Posts Tagged ‘antiques’

By the beginning of the 18th century earrings had become an essential form The girandole of adornment.
The girandole, first seen around the middle of the 17th century, remained the most popular type of earring. As we have seen, it consisted of a surmount, usually a bow motif, with three pear-shaped drops, the larger one at the centre, suspended from a hook. The hook allowed the drops to be detached, so that the surmount could be worn on its own when occasion required it.
There are several explanations for the popularity of the girandole. The first has to do with fashion in clothes and hair. During the 18th century hair was worn gathered up on the head away from the face, leaving the ears uncovered; and the low cut of dresses for formal occasions left the area around the neck and ears perfectly suited for adornment with earrings. Secondly, earrings and particularly girandoles exploited the qualities of faceted stones, especially diamonds, which had become plentiful after their discovery in Brazil in 1723; before that the supply had been limited to the mines of Golconda in India. Also significant was the improvement in techniques for cutting diamonds: around 1700 it is thought that the Venetian Vincenzo Peruzzi devised the brilliant-cut, a cut that enhanced the optical properties of diamonds, enabling the stone to reflect light and sparkle at its best. The new brilliant-cut diamonds were particularly successful when mounted on girandole earrings with the stones hanging freely on both sides of the face and catching the light. Thirdly, improved domestic candles meant that more social occasions could be held at night, and in these circumstances sparkling diamond-set jewels and especially girandoles were particularly effective. Until the mid-18th century, jewellery was set solely with diamonds. For formal evening occasions, diamond girandole earrings were all the rage, while during the day girandoles set with more sober semiprecious stones such as garnets, cornelians, pearls, aventurine glass and pastes were preferred. For the first time in the history of jewellery a differentiation was made between day-time and night-time jewels, a distinction which remains to this day.
The girandole remained the favoured type of earring throughout the 18th century and in general terms its basic elements — the bow surmount and drops, the emphasis on width rather than length and the practice of wearing matching bodice ornaments called sevignes — are features which had been common since the 17th century. There are, however, certain small differences. The early 18th-century girandole may be distinguished from its 17th-century counterpart mainly by its emphasis on the faceted stones rather than on the setting and enamel-work; in the 17th century the setting was decorated at the front and back with polychrome enamels and engravings, but towards the end of that century enamel-work and engraving were confined to the back and disappeared completely at the beginning of the 18th.
Elements remaining from the 17th century include the rather stiff design with the clearly defined bow and drops as separate units, and the pronounced horizontal de-Engraved design of the ‘Principes de Girandoles’ by L. Van der Cruycen, 1770, showing the proportions of a girandole earring.
Engraved designs for three pearl girandole earrings by L. Van der Cruycen, 177o. The central motifs are flower sprays.
velopment, stressing width rather than length. Such features are clearly visible in the designs engraved by Quien dated 1710 and published posthumously in London in 1762, especially the stiffness of the design, the drops treated as separate elements, the horizontality and the interest in the faceted stone.
Girandoles were popular throughout Europe at the beginning of the i 8th century, but there are small differences which betray their country of origin. In France they were set entirely with diamonds and were characterized by a sense of movement and sculptural quality. In Spain they were sturdier and set typically with a combination of emeralds and diamonds, a fact explained by the relatively easy supply of emeralds from mines in Colombia, which belonged to Spain. Portuguese girandoles were characterized by simple and flat lines and were usually set with topazes and chrysoberyls from Brazil, then a Portuguese colony. In the Adriatic regions and especially Southern Italy girandoles were given bold outlines and were frequently set with seed pearls as opposed to gemstones.
Girandoles of the second half of the 18th century show some slight changes. In France, particularly, they were no longer set only with diamonds but with a combination of diamonds and coloured gemstones such as rubies. Secondly, they gradually develop a more vertical outline with a more elongated central drop, noticeable in the Italian designs of circa 177o and exemplified by the proportions set out in the Principes de Giraindoles designed and engraved by Van der Cruycen in 1770. And thirdly, the basic bow surmount is frequently replaced by a more complex arrangement, for example the combination of ribbon bow and flower spray motif seen in the ruby and diamond girandoles and in Pouget’s designs for girandoles, dated 1762. One of his pages, for instance, shows six different designs for girandoles. The four set with pearls display intricate motifs in the centre other than bows: a floral motif, two hearts, paired doves and a trophy of love with two hearts and arrows. The characteristic intricacy of the central element is evident also in the emerald and diamond examples from Spain; the centre in the form of a flowerhead cluster is set with a large emerald in a border of rose diamonds framed by diamond-set foliate spray motifs. The other typical feature of late i 8th-century girandoles is the working together of the surmount and drops into much more of an ensemble, compared to the early girandoles where they are treated as separate units.
Most girandoles were quite large, and weight was an important aspect which should not be overlooked. It depended on two features, the size of the earring and the setting of the stones. Gemstones were commonly mounted in closed settings with collets closed at the back, which were lined with coloured foils to enhance the colour of the stones and improve the evenness of colour; in the case of diamonds, foils gave a subtle hue to the stones. Gold was used to set coloured stones while silver was normally used to set diamonds, as it suited their whiteness. So much metal was used in the setting that the earrings were inevitably very heavy, something which is stressed by the designer and engraver Augustin Duflos in the ‘Discours Preliminere’ to his
P 56 Recueil des Dessins, published in 1744. The need to alleviate the weight of girandole earrings led to the introduction of a special fitting, consisting of penannular wire hinged on one side to be inserted from back to front into the pierced earlobe. An additional loop soldered off-centre at the top held a ribbon secured to the hair, taking some of the weight off the ears. The Spanish emerald and diamond girandoles illustrated here are approximately 39 grams; today an average of about 22 grams per earring is reckoned to be as heavy as a woman can comfortably wear.
Tolerance of heavy earrings depends, of course, on how long they are worn, how much movement is involved and how the weight is distributed. When the weight of a long earring is concentrated in a small area, it will feel much heavier than when the
P 57 same weight is spread over a larger surface, as in the case of a disc. Duflos mentions this problem of weight. ‘Ladies’, he says, ‘are the principal objects of the Jeweller’s Art, who mainly devotes his work to them. If this work, by chance, falls under their hands, it might perhaps bring them back to noble and simple taste, better suited in differentiating them and in showing their natural graces than the glittering display that has been favoured for some time. Then they will reduce, by their own accord, the enormous size of Flowers and Girandole Earrings, which tires the ears and they will prefer beautiful diamonds, although smaller in size, to a disorderly cluster of small stones which add up to a lot of weight and are ill suited.’
The pendeloque
Another type of earring which became popular in the second half of the i 8th century,
P. 52, 53 although it was well established fifty years earlier, was the pendeloque. Its design is
characterized by a marquise-shaped surmount supporting a central ribbon bow motif
and an elongated drop of a design similar to the surmount, frequently decorated with
P. 57 a swing centre. Variations include one model which has a more elaborate central sec-
tion with a combination of bow and floral spray motifs, and pear-shaped drops. The
pendeloque seems to have come into fashion because its elongated outline counter-balanced the extreme height of hairstyles around the 1770s. This style reached its peak among the upper classes in 1778. A pad made of wool, hemp and wire was placed on the head and either natural or horse hair with pomade and powder was stretched over. They must have been extremely uncomfortable and unhygienic, since they were often kept in place for weeks at a time, becoming breeding grounds for lice and fleas; furthermore, they were highly impractical, obstructing one’s view and making it difficult to fit into a coach. Caricaturists showed servants employed to hold up the weight of the hair, or attending to their mistress’s hair from ladders, and ladies travelling in carriages with the roof opened up for the high coiffures to stick out. But comfort was not the main concern of the fashionable lady; she delighted in the way the sweeping high line of her hair was perfectly counterbalanced by the elongated drops of her pendeloque earrings.
Most of the pendeloques were set with diamonds but few have survived, since the settings were melted down and the stones reset. The great majority of extant examples are set with colourless pastes or crystals such as white topazes and rock crystal imitating diamonds. The interest in imitation diamonds is typical of the 18th century; and paste jewellery of this period can be considered the forerunner of modern luxury costume jewellery. Another favourite type of pendeloque besides those set with dia-P 49 monds or pastes is the one with a pear-shaped pearl drop usually set as a swing centre in a diamond-set frame. In design books one frequently finds variations of girandoles
P 57 and pendeloques illustrated together. In those of Quien (dated 1710) and Saint (dated 1759), there are engravings of three variations of girandoles and six slightly differing pendeloques all on the same page. Similarly, in the designs of Maria, active 1751-70, eight variations of girandoles and three pendeloques are depicted.
Pendeloques were set in much the same way as girandoles with the stones mounted in closed collets, but they were lighter, having a single drop from the bow surmount instead of three. This explains why one frequently finds a different fitting; instead of the hook with additional loop to alleviate the weight, there is a plain long S-shaped wire hook soldered to the surmount of the earrings. This is clearly depicted in some coloured designs of pendeloques (1760-70) by an anonymous Italian jeweller, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The ‘two-stone’ earring
Another popular mid to late 18th-century earring is the type known as the ‘two-stone’ earring. This consists of two large oval faceted gemstones, the larger one on top, with the plane joining the two embellished with various decorative motifs. The simplest version of this decoration comprises just two small lozenge-shaped stones filling in the gaps at the sides where the two larger stones meet; the more elaborate type, as seen in Duflos’ engraved designs of 1744, presents lateral floral and foliate spray motifs. This type of earring was suited for the display of large and important stones, especially diamonds, but hardly any examples have survived, because such large and important stones tend inevitably to be reset in more up-to-date settings. The extant examples mostly contain pastes and garnets and have survived because there was no advantage in melting them down and resetting the gemstones. Nevertheless even the low value ‘two-stone’ earrings are very attractive: a pair set with translucent blue opaline paste may be seen in the Museum of London; it is also interesting to note how sometimes the simple ‘two-stone’ motif is repeated to form a necklace usually worn en suite with the earrings.
From the 18th century onwards, girandoles and pendoloques continued in favour, though modified as one could expect to meet changing tastes. One finds a variation of the girandole in the I 83os and again in the late 1920s, while the pendeloque enjoyed particular favour in the 18 2os and 18 8os.
A lasting tradition
In certain peripheral areas, however, fashion evolves more slowly than in courtly and
international circles, and the form of the girandole and the pendeloque has remained
p. 63 virtually unchanged from the 18th century to modern times. This can clearly be seen
in provincial jewellery of the Iberian peninsula where one finds a recurring girandole
design: a central stylized bow motif with three pear-shaped drops, pierced in gold
Engraved designs by J. D. Saint, for three girandoles and two pendeloque earrings, 1759.
Two types of earring dominate the i 8th century: the pendeloque and the ,irandole. pendeloque earrings had been ;n favour since the early part of the century, but their greatest popularity came in the 177os. Their basic design consisted of a circular or oval surmount supporting an elongated drop which counterbalanced the excessively high hairstyles of that time. The pair shown here represent one of the commonest of ,he many variants. A diamond and pearl cluster supports a diamond ribbon bow motif suspended with a pear-shaped diamond drop with a pearl swing centre.
decorated with small rose diamonds. Dating these earrings can be problematic. Earlier examples have engraved scrolling on the back, while later ones are stamped out from a die and are coarser in appearance. They are frequently accompanied by a bodice ornament of ribbon bow known as a ‘lava’ which derives from the traditional s6vign6. These Iberian examples are not particularly heavy, having pierced mounts and being set with fewer stones; this explains the fitting which, unlike the conventional i 8th-century girandole, consists of a gold hinged hook which is inserted into the ear from back to front without any additional supporting device.
Other pendeloques follow closely the traditional i 8th-century prototypes. Some have a ribbon bow and pear-shaped drop, others a much more elongated pendant, as long as 8 cms. A typical Portuguese earring derived from the pendeloque is the Brincos a Rainha’, ‘Queen’s earring’. It has a bow surmount and a swing centre, but the drop is usually wider and stones are replaced by faceted gold bead motifs. All our examples are made from a sheet of high carat gold (usually 20 carat) from which the design has been cut out by means of a saw and file, producing a lace-like effect. Inlays were skilfully chiselled by hand and the collets that were placed round the stones, usually rose diamonds, were made separately and embellished by the burin. Later examples in the 19th century were frequently cast in the chosen shape and then finished with the chisel and burin.
In another area of the Iberian peninsula centred around Catalonia, during the late i 8th century, the girandole was the inspiration for the design of the extremely popular ‘Catalan earring’, which remained in vogue virtually unmodified up to the end of the 19th century. Unlike the Portuguese examples, Catalan earrings are extremely long and resemble later 8th-century Spanish girandoles. They are mounted with an abundance of gemstones in closed settings and chased mounts. The stones are never diamonds but semiprecious stones such as hessonite garnets and amethysts. The central ribbon bow motif is greatly stylized, the emphasis being on length rather than width, and all the elements are integrated into the overall design. Some examples have a very large central drop flanked by two smaller ones, thus retaining the structure of the girandole, while others have only a single large drop and are closer in conception to the pendeloque. The long popularity of this type of earring in Catalonia is demonstrated by numerous surviving examples and by its frequent appearance even in i 9th-century portraits, e.g. , the Flower Woman from Valencia by Joaquim Argasot y Juan. The sitter is wearing typical Catalan earrings mounted in gold with dark green gemstones, the usual stylized ribbon bow surmount suspending three drops-, they are so long that they nearly rest on the shawl draped over the woman’s shoulders. Indeed, these Catalan earrings could measure up to 14 cms and were often so heavy that they had to be supported by an additional hook placed over the ear. Sidney Churchill, in an article on ‘Peasant Jewellery’ published in The Studio, mentions the practice of alleviating the weight of a heavy earring by means of a ribbon tied round the ear, which he saw in Nicosia as late as 19 12.

