This book introduce a significant work of investigation and synthesis on marbles and their use. More than 150 marbles, among the most used, are listed and magnificiently showed.

From the time it first opened in 1793, the Musée du Louvre owned an important series of docks and ormolu-mounted vases, mostly with a royal provenance. These objects were dispersed for a time before being returned to the Louvre with many other gilt bronzes when, on two occasions, in 1870 and 1901, the Keeper of the Département des Objets d'art was authorised to transfer to the museum furniture and objects which had, over the past decades, served to embellish various official palaces. The collection was later enriched by two important bequests, Schlichting in 1914 and Grog in 1973, as well as by other donations and acquisitions, all presenting the high quality worthy of the original core of the collection. Pierre Verlet, followed by Daniel Alcouffe, responsible in turn for the Département, not only ensured the consistency of the collection but also contributed to improving knowledge regarding the history of these prestigious objects.
In 1993 Éditions Faton published a two-volume work on the furniture collections in the Louvre, generally considered the finest in the world. This book devoted to the collection of gilt bronzes in the Louvre is a continuation of that work; it, like the former, has been written by the department's Keepers.
Most items in the collection are presented in the book: 164 objects each benefit from a historical descriptive entry and magnificent photographs including many details where the bronzes and their gilding exert the fascination intended by the craftsmen responsible for their creation.
 

Louis XIV moved to Versailles in 1672. Some ten years later work on enlarging the palace and building the Hall of Mirrors had been completed. The Treaty of Nijmegen had confirmed the pre-eminence of France on the continent of Europe. In the palace, designed to match the King's aspirations, the decorative arts contributed to the creation of a world of splendour and perfection which was to set the fashion both in France and abroad.

Of all the important collections of furniture exhibited in Paris or Versailles, in New York or other capital cities, that the Louvre is indisputably the richest and the most admired. Since inheriting the French royal collections, it has been enriched regularly with objects commensurate with the prestige of its origins, in accordance with a very selective acquisitions policy.

Marquetry, also called intarsia or inlay, is the art of painting with wood. The marqueter makes intricate pictures and geometric designs by cutting and fitting together thin pieces of colored wood, shell and other precious materieals. Marquetry distinguishes the world's finest antique and contemporary furniture. Pierre Ramond is professor of marquetry at l'Ecole Boulle in Paris, and the world's foremost teacher and practitioner of the art.

Since the Hall of Mirrors was created it has never undergone a comprehensive restoration campaign nor has any publication ever been solely devoted to it. Built by Jules-Hardouin Mansart between 1678 and 1684, the Hall has been named after the 357 mirror panels of its 17 arcades. The décor painted between 1680 and 1684 by Le Brun depicts the highlights of the 18 first years of Louis the XIV's reign. The whole composition is organised around the central painting entitled by Racine The King governs by himself. The larger paintings illustrate the glorious episodes of the Dutch war and the main reforms at the beginning of the reign. The comice is adorned with magnificent allegorical gilded stucco trophies sculpted by the best artists of the "Great Century". On the green Campan marble panels the gilded bronze trophies by Pierre Ladoyreau are among the most outstanding examples of the 17th century French sculpture. This unique ensemble has recovered its decorative consistency after a four year restoration made possible by Vinci group's exceptional sponsorship. This restoration has also been an opportunity to study and photograph the Hall of Mirrors as never before. This book offers more than 700 illustrations, and 35 authors – art historians, architects and conservators who followed the restoration step by step – have contributed to it. Le Brun's radiant genius is revealed in its initial beauty. The skill of the painters and the sculptors who worked under his supervision can be fully appreciated. The book presents the history of the Hall of Mirrors from its conception and the genesis of its décor up to the 2003-2007 restoration. It gives the reader deep insight into 17th century original techniques based on the many discoveries made throughout the restoration.

Since the publication of the ground breaking Marquetry written by Pierre Ramond, the world's foremost authority, and considered by art historians and craftsmen alike the "bible" of the craft no other book has made significant contributions to the art of "painting" with wood. Now, with the three volumes that comprise Masterpieces of Marquetry, Ramond brings the results of his continued studies to novice and advanced marqueters, collectors, restorers, art historians, and enthusiasts of this ancient art that continues to find expression among craftsmen today. In Volume II: From the Régence to the Present Day, Ramond discusses marquetry masterpieces in their artistic, historical, commercial, and social contexts. Encompassing works created late in the reign of Louis XIV; the Louis XV period; the golden age of marquetry; the neoclassial, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco periods; and contemporary times, this volume brings into focus the evolution of the art, the development of new techniques, and the relationship between technical developments and style. Thus the reader becomes intimately aware of the creativity that marks this art and its continued revival. From ancient times to the present, here is the first comprehensive survey of the art of marquetry and a careful selection of marquetry masterpieces their history, tools, and techniques, reproduction, and restoration by some of the greatest cabinetmakers and marqueters in the world.