Posts Tagged ‘biedermeier style’

Art Deco European Furniture: ITALIAN CABINET, WALNUT EASY CHAIR, ITALIAN BUFFET, SWEDISH CHAIR, BELGIAN DESK, ITALIAN COFFEE TABLE

TREMENDOUS UPHEAVALS came about
in Europe in the wake of World War 1. The need for change was keenly felt by architects and designers from Italy to Belgium and the Netherlands, and from Germany to Scandinavia.
At the heart of this longing for change lay a functionalist ideology and a desire for art to accommodate the exciting technological advances of the early 20th century Mass-produced, functional furniture designs became the order of the day, a philosophy that was realized by Alvar Aalto in Finland and with the formation in 1919 of the Bauhaus by Walter Gropius. Internationally acclaimed, the Bauhaus sought to
bring together the talents of creative artists, designers, and craftsmen, to create prototype designs suitable for industrial mass production (see p.426).
Although the Modernist Bauhaus style prevailed in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s, there were also architects and designers working in a more decorative manner. Using vibrant colours, and drawing on the Rococo and Biedermeier styles for inspiration, German Art Deco furniture exhibited Oriental touches in its use of lacquer, together with Cubist detailing. Bruno Paul’s “Room for a Gentleman”, shown at Macy’s department store in New York in 1928, was typical of the
restrained form of Art Deco that was pursued by these German designers. The room contained lacquered furniture with inlay work, and a rug with a geometric design. Many German and Austrian – mainly Jewish – designers emigrated to America in the late 1.920s and early I 930s, and joined Paul Frankl (see p.397) in developing the Art Deco style there.
NORTHERN EUROPEAN TRENDS It was in the Netherlands that the concept of abstraction was first applied to furniture design. At the helm of this revolutionary artistic idea was the avant-garde De Stijl group, formed
in 1917 by the painters Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian. The functionalist furniture designed by the group was conspicuously absent from the 1925 Paris Exhibition. The Dutch pavilion there was designed by J.E Staal, a member of the Amsterdam School, which favoured the use of theatrical, expressionist, and Oriental motifs in furniture designs. Among the exhibits was furniture by C.A. Lion Cachet, designed for a Dutch ocean liner. He used dark tropical woods inlaid with ivory and lighter woods in traditional-shaped pieces with Oriental decoration and parchment panels. Jaap Gidding’s cinema and theatre interiors also followed the French Art Deco style. The Tuschinski cinema in Amsterdam (1918-21) was typical, with its decorative, opulent interior, and special light effects.
In Scandinavia, Art Deco took a more classical turn with an emphasis on elegance, proportion, luxurious materials, and hand-crafting. In 1930, British writer, Morton Shand, defined the Swedish restrained Neoclassical style prevalent at the 1925 Paris
Exhibition as a “line characterized by its slender and almost elfin grace”. Exhibiting a similar style, Otto Meyer’s and Jacob Petersen’s graceful, curving chairs crafted out A sycamore and
mahogany were superbly set off by the batik wall-covering of Ebbe Sadolin in the Danish pavilion.
ITALIAN BALANCE
Italian furniture designers struggled to find a balance between the demand for classical elegance and the language of the sophisticated modern style.
Although ill at case with the display of sumptuous luxury that was the hallmark of French Art Deco, Italian cabinets, tables, writing desks, and chairs made full use of the beauty of lustrous local and exotic timbers. Many of them were embellished with bronze mounts, or lightly carved or
inlaid patterns of flower baskets, garlands, or geometric motifs that were typical of Art Deco.
The Italian version of Art Deco reached its fullest expression in the hands of the innovative architect Gio Ponti. He successfully managed to combine the functional, geometric, spare structure promoted by the Wiener Werkstatte designers with the sophisticated and elegant refinements of the French Art Deco style.