Art Nouveau Austrian Furniture: DISPLAY CABINET, DISPLAY CABINET, VIENNESE SERVING TABLE, CIRCULAR TABLE, BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD, LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS, BENTWOOD CHAIR, FOOTSTAND

ART NOUVEAU AUSTRIA
VIENNA WAS PARTICULARLY receptive
to the desire for innovation that swept across Europe in the last 25 years of the 19th century. This recognition of the need for change signalled the approaching demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed at the end of World War 1. Austria founded her own distinctive version of Art Nouveau, and established a new set of stylistic ideals.
The Vienna art establishment was challenged by a group of artists, architects, and designers, who, in 1897, founded the “Secession” under
the chairmanship of Gustav Klimt. This movement protested against the conservative teachings of its masters and campaigned for modernity,
heralding the beginning of one of Austria’s most creative periods.
BOLD DESIGNS
Sculptors and artists were active in the Secession, as were the architects and interior designers Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and Josef Maria Olbrich, and furniture designers Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. This enterprising group created bold furniture designs
for the new century. The Secessionists rejected the flamboyant naturalism of French Art Nouveau, preferring the linear furniture designs created by
the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (see pp..364-65), who was widely admired in Vienna. Austrian designers were more influenced by the British Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century than by French or Belgian Art Nouveau.
NATURAL INSPIRATION
The Secessionists were inspired by the geometry of nature. The curving,
sinuous plant forms popular with the French and Belgian Schools were rejected in favour of rectangles and squares. The Secessionists based their designs on a spare, geometric style, using simple shapes and linear patterns and new materials such as plywood, aluminium, and bent beechwood. Their furniture was designed for uncluttered interiors.
KEY FIGURES
The most distinguished Secessionists were Josef Hoffmann and Koloman
Moser, co-founders of the Wiener Werkstatte in 1903. Hoffmann created a purer, more linear version of the Art Nouveau style producing furniture in a simple, geometric form that was elegant and restrained, thereby forging a link between Art Nouveau and Modernism. Hoffmann was a designer for the firm established by the German,
Michael Thonet (see below).
More colourful than most Viennese furniture of the time, Kolomon Moser’s tables, cabinets, and chairs were linear but lavishly embellished. In fact,
decoration often took precedence over form, with luxurious woods, such as rosewood, used for veneers and decorative inlays.
ADOLF LOOS
The architect Adolf Loos was a key member of the Secessionist movement. Better known for his philosophical writings than his buildings, Loos wrote an essay, “Ornament and Crime”, in which he opposed the highly decorative style of Art Nouveau. Instead, he advocated that reason, not passion, should determine the way that people designed.
The Secessionist’s linear, geometric interpretation of Art Nouveau paved the way for the geometric shapes and spare style later favoured by the
Bauhaus and the Modern movement of the 1930s.
The embossed panels with
harpist and knight moths
were inspired by Klimt.
The case is oak, furnished and polished. with maple inlays.
The panels of the glazed door forma geometric pattern with the low shelf.
DISPLAY CABINET
This mahogany display cabinet is part of a dining-room set designed by Otto Wytrlik of Vienna. Note the straight lines of the design and the simple veneered walnut finish and brass fittings. c.1901.
DISPLAY CABINET
This oak cabinet was made in Vienna. It is almost square in shape and rests on a framed plinth. The glazed central door is flanked by flat-panel doors with geometric-pattern oak figuring and maple inlays. The open shelf in
the centre is flanked by brass panels embossed with a scene depicting a harpist and a knight. The design of these panels was influenced by Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. The embossed panels were probably created for this piece by Klimt’s brother, Georg. c.1905-10.
VIENNESE SERVING TABLE
This serving table is made of stained oak with brass handles. It has a removable top with glass inlay, and hinged sides with facetted glass panels to allow access to the shelves. c.1905.
CIRCULAR TABLE
This small, circular topped, beech bentwood table is of a very simple design with no additional decoration. It has two circular undertiers, and the piece stands on slightly splayed supports.
BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD
Designed by Adolf Loos, this functional cupboard is made from softwood, painted black and then varnished. It has distinctive twin two-over-three glazed doors and brass hardware. c.1908.
Wall mirror This piece is made from carved bentwood to create a simple, elegant effect. The wood has been steamed and then bent into shape, and this technique is a hallmark of Thonet’s furniture.
LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS
This round table and chairs were designed
and made by the company of Portois & Fix in
Vienna. The chairs are made of larch wood and the backs are carved in an elaborate floral pattern. The seats are upholstered in a floral
fabric. The table is made of nut wood, with a red-brown leather skiver on the top. The profiled legs are decorated with floral carving, and there is a shelf about halfway down the legs. All of the pieces bear the manufacturer’s stamp. c.1900-05.
BENTWOOD CHAIR
Armchair “No.25″, made by Mundus of Vienna, is made of dark-brown stained beech, with an open backsplat decorated with stylized, scrolling plant stems and a canework seat. c.1910.
FOOTSTAND
This three-legged footstand was designed by Adolf Loos. It has a mahogany-stained, beach top, which is carved into a bowl shape. The piece stands on splayed mahogany legs. c.1905.
In his small furniture workshop, Michael Thonet perfected the bentwood technique – marrying forward-looking, elegant design with industrial production – that ultimately exploded on the international stage. In 1849, Thonet established the Gebruder Thonet company, setting up a host of factories across Eastern Europe. In the following decades the company achieved tremendous growth and success as it paved the way for the industrial mass production of functional, inexpensive and robust furniture that contributed to the fashion for minimal ornamentation.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Thonet’s signature bentwood furniture
with its sinuous, elegant curves inspired a number of celebrated Art Nouveau architects and designers, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Henry van de Veldc. The reputation of the Thonet Brothers attracted a collection of visionary talents who designed furniture for the firm, among them one of the pioneering founders of the Wiener Werkstatte Josef Hoffmann, along with Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Koloman Moser, and Otto Prutscher.
GEBRUDER THONET
IN AUSTRIA, THE EVOLUTION OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE OWES MUCH
TO THE TRAILBLAZING DESIGNS OF CRAFTSMAN MICHAEL THONET.
Gebruder Thonet catalogue The catalogue for L`industrie Thonet bears the subtitle “From handcraftsmanship to mass production: bentwood furniture.”
Gueridon This small table is made of beech wood and consists of a plain top above an ornate bentwood base, decorated with oval motifs.

