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Handbook
of Furniture
Styles
HANDBOOK OF
FURNITURE
STYLES
BY A. DYER Author of "Thb Lure of the
WALTER
more important
of
historic
styles
cially
furniture,
espe-
intended
for
ready
bibliography
and index.
INfewYork
lOH-'T
^^
Copyright, 1918, by
The Cextcry
Co.
FOREWORD
In scanning
my
lished a small
historic
furniture styles.
I realized,
would
be
necessarily
treatment
it
perhaps
possess
fragmentary and
and
would
when viewed
course, to
either as a standIt
would be necessary, of
esting
is
omit
many
inter-
and important do
this.
details,
loath to
But
it
seemed to
me
of the decorative periods would often be most helpful, particularly for those
who have
Something
had
in
mind.
had reason
[v]
FOREWORD
was a need
for something in the
way
of a printed
how
to identify
any period
style or place
specific
means
from another.
set aside
have consequently
my
principles of sci-
entific
mecum^ manual,
it.
syllabus, or whatever
you
may
choose to call
particular need.
inevi-
not of commission.
am
of treatment; I
know
just
what the
critics
and
re-
am moved
to forestall their
by
certain admissions
he
is
In the
book.
place, there
is
nothing
new
in this
inal research.
There
is
FOREWORD
it
that
is
larger
do not think
human knowledge
dress
on
this subject; I
edge and
now
present
in a
new
or undress.
Whole
My
and elimination.
have endeavored to
down, to
strip
it
to its essentials,
and the
out-
little
Absolute
demands subtle
distinctions
and
are
up space and
often tedious.
things
more broadly,
If I
with correctness in
its
larger sense.
classification, I find
my
I
justifi-
what
too often
made
have ren-
many
persons
tell
me
they
still
FOREWORD
I have, in short, sacrificed other ends to the single
will
fill
the long-felt
want
may
be
may
this
volume a
it is
list
of books.
not a complete
list,
but
it
all practical
purposes, and
To many
of these authors I
am
The
I
volume
first
appeared in
am
indebted to
its
A &
Decoration."
The majority
of the illustrations
are
Museum
of Art,
New
York.
W.
A. D.
[viii]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
PAGE
Period Furniture in
Modern Homes
II
Italian Renaissance
11
III
The
Louis
Louis Louis
Renaissance Elsewhere
....
25
45
IV
XIV
V
VI
VII
VIII
XV
XVI
54 64
78
The
Empire
89
100
IX
Anglo-Dutch
Georgian
X
XI
no
125
American Styles
Chronological Tables
Bibliography
140 149
153
Index
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The
salon of
style
Marie Antoinette
at
Fontainebleau, Louis
XIV
5 5
Frontispiece
Fifteenth century
...
Fifteenth century
Sixteenth century
cassone.
Sixteenth century
...
Early
6
6
walnut bench.
Sixteenth century
velvet.
15
cade
upholstery
15
16
....
fine
16
with
Gothic
29
Sixteenth century
Carved walnut
table.
... ...
Six-
30 30
About
575-1600
rose.
39
39
was
40
common
than upholsterv
[xi]
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
A A A
Louis
armchair of the middle period, with curved legs and curved underbraces. Gilded vsrood and tapestry
. .
XIV
40
typical Louis
XIV
of
the
finely
manner
Berain
49
table of gilded
carved Louis
XIV
Chateau de Vaux
side chairs of oak with upholstery of
Late Louis
velvet
XIV
Genoese
50
Louis
and small cabinet in the made of ebony with gilt and bronze mounts
table
XIV
style of Boulle,
50
Late Louis
estry.
XIV
The
59
in brocatelle.
Louis
armchair of carved walnut, upholstered Note the unbalanced details in the carving
XV
59
Louis
XV
60
A
A A
Louis
XV
period
60
65
tapestry
.
.
Louis
Louis
XV armchair with cane seat and back XV armchair of walnut, upholstered with
65
Louis
seat of cane
and
66
Louis
XVI
wood upholstered
Louis
XVI
New
York.
example
modern application
of the style
....
good
75
decora-
and a mirror
at
the back
top,
76
Three-legged round table with mosaic and the flaming torch in the center
gryphon supports,
76
typical
round
...
85
[xii]
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
fauteuil gondole.
legs,
86
Another,
of
mahogany,
with
brocade
upholstery
and
86
riched
with ormolu
style.
built
of
mahogany, en86
.
The Empire
91
1650-1675
1650-1675
type.
... ...
92
92
late
showing the
97
An
oak gate-leg table of about 1685, with carved legs and supports.
Turned
legs
97
Oak wainscot
tion of the
Tudor
98
feet
98
Roundabout chair of the late seventeenth century, with rush bottom and with the Spanish foot in front
English cabinet, embellished with marketry of the Dutch type.
Period of William and
98
Mary
107
Cane-back armchairs of the William and Mary period, showing the French influence of Daniel Marot 107
High
chest of
108
Anne
period, with
113
Early Georgian chair of walnut veneer, showing the ball-andclaw feet of 1715 and after 113
fxiii]
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
cabinet
for
china
designed
by
Chippendale
in
modified
114.
Chinese style
114
119
119
119
119
legs, inlaid
with
120
typical
Sheraton
table
tapering,
reeded
legs
of the early nineteenth century
.
133
.133
133
134
drop-leaf table of
mahogany
134
One
The back
most
134
graceful
[xlv]
Handbook
of Furniture
Styles
Handbook
of Furniture
Styles
CHAPTER
UNQUESTIONABLY,
ture.
American
homeintelli-
styles
and
what purport
to represent them.
it
The American
is
astonish-
ingly slight.
tures or
tion
mobiles.
[3]
this
impressive to one
who
At
mo-
ment
the furniture
and department
New
York
ture,
and window
labels
of.
To
this increased
demand
more or
repro-
to disseminate information
and try
to
American tendency
go
wrong
in matters artistic?
fact,
As a matter of
ig-
bluntly, good
Amer-
New York
is
stores
were displaying
Peit
it,
period
furniture.
it
riod furniture
Some
of
[4]
SLxteenth centurj'
SLxteenth century
Sixteenth century
PERIOD FURNITURE
plenty of conscientious, studious, skilful designers,
and
who
are honest
enough
spirit
the truth
about them.
The uninformed
When
I look into
New York
shop windows
sort of
two
fifths
man and
suite, I
Mary
dining-room
For a
is
just that
a hybrid, mongrel
Permit
me
to remark, parenthetically,
that
my
as a
reference to
upon the
fair
name of
that city.
For Grand
rapidly be-
like
an art
center, so far as
concerned.
the art
and
is
furniture
to-day
true
made
and hon-
estly executed
as
any
where furni-
just
wrong enough
to be
finish,
may even be
not what
it
purports to be.
do not mean
if
we could
all afford
them.
Our homes
are the
modem
manufacturers.
Nor must
The requirements of
modern
[8]
PERIOD FURNITURE
made
in
But
it is
quite
bedroom
authentic,
suite, for
This,
not
all
skill.
The
result
I
is
the
have been
Now
hope
to
what
shall
we do about
it,
since
on buying
real
thing?
Or
shall
we
Shall
we
con-
demn
This
is
period furniture.
are popular,
The
fact
is
to type
is
we
genuine in design.
He may
be
we
are.
Our only
[9]
before
When
and
line,
and we
likes
not the
way
to become fa-
One
must
museums and make a study of authentic examples. One must read books on the subject of
visit
One
Then,
when one
one can
shop window,
it
tell at
possesses
this
handbook
will
The chapas a
sort of
CHAPTER
(1400-1600)
II
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
THE
partly
own
sake.