ITALIAN COFFEE TABLE
This fine Italian coffee table has a rectangular glass-topped surface on tapering plank legs. It has been crafted from bird’s-eye maple and ebony veneer. Exotic wood veneers, such as the ebony used in this piece, were commonly used
in European Art Deco furniture. The dark ebony highlights the simple geometric structure of the coffee table.
This Swiss walnut desk has a rectangular top with rounded corners. The central drawer and two flanking cabinets have decorative “English-style” handles, and the whole piece is raised
on square feet. The grain of the walnut has been highlighted, providing additional visual interest. c.1925.
BELGIAN DESK
Designed by De Coene Freres, this Belgian desk has four drawers, tapering legs, and nickel feet, and is covered in black lacquer. The sleek black design demonstrates a relinquishing of unnecessary decoration in favour of pure functionality. c. 1930.
SWEDISH CHAIR
This Swedish Art Deco chair is upholstered in brown leather and supported upon tapering legs, with two slightly splayed rear legs, and curvilinear arm rests. The backrest has a
central panel with burr wood and satinwood details. c.1920.
This bridge chair is one of a pair designed by De Coene Freres. The curved armrests form a continuous “U” shape with the bowed seat frame. The chair is upholstered in a red, checked fabric and has tapering front legs.

The rectilinear structure of the buffet is emphasized by the austere placement
of the doors and drawers.
The ivory inlay used for the drawer pulls is a typical Art Deco detail.
ITALIAN BUFFET
The shelf structure of this Italian buffet is characteristic of Art Deco design, combining clean lines and asymmetry with a luxurious and decorative burr wood finish. The shelf structure contains a mirror on a case with four small drawers and a twin
cabinet door enclosing an adjustable shelf. Subtle, inlaid handles are attached to the four drawers and the cabinet doors. The geometric shape is typical of Italian Art Deco, which took its lead from the Wiener Werlkstatte. The use of exotic timber is more typical of the French style.
The burr wood veneer
makes a boldly
luxurious statement
ITALIAN CABINET
This rectangular Ulrich Guglielmo cabinet has two doors and is supported on a square plinth lined with goat parchment. The doors have ivory mounts and the plinth is veneered with kingwood. Round ebony knobs, with gilded bronze mountings and keys, are attached to the 14 interior drawers. c.1930.
WALNUT EASY CHAIR
This continental walnut easy chair is upholstered in cream, a popular colour in Art Deco furniture design. The chair has broad, curving armrests, each supported on three vertical fluted rods, and moulded sledge-like block feet.

Antiques Recently Found on Antcollectors (1)

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
THE FURNITURE OF THE IBERIAN
peninsular during the early 19th century was strongly influenced by prevailing styles in other European countries, mixed with the various tastes, techniques, and regional differences that reflect both Spain and Portugal’s cultural backgrounds.
The greatest foreign influence was the French Empire style. Spain was dominated by France for a period following the abdication of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII in 1808, when Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, introduced a taste for Empire furniture. A similar Francophile furniture style also developed in Portugal, which had come under French rule the previous year.
FERDINANDINO
However, the true flowering of the Empire style in Spain only occurred after Napoleon’s fall. It consequently bears the name Ferdinandino after Ferdinand VII, who reigned from 1814 to 1833. Less sophisticated and clumsier than French pieces, the Spanish variants are usually made of mahogany, with carved gilt decoration instead of gilt-bronze mounts. Classical motifs were preferred, especially figurative devices such as putti or swans. These are epitomized on the typical Gondola chairs, which had legs featuring swans or dolphins. Similarly, the king’s desk in the Royal Palace, Madrid, is made of mahogany supported on carved gilt swans.
The Spanish love of walnut, pine, cedar, and olive wood is also evident in pieces with relatively little decoration and few appliques. Overall, like contemporary Portuguese work, the pieces are heavier than true Empire furniture and often of slightly exaggerated proportions. Spanish pieces from the south also feature an occasional motif echoing Spain’s exotic Moorish past.
Although France was the predominant cultural dynamo, British, German, and Italian influences are all discernable in Spanish furniture of this period. The presence of British cabinet-makers on the island of Minorca helped to diffuse the principles of British Neoclassical design, while 18th-century ties with Naples generated Italianate forms.
With the accession of Isabella (1833-70), and the development of the so-called Isabellino style, a more romantic trend emerged in Spain, which revived many of its historical furniture types, particularly Baroque. As such, it corresponded to the style of the Second Empire in France.
PORTUGAL
In the opening years of the 19th century, British Neoclassical style reigned supreme in Portugal. The French occupation introduced a ponderous version of the Empire style, but when power returned to General Beresford in 1811, so too did a preference for Regency design. Trafalgar chairs were most popular, while the engravings of Sheraton continued to be influential.
Portuguese furniture production experienced a downturn from this time onwards: with the return of Dom Joao VI from Brazil, political and social instability was accompanied by general economic decline. This reached its peak with the civil strife under Maria II de Gloria (1828-53).
Portuguese furniture is characterized by the use of South American timbers, particularly those from the Brazilian forests, such as jacaranda and
pausanto. These woods are easy to carve and allow sharp details, so carving is more common on Portuguese furniture than its French or British prototypes. However, the furniture produced in Lisbon tends to be far heavier and altogether simpler than the examples that inspired them. Generally, some fine-quality furniture was produced, such as the mahogany and gilt-brass mounted suite supplied for one of the bedrooms at the Royal Palace of Queluz.
From the 1830s, when Maria
II’s consort, Ferdinand of SachsenCoburg-Saalfeld, began building the Pena Palace, the German Biedermeier style became popular.
Portugal’s strong colonial ties with India and the Far East ensured that much colonial furniture was also imported, particularly from Goa and the Malabar Coast. Often simplified versions of European styles carved in Eastern hardwoods, they tend to echo 18th-century styles rather than reflect the latest European trends.