Antiques Recently Found on Antcollectors (2)  Russian Furniture

FROM THE 18TH CENTURY, Russia had
been turning her attention to the West for cultural inspiration, and this continued in the opening decades of the 19th century. However, unlike elsewhere in Europe, the Empire style did not make inroads through the imposition of a member of Bonaparte’s family or through French control.
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 had devastated the land, yet the period is marked by a flowering of the arts and economic recovery. Indeed, the Mikhailovsky, Winter, and Yelagin palaces were supplied with important Empire-style suites during the reign of Tsar Alexander I (1801-25).
FOREIGN INFLUENCE
Since the time of Catherine 11 (r.1762-96), furniture had been imported from Western Europe, particularly France, but also Britain and Germany. Architects, too, were brought over. By the time of Alexander I (r.1801-25), architects such as the Swiss, Thomas de Thomon, and the Italians, Carlo Rossi and Giacomo Antonio Domenico Quarenghi, were introducing the strict Neoclassical style prevalent elsewhere in Europe. They continued the work of Rastrelli, Rinaldi, and the Scot, Charles Cameron, in the urban development of St Petersburg and its outlying palaces.
They provided designs for local craftsmen, which were also taken up by local architects, such as Zacharov.
The furniture for the White Hall of the Mikhailovsky Palace was designed by Rossi and supplied by the Russian Bobkov brothers. Architectural in
detail and conception, the pieces epitomized French style and were covered in wreaths, rosettes, and other Empire motifs.
Pavlovsk Palace was rebuilt by the Russian architect, Andrei Voronikhin, after extensive damage
during the Napoleonic
wars. He was also a
consummate designer
of furniture. One particular chair –made for the Tsar’s summer residence, Tsarkoye Selo, in 1804 – is often associated with his name. It has sphinx monopodiae legs that rise, uninterrupted, into the winged arm supports. Not only does this chair demonstrate the vogue for Empire furniture and ancient Egyptian motifs, but it anticipates Biedermeier chairs, which conceal the link between the arm and the leg.

Russian furniture; England, especially the designs of Thomas Sheraton, also played an important part.
NATIVE TIMBERS
Much fine Russian furniture of this period, with its simplicity, symmetry, and love of boil clairs, is difficult to distinguish from Central European pieces. Mahogany was probably imported, but birch came from the forests near Karelia in Finland. Poplar, olive wood, and sandalwood were also fashionable, as were inlays in contrasting stones. The
marble was often Russian,
such as that from Siberia
or the famous green malachite, which could be cut into such thin veneers that it was used on curved surfaces.
METAL FURNITURE
Timber was frequently gilded and patinated to simulate metal, particularly bronze, but some furniture was also made in metal. A rich tradition of steel furniture was produced by the Arsenal at Tula, and some pieces were made entirely of gilt-bronze. Gueridons might be entirely metal, sometimes
with malachite tops and in-curved supports with eagles’ heads. One of the most lavish gilt-bronze items was the dressing table supplied to the
Mikhailovsky Palace. With a blue smalt (silica glass) table top, the piece is a riot of antique motifs, from sphinxes to cornucopiae
STYLISTICDIVERSITY
After the mid 1820s, the Neo-Gothic style became fashionable, along with a plethora of other revivalist styles,
including Rococo. Later, in the second quarter of the 19th century, furniture designers began to look back to Russia`s own traditions and folklore for
inspiration, designing pieces a la ruse. These modes were popularized by architects such as A. Staken-Schneider, and the Tour furniture shop. Typical chairs with pierced, rounded backs survive in the dining room at the Arkangelskoe, near Moscow. The design is thought to reflect traditional 17th-century Russian architecture.

GOTHIC SIDE TABLE
This Gothic-style side table is made of silver alloy and has a veined white marble top. The frieze is designed to look like a series of Gothic ogee arches: these are decorated with acanthus leaves and have a trefoil set
within each lunette. The corners of the frieze are embellished with foliate capitals set on slender quatrefoil column stems. The table stands on a rectangular base plinth decorated with an elaborate lattice of quatrefoils.
Lacquered brass decoration adds colour to an otherwise austere-looking piece. c.1820.
CENTRE TABLE
This centre table is made of birch. The circular marble top has a raised rim and reeded edge above a chamfered frieze. The table top is raised on a leaf-clasped column with three anthropomorphic legs and paw feet with sunken casters. Early 19th century.
NEOCLASSICAL CONSOLE TABLE
This Empire console table has a rectangular marble top above a richly carved frieze with a stylized rosette at each corner. Each of the four legs is a carved monopodia surmounted by a female head. Early 19th century.

MAHOGANY-FRAMED SOFA
CONSOLE DESSERT
Scroll-carved terminal
This sofa has an ornately scrolled top rail carved with anthemion motifs and downswept solid arms with scroll-carved terminals. The seat and back are upholstered and are raised on sabre front and rear legs. Early 19th century.
This gilt-bronze and brass-mounted mahogany demi-lune console dessert has an upper section with three tiers, each with pierced galleries, and a frieze with brass fluted stiles. The columnar supports are joined by a tiered platform stretcher on block feet. Early 19th rentury.
EMPIRE ARMCHAIR
This mahogany and ormolu-mounted armchair has a rectangular panelled top rail above a pierced back splat with military motifs. The chair has distinctive sphinx-head monopodia legs, and the wings of the sphinxes form the arm supports. Early
19th century. Bk
MAHOGANY ARMCHAIRS
These mahogany chairs have carved top rails and leather-upholstered seats and backs. The armrests and arm supports are formed from one sweeping curve. The tapering seat is supported on a straight seat rail. The chairs are decorated with brass inlay throughout and supported on sabre legs.

