I replicated a 19th century Anglo-Indian carved desk, using about 550 pounds of Ebony wood.
I used the jet black Diospyros Mun for the table’s base + cabinets, all carved by hand.
Table top is made from highly figured Coromandel ebony, cut from the same wood block to keep grain uniform.
Internal compartments are made from black and white ebony.
Table size is
Length x Width x Height
161 x 68.5 x 83.5 cm
63.3 x 27 x 32.9 inches
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Jet black mun ebony unfortunately does not exist in the US. And ALL Mun ebony the US are misidentified based on what I see. The “Mun” ebony sold in the US are not true Diospyros Mun, as real Diospyros Mun based on Vietnamese standards should be pure black and the Vietnamese carvers prized that wood for its pure blackness. I’ve seen too many sites claiming Gaboon Ebony as the only Ebony species that can be pure black, aside from the Dalbergia African Blackwood. This isn’t true. Unfortunately the US market isn’t aware of the jet black Mun often found in Central Vietnam and Laos, but it does exist and you can see how the wood looks as a final product with my desk. In my opinion, it should rival or surpass Gaboon ebony.
Everything you see is 100% natural wood, nothing is stained. I finished the tabletop with beeswax and pure tung oil diluted in turpentine for now.
I estimate I needed about 450 pounds of the jet black Mun for the table base + cabinets. The rest 100 pounds of ebony of various types went to the table top + cabinets’ interiors + other invisible structural parts + dowels.
This is the table that I tried to replicate mine from, with minor changes in the carvings + an entirely new table top that I wanted to try. Mine is about 15% wider and longer and 10% taller.
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/desks-writing-tables/english-anglo-indian-rosewood-padouk-writing-table/id-f_18434982/
AFAIK the wood used in this original 19th century desk was ebonized Indian rose wood + a padauk table top, great wood to be sure, but ever since seeing this table I’d always wondered what it’d look like in pure ebony and not ebonized rosewood. Luckily now I’ve found my answer.
Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!
More photos here, as I can only upload 5 pictures.
https://imgur.com/a/1NbiLAh
Replies
It sounds like a lot of BS and extremely costly. As a result of unsustainable harvesting, many species yielding ebony are now considered threatened. Most indigenous ebony in Africa in particular has been cut down illegally.
why would it sound like BS to you?
Agree. According to Eric Meier's Wood Database, Mun Ebony "is listed as critically endangered due to a population reduction of over 80% in the past three generations, caused by a decline in its natural range, and exploitation."
“[Deleted]”
Looks beautiful. Nicely done. How many hours did it take you to make it?
Thank you. About 330 - 350 man hours total.
I would love to see a photo of the carving tools and any other hand tools you used to make this wonderful piece.
It's nothing fancy. Just something like this that some dude made from spring steel from old cars.
https://shopee.vn/L%E1%BA%BB-1-c%C3%A2y-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-m%C3%B3ng-v%C5%A9m-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-m%C3%B3ng-cong-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-v%C5%A9m-cong-m%C3%A0i-s%E1%BA%AFc-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-g%E1%BB%97-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-bonsai-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-s%C3%A1o-di%E1%BB%81u-%C4%91%E1%BB%A5c-c%C3%A2y-c%E1%BA%A3nh-k%C3%A8m-t%C3%B4ng-nghi%E1%BA%BFn-i.78946301.10031437618?sp_atk=d95e6ba3-e95f-4038-8a1c-b05ef94733a1&xptdk=d95e6ba3-e95f-4038-8a1c-b05ef94733a1
Thanks for sharing
While diospyros mun is not presently CITES listed it has been banned for export for quite a few years. So I can assume that your either in SE Asia or involved in some kind of black market someplace else. It's not so much that it is unknown to us, its just unavailable. In the time I spent over there I encountered many beautiful hardwoods that could not be imported here or well, anywhere for that matter. Mostly I think that's a good thing. I have the personal dilemma of should I use listed species that I might run across or even should I use endangered types of wood that I might already have. I've been sitting on a stash of Brazilian rosewood for some years now. I like your table by the way, I spent time with Thai and Laotian wood carvers and deeply impressed by the level of craftsmanship that I've seen and how quickly they can work.
Regarding whether you should use endangered species of wood you already have, I'd say the answer is very much yes. It's never going to become a living tree again to help reduce the endangered issue, I feel you "owe" it to it to make the best use of it you can.
It's different if you see it in the store and buy it, that's encouraging the store to restock as its being bought, so it co tinues to be cut down.
I understand not wanting to encourage others to want to use the same species in their own work, but you could mention that disclaimer as you feel it's necessary.
All Diospyros Mun listed in the US market is 100% not jet black. Like I said, true diospyros mun should be uniformly black just like what gaboon ebony is. Whatever it is they're selling in the US claiming to by diospyros mun is never gonna be 100% jet black.
I think if I were to put a piece of furniture like this in my house I would want it made out of a material that isn’t critically endangered and would want a design with far fewer snakes. Both issues would keep me awake at night. Don’t get me wrong it looks like nice craftsmanship.
I guess it's a good thing it wasn't made for you to put in your house then, isn't it?
Definitely!