PORTUGUESE COLONIAL CABINET
The cabriole legs are joined by a wave-shaped cross-stretcher with a central urn finial in the centre.
The cabinet terminates in claw-and-ball feet. Early 19th century.
NEOCLASSICAL SIDE CHAIRS
These side chairs are part of a set of four. They have mahogany frames with parcel gilt decoration. A scrolled top rail sits above a rectangular backrest. The seat rails are plain, but mounted with gilt rosettes. The chairs stand on circular, tapered legs. Early 19th century.

DINING CHAIRS
These Spanish chairs are made of walnut and form part of a set of ten dining chairs. Each chair is decorated with mask finials. The seat back comprises two vertical rows of turned spindles – the upper row is of widely spaced,
long spindles, and the lower forms a tightly spaced decorative border. The leather seats are attached to the frames with brass studs, and the seat rails are shaped and decorated. The chairs stand on ring-turned, reeded legs, which are joined by an H-stretcher. Early 19th century
MALLORCAN COMMODE
This marquetry commode, one of a pair, is made from mahogany, fruitwood, and rosewood. The rectangular, white marble top rests above a convex frieze drawer, which is inlaid with scrolling leaves, and three drawers, that are
inlaid sans traverse. The drawers are flanked by canted scrolled angles, which are also decorated with leaf inlay. At the base of the commode is an inlaid concave-fronted drawer above a banded rim and acanthus-carved feet.

Low Countries Early 19th Century Antique Furniture

THE COUNTRY OF BELGIUM did not formally exist until 1831. Indeed, in October 1797, after the Treaty of Campo Formic, the region was annexed to France. As a result, the furniture produced there in the early 19th century scarcely differs from the French Empire style. Although the province was struggling economically, those with sufficient financial means ordered their furniture directly from Paris. After 1831, as elsewhere, a series of historical revival styles dominated Belgian furniture design.
The situation in the Netherlands was slightly different, partly because of antagonism towards the French occupation. After the Battle of Jena in 1806, Napoleon gave his brother Louis the throne of the Netherlands. As in Italy, the Empire style was introduced directly by the Emperor’s family.
INNOVATION
In 1808, the new King ordered that the 17th-century town hall of Amsterdam be refurbished as a Royal residence and had a suite of principal rooms built in the fashionable Empire style. Most of the furniture was supplied to the new French overlords by loyal Dutch craftsmen, including the talented Carel Breytspraak, the son of a German cabinet-maker, who had matriculated to the Amsterdam guild in 1795. His furniture is heavily influenced by the severe Classicism of Percier and Fontaine (see pp.200-01), but demonstrates idiosyncratic touches, such as applied mouldings around drawers or the use of typically
Dutch tapering feet. He also frequently used canted pilasters on case furniture to reduce the sense of bulk. Much of the seating supplied for the new Royal palace was upholstered by Joseph Cuel, including a scrolling day bed commissioned for the bedroom of Queen Hortense.
TRADITION
The Empire style remained popular even after Waterloo, so when King William I re-decorated the State apartments of the palace in The Hague, they were conceived in a Napoleonic style.
One of the most important suppliers to the palace was Nordanus, a local cabinet-maker. In 1818, he provided numerous mahogany pieces, some of which were veneered with floral marquetry. Local motifs, such as the fluted friezes and corner chamfering characteristic of 18th-century Neoclassical Dutch pieces, occur on much Dutch Empire furniture.
Classical features still persisted in the Low Countries into the second quarter of the 19th century and, as elsewhere in Europe, furniture was frequently made from light woods, particularly maple or burr-walnut, and was often influenced by both British furniture and the German Biedermeier style. Furniture workshops also became increasingly mechanized as the century progressed.
The Salon de Boiserie, Amsterdam Almost all of the painted panelling in this room is decorated with lavishly carved gilding. The room was designed by architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine.
DUTCH DINING CHAIR
This elm dining chair has a panelled top rail of joined construction with tapering sides. The felt upholstered seat has brass studding and is raised on a plain seat rail above turned and tapering legs. Early 19th century.
BELGIAN FAUTEUILS
The top rails of these Neoclassical, laminated, black-painted armchairs are decorated in gilt with central twin putti flanking a lyre in husk-decorated borders. The downcurved arms end in gilt ball finials and are supported by gilt cornucopias headed by leaf tips. The inverted, U-shaped legs of each chair have gilt-metal leaf-tip sabots. Each chair is stamped “Chapuis”. Early 19th century.