Antiques Recently Found on Antcollectors (3) - Scandinavia

THE GREAT BRITISH VICTORIES of Abukir
(1798) and Trafalgar (1805), which opened up trade along the North Sea coastline, suggest that sympathy for Britain and British design could be evident in Scandinavian furniture. This was not always the case. Denmark and Sweden’s ambivalence to France encouraged the British Prime Minister, Pitt, to destroy the Danish fleet and bombard Copenhagen, creating much animosity towards the British. This affected trade and shipping and left the Danish-Norwegian economy at the point of bankruptcy in 1813.
So, although there are traces of British Neoclassicism in early 19th-century Scandinavian furniture, it was often due either to the residual effect of late 18th-century design, or it had filtered through the influence of north German cabinet-making.
The one positive outcome of these hostilities was that local craftsmen were protected from British competition and were encouraged to develop their own workshops and styles. As in the rest of Europe, the Empire style predominated, although it had marked local characteristics.
DANISH EMPIRE
A traditional preference for simplicity, and the need for frugality as a result of war and financial hardship, gave rise to a version of the prevailing French style called Danish Empire, which was taken up by three of the Scandinavian countries. Although mahogany was
favoured, and was used in the larger, wealthier cities, it was difficult to obtain due to war. As a result, the Danish Empire style made use of light local woods, such as alder, maple, ash, and birch, which could be polished to look like satinwood. Mahogany furniture did reappear after 1815, and was generally veneered on pine rather than oak pieces.
Danish furniture was often inlaid with contrasting woods, such as citrus, rather than having ormolu mounts. Inlaid lunettes and arched details were popular, as was the occasional pressed brass or giltwood detail.
One of the most distinctive chairs produced in Denmark was the klismos chair, designed by Nicolai Abilgaard in 1800 and now in the Copenhagen
Museum of Decorative Arts. Similar
to a chair later designed by the sculptor Hermann Freund (now in the Fredericksborg Castle), it mimics the ancient Greek original.
The Danish custom of using one room as a combined dining room, drawing room, and study at this time resulted in some unique types
of furniture. One of these, the Chatol, consisted of a cylinder bureau with a retractable writing slide, surmounted by cupboards for storing cutlery and glassware. Another was a divan, which had cupboards in the sides.
HETSCH STYLE
In Denmark, the Neoclassical style lasted into the 1840s, thanks to the late Empire style popularized by Gustav Friedrich Hetsch. Hetsch had studied with Charles Percier in Paris earlier in the century, returning to Copenhagen to direct the porcelain factory. He was also a designer and his works were often scholarly reproductions of antique prototypes. This style, which favoured the use of carved appliques and mouldings over mounts, is sometimes confusingly called Christian VIII after the Danish king who reigned from 1839 to 1848.
SWEDEN
Sweden was slightly more francophile in its tastes than Denmark, particularly in Court circles. The furniture in the Yellow Room at Rosendal Castle in Stockholm, created for the king in the 1820s, is closer to true French Empire style than any furniture produced in Scandinavia during the early 19th
century It was designed by Lorenz Wilhelm Lundelius, the leading craftsman in Stockholm.
A famous secretaire, made by Johan Pettey Berg in 1811, demonstrates how Swedish cabinet-makers absorbed German heaviness, combined it with Empire motifs (such as white marble pilasters), and added the occasional British reference, such as the Sheraton-inspired inlaid shell.
The Hetsch style eventually arrived in Sweden, but it did not become dominant because Neo-Gothic had taken hold there quite early Indeed, by 1828, there was already a room decorated in the Gothic style in the Royal palace in Stockholm.

BIEDERMEIER LOVE SEAT
This mahogany, Biedermeier-style love seat has a solid, rectangular form with outswept arms. The back and sides of the seat have brass-moulded panels and fan spandrels. The arms have rosette terminals and mahogany
facings. The seat rail has brass mounts and is supported on verdigris brackets, carved in the shape of drapery. The piece terminates in massive gilt and verdigris claw-and-ball front feet. The love seat has an upholstered back, sides, and seat. Early 19th century.

SWEDISH SECRETAIRE
The tall, flame-veneered case of this Swedish Empire secretaire has tapering sides. The upper section of the case has a fall front positioned beneath a shallow drawer. The lower section consists of three graduated drawers; the bottom
drawer has a cut-away arched shape. The piece is raised on rectangular block feet. This secretaire is made in the style of furniture from towards the end of the period and is a move away from the Empire style. It was possibly made by J.C. Reher. 1841.

DANISH ARMCHAIR
The substantial hooped-back, upholstered backrest of this mahogany armchair is raised on curved supports. The upholstered seat has square, tapered legs at the front and sabre legs at the rear. Early 19th century.
EVE LATE GUSTAVIAN ARMCHAIR
This Swedish gilt-and-painted armchair has an upholstered seat and back, a curved top rail with lion’s head terminals, and carved, down-sweeping arms. The padded seat is supported on a carved seat rail and is raised on turned and fluted legs at the front and sabre legs at the rear. Early 19th century.
LADY’S WORKTABLE
This late Gustavian Swedish worktable has an oval, galleried top above a single frieze drawer. The table top is supported on tapering legs terminating in brass caps and casters and joined by a shaped cross-stretcher.