Genuine Italian
Renaissance furniture
thenticity of which
is
open to doubt
is
bringing
conditions of the
life
in all
new
interest in
Peace,
and made
it
possible for
men
[u]
in
had
its
development
almost every
ble
in Italy.
field
New
life
was injected
into
of endeavor.
intellectual
There was a
energy,
verita-
outburst
of
from which
sprang discoveries,
and dissemination of
says
(Italy) seemed to be
endowed with an
the beautiful
in
for producing
every form."
the past."
free feeling,
expressed in every
The
creative
1500
to 1600,
The
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Gothic, never very firmly established in Italy, was
movement were
by a
felt in the
cento.
more
under such
leaders as
chi.
had
arts
flourished luxuriantly,
and the
styles
became imbued
and
with the
albeit original
In 1494
Academy by
the
Duke
of
Roman
styles.
Excavations of
extraordinary
interest.
Leo
the
move-
Great
artists arose,
Michael Angelo,
Andrea
del Sarto,
[13]
and and
others.
ture
built
new
tapes-
to be followed
by
The
classic spirit,
in architecture,
form
and ornamentation of
Carved
wood-
work became
styles
Cabinet-making became
furniture
an honored
The
as
Columns
and
pilasters
were a feature.
and
The
furniture
was
was
Renaissance
spirit
found
its
fullest ex-
pression.
The wealthy
Rome,
elaborau
[14]
152
5>
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
and handsome
chests,
cabinets,
tables,
chairs,
and
made
for them.
Artists
and
made then
Germany, and
some extent
in
England,
is
some-
The
spirit
and
styles
Florence led in
classic
de-
was not
if
to be suppressed.
Venetian furniture
was,
The
period,
and beIn
first
importance,
and some of
it
The
The
decora-
somewhat behind
[17]
the architecture,
more or
The
lives
less
prominent
in.
skilful
combination of purely
we
style.
principles.
The
the cartouche or
human
forms.
human figure, and fanciful, halfThe carving became more and more
relief,
intricate, in
and
finally
fantastic,
became
pre-
Some of
this
in \'^enice.
Toward
means of
iron,
and polished
with,
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
oils.
first
a specialty of the
All sorts of
at first geo-
medium,
Remarkable
skill in
workmanship was
dis-
played.
Some of
relief, or inlaid in
shell, brass,
lions
and
caskets.
effect.
Some
Italian metal-
chests,
an
hard pebbles,
and other
The
worthy.
interior
woodwork of
the period
was note-
Italian
carved,
The
ceilings
were
vaulted
and
coffered.
The
hung with
fabrics,
above a
paneled wainscot.
There were
rich brocades
and
Genoese velvets, softer and richer than the glaring colors of the Gothic period, and also stamped
and gilded
leather.
famous Renaissance
came
into use.
The
homes of the
It
period,
and
and
and
artistic
They
At
first
Roman
considerable
grace
and
variety.
Toward
bizarre.
and even
Renaissance household, and during the sixteenth century they became fairly abundant.
come down
the
curule
forms.
The high-backed
[20]
chairs
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
huge and
stately, richly
perpendicular backs,
flat,
They could scarcely have been considered comfortable. They were made of oak, walnut, and other
woods,
without
upholstery,
though
cushions
of
leather, silk,
The
curule
or
faldstool
(faldisterium)^
It
man
it
frequently
furnished
and
seat
of
seat
wooden
Toward
the end
Carved
and and
settees
were also
common
in the
homes of the
period.
The
The
by
solid carved
[21]
stretcher or
view.
They were
The
tops were
entine mosaic.
Coffers
and
chests were
common
gifts.
adjuncts, partic-
and wedding
It
was the
lineal
sionally of cypress or
camphor wood.
Some
ex-
have per-
Some
and
and
and gilded or
gesso
ornamented
with
intarsia
fine
work.
There
was
also a higher
form of
the collector.
Several
new forms were introduced about 1600, adding greater variety to the home furnishings, though less
admirable
in
their
workmanship
[22]
serving-tables
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
and sideboards,
chests of drawers
and
dressers for
and writing-tables
amples are
Mirrors of polished
among
the
extant
are exquis-
Glass
ones
first
wall-brackets, candlesticks,
objects,
much sought by
connoisseurs.
Such clocks
cases,
and
lapis-
many
With
scarcely
modern home.
Most of
[23]
art
styles
may
have access to
It
is
all
of
it is
admirable
bad workmen
Some
proaching decadence.
But no
education
is
art,
[24]
CHAPTER
III
HAVE
because
of prime importance.
it
Before
I
The
ence
proceeding, however,
may
be well to take a
now
It
is
in exist-
may
be considered negligible.
but
re-
modem
styles.
The
student
nizance of
many
diverse styles,
round out
Ori-
ental
ornament
Chinese,
etc.,
Persian, etc.
all
as well as
in the
Scandinavian, Celtic,
played a part
modem
America.
The
art of Greece.
Its
With
The
classic
Greek and
Roman
architecture
we
are
it.
fairly familiar;
we
Rome were
adapted by the style creators of the Italian Renaissance and by the promoters of succeeding classic revivals.
Allied to the
style,
peian
the
classic types.
tian.
It
employed the
modeled bronze.
Wonderful
feature.
use of color
in interiors
was an outstanding
Then came
the
gradual
emergence
therefrom.
we have
Byzantine
the
Roman, had
north
center in Constantinople.
In the
we
find the
styles
These
ture.
found expression
After the
first
the Gothic
was the
design.
to
make
The Gothic
its
France and
[26]
highest development
in
the
Simple
lines
predominated, the
Much
of
it
was
built
into
the
walls;
the rest
In
Low
wood employed;
in France, chestnut;
rendition.
There
is
The
and
The
bility,
furniture
was
still
crude, but
and moarticle
The
was a prominent
from the
first,
Cup-
and
buffets
came
into use,
affair.
noteworthy ex-
[27]
Abbey, which
130.
and benches
content
and
stools, of
no
style at all.
we
ized
The
cinquefoil
and
The
less
worthy, in
and bedsteads
are
among
been preserved.
sance
At
touched England,
was inaugurated,
in
The powerful
or later,
Europe sooner
reigns
made
itself felt in
[28]
Sixteenth century
Carved walnut
table.
ry^
in
French decorative
reign of Louis
XIIL
French Renaissance.
Renaissance, Frangois
II,
1515-1547;
decline,
Henri
to
Henri IV,
1547-1610;
later
Renaissance,
The
first
ginnings of the
new awakening.
the
freely
ornastyle.
predominant
The
reign of Francois I
artistic
movement came
Architecture,
impulse.
Italian styles
and craftsmen
Sarto, Seralio,
and Benvenuto
works about
menced
da
and
others.
The French
nobles
[31]
some of
I
it
of ex-
workmanship.
woodwork of Frangois
more open and
was pat-
The French
chairs were
and supports.
proportions.
Still,
Oak was
The The
and
straight,
Other pieces
Chests
less closely.
less architectural
in character
The
reign of
Henri
in the
II
more productive
furniture,
textiles,
The
ing,
furniture the
cabinets
The
strap
and
band,
pierced
shield,
arabesque,
[32]
Henri IV) a
weary-
Henri IV (1589styles
force
illogical changes.
The
shell
came
There followed a
the reign of Louis
curve during
XIII (1610-1643), when Cardinal Richelieu was prime minister and Simon Vouet
a leader in the art world.
demand for fine home furnishings more general. The styles of ornament became more varied, with much scroll and shell carving.
ous and the
Vouet's furniture was of the Italian type, with
much
touche,
florid
ornament
the
heavily
scrolled
car-
fancy
pilasters,
ponderous
garlands
and
shells.
An
use.
Many
The
chairs, as a rule,
in sets,
and
and needlework.
luxurious.
Bedroom
walls
furniture
became more
The
The
styles of the
Renaissance were
all
The movelater
Renaissance was at
Italian
Before that
Low
Remarkable carving
order.
later
figure
work of a high
At
ebony
was adopted
in
with high back, carved top and underbrace, and cane [34]
the
tion period
Another characteristic
sance was a massive
Flemish Renais-
carved doors.
