Marquetry panels at Granite House, Gallaher Group.
Gallaher Tobacco Company, Gallaher Limited.
Two large landscape marquetry mural inlay panels and one smaller marquetry panel were commission for the Gallaher group, Gallaher Limited. Formerly in situ in the new reception hall at Granite House, Cannon Street London. Then moved to 65 Kingsway, London and then finally to Brooklands racing circuit, Weybridge. For more on the history of Gallaher Tobacco visit, https://www.jti.com/europe/united-kingdom/our-uk-history
The two larger marquetry murals, one at 16 feet long and the other one at 20 feet long, both being 3 feet high. Portray the early history of tobacco growing and its shipment through customs from the tobacco lands. The third wood panel which is 3 and a half feet squared, portrays, an open book with a famous passage from Charles Kinsley. The words are on the right-hand side of the page, with a tobacco plant and pipe on the left-hand side in the marquetry book.
The Marquetry Mural Panels
Over 70 different types of wood has been used in the marquetry murals. And over 20,000 separately pieces cut out, shaded in hot sand and fitted together. The largest panel out of the three contains over 9,500 pieces. Each tobacco plant having over 200 separate pieces. All the veneers in the Marquetry panels were about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness. In addition, each veneer has been selective for its natural colour, grain and texture to help create the final look.
It took Robert Dunn and his wife Catherine, 18 months to complete all 3 of the marquetry mural panels for Gallaher Limited.