encore à l'état de carcasse

16:13 Jun 25, 2017 

This inlay work was done last, after the framework [in which the inlays would be inlaid], still in its bare-bones form, had been set in place at the bottom of the handle. Shown by the remains of dowels..., but the dowels securing this framework could only have been driven in before the mosaic work (which must = insertion of the inlays into the framework). Seems a bit repetitive [was done last/could only have been driven in before].
Boy my author makes this so hard!

21:55 Jun 24, 2017 

Thank you mrrafe for your feedback and it does help. Wish there were a picture of this teeny piece from above, but the images are all from the side, meanwhile, the author seems to keep switching terminology on me. SIGH!

23:09 Jun 23, 2017 

I can't see Plate 24 per your citation, which makes this difficult to visualize. Worse, I don't understand whether la base means the end nearest the mirror or furthest from it. However, I think carcasse in metalworking means mold (UK EN mould). If this (a l'etat de carcasse) refers to the monture mentioned later, perhaps the monture is still in the mold or still in the same state in which it emerged from the mold. From a broader perspective, the logic escapes me. But perhaps the point is that the monture would not arrive at its final configuration until the chevilles were deployed, which never happened.