Clocks
Humankind has always been able to follow the passage of time through observing the sun, moon, and stars. They saw the seasons come and go and noted the phases of the tides of the sea. The regularity of these was recognised thousands of years ago and calculations of time were based upon them.
Humankind started from those phenomenon that were most readily apparent: the month, the year, and the rhythm of day and night. The month is based on the waxing and waning of the moon, and the year and day and night on the rising and setting of the sun. Other astronomical observation are also useful for measuring time.
Hence the ancient Egyptians made a link between the annual flooding of the Nile and the rise of the brightest star, Sirius. We still make wide use of units of time that resulted from these observations. The division of the year into twelve months is due to the prior existence of twelve star signs.
The Egyptian year was 360 days because a circle was divided into 360 degrees. The Egyptians had to add five days on to each year to make it fit. Even the division of the day into 24 hours has its roots in antiquity and has held firm since ancient times.
The only attempt to decimalise time happened during the French Revolution. Experts have failed in their attempts to develop a better system.
The western calendar is determined by time and the sun but this is not true of the entire world. The Islamic world has a moon calendar.
Mechanical clocks, invented in the late 13th century, and watches, first made at the end of the 16th century, are among the most fascinating of antiques. This is in no small part due to the numerous innovations and improvements introduced to their mechanisms for keeping accurate time, particularly since the 17th century. Their attraction, like that of related instruments such as barometers (for recording atmospheric pressure), thus resides to a large extent in our enduring appreciation of technological ingenuity, although on a more fundamental level it also stems from the near-universal preoccupation with the passing and recording of time. However, clocks and watches also have tremendous decorative appeal; for example, many pocket watches and wristwatches are sought after as much as for the qualities of their design as for the accuracy of their time-keeping. Similarly, most types of clock – including wall, longcase, bracket, and carriage, to name a few – display the skills not only of the clockmaker, but also of the cabinet-maker, polisher, engraver, brass caster, and dial painter. Such timepieces can therefore be appreciated in much the same way as a piece of furniture, or even a painting. Indeed, some of the more elaborate examples have been described as mechanical pictures.
Measuring time
The attraction of clocks lies in the combination of mechanical and aesthetic form. In our current age we are almost always aware of the precise time and the radio news is generally broadcast precisely on the hour. Because we take the measurement of time for granted it is probably difficult for us to understand its importance.
Well-to-do families by the late nineteenth century probably had a clock in every room in the house and each adult probably had a pocket watch. Before the railways made national time a necessity, every clock was adjusted to local time.
The clocks and watches were mainly set by the local church clock, which was in turn set according to a sun dial.
Measurement of time with a mechanical clock as we know them is relatively recent but there were forerunners of our clocks. The best-known is the sun dial that was probably discovered by the Sumerians who also observed the sun, moon, and stars, just like the ancient Egyptians.
The simplest sun dial is a stick placed in the ground. They also discovered that a sun dial can only provide accurate time when it is known precisely when the sun is due south.
From this followed the discovery that the position of the shadow depended on the position of the sun, which varied at different times of the year. In about 1000 BC the Chinese discovered that it is better to place the indicating arm of a sun dial at an angle and at right angles to the plane representing the supposed daily travel of the sun around the earth.
In reality the indicator is positioned parallel to the earth’s axis. Although small errors can occur, these discoveries made the sun dial a very reliable means of measuring time.
This meant that seafarers needed to take account of the place where they were with their sun instrument. The sextant developed gradually into a complex instrument that is still widely used to this day throughout the world. A water clock was used in ancient Mesopotamia to measure time. A container was specially constructed so that the water it held ran out slowly. A scale on this container (or the one into which the water flowed) indicated how much time had passed. It was later realised this could be indicated by means of a pointer and also that the flow of water could be used to power a mechanism.
The hourglass filled with sand is based on the same principle. It may seem strange but the first hourglasses were not made until the fifteenth century. Only then had glassblowing reached such a level in which the hourglass could be accurately made.
The sun dial was the most reliable timepiece for a very long time and the arrival of mechanical timepieces did not instantly make them redundant, since the mechanical clocks were far from accurate. Because the angle of the earth’s axis with the sun varies during the year, sun dials are also not always precisely correct. Hence a mechanism was needed that was entirely independent of the apparent movement of the sun, leading to clock mechanism.
The history of clocks runs through a never-ending series of improvements in order to sub-divide time into increasingly uniform units. All clocks rely upon the creation of a motion that is constant. Considerable effort was required to reach this situation.
Mechanical clocks
It is unknown when the first mechanical clocks were made but it is certain that clocks were being made in fourteenth century Europe. The first clocks probably came from northern Italy.
These were clocks in churches and cloisters that were driven by weights. In cloisters they were used to indicate the time for prayer. The word clock is derived from early German and Dutch klocke which actually meant bell that was derived from the French word for bell which is cloche.
This indicated the bell sounded by monks (even in the middle of the night) to call them to mass. Wall-mounted and table clocks appeared some time after this in the homes of the wealthiest persons.
The conversion of motion into uniform periods of time was not very precise in these early clocks which had a primitive balance wheel (English clocks) or foliot (Continental clocks) that was a forerunner of the later pendulum. Church clocks were set and adjusted by means of a sun dial and the striking of the church clock was used to adjust clocks in the home.
The first clock-makers travelled around Europe but as demand increased they established themselves in fixed places, choosing towns such as Nuremberg and Augsburg where they established guilds mid-way through the sixteenth century. The German table clock became more common property with the rise in living standards and many such sixteenth century clocks have survived.
Christiaan Huygens and his inventions
The Dutchman Christiaan Huygens made a discovery that was of tremendous importance for the further development of timepieces. Born in The Hague on 14 April 1629 into a family of five children, he received a good education.
His father was the poet Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687). This influential and talented figure corresponded with people such as Descartes, Mersenne, and Diodati (a friend of Galileo Galilei).
His son Christiaan was known principally as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer.
In the area of physics he made his name with his studies of the motion of a pendulum and in theories regarding light waves. He also constructed a telescope with an improved lens. This enabled him to discover Saturn’s ring. His invention of the pendulum was of considerable importance for clocks. Between 1655 and 1660 Huygens devoted his time to seeking an accurate means of determining time. He came upon the idea of using a pendulum in 1656 and patented his idea for a pendulum clock in 1657.
This clock was then made by Samuel Coster, of The Hague. By comparison with other clocks of the age, the accuracy of Huygen’s clock was astonishing. This was of importance both for astronomy and physics.
Huygens also wanted to create a clock which would enable seafarer’s to determine their longitude. A pendulum was of no use on board ship but he eventually solved this with a balance wheel with clockwork driven by a spring. His invention is utilised in the spiral spring of a pocket watch.
The theory of the pendulum was finally described by Huygen’s in his Horologium oscillatorium of 1673. In this important book he showed mathematically that the oscillation time of a swinging weight — which has arc-form strips on either side of the suspension point against which the thread comes if it deviates beyond this point — is independent of the maximum swing of the pendulum. In this case the weight no longer describes a segment of a circle but a cycloidal motion. He also demonstrated the relationship between the length of the pendulum and duration of the swing and also the centrifugal force when a pendulum describes a circular path. Huygen’s discovery of the pendulum clock was a true milestone in the development of clocks. With this discovery he succeeded in overcoming the irregular frequency of the balance escapement. The regular swing of the pendulum proved to be an ideal regulator for clock mechanisms. Sufficiently accurate for a minute hand to be added to clocks.
The invention of the balance wheel spring mechanism is ascribed to both Huygens and the Englishman Dr. Robert Hooke, a physics and chemistry teacher at Gresham College. He claimed the invention of the mechanism for watches in 1658. A balance is a combination of a mass with a spring that returns the mass to its original position when it moves. Both men used this discovery to improve the accuracy of portable timepieces.
The first pendulum clocks
Dutch makers naturally made use of Huygens’ discovery of the pendulum. They were produced in many forms: Friesian longcase and hanging clocks, Amsterdam longcase clocks, Zaandaam clocks, and Friesian, Gronginen, and Drenthe bracket clocks.
Huygens patented his invention and the first maker to produce a pendulum clock under licence to his design was Salomon Hendrikszoon Coster. This clock did not have a long pendulum as in Huygens’ design though but a short one.
The mechanism was contained in a small case that became known as a Hague clock. It is a type that can be still seen in many English, French, and Dutch table clocks. Not all Hague clocks have pendulums though. Earlier types have a sprung cylinder or weight.
The knowledge of pendulums was taken to Britain by Ahasuerus Fromanteel, a London maker who was apprenticed
LBottom left: Friesian longcase clock from Grouw, made by D.J. Tosma in 1770. The clock not only gives time to the second but also the date, day of the week, month, and moon phase. The mechanism also plays six tunes, has 14 bells and 28 hammers. From the times of water-powered clocks, all manner of mechanisms have been incorporated with clocks.
escapement. Countless variations of this invention have been developed in the following three centuries.
to Coster. Huygens himself took the knowledge to France. Shortly after his patent was granted, Huygens visited Paris where he allowed several makers to produce table clocks with a pendulum mechanism. It was neither the Dutch or French clock industry though that saw the advantages of Huygens’ invention but the British who used it extensively. This formed the foundation for the leading role English clocks were later to take.
An Englishman also found a way of improving Huygen’s invention. One problem of his design was the inertia created for the pendulum mechanism each time the escapement wheel was released. This problem was solved in about 1670 by the Englishman William Clement who invented the anchor
The external form of the clock
After the invention of the pendulum mechanism, the cases of most clocks changed from metal to wood. The outward appearance of clocks in the two most important clockmaking countries of England and France went in different directions. A French clockmaker ordered mechanisms in standard sizes which he then incorporated into the case that he built. A consequence of this was that clock cases in France always ran consistent with the major developments of style.
Because the whole process was kept in the hands of the clock-maker in England, the emphasis was far more on the mechanism. For this reason, English clocks tend to run about twenty-five years behind the development of styles. This changed at the end of the eighteenth century through the influence of the great designers such as Adam, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton.
There are other differences between French and English clocks. The French produced large numbers of table and bracket clocks while the English preferred hand-made clocks and watches.
The face of English clocks remained fairly rectangular while from 1715 onwards the French stuck to round ones.
A MARITIME CHRONOMETER
At the start of the eighteenth century the British government was aware of the importance of accurately determining position at sea and passed the Longitude Act of 1714 promising a prize of 20,000 GBP to the person who developed a means of determining longitude. The Act required accuracy to with half a degree of longitude. A deviation of two-thirds would be rewarded with £15,000, and one degree with £10,000.
The self-taught horologist John Harrison recognised that accurately knowing the time was the secret and he finally developed a chronometer in 1761 that achieved this but had to battle with the government until 1773, when he was 80 years old, to get his money. In order to achieve this precise timekeeping was required. With the necessity of building precise clocks for maritime use, makers at the end of the seventeenth century were able to make clocks that were reasonably accurate. The English in particular made great strives in the early eighteenth century to make ever more accurate clocks.
The French though were not far behind and by 1750 had caught up with the English.
The most famous French maker is undoubtedly Abraham-Louis Breguet but the English efforts had created the basis of their success.
In the mid nineteenth century, the best clock and watch makers were based in London, with names such as East, Fromanteel, Graham, Knibb, Quare, and Tompion.
At this high-point though there was also a threat for this labour intensive craft.
From the mid nineteenth century both English and French makers faced stiff competition from cheaper mass produced products from Germany, the United States, and Switzerland.
Bottom right: Walnut longcase clock by Joan klock, Amsterdam, made between 1680-1700. OIL AND FIRE CLOCKS
Burning substances in order to measure time is a very old principle.
The simplest form is the marked candle which indicates the passage of time as the candle burns down. Central European tin founders made lots of calibrated
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oil clocks with transparent or partially transparent oil tanks. A scale indicates the burning time of the oil. Such oil clocks served simultaneously as night-lights and simple timepieces but they should not be confused with clocks which had night-lights to illuminate their dials.
Types of clocks
LANTERN CLOCKS
Lantern clocks are among the earliest examples of balance wheel or foliot escapement. From the fourteenth through to the sixteenth century, the early lantern clocks were housed in Gothic style metal cases.
All manner of wall mounted clocks were developed from these simple lantern clocks. Wood and ceramics were also used to make the clock case and the mechanisms also varied. Most were spring or weight driven from the seventeenth century.
LONGCASE CLOCKS
Soon after the development of the pendulum clock the English introduced the longcase clock, designed to protect the pendulum. The first longcase clocks had short pendulums but following the development of the anchor escapement they were able to use longer, second-beating pendulums.
Early longcase clocks were designed along classical lines often incorporating a tympanum and Corinthian capitals. This was quickly reduced to two pilasters that were sometimes turned. Early clocks had opening upper cases for winding the clock but as the clocks became taller after 1710 they had a lower door for this purpose. French makers surpassed the English longcase clocks after 1730. The innate conservatism of the English makers held them back.
The adoption of the pendulum in Britain quickly led to the development of bracket clocks as well as longcase clocks.
The cases were made of wood with ebony, walnut, mahogany, and other veneers. Only a few clocks had inlay work but painted examples are more common. Most clocks had eight-day mechanisms. The term ‘bracket clock’ is derived from the wall-mounting bracket that some of these clocks had even though most were made so they could stand on furniture. Most English bracket clocks that found their way abroad were made in London. Provincial clocks were largely for local sale.
MANTELCLOCKS
Mantel clocks are similar to bracket clocks but usually both smaller and with less depth. The first examples dating from around 1750-1760 were made in France. English mantel clocks followed on about ten years later.
The first French mantel clocks were developed from French Regency bracket clocks, coming into being when similar clocks were created in Rococo style without a bracket. It was commonplace to set these clocks on a mantelpiece. It became customary around 1835 to accompany mantel clocks with a pair of matching ornaments. These garniture de cheminee remained popular throughout the nineteenth century. It is easy to distinguish English mantel clocks from French ones. English examples mainly have superb mechanisms and graced studies and libraries.
NOVELTY CLOCKS
It was customary in the seventeenth century to produce novelty clocks with mechanisms that did more than drive the clock itself. The outward appearance of these clocks was of paramount importance and might take any form from a crucifix with Madonna or animals and even slaves.
CARRIAGE CLOCKS
With the improvements in clock technology it was possible by the early sixteenth century to make clocks that could be taken on journeys.
The mechanisms were more precise to allow for the disturbance of motion and the first travelling clocks were like large watches of 70-140 mm (23/4-51/2in) and were known as carriage clocks.
The greatest impulse to the development of portable timepieces was the demand for chronometers that permitted the establishment of longitude. English clock-makers succeeded in creating chronometers that were not affected by the sea’s motion The mechanism was mounted in a rectangular casing with the balance and motion unusually situated at the top of the mechanism instead of the rear. Most of these clocks had metal casings with glazed side panels and a small handle at the top.
WATCHES
When the mainspring was developed around 1500 this quickly led to the invention of the first watch. These small portable clocks were worn on a cord around the neck. The casings were generally of very luxurious and fine style with the main function of these watches being decorative.
Silver, gold, or gilded watches were engraved and from 1630 onwards were also decorated with polychrome enamel. These watches were not very reliable until the development in 1670 of the balance wheel. After this date the watch’s function became more important in its design. Minute hands were added and dials with the hours marked in figures became more prominent.
century pocket-watches were generally devoid of expensive enamel decoration and their metal cases were plain metal that was sometimes embossed or engraved. Enamel’s place was sometimes taken by cheaper painted horn.
The invention by Thomas Mudge in 1755 of the anchor escapement was very important to the development of the watch and made them much more accurate. Although this invention was ignored for almost 80 years it replaced virtually every other type of movement in the period 1830-1850 and has been used in virtually every mechanical watch mechanism since.
Abraham-Louis Breguet is regarded as the spiritual father of the modern watch with his invention of a mechanism that counteracts the detrimental effect on accuracy of wearing of a watch.
UNUSUAL MECHANISMS
Clockwork can of course be used to drive other mechanisms such as striking or chiming mechanisms to signal the hour and parts of the hour. Some clocks have chiming mechanisms that can play one or more pieces of music. Alarm clocks also have a striking mechanism of course and other functions found include indication of the date and the phases of the moon. Some clockwork mechanisms even have a solely astronomical function, incorporating a complete planetarium and universe.
WRIST WATCHES
Wrist watches date from around 1865 when the first ladies’ bracelets incorporating a watch were made. Almost no men’s watches were made before World War I and the rise of the wrist watch coincided with Switzerland gaining a leading position as watch and clock-makers.
ELECTRIC CLOCKS
Alexander Bain is regarded as the person who invented electric clocks. He acquired a patent in Britain in 1841 that incorporates virtually all the principles on which subsequent electric clocks were based.
One of these is the use of electromagnets to operate clocks. Many electric clocks still use the ever reliable pendulum. Subsequent electric clocks incorporated a means of winding up a spring.
Mass production
DThe Americans were the first to take the steps necessary to mass produce clocks. A flood of inexpensive clocks were exported to Europe in the 1840s, resulting in the demise of the English clock-makers. In continental Europe though makers managed to survive in southern Germany and Switzerland by switching to mass production.
The Swiss led the watch industry until the 1960s when the Japanese flooded the world market with cheap watches.
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF CLOCKS
3000 BC: first sundial in Sumaria
1300 BC: first reports of water driven timepieces in Egypt
1500: first wheel escapement mechanisms. The first town halls and churches were equipped with clocks that struck the hour.
1300-1350: Metal clocks become increasingly in vogue in prosperous homes.
1425: first modern sundial with upright parallel to the earth’s, axis (Germany). 1450: first spring driven clocks originating from Flanders and/or Burgundy.
I 500:Details such as fusees, striking mechanisms, and porticos were in wide use
1500-1550: Development in Nuremberg of clock mechanisms with the possible invention of features such as asymmetric spinning ’spoons’ to correct inertia. 1657-1658: discovery of the pendulum by Christiaan Huygens
1670: invention of the anchor escapement by William Clement.
1755: development of the balance wheel by Thomas Mudge
1800: Abraham-Louis Breguet develops a number of improvements for watches. 1841: Alexander Bain is awarded a patent for an electric clock mechanism.