During the seventeenth century Holland contributed a taste for fine marquetry.
The
patterns be-
came
richer
and more
varied.
this
Dutch marquetry
later
became
florid,
Meanwhile
was hardly
less interesting.
Diirer,
treatment of carving.
In Spain the Moorish feeling, based on the Saracenic,
During the
persisted,
Dur-
ing the seventeenth century, however, the Renaissance styles were predominant in furniture design.
The
nobles were
rich,
and the
[35]
art industries
were
were produced.
The
pine.
some cedar,
and
etc.,
The
art of inlaying
Cabinets of chest-
later of tortoise-shell,
tropics.
high-backed chair
and
mounts.
strictly speaking,
was
marked
in
there
Roughly, Eng-
may
1660
till
That
is
the
first
broad division.
Up
furniture.
The
[36]
earliest
furniture
was
chests,
tables,
benches, beds,
and occasionally,
crudities
chairs.
Gothic period, English furniture yet retained the Gothic traditions of sturdiness and
years, until Continental influences,
virility for
many
which at
first re-
fined
it,
led
it
French rococo.
First, to
The Tudor
Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII, contemporary with the Renaissance movement (1509-1547), Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary (1553-1558), and
Elizabeth (1558-1603).
This
last half
century
is
Henry
VIII,
who was an
anti-Papist, desired a
He brought
him
as court
Italy
and
installed
was
anti-Gothic, rather
than pro-Renaissance
and
[37]
the Renaissance
in England.
move-
Holbein,
to 1543,
was
re-
and
The
Tudor period
all
1509-1558)
more or
less
was a
less
plastic,
It
less
imaginative
was a
sort of
emascu-
lated Renaissance.
his followers
The
pendicular Gothic
land, probably
was introduced
into
Eng-
as early as
and
is
on
chests, choir-
stalls,
etc.
introduced from
the guillouche,
sion of circles.
2i
and
strap
fea-
There
0)
> o
2 o
f\
.b
SS
head,
series
of
These
interiors,
details
in
church
as well as
furniture.
The
furniture.
There
South Kensington
Museum
form of a
Roman
The
rare,
Chairs were
occasionally of ebony.
solid,
The
chairs were
flat,
heavy and
seats,
wooden
The
main room of
[4']
some
stools
and benches,
and a board on
trestles.
iLwas during
oped.
It
movement
devel-
interest
in learning
by
literary production,
and
by
social, political,
and commercial
progress.
The^
more
distinctive character.
There was
less
at originality.
less
of
be-
was
distinctly British.
Among
this period
diamond
or lozenge
panels of chests and cupboards, and designs embodying fruit, foliage, and flowers.
form of human
bulb, drum, or
busts, tapering
down
to a foot.
The
and cupboard-supports.
scroll-
The
linen-fold
and strap-work,
Turned work
also
some curule-shaped
of
Italian
derivation,
The Tudor
in
was followed
Elizabeth's time
by a
longer,
narrower, more
way down.
struts,
The
legs
rails,
or
near the
floor.
styles verg-
chests,
and
Mirrors were
The
styles that
followed were so
much an
out-
of the
rest.
The
which
is
XIV
we
in
period in England,
somewhat
[44]
CHAPTER
LOUIS XIV
(1643-1715)
is
IV
IT
French decorative
periods, but
less difficult if
we shall render our task a little we omit the earlier periods which
III.
There
justification
mainly interested
Louis XIV, Louis
French periods
XV,
and
would be
well,
when
that background
is
kept in view.
The
art impulse
way
for a sort of
Low
Countries.
During
these
three periods
furniture was
pro-
They
is
are repdefinite
by three
distinct styles
marking a
style
development.
marked by
In
workmanship.
and
de<-ails
The Louis
XV
Madame Pompadour
detail.
paramount.
The
anthein
to be
employed
in
decoration,
toons,
and rococo
baskets,
The
and
Louis
XVI
style
Marie Antoinette.
[46]
'
LOUIS XIV
florals.
The
legs
and tapering.
this interesting
Many
historical
XIV
The
which had a
influence of
on the
art industries.
the
the
More
Jean
influence of
who became
Prime Minister
ing art impulse
in 1661.
among
He
emy
industry,
in the
government
influence
in
the
development of
in
style.
Le
The
Beauvais Tapestry Works were also established during this reign, with Louis Hyvart as manager.
The
[47]
and martial
subjects.
These
gave direc-
XIV
style.
In 1660 Louis
adopted his
title
of Le
a powerful king.
He
development to such
Marot,
pel,
artists
and designers
as
Daniel
De Espouy, Hardouin
and Le Pautre.
cabinet-makers were encouraged and thrived, including J. Charles Berain and Andre Charles Boulle.
is
XIV
style in furniture.
his designs,
is
Le
and
Brun
is
said to
Marot worked
ment.
His furniture
distin-
He made
to be
came
known
as Boulle or
Buhl work.
Shells,
scrolls, the
among
his
ornamental
Under
was
built at
[48]
typical Louis
XIV
manner
of
Berain
finely
carved Louis
XIV
table of gilded
top,
Late Louis
XIV
side chairs of
of
Genoese
velvet
Louis
XIV
table
and small cabinet in the style of Boulle, made and bronze mounts
of
ebony with
gilt
LOUIS XIV
Versailles
laid out
by Andre Le
Notre.
Great
and designers were employed and furnishings, and magIn some respects, how-
nificence
ever, the
work done
at Fontainebleau
XIV
style
is
Louis
XIV
and comfortable,
During the
first
half of
and turned
They
were furnished with decorative underframing, and were sometimes ornamented with acanthus carving^
In general, these chairs were similar to those intro-
chairs.
Chair backs
700 the
legs
became more
slender,
approachmg those of
the Louis
XV
period in style.
feet,
The
later
tables
and
had curved
[51]
Beds were
A
and
couch, called
lit
a la duchesse, gilded,
painted,
varnished,
and cabinets
and was
in vogue.
One
chest
was shaped
like
man-
on carved
A common
form of cabinet
had a serpentine
front and carved feet and panels, and was decorated with Buhl work. These are but a few of the numerous forms that appeared during
the Louis
XIV period.
woods used
in
The
tions
chief
rosewood,
sandal-wood,
There was
much
brass,
gilding,
Toward
XV
even
period.
The
legs.
more
slender, curved
Elaborate
carving
became
an
more
[52]
LOUIS XIV
prominent feature, with a more graceful rococo and
more
scroll-work.
the Louis
XV
style,
XIV
work continued
to
show balanced
features
while one
succeeding
of the distinguishing
reign
is
of
the
XIV
It
of the Renaissance.
was a distinguished
its
own
followed.
neglected
furni-
XV
and
Louis
Louis
Of
late,
however,
day the
vogue, in
common with
style
it
of England.
suitable to the
in the
modern
home.
[53]
CHAPTER V
LOUIS XV
(1715-1774)
DURING
tinctive.
the Louis
XV
period in France,
The
first
as the
king's minority,
or Philip
XV
In
He
took pleasure in
and extravagance.
art, as in life,
formality was
pomp
Under
was brought up
to a life
his
should
LOUIS
padour,
XV
and
who helped
all
which
nected.
their
In
ever; deed,
many
it
respects
it
effete period,
howIn-
artistic results.
it
orative periods.
The
The list of clever and talented masters of applied art who flourished during this reign is too long to
give in full.
ers,
potters,
tapestry-weavers, cabinet-makers,
and
make
this a
The
nating influence.
which
syl-
and
Un-
many
who
rose to
prominence
as a decorative sculptor
XV cabinet-maker of prominence.
Jacques Caffieri and Pierre Gouthiere, skilful metalworkers and cabinet-makers, added their part to the
development of the
styles.
period.
dominant rococo
ance,
He
quite different
His work
is
said to have
And
many
interior decorators.
