CLASSIC FURNITURE
Furniture in the European and Ottoman tradition, hand-built to be passed down.
Louis XV, Louis XVI, Empire, Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco — designed, hand-carved, gilded, marqueted and upholstered by master craftsmen in our Istanbul ateliers.
Classic furniture is hand work. We have not forgotten how.
Sagist operates a dedicated classic furniture atelier inside our Istanbul workshops, separate from the contract production lines. Hand carving, marquetry, parquetry, water gilding, gesso work, French polishing, hand-stitched silk damask upholstery and bronze ormolu mounts are produced by master craftsmen trained in the European tradition, working at benches that machines do not touch. A Louis XVI bergère is not laser-cut. A Boulle marquetry cabinet is not edge-banded. A water-gilded console is not lacquered. The work is done by hand because the tradition demands it, and we have built and held the craft to do it.
A SINGLE HOUSE, FROM DRAWING TO INSTALLATION
We work from authoritative period references — original eighteenth-century French inventories from Versailles and the Trianon, English Georgian and Regency pattern books, Empire archives from the Mobilier Impérial, Victorian and Edwardian catalogues, and the Art Deco masters of Ruhlmann, Leleu, Dupré-Lafon and Frank. Where the commission is a restoration, we measure and reproduce the original piece exactly — in the original timbers, the original finishes and the original techniques. Where the commission is new work in the classical tradition, we design to the period's proportional system and detail the piece to the standard of its historical source. The result is furniture intended to outlive its first owner, and the second, and to be inherited rather than replaced.
WHAT WE HAND-BUILD IN THE CLASSIC TRADITION
A complete classical interior, by master craftsmen.
— Louis XV bergères, fauteuils & canapés Hand-carved walnut frames with cabriole legs, water-gilded surfaces, silk damask, lampas and aubusson upholstery in the original eighteenth-century manner. Documented to original French Rococo inventories.
— Louis XVI armchairs, consoles & secretaires Straight tapered fluted legs, oval-backed medallion armchairs, marquetry secretaires, water-gilded console tables on classical plinths. Mahogany and satinwood, bronze doré mounts, marble specimen tops, silk striped upholstery.
— Empire & Restoration furniture The Napoleonic vocabulary — sphinxes, lyres, eagles and laurel wreaths. Sabre legs, klismos chairs, méridienne day-beds, ebony and rosewood secretaires with gilt bronze mounts in the Egyptian and antique manner.
— Victorian & Edwardian dining and library Hand-tied Chesterfield sofas, carved oak dining tables, mahogany library bookcases, spoon-back chairs, chiffoniers, davenports and canterburies. Eight-way hand-tied upholstery, hand-French-polished surfaces, brass and gilt detailing.
— Art Deco salon, bar & library Macassar ebony, shagreen, parchment and lacquer surfaces, ivory and bronze inlay, geometric proportions and hand-tooled leather — Ruhlmann, Leleu, Dupré-Lafon and Frank references.
— Marquetry & parquetry centre tables Boulle, floral, geometric and pictorial marquetry on solid mahogany, walnut or rosewood substrates, with ormolu mounts cast in our own foundry. Documented to period precedents from Versailles, the Wallace Collection and the Mobilier National.
— Crystal & ormolu chandeliers, sconces & candelabra Hand-cut crystal chandeliers in the eighteenth and nineteenth-century French manner, bronze ormolu sconces and candelabra cast and chased in our own foundry, period-correct candle-fitting or discreet electrification on request.
— Restoration & reproduction commissions Measurement, drawing, reproduction and restoration of original period pieces to museum standard — for royal residences, embassies, heritage hotels and private collectors. Confidential commissions handled under royal warrant or NDA protocols.
FAQ Section heading: Frequently asked
Q1 — Can Sagist work to museum-standard restoration, including period-correct technique? Yes. Our classic atelier is staffed by master craftsmen trained in the original techniques — water gilding to twenty-three-carat, hide glue, French polish, hand-tied upholstery in the eight-way method, ormolu casting and chasing in our own foundry. Restorations are referenced to museum-held precedents and signed by the heritage consultant. We have completed work for royal residences, embassies and heritage hotels under royal warrant and NDA protocols.
Q2 — How is the work documented? Provenance and certification? Every classic commission is delivered with a written provenance document — period reference cited, master craftsman named for each stage (carving, gilding, marquetry, upholstery, bronze), timber and material certification, and the photographic record of the bench work. For restoration commissions, the document includes a condition report on the original piece, the technique applied and the materials matched. This document accompanies the piece and is signed by the project director.
Q3 — Will my classic commission be published or photographed for marketing? No. Classic commissions — particularly royal, state, embassy and private collector work — are held under strict confidentiality. We sign the principal's or the household's non-disclosure agreement before any drawing is issued, and no piece is photographed for publication without explicit written consent. Where consent is granted, the piece may appear in the Classic Furniture Catalog or in a private case study; where consent is not granted, the work is anonymised or excluded entirely.
Q4 — What is a realistic lead time for a fully specified classic commission? For a fully specified classical interior — grand salon, state dining, principal suite and library, in the European tradition — typical hand-build lead time is 32 to 52 weeks from signed contract and approved samples to private installation. A single signature piece — a Boulle marquetry table, a hand-carved gilded console, a Louis XVI commode with ormolu mounts — is typically 14 to 22 weeks. We do not compress the work; the time is the work.
