Two long lengths of embossed and gilded leather decorated with dragons and fleur de lis.
The bodies of the dragons are picked out in bronze. The fleur de lis are picked out in silver.
18th Centuy.
French origin.
The first measures 5 metres by 28 cms or 16 x 0.9 feet. The second measures 4.36 metres x 22 cms or 14.30 x 0.72 feet. The second piece is slimmer because some of the messier edging has been removed.
I assume the two lengths were used to decorate something very tall - the edge of a door, a window, a painting perhaps? There are nail holes along the edges . The nails were probably hammered into wood.
Condition: There is some damage to both strips that I hope is made evident in the photographs. Most significantly one piece has a tear across about half of the width which could be repaired or, since it is quite close to the end of the roll, removed. One the same piece, at the opposite end of the roll, straight lines are scratched along the surface. Professional restoration would easily disguise this flaw however. Across the surface of both are other marks, cracks, abrasion and loss. The gilding remains bright however. I have not attempted to clean the leather. I think, were it cleaned, some of the marks would come off.
Impressive pieces. Ideal for a grand decorative project or, were the strips cut into smaller pieces, ideal decoration for smaller projects or framed images.