In 1753 Louis
made
new impetus in Under Madame Pompathis field of applied art. plaques were much used to enporcelain dour Sevres
Sevres porcelain factory, adding a
rich cabinets, writing-desks, etc.
It
was during
this
reign,
too,
came popular.
carriage-painters
who
more
invented
French
Vernis-Martin.
Simon
LOUIS XV
in
1744.
red,
brown,
chairs.
Vernis-Martin panels,
and
doors.
The
merged
of the Regency.
details
The
the Louis
XV
more
parts.
The Regency
classic,
ostentation.
The
austere
to
was
The Louis
with very
cious,
was a
capri-
whimsical
[57]
details.
was a
than that of
Often, however,
it
when
it
carried
extravagance
too far.
The dominant
rocaille,
audacity.
was used
in
and
scroll.
It
metal-worker, Caffieri,
who
As has been
the Louis
a distinguishing
details
later,
mark of
were
in-
XV
style.
Unbalanced
under the
abandoned.
skil-
These ornamental
interior
details
woodwork
on
cornice,
mantel,
[58]
r;
c-a
(a
5H
> a
^^^-^%g^
'%
Louis
XV
Louis
XV
LOUIS
frame.
XV
avoided,
them.
Plain
surfaces
were
everything
as well as carving.
Toward
ity,
XV's
reign there
was a
slight reaction
XVL
Many
to
The
spirit
some extent,
painted and
as well as cherry
gilded.
extensively, though
we sometimes
The
running diagonally.
bellished with metal
most of
it
of Louis
XV
furniture.
its
While
were
many
typical
soles,
st5de
tables
modes.
as
dec-
woven
floral
and
pictorial
also
screens
Boucher.
designed
were
all
the
reign.
much
in evidence
on walls and
ceil-
factories, lovely
in design
and
and
love-making, contemporary
tations.
and Arcadian
affec-
the interiors.
1'he Louis
XV
and
an
luxury.
chair-frames.
fantastic,
Sometimes
to
fit
the
usually softly upholstered, though cane was sometimes used for seats and backs.
LOUIS
an upholstered cushion.
central shell or flower
XV
floral
from which
XV
chairs were
The
had
much
less
were used
fit
worthy period
it
and
from an
artistic
was surpassed by
[63]
CHAPTER
LOUIS XVI
VI
(1774-1793)
BETWEEN
late Louis at this time,
ferent,
is
Signs of
XV period.
was comparatively
and we
style in full
swing early
XVI.
It was, indeed, a
more
or less
Though
XVI
style doubt-
owe much
Marie Antoi-
more
credit than
as
was
the
when
she
As a matter of
French decorative
fact,
marked changes
to a
in the
styles
XVI
more or
less
[64]
'!i'
LOUIS XVI
logical
Moreover, the
artists
recently
un-
work of the
Italian Renaissance.
A classical
re-
by
the
Sheraton in England.
The
more graceful
lines,
and greater
The ponderously
to a playful
come
name of Marie
Antoinette.
There are
who
X\T style,
and
as in that of
Such
critics are
persons
are always
some
who
and
there
My
own
faculty of appre-
more promptly
to this
more chaste
form of
art
of the Louis
XV period.
line,
Louis
XVI
furniture com-
It
is
moved
line
as far as possible
simplicity
result of
style
best of
workmanship
and painstaking
As
XVI
style,
it
may
be
Straight lines
and flowing
Ornamental
were largely
scrolls
to the style.
restraint,
details,
classic in type
skill.
They were
Pompeian and
Ro-
shell
in mouldings.
the endive
made way
as cabi-
latter appearing
nets, bureaus,
and
also
on
clocks, mir-
[68]
LOUIS XVI
ros,
and
sconces,
though
less
commonly on
chairs
and
tables.
The
fluted
metal-work.
On
in
cabinets
the
and
such
pieces
this
column appears
on claw-feet. and
form of a
floor,
fluted pilaster,
sometimes resting
filled
On
the
straight,
round,
vertical
fluted
and
slightly
tapering.
Flat surfaces of walls and furniture, always decorated during the previous period, were
in the
now
often left
form of
by mouldings,
with ornament.
The
or the
XV,
[69]
to
men
of great
and
ability.
maker of the period was Riesener, who had gained fame and experience during the previous
ments.
reign.
He
like pig-
David Rontgen, more often referred to as " David," who was patronized by Marie Antoinette, and who
is
painter.
He
also
minute marquetry.
The
greatest metal-worker of
who often
cooperated with
Riesener.
And
Many woods
makers of
Mahogany became more popular than hogany. walnut, but the latter was much used for the frames
of upholstered furniture, either natural or enameled
in soft colors.
in use
on
amboyna,
mahogany, ebony,
etc.
Lac-
Light
tints prevailed in
woodwork and
[70]
upholstery,
LOUIS XVI
the
wood
enamel and
The metal-work
much
mounted
in
Interior decoration
Door- and
rectangular,"
finer.
fluted pilasters
Pompeian
or
enameled, was
the
wood showing
pieces,
than on Louis
still
XV
furniture.
wood
but
fash-
Large
com-
modes, desks,
this dark,
mahogany, with
enamel or
gilt.
The ma
ble
The
desks,
legs
etc.,
of
chairs,
sofas,
tables,
commodes,
command
and honestly
gracefully
so.
its
cabriole leg
was
gone, and in
tively slender,
underframing.
The
typical
Louis
as the
XVI
more
leg
has
me
slender,
it
was
was
classic in detail
and generally
The
feet
were
often shod with bronze ferrules or finely finished with a ring, an acanthus cup, or a vase-like terminal
The
it
in a tiny wreath, a
row of beading,
or a torch-like ornament, or
ormolu at the
[72]
LOUIS XVI
As
is
Oak and
They
still
produced the
effect of exquisitely
Often a bow of
rib-
at the top.
on the front
a
The
fluted,
and more or
less tapering.
stiffness
by the propor-
tions
in
the
a neat
ing.
The
[73]
Dining-room
seats
had cane
and
match the
The majority
Deli-
and white
the wood.
The
stuffs
were
rich,
XV upholstery,
The
and
fine lines
match the
finer detail
of the woodwork.
The
effect
and dainty.
sofa was
developed
In
S-S
The Empire
style.
1650-1675
1650- 1675
LOUIS XVI
some
respects this period
decorative art.
Then came
period.
of the state
the Louis
ateliers,
XVI
[77]
CHAPTER
VII
THE EMPIRE
(1799-1^14)
THE
The
most
After Louis
XVI
for a
Indeed,
art.
the
Revolution
aristocracy,
may
The
there
was
Napoleon
decorative
in 1802.
The
from 1799 to 1814. For the first few years chaos reigned
art world.
in the
French
at-
tempt at reconstruction.
An
art
commission was
[78]
THE EMPIRE
appointed, of which Riesener and David Rontgen
were members.
into
Roman
not that
it
was an
artificial style,
As
a rule,
bad
and
art tradition
to
dominate the
art
he dominated everything
else in France.
He
pro-
own
ideas,
his lead in
decorative matters.
The
was
somewhat
different
Rome.
Under Napoleon the French artists and designers were given a new chance, so long as they conformed
to the emperor's ideas
desires.
and sought
to interpret his
if
The
result
somewhat
sener,
restricted production.
who had worked under Louis XVI, were the leaders at first. They were followed by the architect-decorators Charles Percier
and
others.
A book of designs
in
and Fontaine
1812
offers a
[79]
The
ceremony, of novelty.
Csesars,
and the
and conquest.
cold, formal, heavy,
The
with
They
Louis
XIV,
yet,
though somewhat
and constrained,
effetely luxurious.
cabi-
Construction was
XVI.
Mahogany was the wood most used by the cabinetmakers, both solid and veneered, enriched with applique.
much
[80]
THE EMPIRE
bronze,
gilt,
The framework
mahogany,
or
of
Empire
was
generally
For
mahogany was
finished natural,
with but
stuffs
little
gilding.