DUTCH CARD TABLE
The folding top of this walnut table has rounded corners and sits above a rectangular panelled frieze. The table top stands on square-section, tapering legs with gilt-metal feet. The table is decorated throughout with floral marquetry typical of the Low Countries. Early 19th century.

LINEN PRESS
This mahogany and rosewood cabinet has two doors crowned by a moulded and shaped cornice with a domed pediment and central cartouche. The lower section has a bombe base with three long drawers and claw-andball feet. Early 19th century.

The front of this rectilinear 11,111o)~,,Iuy cabinet contains one dummy drawer flanked by two true drawers with a cupboard enclosed by double doors below. The corner colonettes are carved with tasselled drapery and have Egyptian -style brass mummy’s-heads and foot terminals. The case stands on short, tapering legs with toupie feet. c.1805. H:99(-,m (391n); W.,120cln (471,in); D:59crn (23in). TNH
The square, tapering legs terminate in toupie feet,
The veneers are plain and well-figured.
The doors are decorated with a brass, geometric pattern.

DUTCH CABINET
The top section of this mahogany linen press has a pediment crest above a pair of cupboard doors, which open to reveal three shelves and three aligned drawers. The lower section of the press has two short over two long drawers and is raised on rectangular feet. The linen press is relief-carved with Neoclassical motifs. Early 19th century.

