an 18th Chinese Huganguali dressing cabinet and mirror stand, from the Qianlong period:

Buzz Kaplan is a graduate of UCLA where he earned both Bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate degrees. Buzz began collecting antiques in the late 1970’s, while he was still practicing law and for the last 28 years has been a principal of Kaplan & Co., a consulting firm specializing in antique and other investment grade tangible asset collections. His clients have included dealers, major banks, foundations and other institutions seeking guidance in the acquisition and deaccession of 17th and 18th century European antiques as well as investment portfolios in gold, silver and platinum commodities. He is currently Executive Director of C. Mariani Antiques, Restoration & Custom in San Francisco.