The popular
upholstery
ruby
with formal,
classic motifs.
were
little
used.
The
Empire
style
were
significant
and symbolic,
emperor.
XVI
period were
The
classic
anthemion came
back
in
Roman
Roman
Greek
other
eagle, the
Roman
fasces,
winged Victory,
winged
including
trophies
letter
These de-
Among
the conto
features of
Empire furniture
[81]
are
be
The
eral,
from
fairly simple
In gen-
they
may
The
and lavishly
heads of rams,
lions, etc.
into
on the
floor.
is
where there
The
typical
Empire
comfortable.
These
[82]
THE
EiMPIRE
legs, the
mahogany
usually
or of
Little carving
ornamented
Among
while
stiffly
consoles
and
pier-tables
were usually
rectangular.
A common
upon which
rested a
were supported by carved gryphons resting on a shaped base, while some of the heavier ones were
supported by sphinxes.
as a
of our American "Colonial" tables; or a threecornered plinth on three carved feet supported three
round columns.
Most of
mahogany,
either solid
The
or nearly black.
in evi-
dence,
and metal
and
pillar-caps.
A common
[83]
and
tables
in the anthe-
mion form.
Often the supports of consoles,
cases, etc.,
cabinets,
book-
showed
flat
little style in
times merely
and with
feet of ormolu.
Mirrors
were often
Gryphons and
tables.
or canopy.
Interior
decoration
followed
the
The
Pompeian
in a
in
by the gold
wreath
Hangings
[84]
pillars, vertical
form, and
V
A
Xote the concave back, faiileuil gondole. curved rear legs, and swan-neck arms
Another, built of mahogany, with brocade upholstery and with metal mounts
typical
built of
mahogany
THE EMPIRE
were frequently winged
figures, stiff in
modeling but
good
in material
and
finish.
which
decade
in
was predominant
first
and
had
passed
freely
from France
of the French
Em-
pire, therefore,
cause,
many
first
ess of adaptation,
teenth century.
Mahogany was
we turned
and
col-
in coarse
Empire
And
not
all
of
it
was bad.
heard of a draw-
Empire
style,
and when
it
re-
Amer-
icans,
[87]
Manufacturers inform
tically
me
making pracseemed to
furniture; there
no
call for
them.
It
this style
should receive as
much
more popular
periods, in
[88]
CHAPTER
VIII
to
England, and
Although some
effort
made
Tudor
succeeded in awakening
preciable extent.
modem
any ap-
time, furniture
is
modern
needs,
are
means
little
more than
a working outline.
I shall
[89]
often given to
it,
and
logical to divide
it
into
two
periods.
the reigns of
(1603-1625) and Charles I (1625-1649). There intervened the Commonwealth, or so-called Cromwellian period (1653-1659), followed by the
James
Charles
II
(1660-1685)
and James
II
(1685-
1689).
Mary and
wood
I
in English furniture.
About
The
furniture of
James
was that a
transition stage.
generally predominated.
its
The
true Jacobean
development during
dis-
I.
we
Jacobean
The
legs of tables
and
[90]
and the
seats flat.
Such
articles
on
legs
was
Jacobean furnifirst
ture excelled.
all,
The
of
ous
more or
form
intricate strapis
frequently
chests
found
in chair-legs
of drawers.
Chairs
were
still
in
greater variety.
The
became gradually
sometimes pierced.
lighter in
During
was introduced,
and with the
much
The
Toward
in-
troduced.
The
to the Elizabethan,
[93]
Occa-
made with a
it
single leaf
the forerunner of
common.
The cupboard,
indeed,
One
form,
was closed
in front; an-
the court-cupboard,
These were the outstanding features of the furniture of the Jacobean period.
The
so-called
Crom-
very
chair
little
The Cromwellian
and usually a
seat of the
brass-headed nails.
Legs,
and
stretchers
were
of turned oak.
Toward
Common-
turned legs and the use of cane seats and backs be-
gan
to
appear in chairs.
Chests became
less
popular,
[94]
With
The king
spirit
of
of Louis
XIV.
men
carving,
pearl.
ivory,
and mother-of-
The
tulip
in the carving.
Oaken
to be
made
some
The
style,
appeared.
It
and embroideries
in
The
[95]
cresting,
and
underbraces.
They were
often
sur-
mounted by a Tudor
lief
rose or a crown.
Slender,
re-
became a
feature.
seats, the
carved frame.
Flemish
legs
and Spanish.
The
were
work underbrace
legs
in front.
The
feet
were square,
Toward
and
The
this type,
Small table, late Jacobean, of oak and walnut, showing the popular spiral turning
An oak
legs
and supports.
Turned
legs
were more
common
o o
CA
t-i
>
_^
a! fl
iu
made
It
rectan-
around the
top in low
supports,
relief.
It
and
six or
drop leaves.
is
found
in the beau-
cupboards,
cabinets,
chests
6f drawers,
and
and
intricate patterns.
The
beds,
however, were
testers
still
and
stuffy hangings. to be a
much
better
medium
this kind,
it
had
wood
The
was
with
marked by a
change
in furniture styles,
When
Wil-
new
inaugurated.
[99]
:iJB^R IX
ANGLO-DUTCH
(1689-1720)
FOLLOWING
was
felt,
the
abdication of James II
marked change.
ations in taste
reigns,
and nationalize
The
reigns
so-called
of William and
(1714-1727).
always seemed to
It has
the reign of
tention than
the furniture of
deserved.
have found
commonly
in
many
If not
it
fundamental respects
entirely graceful,
it is
quite different.
at least interestmg,
and
is
ment.
Mary
re-
[100]
ANGLO-DUTCH
productions are
the
When
consort of
all his
Low
was largely
for
Flem-
ascendency.
not
many Huguenot refugees found their way into England, and among them were designers and artisans who brought with them the styles of Louis XIV, for which the way had already
Nantes
1685,
James
II.
The
to
chief of these
who
left
Holland,
1690, and
was summoned
of Louis
tive art
England by William
architect.
He
XIV, and his influence on English decorawas very powerful for the next ten or fifteen
years.
We
find,
therefore, a decided
French
ele-
[101]
Anglo-Dutch period.
In general,
it
may
preceded
it.
It
was
lighter,
characterized
by greater
simplicity.
ued
to be used
on
among
Dutch
used,
pieces,
Toward
trade,
and
collecting
became a
and
height
The
senting
many
Dutch
[102]
ANGLO-DUTCH
type.
The
backward and
fit
The
and
typical leg to be
Mary
chairs, tables,
ratlier
and chests of
was straight
They had
usually four
and
In the
Louis XIV,
Marot
also designed
elaborate bed-
Walnut
card-tables
and small
tables,
or scalloped tops.
The
[103]
of drawers, which was the forerunner of the highboy, was raised from the floor on six legs, often
feet,
The upwere
and
flat.
Sometimes
the
drawers
flat sur-
more or
less elaborate
mar-
quetry.
all
used
The
But by
ency.
indeed, a
mixed
had been
The year
the
may
modern
types
of
furniture.
The turned
leg
was superseded
by the
cabriole.
Underbracing disappeared.
More
form than
to ornament.
[104]
ANGLO-DUTCH
During the
reign of
Common
and some
and
mascaron, car-
tables,
of the period.
some
extent, marquetry.
The
cabriole
leg
on
chairs, tables,
high-
boys, lowboys,
foot.
was undeco-
The Windsor
chair
Queen
The
chair which
most confiddle-
back.
was
the
forerunner
of
Chippendale's
styles.
and
at the
of the back.
the
back of the
ous curve.
The
sides,
seats
were broad,
flat,
The roundabout,
tury,
had
its
eighteenth century.
was a square
chair, stand-
sides,
and two
later,
as did Chippendale's
roundabouts
The
seats
were rush,
wooden, or upholstered.
Queen Anne
tables
include a
number
ci
light
[106]
ANGLO-DUTCH
forms
cherry,
of
tea-tables
and card-tables
in
walnut,
legs.
now
first
time,
the
without underbracing.