Clocks
Mass productions in the clock industry during the early 1800’s made some type of timepiece affordable for even the most modest household. Since Victorian times, clocks have been considered a necessary as well as a decorative object. Clocks are not only useful, they also are intriguing. Their intricate works and variety of encasements have contributed to their popularity throughout the ages. Initially clocks were expensive. By the 1920’s, however, the average home had more than one clock to keep everyone on time! In addition to large grandfather clocks for the hall, mantle sets and kitchen clocks, small table top varieties were made for the bedside, vanity or writing desk.
Examples in this section show how some of the prominent Deco themes were used in clock design. It is apparent that clock manufacturers were aware of the prevailing trends in home furnishings. Angular shapes, concepts of flight and motion and female or animal figures were part of the style or decoration of numerous clocks made to complement modern decor. These clocks were made from many different types of material, ranging from marble, bronze, brass and silver to wood, glass, ceramic, celluloid and plastic.
The French clocks were the most elaborate and those with figural adornments are especially sought by collectors. The figures were not always made of bronze although their finish may appear to be bronze. Metal
alloys were used in the production of most available examples found today. These alloys are often referred to as pot metal, spelter or white metal. In addition to bronze colors, other color finishes were used to coat the exteriors. Such examples, however, can rarely be purchased for less than several hundred dollars. French origin and extreme or “high” Deco design account for expensive prices.
Several of the mantle sets pictured have matching side panels. These were purely decorative and served no particluar function except to flank each side of the clock. Side panels evidently have not survived all of the clocks which had them originally. While their absence does not detract from the clock itself, the panels often accentuate the overall Deco design.
Art Deco clocks can be one of the most costly categories for moderate spending collectors. Plain or less interesting specimens may still be $100 or more. Wooden shelf clocks with a simple rectangular or square shape are currently imported from abroad and may be purchased for less than $100. Beware that quite a few reproductions of Deco style clocks are also on the market. If you are interested in authentic examples from the period, check them out carefully. Most reproductions are inexpensive, have clean faces, no signs of wear on the case, and are in working condition (but many vintage ones are not!).

Lamps & Light Fixtures
Electricity was available to many American homes during the years between the First and Second World Wars. Electric lamps became an important part of the home furnishings market. Businesses such as department stores, offices, restaurants and theaters were another large sector of the economy in need of modern forms of light fixtures. Lighting manufacturers catered to both markets, parlaying topical Deco themes into various forms of light.
Floor lamps and table top lamps are both quite collectible. Selections may be elegant and high style or simply low camp and amusing. Lamps are not only ingenious relics of Deco design but they are also functional. Collectors should check the electrical wiring, however. Many still have the original cords which may be frayed or split, but rewiring is not too expensive. It is well worth the effort to have lamps repaired so that they can be displayed to full advantage. Rewiring does not detract but rather adds to the lamp’s value.
Floor lamps supported widely flared shades or globes. These reflected the light upward and torchere has become the name associated with that particular style. The shades were made of frosted or opaque glass or out of metal such as brass or chrome. This same type of lamp is now frequently reproduced to complement new Deco style furniture. Other Deco floor lamps had conventional parchment or silk shades with the “modern” look showing up in the stems and bases.
Figural table lamps are very much in demand. Both French and American companies made numerous vanities aimed at the middle class market. Women, nude or semi-nude, were fashioned in various stylized poses such as dancing, kneeling or with arms stretched high in the air. The light globe was positioned to the side or behind the figure or even rested in the figure’s hands. These lamps were decorative objects, designed to cleverly disguise the source of light.
Although this type of figural lamp was made in bronze, most of the ones found today were made of metal alloys. The finish may be bronze colored or painted red, black, green and so forth. Because the paint wears and chips over time, it is not uncommon for the lamps to be repainted, especially for resale. But lower prices should be reflected if that is the case, Globes on these lamps, because of their fragile nature, often have been replaced as well. It goes without saying that the most desirable lamps are those with all original parts and finish.
Regarding prices, the French figural lamps are the most expensive, and it is not uncommon for these to cost $1,000 or more, outsided the range for the moderate collector. While American specimens are considerably
less costly, it is still rare to find an all original one for less than $100. Those not in working order and needing repairs are about the only ones which might be bargains The Frankart Company, located in New York City, was probably the most prolific manufacturer of metal figural Deco items. Frankart lamps, like their other products. have become increasingly popular. Consequently, prices continue to rise, ranging from $200 to $600.
Ceramic and glass Deco lamps were also made figural designs. One ceramic lamp shown here, made by  Van Briggle, is a finely executed piece of American a– pottery. The boudoir lamp with the nude glass globe is a mass produced piece imitating the Lalique style. Other- ceramic lamps portray a Deco influence by their hand painted body decor in geometric or stylized configurations. Glass lamps may feature similar Dec: characteristics in either the body or the shade as lustrated in some of the photographs.
Deco light fixtures designed for commercial ente– prises can be turned into attractive lighting for homes. Torchere or conical shaped wall sconces adapt to baths. halls and bedrooms while cascading chandeliers an– other large fixtures can be used to light entrance foyers or porches. Shops specializing in architectural antiques may offer some interesting examples. Most commercial fixtures were made of bronze, brass or even cast iron. and these have survived the years quite well. Shapes are unquestionably Deco!