BIEDERMEIER FURNITURE

THE TERM “BIEDERMEIER” covers the wide spectrum of simple, Classical, handcrafted, functional furniture made between 1805 and 1850, which was made at the same time as furniture in the Empire style (see p.212). While the nobility furnished their formal rooms with Empire furniture, the more
private parts of their houses and mansions were furnished in the Biedermeier style, which was favoured by the wealthy middle classes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavia.
Political unrest in the German states in the early 19th century created a general feeling of uncertainty and increasing poverty. As a result, people withdrew into the privacy of their own homes, and the middle classes in particular began to take an increasing interest in furnishings.
MODEST STYLE
Biedermeier furniture typically had straight lines and lacked decorative carvings. Motifs inspired by Classical designs, such as columns, gables, egg and dart, and bead and reel details
were all popular.
The cupboard door is decorated with an arched panel.
From about 1830, designs incorporated scrolled forms: chairs often had splayed legs, sofas had arched backs, and moulded cornices were used as ornament for writing cabinets.
POPULAR WOODS
The most fashionable woods for Biedermeier furniture were mahogany which was imported and, therefore, rather too expensive for this essentially middle-class style, and also less costly local woods such as walnut, cherry,
pear, birch, and ash, combined with dark elm and thuyawood. The grain of the wood was the most important decorative feature. The natural grain of the veneer was emphasized with various pyramidal or fountain-like shapes. Root veneers of acorn, burr-walnut, and elm were also popular because of their varied colour and attractive markings. Darker woods were frequently used as borders around diamond-shaped keyholes, block feet, or cornices.
RESTRAINED INTERIORS Biedermeier interiors were modestly furnished, and the emphasis was on practicality and comfort, rather than decoration. The furniture was moderate in size, rounded in shape, comfortable, and homely.
Many pieces had a counterpart –another piece that was similar in size – to balance the furnishing of the room. The secretaire with a fall front and the blender, which looked like an imitation secretaire, but was
A typical Biedermeier living room, c.1820-30
This simple Saxon living room is typical of a modest townhouse of the period. The living room was the social centre of the home, and great care was taken with the arrangement of the furniture.
designed for use as a linen press or wardrobe, were very common styles.
An overall colour scheme was a prominent feature of Biedermeier interiors and frequently light-coloured upholstery, curtains, and woods were chosen to create a homely interior with an integrated sense of design.
The advances in manufacturing that occurred during this period did not have much impact until the second half of the century, so early Biedermeier furniture was visibly hand-made. Upholstery was generally flat and square, made of silk or horsehair, and wooden surfaces were simply planed and polished with oil.
By the mid 19th century, the style was seen as comfortable but rather dowdy, and was given the name Biedertmeier, a satirical term that meant “the decent common man”. The name was originally used in a German publication for a fictional middle-class character, and was not intended to be particularly flattering.
The style gradually began to decline in popularity and it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that this negative evaluation began to fade, and Biedermeier-style furniture once again became much sought after. This led in turn to the style being widely copied.
BIEDERMEIER DINING CHAIRS
These chairs are made of solid walnut wood and walnut veneer. The backs are balloon-shaped and have double baluster splats and a shaped top rail. The tapered, upholstered seats are typical of the period and sit above sabre
legs. The chairs are upholstered with a Neoclassical-style striped fabric, probably the original fabric, that is decorated with flowers. 1820
BIEDERMEIER WRITING CABINET
Covered entirely in cherry-wood veneer, this impressive writing cabinet has a fall front that opens to reveal a fitted interior. The inner compartment consists of 11 small drawers flanking a central tabernacle. The lower portion
of the cabinet consists of three large drawers set on simple bracket feet. This practical piece embodies the Biedermeier ethos of comfort and convenience and would have been used in the sitting room, which was the focal point of the home. c.1820.
Pigeonholes provide storage space for letters.
The interior drawers have Ivory handles.
The fall front opens to forma writing surface.
The bottom part of the cabinet is made up of three drawers.
BIEDERMEIER SOFA
The frame of this elegant sofa is scroll-shaped with a slightly raised back. The shape takes its inspiration from Classical pieces, and is typical of the simple, geometric design that was favoured by Biedermeier designers. Ornate carvings and
decoration were not part of the Biedermeier style. The sofa is veneered in cherry wood, which has been blackened in places, using a simple inlay of ebony to accent the flat surface of the wood. The upholstered seat
is coil-sprung for comfort. c.1825.
BIEDERMEIER WALL MIRROR
This mirror frame is architectural in style and is decorated with cherry veneer. The ebonized columns are edged by gilded bases and capitals, which support a Classical-style cornice and pediment. The central mount shows the goddess Diana. 1820 30
BIEDERMEIER WALNUT-VENEERED COMMODE
This commode has a top with an ebonized border above a frieze drawer. A further two recessed drawers are flanked by turned, ebonized columns with gilded Corinthian capitals and feet. The middle drawer is decorated with floral and figural details. 1820 30.
BIEDERMEIER GLAZED CABINET
This birch-veneered cabinet was made in Berlin and has a stepped pediment with a flat top. The oval glazed door panel is decorated with fine wooden spokes emanating from a central sun motif. At the base of the cabinet there is a single drawer with a lock. c.1820.
BIEDERMEIER DINING TABLE
Made in southern Germany, this simple dining table is veneered in cherry wood with a star pattern on the table top. Some of the veneer is blackened to add visual interest. The single pedestal terminates in a tripartite base.
c.1830.

