Seat furniture
Until the 17th century most seating was provided by the stool; box-settles were also common in wealthier households. Side chairs and armchairs were introduced in the 16th century and the settee in the mid-17th century; this evolved over the next 200 years into the fully upholstered sofa. The demand for comfortable seating increased throughout this period, with upholstery gradually
eclipsing wood carving and decoration, especially after the introduction of the coiled spring in the 1820s. Over the centuries seating has been profoundly influenced by a succession of styles and forms, from the extravagant Baroque to the austere Neoclassical, all of which have been revived by later generations of craftsmen. The interest in historical design continues to this day.
Stools
The stool has been in use for thousands of years, and was and is common in one form or another to all civilizations. Its often simple construction and its portability have ensured its lasting popularity. Until the 17th century, seat furniture with backs and arms was scarce, and the chair was reserved for the head of the household; most seating was provided by the stool.
17TH-CENTURY JOINED STOOLS
Inventories from the 17th century show that stools existed in large numbers and were reserved for members of the household who had sufficient status to sit at formal occasions. This hierarchy persisted in court circles well into the 18th century. Most stools found today were made from the 17th century onwards. As with all types of furniture, examples of stools before 1600 are rare and those that come onto the market can be valuable. The simple, pegged, oak stool with carved decoration is probably the most common type. Called a joined or joint stool, it was made by a joiner, with mortise-and-tenon joints secured by pegs. Although regional variations exist, the design was basically the same throughout Europe. Generally only those pieces that were well made in good-quality wood have survived, and many stools intended for everyday use have long since disappeared.
Joined stools could be extended in length to become benches and were occasionally made with a small drawer underneath the seat. Even at this early date they were often made in sets, a practice that was to become widespread in later centuries. Originally the seat would probably have been softened with a squab cushion but during the 17th century padding became an integral part of the stool as the demand for comfort increased.

LATER STOOLS Because stools were perennially popular they tended to keep up with fashion trends. In the late 18th century British stools were made after designs in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide ( 1788-94) by George Hepplewhite (d.1786) and French stools after designs by Pierre Fontaine (c.1762-1853) and Charles Percier (1764-1838), as well as those in Receuil de decorations interieures (1801-12). Shapes diversified as the interest in historical styles and forms, whether real or imaginary, took hold. For example, the X-frame form, first made in ancient Egypt and common in Europe during the Renaissance, was revived in Europe and North America during the early 19th century.
The 19th century saw an increased use of mechanization, which enabled carving to become extremely elaborate, and stools were made in a variety of bizarre forms with carved and moulded decoration. From the third quarter of the 19th century a new type of upholstered seating, the pouffe, was introduced. The upholsterer played an increasingly prominent role in furniture-making as comfort became an ever more important criterion.

•   COPIES OF JOINED STOOLS during the 1920s and 1930s
many copies were made of the joined stool; signs of a genuine example include wear in the right places, such as the stretchers; irregular pegs that stand proud due to shrinkage and are visible on both the inside and outside of the frame; “dry” wood underneath the seat
•   GEORGIAN STOOLS look at the colour of the wood under the seat rail (the drop-in seat should lift out) – this should be “dry” and unstained; exercise caution with small stools, which are popular with collectors – fakers may have used the front pair of legs from two damaged chairs and fixed them into a seat rail; check for odd proportions and for tops of legs hidden by the seat rail

Tags: 16th century, 17th century, 1820s, 18th c, 18th century, antiqu, antique, armchairs, Baroque, bloemenwerf, chair, Charles Percier, civilizations, construction, court circles, design, formal occasions, furniture, George Hepplewhite, interior, introduction, inventories, market, mortise and tenon, mortise and tenon joints, Neoclassical, ny, pegs, portability, quality wood, seating, settee, side chairs, stool, stools, upholstered sofa, Upholsterer, value of mahogany marble side tables, value of marble top dresser from the civil war, value of white chamber pot, value of william and mary butterfly table, value staffordshire engine turned redware teapots 18th , van de velde, venetian micromosaic mirror, vertical [pigeon holes, very plain 1950 jaeger lecoultre mantle clock, via francois linke (1855-1946): the belle epoque of fre, victorian baskets, victorian brass wine cellaret, victorian cedar drop leaf table, victorian chippendale style rococo legs, victorian courting chair, victorian dome revolving re serving dishes, victorian draw leaf table, victorian electroplate candlestick french sheffield, victorian high chest drawers dresser bureau art deco, victorian hinge topped chests of drawers, victorian kidney shaped dressing table with glass top, victorian mahogany case fusee boardroom clock, victorian reaissance revial credenza, wood carving
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Antique Furniture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.