Ti-glazed earthenware was produced in France from at least the beginning of the 16th century when itinerant potters from Italy first introduced the technique. The ware is called “faience”, since much of the early ware resembled maiolica made in Faenza, Italy.
THE 16TH CENTURY
The dominant style for most of the 16th century was Italian; craftsmen from Italy appear to have settled in Lyons (1512), Nevers, Montpellier, and Nimes, and the output of these centres closely reflects the contemporary Italian polychrome maiolica of Urbino, Faenza, and Savona. The Italian istoriato (narrative) style is found on wares made in Lyons and Nevers, while the panelled a quartiery style associated with Faenza is seen on the faience of Nimes and Montpellier. However, in the north of France at Rouen around the middle of the century the work of Masseot Abaquesne (active 1526-59) is more sombre, and the designs show a strong affiliation with the Mannerist work of the Fontainebleau School. Early Rouen was noted for the manufacture of tiles some still extant in chateaux), albarelli (drug jars), saucer dishes, and flat-rimmed dishes.
THE 17TH CENTURY
The first half of the century continued to be dominated by the Italian tradition, but from the mid-17th century a more native French Baroque style developed. Mythological figures after contemporary prints were Popular subjects; drawn in a bold, muscular style in which ochre and blue are often dominant, they are somewhat livelier than their Italian istoriato predecessors. Dishes, which greatly outnumber hollow-wares (except apothecaries’ wares), were typically embellished with heavy foliated borders, usually interrupted with cartouches enclosing diverse subjects. During the second quarter of the century the influence of imported Chinese porcelain is evident, both in decoration and in form, and consequently the “hot” Italian colours declined in favour of blue and white. Nevers was probably the most important centre until the last 20 years of the century and was one of the first French pottery centres to decorate its wares with Chinese motifs. Here the earliest manifestations are garbled versions of the many imported late Ming blueand-white wares. A large proportion of production was painted in cobalt blue, sometimes outlined in manganese brown with figures in the manner of Chinese Transitional porcelain. Alongside the Italianate and Chinese styles, faience with solid-coloured grounds was made, including, most commonly, bleu persan (Persian blue), cobalt, and, more rarely, ochre.
Rouen, close to Paris and the French court, developed as a prominent centre for faience at the end of the 17th century. The Rouen style of the late 17th and early 18th centuries is formal, utilizing intricate motifs resembling ironwork (forronerie) or lacework (lambrequin) but probably owing as much to contemporary Chinese ceramic ornament. The lambrequin rayonnant style, so-called because of its radiating “snowflake” complexity, was copied by many other manufacturers in France, including those in Strasbourg and Moustiers. At its height (c.1695-1725) Rouen combined this style with vessels based on the shapes of silverwares because the French nobility had been ordered to melt down its silver in order to finance the wars of Louis XIV. Faience therefore became a fashionable substitute for silver.
THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES
Between c.1710 and 1720 polychrome wares became fashionable once again. For the next 20 or 30 years bold chinoiseries in high-fired (grand-feu) colours eclipsed the blue-and-white wares. From c.1750 low-fired (petit-feu) enamelled decoration became the focus of the leading faience factories of the day, located in Strasbourg, Niderviller, Luneville, Sceaux, and Marseilles. In an ultimately futile competition with porcelain, these manufacturers decorated their wares with botanical flowers, chinoiseries, and fantastical landscapes in the most delicate brushwork. Forms from the mid-18th century, in keeping with the innate intimacy of the Rococo, were diverse and lively, almost matching porcelain in some instances.
However, in the late 18th century, competition from porcelain and English creamware (cream-coloured earthenware) proved too much for faience manufacturers, and many failed around the turn of the century. Some potteries survived the onslaught from English creamware by manufacturing the same material, known
as faience fine, which although clean and crisp was never as creamy or warm as the English ware. In France, factories such as those in Creil, Pontaux-Choux, and Montereau, some active before the
mid-18th century, made great quantities of faience fine, thus helping to accelerate the decline of faience. Many of these factories decorated their wares with transfer-printing in the style of creamware from the Wedgwood factory (est. 1759) in Burslem, England.
By the mid-19th century Quimper was one of the few surviving faience factories in France, producing wares with simple figural subjects loosely imitative
of I 8th-century Rouen. Gien, active toward the end of the 19th century, appears to have concentrated on the manufacture of wares in revival styles, using printed designs based on classic Italian maiolica. The output of historicized faience was fairly limited as many factories preferred to produce the fashionable styles current in the dying years of the 19th century. The firm of Samson (est. 1845) in Paris made a wide range of good reproductions of faience. Although this factory applied the original marks, it usually put its own monogram alongside.
• BODY Rouen: red; Nevers and Marseilles: buff;
Strasbourg: creamy white; Moustiers: greyish
• GLAZE Strasbourg: thick and creamy white; Moustiers: creamy grey
• PALETTE “hot” colours inspired by Italian maiolica; from c.1625 blue and white inspired by imported Chinese porcelain; high-fired colours: cobalt blue, manganese purple, ochre, yellow, green, and iron red; enamels: from the late 1740s a wide range of colours
• DECORATION Rouen: lainbrequins and arabesques; Nevers: narrative style; Strasbourg: botanical studies; Marseilles: naturalistic flowers, bouillabaisse; Moustiers: potato flowers, fantastic creatures, Classical figures, and festoons
Marks
These were very randomly applied; marks arc usually the initials of the proprietor of the factory; most are in puce, blue, or black; care should be taken since marks of such collectable factories as Strasbourg, Sceaux, Marseilles,
Rouen, Lille, and Nevers have been widely copied on 19th- and 20th-century fakes
Strasbourg: Paul Hannong factory (c.1740-60) Marseilles: Veuve Perrin factory (c.1740-95) Moustiers: Olerys factory (1 738–c.1790) Quimper: Antoine de la Hal (est. 1782)
Quimper: Fougeray factory (est. 1872): copies of 18th-century originals

Korea’s close proximity to China has resulted in a marked Chinese influence in its ceramic production, ev ident in both the forms and the techniques used by potters. However, Korea has also produced stonewares and porcelains unique to its culture.
THE SILLA AND KORYO PERIODS
During the Silla kingdom (57 BC—AD 935) ceramic production in Korea consisted of grey- or brownish-bodied stonewares of distinctive architectonic form. Tall vessels with hemispherical bowls on an elongated spreading foot were decorated with geometric
windows and incised bands. Bowls were decorated with punched circlets, small repeated motifs, scratched geometric patterns, and, occasionally, animals or humans. Drawing inspiration from the Yue wares of south-eastern China, Korean potters developed celadon wares during the Koryo period (918-1392). Even if some of the forms are noticeably Chinese, there is almost always a distinctive Korean feel to them.
The green glaze is of a subtle tonality akin to the colour of the famous Ru wares of the northern Song Dynasty. However, er, the sangam celadons, which are painstakingly inlaid with black-and-white clays, are unique to Korea. A wide range of objects was made, including large blossom vases, ritual water ewers, and tiny covered boxes. Porcelain was also produced, albeit in very limited quantities, during the Koryo period.
CHOSON DYNASTY (1392-1910)
Developed from the sangam celadons of the Koryo period are the robust and often crude punch’ong wares, a greyish-green celadon-type stoneware made for about the first 200 years of the dynasty. Production ceased at the time of the invasion of Korea by the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-8). The wares are decorated by stamping and washing through with slip. Decoration may feature tiny repeated motifs, flower-heads, or scrolls. Korean wares are generally very heavily potted with a curiously sticky glaze. The greyish-green glaze is thin, translucent, and mostly crackled, and it occasionally flakes. Choson whitewares were made throughout the period; earlier wares were often plain white, although many pieces can be painted in underglaze copper red, iron brown, or blue. Bulbous forms, often with faceted sides, are characteristic of the later Choson period, as are pierced vessels such as brushpots, pipe rests, and waterpots.
Early stoneware
• BODY dull dark grey or brown; potting tends to be very thick, and there is strong tendency for the items to warp
• FORMS “architectural”
• TYPES funerary wares
• DECORATION pierced and incised; often geometric patterns, rarely figures
celadon
• BODY generally a distinctive greyish blue-green like the classic Ru ware of the northern Song Dynasty
• GLAZE of greyish-olive tone; usually irregular; frequently crackled
• IDENTIFICATION celadon wares were fired on gritty kiln supports, often leaving crude patches on the underside of the foot-rim
• DECORATION the miniaturized inlay technique (sangam), using black-and-white clay, is unique to Korea
Porcelain
• BODY heavily potted; sometimes large pieces are warped or cracked; pierced and carved wares of the 18th and 19th centuries are very sophisticated
• GLAZE bluish or greenish irregularly crackled glaze
• DECORATION most common is the dragon; also cranes, tigers, and other animals
Marks
Most ceramics are unmarked before the late 19th century

