Custom Tabernacle

Create a Post
cjframes

cjframes

True Grumbler
Joined
Mar 3, 2009
Posts
59
Loc
NEW YORK
This is a tabernacle style frame that was designed by our customer. He was able to use software to make us a picture of what he wanted. We built a skeleton for the frame and then added the individual sections. It is hand carved bass wood and finished in 22k gold over red clay. It is over 11 feet long and 6 feet wide. The artwork for the frame was discovered in the basement of a church. They were almost going to throw it out because of it's condition but when they got it appraised they were pleasantly surprised and it justified making this extraordinary frame to display it. The pictures below show some of the steps during the production process.

aart36.jpg


aart37.jpg


aart35.jpg


aart44.jpg


aart65.JPG


aart62.JPG


aart78.JPG


aart88.jpg


aart97.jpg


aart104.jpg


stjohn3.jpg
 
Wow!

Beautiful and inspirational!
 
That is absolutely incredible. And thank you for posting photos of the entire process. Stunning!!!!!
 
Holy Tabernacle Frame, Batman!! Do your workers have to wear sunglasses while laying down that gold leaf??
 
PaulSF said:
Holy Tabernacle Frame, Batman!! Do your workers have to wear sunglasses while laying down that gold leaf??
Click to expand...

That would have been a great idea. Since the frame was so big it didn't fit in our leafing room so we had to burnish it near a window. When the sun was out the glare was amazing. The frame actually didn't fit into our freight elevator either. We had to remove the roof of the elevator and lower it down with ropes!

aart76.JPG


aart73.JPG
 
I've got a couple of your samples on my wall, gifts from a fellow frameshop owner. I may have to take a look at my budget (and more importantly, my wall space) to see if I can fit in a few more!
 
Gorgeous work.
Was it designed by the church or by the donor?
BTW the oil painting was beautiful as well.

I did a small tabernacle for a photographer friend, and I felt guilty charging 300.00 back in the day.
 
scottk said:
Gorgeous work.
Was it designed by the church or by the donor?
BTW the oil painting was beautiful as well.

I did a small tabernacle for a photographer friend, and I felt guilty charging 300.00 back in the day.
Click to expand...

It was designed by our customer. He put the design together using software and it was later approved by the church. We then got together to figure out the best way of building the frame. Our customer had excellent technical drawing skills so we were working with detailed blueprints. There were a few other pieces in the job. Two of them are in the last picture. I guess the lesson here is to never throw out any old artwork until you get an appraisal. They thought it was damaged beyond repair but the restoration was excellent.
 
This is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen.

I've always been an admirer of church architecture. Couple that with framing and it just makes me teary to see someone so skilled. They must have been ecstatic.

Thank you for sharing it.
 
I am in awe of your frames.
 
janetj1968 said:
This is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen.

I've always been an admirer of church architecture. Couple that with framing and it just makes me teary to see someone so skilled. They must have been ecstatic.

Thank you for sharing it.
Click to expand...

I've visited many cathedrals in Europe. I enjoy them as much as the best museums. Making a frame that would look great in any of those cathedrals was a real honor. One thing few people know about this frame is that there are crosses carved inside the frame that are not visible. This is because the customer changed his mind about the carving of the crosses. He wanted them recessed a little so we flipped over the wood and carved them on the other side. I don't know when but some day the frame will need some type of restoration and I wonder what they will think when they see those nicely carved crosses on the inside of the frame. We also carved the date we finished the job.
 
cjframes said:
I've visited many cathedrals in Europe. I enjoy them as much as the best museums. Making a frame that would look great in any of those cathedrals was a real honor. One thing few people know about this frame is that there are crosses carved inside the frame that are not visible. This is because the customer changed his mind about the carving of the crosses. He wanted them recessed a little so we flipped over the wood and carved them on the other side. I don't know when but some day the frame will need some type of restoration and I wonder what they will think when they see those nicely carved crosses on the inside of the frame. We also carved the date we finished the job.
Click to expand...

And now there's a space somewhere on the wayback machine that'll find this post and show it to all future generations :) But Grumblers knew it first!
 
Baer Charlton said:
Very nice work. I like the MPEG4 clips on your site. Very nice tabernacle.
Click to expand...

We just put those video clips on youtube so now it's easier to watch them. They were made a few years ago so they are short but we will be making some longer ones soon that show the frame making process. People enjoy seeing how we water gild frames and the videos I've seen so far do not show a professional technique. Our new videos should be up there soon.
http://www.youtube.com/user/CJFRAMES
 
freakquency said:
How may hours? How much?
Click to expand...

The frame took a few weeks to design. Production started in December 2002 and the frame was finished in early April 2003. Knowing what we know now we could probably make another one in 10 weeks depending on how busy we are. Impossible to say how many man hours it took since at least 15 people worked on the project from start to finish. As for the cost, I can't reveal that because we are a wholesaler and keep that information confidential for our customers.
 
Truly a masterpeice! Your skills are astounding!
 
I had to revive this post...because I've been thinking about it for DAYS again, thanks to the rep from CJ Frames.

I had the honor of being paid a surprise visit on Thursday (to my quaint little shop while I was donned in a t-shirt and jeans...I'm glad I didn't scare him away!) and got to look through a nice little representation of product.

The quality is just amazing, folks.

I have a catalog on the way and I'm anxiously awaiting the opportunity to pick out a few Gothics and other treasures to hang in my shop.
 
Beautiful. I'll call you next time I need one.
 
OK I'm sitting here giving my back a break from joining 34 biggish poly antique gold frames for my next arts & crafts fair. They look OK when viewed from long distances in dim light and it helps if you had a glass of wine and don't know much about the history of picture frames.

Then this comes along. Where did I go wrong? Is this some sort of punishment?
 
Create a Post
Back
Top