At
first
the top
was
straight,
broken-arch pediment
made
its
ap-
pearance.
and highboys.
or dressing table,
It
walnut
style
New
[109]
CHAPTER X
GEORGIAN
(1720-1810)
is
no easy matter
to condense a characterization
styles of the
Georgian period,
a period in which
the
includes the reigns of George I (1714-1727), which was the early Georgian period; George II
transition
and Chip-
The
and the
of
mahogany
ture material.
in
time.
[no]
GEORGIAN
sition periods
Dutch
characteristics of
Queen Anne.
Chair-backs
in outline,
and new
new forms of
decoration came
The
Dutch
It
foot.
was not
until
Georgian period
may
From
in
through periods
XV,
Chinese
finally classic
and Louis
XVI
features
became
successively
to
paramount.
making walit
styles,
but
was not
to
1735 or later that the real Chippendale began emerge and the Georgian period was firmly es-
tablished.
styles,
He
was remarkably
versatile.
ability to
harmonious whole.
skill as
They ranged
and
XV,
the Chinese
classic
and
XVL
up
about 1770.
The
first
designs,
rector,"
in
1762.
He
the period
He
began
first
bandy-legged,
fiddle-backed
among
other
claw
feet.
As the
Chippendale improved
leg
rail
with which
to divide Chip-
Anglo-
are
somewhat
[112]
GEORGIAN
no such sharp divisions
as these.
He
began to de-
XV
manner somewhere
It
true,
is
howun-
work
is
found
in the fairly
mixed French designs of 1750-60. combination of rococo and Chinese, with a dash of
Gothic, proved too
much
for him.
its
general
and a pierced
splat,
Queen Anne
This splat
appeared
XV type,
He
also
ribbon-back chairs.
made
a roundabout
is
Almost
its
as familiar
the
made up of various forms of fretwork in the chairbacks. The Chinese element appeared in a more
elaborate form in the pagoda and waterfall carving
of mirror-frames, bookcase-tops,
etc.
His
Some
made with
un-
He
also
made a wide
settees,
desks,
in French
and Chinese-Gothic
and he pub-
and
numerous other
pieces.
Toward
work showed a
if
Mahogany was
his
and
birch,
Adam must
and exerted a
is
To them
spired in architecture
by
Wren, and
in full
ton
owed much
to the pioneer
work of
the
Adam
brothers.
[116]
GEORGIAN
Robert
1754,
Adam
embued with
Roman and
classic
Italian art,
and adopted a
XVI.
Roman
and
in
1788
their
"Works
in
Architec-
ture."
They designed
these designs
styles of the late
toward a preference
Rococo,
The
cabriole
leg
and
lighter conis
struction
became the
rule.
The Adam
Carving,
style
char-
acterized
ness,
by
simplicity
and
in
low
The
later
work was
was painted.
tails
classic de-
and garlands.
Furniture
designs
is
rare.
The
low and
and
It
was not
until
somewhere between 1765 and 1775, that the new taste became crystallized, though Hepplewhite was never as thorough a clashb'i^ever,
sicist as
came popular,
Adam
or Sheraton.
Hepplewhite
built, as
amount of
furniture, though
was not
in a
as gre^t as that of
Chippendale.
marked,
de-
"The
Cabinet-Maker
in 1789,
Upholsterer's
after his death,
Guide," appeared
two years
&
Co., the
by
his
widow.
Hepplewhite
chairs,
is
best
known
his
his
square,
foot,
the spade
and for
dur-
and Shearer.
Hepple-
white also
made wardrobes
His
chairs
[u8]
2 c
^2
GEORGIAN
proportion.
The
seats
meet
special
demand?.
like
Chippen-
an
artist in inlay as
was Shera-
restraint
and
success.
His sideboards,
fine,
especially,
delicate inlay of
little
or
no carving.
He
the
was fond of
on the legs
lines,
Greek
fret
well executed and in low relief, and included the wheat-ear, the draped urn, and, on his oval chairbacks, the three feathers of the Prince of Wales.
Thomas
Shearer's
over"
shadowed by that of
white, though Shearer
contemporary, Heppleequal, if
was Hepplewhite's
To
He
with secret
drawers,
like
Sheraton's.
His
[121]
but a
trifle
heavier.
there were a
number
and
clockcases.
made
and
having ball
and
Adam and
Sheraton school.
Four-poster
Thomas Sheraton, the last of the great Georgians, and in many respects the most artistic, published
1793 ^^^ produced his designs well into the nineteenth century. His later
his
in
"Drawing-Book"
it
was
Though
His
less versatile
Adam
influence.
lines
straight
and rectangular
[122]
GEORGIAN
treatments,
furniture
is
His
well made.
distinguishing feature
artist in design,
but a
He employed satinwood
also other exotic
little
much
as
mahogany, and
Not
He
work
was a master at
shows
classic
inlay.
Some of
his finest
whitewood
set into
low
relief,
and included
um,
Adam, but
was rectangular,
um.
He
in-
[123]
ranged desks and writing-tables, sofas, slender fourposter bedsteads, exquisite bijou pieces, etc.
With Sheraton
fusion,
[124I
CHAPTER XI
AMERICAN STYLES
(1600-1840)
ALTHOUGH
of styles
is
there
are
some
interesting
Amer-
may
be covered in
a single chapter.
Not
no separate
With
a few
noteworthy exceptions
niture of
called
the Windsor chair, the furDuncan Phyfe, and the styles of the so-
an
understanding
of the English styles, as already outlined, would furnish a working knowledge of American furniture
styles.
Before proceeding,
it
may
be well to come to an
word
Colonial.
As often
as not,
any furniture of
is
called
[125]
name
is
given to
all
old American
furniture
up
to 1840.
One
American Empire
is
not Chippenis
Hepplewhite, or Sheraton.
All of which
careless, erroneous,
and misleading.
Obviously, the
is
to distin-
objects
we must
find a
we
Not
a little variety
to be discovered
when
sidered.
The
HugueIn
nots all
elements.
New
made
chiefly English
and home-
imported,
to be found.
New York
the pure
Dutch
prevailed, including
or in-
[126]
AMERICAN STYLES
The
here.
furniture of
New
England
is
typical of
most
made
hand
During the
first
we
Anglo-Dutch period,
though always lagging a few years behind the contemporary English fashions.
fid-
about 1730.
ing
this
Much
period
rush-bottomed
chairs, etc.
roundabout,
slat-
as well as
com-
with wings.
1740, and be-
1750 and 1775 American furniture-makproduced work that compared favorably with
Early Georgian
styles
that of England.
were
fol-
pendale vogue.
so soon after the
reached us
we
find a
[27]
di-
rectly
the
Windsor
chair.
sor chair,
development much
graceful.
to
The Windsor
chair flourished
in
many forms
from 1740
side-chairs
These variations
offer
it
made
dles.
of hickory, ash,
etc.,
The
The
legs
seats
Between 1790 and 1810 the Sheraton predominated, and it was a refining
and there was
also a not unsuccessful
attempt to
and
[128]
AMERICAN STYLES
principles.
and Sheraton
side-
marked
these
two decades
as
among
variations of this
1800-1830.
It
was made of
gilt,
light,
soft
and a
low back
It
slats or rungs.
was
that of Sheraton.
had
work
of Sheraton himself.
tions of the
Some
Empire possessed
most of
them did
seem
not.
They showed
a tendency to go to
The English
design-
to
have
absorb foreign
the carv-
elements.
ing coarse.
in
[129]
quagmire.
stock,
and
barrel.
was merely an
active
nowhere
else
distinction,
character,
and
This
is
Neither term
is
ac-
curately descriptive.
fersonian,
suggested Jefsuffice.
and
am
might not
Jefferson
was an amateur
artistic
architect
and something of
do
a leader in
How
much he had
to
to
it
was
much
as
do with
It was, quite
markedly,
a Jeffersonian period.