Joking aside, as makers and consumers of fine wood products, we’re obligated to pay attention to ethical concerns related to sustainable wood harvest. It raises some red flags when someone makes a table out of 550 pounds of ebony, particularly if a large portion is mun ebony that has had 80% reduction in last 3 generations due to exploitation among other factors. Nick you said yourself that it’s different if someone is buying endangered material from a store, encouraging restocking, further cutting, etc. How do we know the author isn’t a part of that chain? A good portion of the post is unabashed extolment of that type of ebony. It’s not quite the same as making a table out of 550 pounds of ivory but it still bears some discussion and critical thought about responsible use of material.
And there has been some discussion to that point, as you pointed out yourself. We also don't know that the poster didn't happen to have or acquire 550lbs of mun ebony that was already cut and dried, this seems like a great way to use it.
However, your comment putting down the work purely because it doesn't suit your personal taste (which, when the post wasn't for you, personally, is completely irrelevant and had no need to be said at all) is completely uncalled for.
Comments on the craftsmanship are fair, a note regarding the endangered status of the wood for spectators awareness is fair (though was already sufficiently covered), and why would the snakes require any sort of comment beyond "beautiful carving work bud"
We're far enough off topic with this now though that I'm not going to keep sendong this thread in the wrong direction, have a good one.
Thanks Nick. I've replied to the user's as to where I sourced my ebony below and why I choose to do what I do with the wood.
Appreciate your thoughts here.
It is outstanding carving. But the post was for everyone in the community and he specifically invited us to let him know what we think. It was not my intention to put the work down, but to provide candid feedback.
My black ebony was reclaimed from a sunken boat off the coast of Vietnam. This was a merchant boat from the 18th century sailing for Japan transporting Vietnamese ebony for the market there. The divers managed to take it up and I bought it. The table top is made from the ebony of a forest in Central Vietnam. It's harvested by local people selectively cutting down mature trees and then hauling 400 pound wood slabs using nothing but their backs over non existent trails back to the mill. They can at most harvest 4 - 5 trees like this a year. The entire forest has 15,000 to 20,000 trees. Even after 100 years the number of mature trees harvested is at best under 1000. And after 100 years the young saplings would have grown back to take back the space left by the fallen mature trees.
Also, my table is made to last centuries in mind, just like those antique ebony pieces from the 1600s. After 400 years the young ebonies would have grown up to the same size as even the big slabs salvaged from the sunken boat that I used for the snakes. Don't tell me this isn't better than making crap that your kids will throw it away after you die anyway, and even if you use walnut or cherry, you'd still at best be making a piece of furniture whose lifespan is at best 50 years, out of the wood of a 100 year old tree.
That's my philosophy and I stand by it. Making an eternal piece of furniture out of precious wood is a better way to honor Earth's resources than the mass produced crap using vast monocultured forestry.
Wow. People really got off on a CITES tangent not even knowing where you live. How are the islands BTW?
A real work of art. I can't imagine the time and skill. Thanks for the pics.
Thank you! The islands are great, always warm.
Cheers.
savagedragon pontificates: "Don't tell me this isn't better than making crap that your kids will throw it away after you die anyway, and even if you use walnut or cherry, you'd still at best be making a piece of furniture whose lifespan is at best 50 years..." 50 years? This is obviously not true in the real world. The simple but elegant centuries-old furniture of the Quakers comes to mind.
Alright folks. Let's keep it civil here or I'll shut down comments.
Of course I think we all know that a well cared for wooden anything will last indefinitely. Some of my " new" stuff is more than 50 years old! I have a tool box , built very much like a Gerstner that is estimated to be over 400 years old and that's a tool box, dragged around and abused but still intact. Egyptian coffins come to mind,still with original paint. Many examples of Tudor woodworking if you go to England. Created long before there even was a Bangkok.
Back to the object. I like your table, I think the craftsmanship is excellent and it is very much in the style of traditional SE Asian furniture that I have seen. I produced a Thai style garden gateway for someone here in California that's all snakee(sp) and glitzy. That you built it with salvaged wood is a plus but, and this is how I see it, if someone has something then someone else will want one as well. If that table were to be featured in some celebrities Achitectural Digest house tour it can it can have the effect of influencing others to do the same. If Taylor Swift were to show up someplace wearing a leopard skin Pillsbury hat immediately a million little girls will seek one out. With enough money everything is available and that money encourages poaching and smuggling. It's not a lot of money I would think that it would take for those people who are carrying logs on their backs to maybe buy themselves a chainsaw or hire an elephant to up the anti.
In the last 20 or so years Ipe has become a popular wood for producing decks in this country. Decks ,by the way, are a good example of wood not lasting 50 years. Originally produced and advertised as a "sustainable" South American
hardwood it is now scheduled for CITES listing this year. From never before seen and abundant to now endangered in about a quarter century! Our ability to consume everything in our path is astonishing!
Using your logic we all should stop using and making wood all together because if you have something nice somebody else would also want it.
People mass buying IKEA furniture and then throwing them away in 3 - 5 years (way faster than the growth time of harvest wood in monoculture wood) is a much bigger issue.
That’s really outstanding work, and clearly was a labor of love. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! Appreciate the comment!