Empire Frame

Reproduction of a French Empire Frame gilt on wood. This early 19th-century model is available for any particular painting size. Therefore, you can fit it with any painting.

Empire frames Properties

This reproduction of an Empire picture frame is made with ayous and tulipwood combined. We use ayous for the front side and tulipwood for the backside of the frame. As a result, we obtain maximum strength with minimum weight.

You can customize the rabbet width as you prefer. For instance, if you need to cover a bigger part of the painting, you can ask to enlarge it. The rabbet depth, instead, depends on the thickness of the painting. In most of our models, it is between 1.5 and 4 cm. Sometimes, it is even deeper due to structural reasons or upon request.

Section width cm 6
Rabbet cm 1

Empire frames decorations

Decorations are in wood pulp. We carve them when they’re dry, realizing the shape form of a typical Empire frame. Using wood pulp, which is 99% composed of wood and 1% solvent, allows us to keep the price low. The entire process is handmade, and you can watch a video related to it by following this link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/fTQHIH9dRC8

Patina (aging process)

“Patina” is an Italian word that refers to how dark and old look to be the frame. Apart from dark gold, the age of a frame is determined by a few cracks and tiny broken parts around the sides. For this purpose, our gilder hits its surfaces with some stones.

The wormholes are also simulated, and you will be able to notice them by analyzing deeply the pictures above. Wormholes do not indicate activity within or a recent flight of beetles. Remember that we faked them to age this French Empire frame reproduction.

See below a video showing all the steps of the Patina.

More videos related to the aging process 

Explanation of the aging process
Distressing the gold surface
Rub off the gilding
Dark shellac
Applying shellac
Final result

CHEAPER EMPIRE FRAMES

See below for models at a lower price.