The
showed Empire
influ-
differed materially
from the
There
is
actually little in
common,
for example,
to 1820
AMERICAN STYLES
was more elegant than that of the next decade. It was a prolific period, and mahogany was plentiful.
for
an abundance of carving.
finials,
and
all
They were
styles of
rule,
and acanthus-leaf
The
It
gance and
mahogany, and
to
have been
weakening.
But with
;
we
love
it.
It
it
And
not infrequently
we
this furniture.
may
be traced.
Roll-
and
legs,
among
and
Some of
these
chairs were
birch,
made
popular
The
upon an
original in
the library of
Napoleon
at
Malmaison.
The
sofas were,
The
best of
them were
distin-
fol-
dolphins or cornucopias
feet in the
form of large
lions'
The curved
lines of legs
and
carving or none at
rolling
made by Duncan
Phyfe
Duncan
drop-
mahogany
One
of Phyfe's eight-legged sofas. The back panels are beautifully carved and the slight Owned by R. T. Haines Halsey, Esq. of the arms is most graceful.
swing
AMERICAN STYLES
The
tables of delicate Sheraton character gave
place to sewing-tables
carving appeared on
by claw
form,
if
or ball feet
an
not delicate.
Then came
scroll
With down
lars,
board became
extending to the
floor,
wood
or brass.
This
Below
two and
fitted
The cupboard
any veneering.
curved.
The
[135]
Only a moderate
as a rule. plainer.
It
board below.
Low
chests of drawers
in
and massive.
The
The
supports
curves,
Secretaries, or book-
Though
[136]
AMERICAN STYLES
some in the Jeffersonian period that were
fied,
rich, digni-
and
interesting.
if
The
executed,
forms which
and
rosettes.
The
pineapples be-
came
especially
popular after
1810.
Sometimes
somewhat meaningHead-boards
up
flowers,
and
twists, like
totem poles.
Sometimes the
sometimes not.
by a
tester;
oc-
in the acanthus
and
The
After
1820 a bedstead
an Empire derivation.
[137]
It
had a
rolling
During
who was
by
itself,
in
many
ways equals
aton.
signs on the
b}-
the best
Duncan Phyfe
Empire
own.
New York
the
worked out a
all his
He
to
He
New
From 1795
to
1818
1818
to be observed:
from 1830
the rest of
over-decorated
every way.
His mahogany
chairs, sofas,
and
tables
showed
re-
finish.
He
had
taste, restraint,
and
skill in carving.
He
employed the
lyre,
the
[138]
AMERICAN STYLES
acanthus, various
Adam and
and other
details
He
is
same wood.
In
as
worthy of study
as that
and
after
style
worthy of the
followed.
name.
Heavy
machine-made
things
and the
styles
promoted by Eastlake.
At
last
we seem
to
have
mean
advance, and
we have
The
ment
in
new
Renaissance.
THE END
[139]
Reigning
Sovereigns
I
Leading
Woods and
Materials
Chiefly oak, without varnish. Also and elm, beech, After chestnut. Edward IV, deal and cypress.
Craftsmen
English
I
Gothic Henry
to
100 to 1509
Henry VII
Early Tudor
1509 to 1558
Henry VIII
(1509-1547)
to
Henry
beech,
nut,
Edward VI
(1547^1553)
VIII
yew,
Mary
(1553-1558)
Elizabethan 1558 to 1603
Elizabeth (1558-1603)
Same
as
the
early
Tudor.
Jacobean
1603 to 1649
James
Inigo Jones,
architect.
Same
as Tudor.
Cromwellian
1649 to 1660
Commonwealth
(1649-1660)
Same
Charles II (166(^1684)
Walnut
following
James
II
(1684-1689)
Cane
work
and
upholstery.
[140]
Significant Pieces
Chests and coffers cupcabinets, arboards, moires, credences, buf;
Gothic survivals, including the linen-fold, with the Tudor rose and Italian Renaissance details added, also the cinquefoil and tongue of
flame.
Freer carving with more Italian and Flemish Renaissance details. Portrait medallions, heraldic motifs, diamond and lozenge panels, fruit and foHage. Bulb or melon form on
supports.
Long
refectory
tables,
More movable
lar.
still
ing
Turned
and
wainscot
Rounded arch, concentric circles and running figure eights. Arabesques and lunettes, semicircles filled
with petals.
lacking grace.
Heavy forms>
split balusters.
Turned work,
Solid chairs with padded leather seats and backs. Plain tables. Drawers added to cupboards and
chests.
Flemish
more some
tulip.
Italian, French, and influence. Furniture lighter and graceful. Elaborate pierced carving;
Carved
high
backed
inlay.
Scroll-work, cresting
crown and
of
tall
[141]
; ;
Significant Pieces
Variety of chairs, including roundabout. High
chest of drawers followed by highboy. Lowboys, tea and card tables,
shaped
underbracing,
square
touche, etc.
Transition from Queen Anne to Chippendale. Broken-arch pediment, urn, cabriole leg with ball-and-claw foot. Pierced splat.
Largely
the
same
as
Queen Anne.
Great
dale
fine cabinet work. ChippenFrench, Gothic, and Chinese details ribbon-back and ladder-back chairs bow top and pierced splat cabriole and square legs rococo and Chinese carving. Adam classic urn, details, slenderness, fine proportions carved wreath, oval sunburst, acanthus, fes-
variety,
Nearly
all
modern forms.
toon. Hepplewhite classic details husk inlay; shield-shaped, heart-shaped, and oval chair backs square legs and spade feet draped urn. Sheraton classic detals straight lines delicate proportions rectangular and round chair backs tapering, round, reeded legs, urn, vase, lyre, cornucopia, wreath, etc.
: ;
desks, tables, sideboards, dressing - tables, fourpost bedsteads, sofas, bureaus, secretaries, book-cases, mirrors, clock cases, bijou pieces,
cabinets,
etc.
Chairs,
[143]
TABULATED
Significant Pieces
Similar
variety.
to
the
English
more
florid.
Frangois
'
I Italian Renaissance adaptations. Fine carving, good workmanship. Carving more open than the Italian. Style becoming Turned legs and supports. less architectural. Henri II Added details in carving, including strap and band, pierced shield, arabesque, lozenge, cartouche. Later, shell and scroll carving, swags and garlands.
: :
Chests,
tables,
cabinets,
chairs,
followed
by
sofas,
divans, consoles,
More domestic
naissance
shell,
type.
Stately grandeur.
Re-
Chests,
cabinets,
tables,
survivals,
anthemion,
victor's
acanthus,
scroll,
arms,
palm.
Pedestal
Balanced de-
and sjonmetry.
[45]
Reigning
Sovereigns
Louis
Leading
Woods and
Materials
Craftsmen
Jean
ener,
Louis
XV
XV
Henri
Ries
1715 to 1774
(171S-1774)
cabinet-maker.
Juste
added.
lacquer
Chifol-
Aurele Meis
sonnier, designer.
lowed
by
vernis-
Charles Cressent,
designer.
and
tapestry.
Some
Jean Antoine
teau,
Wat
cane.
painter.
Francis Boucher,
painter.
Jacques CafEeri, metal worker. Simon Etienne and Robert Martin, lacquer.
Louis
XVI
Louis
XVI
Jean
ener,
Henri
1774 to 1793
(1774-1793)
cabinet-maker.
David Rontgen,
cabinet-maker.
and mahogany. Other woods gilded and enameled. Ormolu and bronze mounts. Tapestry upholstery. Cane;
inlay.
metal worker.
Empire
1799 to 1814
Napoleon
Emperor,
1802)
(Consul, 1799;
Mahogany,
al
solid
and
and
Fon-
mounts.
Also
taine, designers.
painted,
gilded,
bronzed,
and enam-
stery
silks,
of brocades,
and
velvets
in
strong colors.