Storage furniture.
Chests-of-drawers after 1840
The practical nature of the chest-of-drawers ensured its continued popularity after 1840. It was considered an essential part of any household and produced in vast numbers throughout Europe. Chests-of-drawers, called commodes if made in France or in the French manner, with serpentine curves and Rococo characteristics, range from the utilitarian to the virtuoso.
WOOD AND CONSTRUCTION
Despite the internationalism of styles, each country in Europe tended to use its native woods especially for the carcases; for example, France and The Netherlands used oak and Scandinavian countries used pine. Typically, Dutch drawer-linings are of oak, nailed together or dovetailed. Satinwood for veneers was imported from the East and West Indies. The satinwood used for furniture of the Edwardian period usually has strong lines, and is more likely to come from the East than the West Indies. Although birch was native to Europe and had been used for a long time on Scandinavian furniture, in Britain it had been confined to cooking utensils and provincial furniture. With the growth of furniture production in the 19th century, satin-birch was used as an alternative to the expensive satinwood; when cut carefully the wood could produce a decorative figure. Birch has subsequently come to be used for plywood and in furniture of modern design. Dovetails throughout central Europe at this time were 10 to 15mm (X–yin) at their widest point. In southern Europe they were broader and coarser, but all were in marked contrast to those made in Britain. There, the dovetails were consistently much smaller, often finer than a pencilpoint. This is an instantly recognizable feature of British and North American furniture construction.
PLAIN CHESTS-OF-DRAWERS
Many chests-of-drawers made in the 19th century were designed as parts of bedroom suites; the other components would be a bed, a wardrobe, and a pair of night tables. As a result of increased mechanization and the revival of styles, the choice for the Victorian purchaser was huge and designed to suit every pocket. The standard Victorian chest-of-drawers is of the very simplest form with two short and three graduated drawers constructed using traditional methods, with neat dovetailed joints. The proportions were generally rather heavy, and this was accentuated by a heavy plinth base. This type of chest-of-drawers was large and widely manufactured by firms such as Maddox of London (est. 1838) and William Smee & Sons (est. 1817). Pieces found today are likely to be originals and are modestly priced. Their plain, utilitarian design makes these chests long lasting.
The Wellington chest is also a relatively plain form of the chest-of-drawer. Named after the Duke of Wellington, whose succesful campaigns against Napoleon had made him a national hero, it was first introduced in the 1820s and originally intended to contain a collection of coins or other precious artefacts. It is characterized by its tall, narrow form and by the stiles (uprights) fixed to either side of the drawers. One of the stiles is hinged to cover the drawer ends at one side, which allows the chest to be locked. Wellington chests can have up to 12 drawers and occasionally a secretaire drawer in the middle. They were normally made of mahogany or rosewood, but there are also examples in pollard oak, burr-walnut, burr-elm, and yew.
Another type of plain chest was the two-part campaign chest. These were first made for use in the field during the military campaigns in the Peninsular War (1809-14), although they continued to be made throughout the 19th century. These chests are recognizable by their sunken handles and carrying handles at the sides, and feet that may be unscrewed and stored safely in the drawers while being moved. Of small, neat proportions they arc often made in teak.
TYPES OF DECORATION
As with other types of furniture, chests-of-drawers made after 1840 were decorated with a wide variety of ornamentation, reviving styles from previous centuries and employing mechanization to speed up production. The fine marquetry decoration that had graced Dutch cabinets-on-stands and other case furniture from the end of the 17th century, by such outstanding craftsmen as Jan van Mekeren (1658-1733), continued to be made throughout the 18th century and was still a popular form of decoration in The Netherlands during the I 9th century. The style normally associated with Dutch marquetry is that of flowers with birds and foliate scrolls. However, particularly from the second quarter of the 19th century, more Neo-classical motifs, including ribbon-tied swags, urns, and stiff leaves, were common, usually inlaid on mahogany grounds.
The fascination with Oriental art, dating from the 17th century, had a widespread appeal during the 19th.
One of the strongest expressions of this taste can be seen in the style and furnishings of Brighton Pavilion, designed for the Prince of Wales (later George IV) during the early 19th century. The style of the buildings and its furnishings continued the fashion for chinoiseries already set in the 18th century, using such materials as bamboo, japanning (a European version of lacquering), and caning. White real bamboo was generally used for Regency bamboo furniture, by the 1860s it had largely been replaced by imitation bamboo using such woods such as walnut and beech, and in the USA maple. The wood was turned, carved, and painted to simulate bamboo, in the manner already practiced by the Chinese in the 17th century. The Oriental influence was also strongly felt in the USA, where the production of imitation bamboo furniture was at its height during the 1880s. The forms made were distinctly Western, and the furniture was considered especially suitable for light, summery interiors in country houses, where the hot summer months would be passed, or for use in conservatories and as garden furniture. In Britain the craze for whimsical “bamboo” furniture was given a further boost when Japanese art was shown at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London, which gave rise to the Aesthetic Movement. Between 1869 and 1935 there were over 150 firms registered in Britain manufacturing “bamboo” furniture, including those with such exotic names as the Aizdu Bamboo Co. (est. 1884) in London and the Mikado Co. (est. 1893) in Birmingham. In the USA, where imitation bamboo was more popular than real bamboo, such firms as C.A. Aimone, the Kilian Bros, and George Hunzinger in New York were notable producers.
Another form of “Oriental” decoration was japanning. During the mid-18th century the Martin family in Paris were well known for their version of japanning, where the carcase was prepared and painted with Oriental designs or fetes galantes (open-air scenes) inspired by the paintings of Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher. Numerous coats of amber varnish were then added until a hard coating was achieved. This technique was revived in the 19th century, although the quality achieved was never the same.
Inexpensive timbers could be grained or stained to resemble luxury woods. Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) had given instructions in The Cabinet Dictionary (1803), and Nathaniel Whittock had suggested several ways of imitating timbers such as rosewood in The Decorative Painters’ and Glaziers’ Guide ( 1827). Whittock also advised on the creation of marbling effects.
Pieces decorated in this way remained popular as occasional and bedroom furniture well into the third quarter of the 19th century, and were revived again in the early years of the 20th.
Painted pieces were produced in large quantities, but are now scarce in original condition as the paintwork has rubbed off, or worse, has been stripped off completely. The practice of stripping antiques has now largely stopped, and pieces with original decoration are keenly sought after.
THE REVIVAL STYLES
Throughout the 19th century the revival of styles affected all forms of furniture, and the chest-of-drawers was no exception. Of all styles, the most influential and pervasive throughout Europe were those of the Louis
XV and XVI periods. While every country revived furniture styles from periods that had national connotations (Britain “Gothic” and Elizabethan, Italy “Renaissance”), most manufactured furniture in these 18th-century styles. By the end of the 19th century furniture made in different countries was often so similar that it can be difficult to tell where it was actually made. The increasing ease of communication, mechanization, and manufacture continued to dilute national characteristics.
At the International Exhibition of 1867 in Paris, the British firm of Wright & Mansfield (est. 1860) in London, won the supreme award for furniture. It showed a Neo-classical satinwood cabinet in the style of the architect Robert Adam (1728-92), decorated with plaques provided by the firm of Wedgwood. This gave rise in the 1880s to a revival of furniture based on the designs of Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) and George Hepplewhite (d.1786). Sheraton Revival chests-of-drawers were usually made in light mahogany, satinwood or satin-birch, and decorated with inlaid stringing lines and shells or fan shapes, or painted with flowers and foliate scrolls. A series of books on interior design published in the late 1870s was directed at the middle classes and confirmed the fashion for Adam, Hepplewhite. and Sheraton, and in 1891 Sheraton’s
The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book (1791-1802) and Flepplewhite’s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide (1788-94) were reprinted. Out of these revivals came the Edwardian style, which contained features of all three designers, adapted in shape and proportion, often using mahogany or satin-birch, and with bone inlay or painted ornamentation for decoration. Revivals were subject to misinterpretation, and copies were not always successful. For example, the slenderness of Sheraton forms was often slimmed down even more, and could look too attenuated and rather spindly.
After the eclecticism of the earlier 19th century, when various styles from different periods were thrown together, towards the end of the 19th century, there was a move by some firms to reproduce excellent, close copies of the original works. Some of these arc indistinguishable from the originals. Firms such as Gillow (est. c.1730) of Lancaster, and Edwards & Roberts (est. 1845) of London, developed reputations for these high-quality reproductions. Edwards & Roberts clearly stamped or labelled its chests-of-drawers. However, as it dealt in antiques and modern furniture as well as reproductions, and stamped or labelled everything that that came through its doors, it is often difficult to tell one of its copies from a genuine 18th-century piece. As well as precise copies by imitations by top firms, inexpensive were produced elsewhere.

• VENEERING check that veneers have not been used to cover poor construction.
• DATING Most Chests look distinctly 19th century, but there were fine copies of 18th-contury examples made, which can now be very difficult to distinguish; a 19th-Century mark or signature tends to be on mounts or locks rather than on the carcase, as in the 18th century.
• size as a general rule of thumb, smaller chests-ofdrawers tend to be more commercial – however, beware of fakes and items made from associated pieces.
• MARKS some firms marked their furniture with stamps or labels; marks can often be found on hinges.