Parrott & Parrott Fine Arts

Please consider this section as  “under construction”.  I have very few photographs generally, some from an early period & some from recent - any record seemed peripheral other than for purposes of communication. 

That may, in retrospect, have been a mistake, certainly an omission, but not without rationale & before the Digital Revolution.  Any vaguely good, or at least readable, result photographically clearly required an investment, particularly in terms of time, and I chose to focus my time in the object . . .

I write briefly alongside each photograph – if it may be of any use I can refer to my notes & discuss detail in chapter & verse.

The degree of attention to detail is a balance between the eye of the original makers, the eye of the current custodian and of my own.  The maker is, in principle, the prime energy – it is his weight & balance that is recorded in depth in the wood - a full set of instructions, to be read as is a sheet of music (just a different code, a different language).  

The descriptions below more or less cover my fundamental working principles.  These have remained constant & intact since the outset – consistently refined to the good, of course, by experience over time.

Should you have a specific question or a question regarding any specific piece please do make contact.

Sheraton Cabinet: One of the truly fine pieces of workmanship I have been privileged to have come across.

Major consolidation of primary structural elements.

General structural and surface repairs, including glazing.

Cleaning, repair and consolidation of the wax finish.

Relining of interior.Installation of fibre optic illumination system.

This can revert to being a Book Case, leaving no sign of its present function.

Cuban Mahogany Bureau: A similar work (including fibre optics) but more extensive repairs to the carcase & drawers. The drum top presented a difficulty in opening & closing as the original balance had been lost in the distortions of the timber.

Chippendale Dining Chair

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Gillow Banqueting Table: This had endured hard use & poor repairs over an extended period of time.  A major piece of work. On the Question of “Value” I have no doubt that real quality, the innate value, will ride out any market trend – the appeal lies beyond simple fashion. Clearly restoration for the current market needs to be carefully considered – in general terms it is unlikely to make a reasonable return.“Time is piling up”. These things, objects if you wish, beings as I might have them, will easily outlive us. And they carry a memory of our being within them (by virtue of our having been together) – that may be the principal attraction. Certainly it is an aggregation of sorts of vibrating atoms,  as are we all. This consideration raises the question of perception of “time” & of definition of “alive”.

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Satinwood Occassional Table

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Mahogany Desk: As time allowed I spent six months living with this in the workshop before bringing a tool to bear. It was in ragged shape & had had some poor repairs as was inevitable in times gone by. These minor however, in the context of such quality materials & workmanship; entirely reconstitutable - as was the intention of the original makers. Work at this level is truly admirable & can only be echoed in repair with precision accompanied by a subtle touch.  The lines are so elegant in execution that they will not wear anything else. 

 A comprehensive restoration. Beautiful Cuban Mahogany. This work illustrates well the benefit of my “triangular approach”.

Two Rosewood Centre Tables, 1984 & 2017.  Fine Brazilian Rosewood, beautifully aged to a gentle colour, on a good Honduras Mahogany frame. General consolidation. The principal work involved the replacement of about one third of the brass (either missing or twisted beyond use) in the one case and making good of most beautifully engraved brasswork in the other, the oxidising of this to blend with the original and, of course, great care in the refinishing. A good repair should disappear into the overall fabric & age in harmony. 

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Painted Beech Wheel Back Chair

Restored and ready for the painter

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French Prisoner of War Work

These are extraordinary to work with; heartbreaking & uplifting at the same time. How did they do that, under what circumstances & on what memories they were drawing?  They resonate through time & illustrate perfectly my reason for my having adopted animism as a useful angle of approach. The Crucifixion Scene had fallen from the wall into a distressing number of pieces. The Drummer Boy didn’t work – various bit missing, bent or broken.

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Arts & Crafts  / Art Nouveau

William Morris Bench, Pair of Lutyens Chairs,JS Henry Desk 

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Carlo Bugatti

Then there is the Furniture of Carlo Bugatti – my favourite maker by some way.I have had the rare privilege of taking care of several fine & extensive collections over the past 35 years –A joy & an inspiration – to the point where Carlo Bugatti is simply a living entity to me, as is Rembrand Bugatti. A Family of real brilliance. I had the opportunity recently to visit briefly a fine Card Table under ideal circumstances (alone & in a low light) – the hairs on my arms & on the back of my neck stood up. Some value there!

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Decorative Objects

Dogon Mask 

Bedouin Inlaid Table

Damascus Chest 

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Japanese Parquetry Travelling Chest

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Some Boxes: From a phase in time when I did consistent work for a collector of Fine Boxes – Writing Boxes, Jewellery Boxes, Toilet Boxes, Tea Caddies, Scientific Instrument Boxes & the like: A Lovely Box which was a complete shambles, a wreck, when it arrived in the workshop. Ebony & Tulipwood

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Guilding