[146]
Rococo predominating.
Same
Paintings of pastoral, Arcadian, and amatory Curved legs without underbracing. subjects.
Unbalanced
natural
details.
flowers
shell, the
and
Louis XIV, as with a greater variety of small cabinets and boudoir pieces.
broken
Simpler forms more grace restraint, daintiness and refinement. Excellent workmanlines and simple curves. ship. Straight
;
Chairs,
tables,
combu-
modes,
reaus,
cabinets, sofas,
consoles,
Straight legs, usually round and fluted; round or rectangular chair backs; fluted columns. Classic revival rococo dropped laurel and oak leaf, Greek band, medallions, musical instruments, Cupid's quiver, baskets and gar;
lands of flowers.
Imperial
formality.
mary
Greek
curves.
Curule
chairs,
square
tables,
console
and honeysuckle, winged figures, helmeted heads, trophies and weapons, lion's foot, letter N, sphinx.
fret
cabinets,
cases,
low-post
bookbed-
steads
[147I
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following
list
and
collector.
It includes the
Bajot, Ed.
Benn, H.
P.,
and
W.
C. Baldock.
Characteristics of
Old
Furniture.
Benn, R. Davis.
Blake, J.
P.,
Style in Furniture.
Binstead, Herbert E.
The Furniture
Styles.
and A. E. Reveirs-Hopkins.
Little
Books
W.
Antique Furniture.
Decorative Styles and Periods.
Jacobean Furniture.
Century.
Clifford, C. R.
Period Furnishings.
Clouston, K. Warren.
lish Furniture.
The Chippendale
Period in Eng-
Clouston, R. S.
XVI
Furniture.
Lady.
Eighteenth Century.
[149]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dyer, Walter A.
The Lure
of the Antique.
Dyer, Walter A.
Dyer, Walter A.
Eberlein,
Harold Donaldson, and Abbot McClure. The Practical Book of Period Furniture. Eberlein, Harold Donaldson. Interiors, Fireplaces, and
Furniture of the Italian Renaissance.
Gregory, E.
Jacquemart, Albert.
History of Furniture.
Lenygon, Francis.
1770.
1660 to
Lenygon, Francis.
1760.
Litchfield, Frederick.
Litchfield,
to
Frederick.
How
to
Collect
Old Furniture.
Lockwood, Luke
\'incent.
A
The
Colonial Furniture of
New
England.
MacQuoid, Percy. History of English Furniture. Mallet, W. E., and H. M. Brock. An Introduction
English Furniture.
to
Old
Moore, N. Hudson.
Northend,
ings.
The Old
Colonial
Furniture Book.
Mary H.
Furnish-
[150]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Parsons,
ples
Frank Alvah.
and
Practice.
Interior
Decoration
Its
Princi-
Pollen,
Ancient and
Modern Furniture
Robie, Virginia.
Robinson, Frederick
English Furniture.
Ancient Furniture.
Robinson, Vincent J.
Roe, Fred.
Saglio, Andre.
The Quest
of the Co-
Simon,
Constance.
English
Furniture.
Furniture
Designs
of
the
Eighteenth Century.
Singleton, Esther.
Singleton, Esther.
Singleton, Esther.
Singleton, Esther.
The Furniture of Our Forefathers. Thomas Arthur. English Furniture, Decoration, Woodwork, and Allied Arts. Strange, Thomas Arthur. An Historical Guide to French
Strange,
Interiors, Furniture, Decoration, etc.
Furnishing the
Home
of
Good
Taste.
[i;i]
INDEX
R. and J., n6-ii8 American Empire, 87, 125,
Adam,
Chairs:
126,
130
et seq. styles,
American
125 et seq.
Angelo, Michael, 13
Spanish Renaissance, 36
seq.
Tudor,
Bedsteads:
Gothic, 27, 28
Tudor, 44
Louis XIV, 52
Jacobean, 93
Cromwellian, 94
Restoration, 95-96
Empire, 84
Restoration,
99 Georgian, 122
Adam, 117-118
Hepplewhite, 118
Sheraton, 123
V^^indsor, 105, 125, 128 Early American, 127 Fancy, 129
Cabinets
Italian Renaissance, 14, 20
Gothic, 27
Gothic, 27
Tudor, 41
Louis XIV, 52
Caffieri, Jacques, 56, 58
Cassone, 22
Cellini,
Benvenuto, 14, 31
[153]
INDEX
Chippendale,
127
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, 47
Highboys, 109
Holbein, 37
Colonial, 125-126
Consoles, 33, 52
Correggio, 13
Cressent, Charles, 55-56
102, 109,
Intarsia, 19
Elizabethan, 43 Jacobean, 94
Jacobean period, 89
Jefferson,
et seq.
Thomas, 130
John of Padua, 37
da
V^inci,
Leonardo,
13, 31
Andrea,
13, 31
Lowboys, 109
104-
105,
in,
Marot, Daniel,
du Barry, Countess, 54
Dijrer, Albrecht, 35
Mounts, metal,
8x
80-
Elizabethan period, 42
et seq.
87,
125,
126,
Fontaine, Pierre, 79
Percier, Charles, 79
Philip of Orleans, 54
Georgian period,
Gothic, 26 et seq.
no
et seq.
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 14
Pompadour, Madame,
56, 57
46, 54-55,
[154]
INDEX
Queen Anne,
Renaissance
Italian, 11 et seq.
Tables
Continued)
Tudor,
Louis XVI, 71
French, 28
et seq.
Empire, 83-84
Jacobean, 93-94
Restoration, 96
German,
34, 35
et seq.
William and Mary, 102-103 Queen Anne, 106-107 American Empire, 135
Tapestries,
etc.,
20,
31,
3.
43,
Rococo,
Tudor
period, 37 et seq.
Vernis-Martin, 56-57
Vouet, Simon, 33
118,
121-122
116, 122-124,
56,
127-129
Sideboards, 118, 121, 135-136
Sofas, 33, 74, 132
Stools, 41, 43, 93
62
William and Mary, 100 et seq. Woods, use of, 17, 18, 27, 32, 34,
36,
42,
104,
52,
61,
70,
80,
95,
99,
105,
109,
110,
116,
Tables:
Italian
Renaissance, 21-22
Wren,
[155]
a vivid picture of the interesting personalities conceived and fashioned these things.
"There is something distinctly human," says the author in his introductory chapter, "about the development of the industrial arts; they touch life at so many points and so intimately; and the students and collectors of Americana have been, unconsciously perhaps, reconstructing for us a more living picture of the men and manners of a former time, and history is made thereby a more vital thing. The collector has ceased to be absorbed entirely by the quest for a bargain and has become a delver after human
facts."
written with the same charm and sympathy that the Antique," producing that background and atmosphere which lends significance and charm to the collector's quest.
is
The book
distinguished
"The Lure of
8vo,
350 pages
over
100
illustrations
Price
$2.50
353 Fourth
Avenue
City
New York
8vo,
$2.50
At
U KY
353 Fourth
K^KJ.
Avenue
City
New York
Helping
to
Make Houses
into
Homes
choice gift book, with decorative chapter headings, an unusually large number of illustrations from photographs, and diagrams showing floor plans, elevations, etc. quarto of 225 pages. Price, in a box, $^.oo.
THE HOUSE
A
TASTE
unique and delightful discussion of the problems of housefurnishing which come to every woman, whatever her environment or her income. Very charming, too, is the friendly autobiographical flavor which runs through all the pages. Four insets in color and forty-eight in black and white, showing interiors designed and carried out by Miss de Wolfe. Price $2.^0.
BY-PATHS IN COLLECTING
By Virginia Robie Every enthusiast over rare and unique things which have passed the century mark will want this book, with its wealth of reliable information. Charmingly made and illustrated. Price $2.50.
to the fascination of this genial book with its book to love for its beauty. Price $2.^0.
many
pic-
At
UKl
^53 Fourth
Avenue
City
New York
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