see also biedermeier art  deco desk kidney shape
biedermeier art deco desk bureau
biedermeier bedside commode chest
biedermeier furniture swedish drop front desk
biedermeier glass kaendler
biedermeier love seat sweden
biedermeier reproduction desk
biedermeier style doors
biedermeir interiors

authentic biedermeier mouldings

antiques clock index vienna biedermeier

19TH CENTURY GERMANY EMPIRE FURNITURE

ROYAL INFLUENCES
It was the Bonapartes themselves who really made Empire furniture fashionable in Germany. The Emperor’s brother, Jerome Bonaparte, became King of Westphalia in 1810, and he furnished the Schloss Wilhelmshohe with Empire-style pieces. These included pieces ordered from Georges Jacob-Desmalter (see p.201), and an imposing desk which was decorated with marble reliefs designed by
Friedrich Wichmann. In 1806, Napoleon had a suite of Empire furniture made for his Resident at Wurzburg, Franconia. These pieces were inspired by the work of French architects Percier and Fontaine, whose work Napoleon favoured. Their ISO] pattern book, Recueil de decorations interieurs comprenant tout ce qui a rapport a l`ameublement, was well received and highly influential in Germany, inspiring local craftsmen to produce their own publications.
WHEN NAPOLEON BONAPARTE became
ruler of Germany in 1806 he brought the Empire style to the region. Germany and Austria retained
close stylistic links with France, as many German
craftsmen trained and worked in Paris, and became familiar with the Empire style. The grand, Classical motifs
used in Empire style furniture, including eagles, mythical creatures, laurel
Gift bronze embellishes the interior fittings.
VIENNESE SECRETAIRE
This exquisite secretaire is made of fruitwood and mahogany. It has a lyre-shaped case which is decorated with partial inlay and gilding. The case has a single arched pediment, flanked on either side by gilded Classical figures. A rectangular, fall-front writing surface opens to reveal a fitted interior with an
arrangement of drawers and arched compartments, luxuriously decorated with gilt bronze. The lower section of the secretaire consists of two graduated drawers which are decorated to give the appearance of the strings of a lyre. The whole piece is raised on a rectangular plinth which is supported on carved paw feet. c.1807.
Fall-front writing surface
The body of the desk is modelled on a lyre.
The applied bronze decoration includes gilded stars and lion’s heads.
A rectangular plinth supports the piece.
Carved paw feet
VIENNESE GUERIDON
This mahogany-veneered and partially carved gueridon has an overhanging table top with a gilt-edged round frieze below. The three tapering legs are topped by lions’ heads and terminate in a tripartite base with paw feet. c.1810
BEECHWOOD CHAIR
This chair has a scrolled back and rose-coloured upholstery on both the back and seat. The chair has tapering front legs and cabriole back legs. The design is attributed to Leo von Klenze and the chair is thought to have come from the Resident in Munich. c.1818.
GERMAN INTERPRETATIONS German furniture was often larger and grander than its French Empire equivalents. Locally-produced pieces tended to have heavy columns and be rigidly symmetrical.
Empire furniture was predominantly a style for the nobility and was soon adopted by the rulers of the monarchies and princedoms that made up the German Confederation after the Vienna Congress in 1815. These rulers showed off their power by building new castles or by lavishly refurbishing existing ones, and the exuberant interiors of the palaces were designed in the Empire style.
Anterooms and throne rooms were furnished with gilded Empire pieces. Gifted court cabinet-makers produced various ensembles with matching sofa tables and console tables based on French designs or adapted from the fashion magazines that were popular at the time. Private rooms were furnished with mahogany pieces ornamented with gilt-bronze mounts. Decorative motifs were influenced by those of ancient Egypt.
Seating furniture was also directly inspired by the designs of the ancient world. The influence of the Greek Klismos chair, for example, can be seen in the chairs designed by Leo von
Klenze, who worked for the Bavarian King Ludwig I in Munich and whose Neoclassical buildings form much of the city of Munich today.
VIENNESE DESIGN
Vienna was a leading centre for the production of furniture. It was here that some of the most inventive designs were developed, including the lyre-secretaire, which often took on unusual shapes. Unlike the designers and craftsmen working in the German
states, Viennese designers favoured the striking contrast of ebonized wood and gilt bronze and created finely cast and chased gilt bronze mounts that equalled the work of French craftsmen.
One of the most gifted Viennese cabinet-makers was Josef Ulrich Danhauser. He ran the first Viennese furniture manufacturers, from 1804 until his death in 1829, and made his name by decorating his furniture with wood paste moulded to look like expensive bronzes.
This table has a rectangular top with rounded corners, which rests above a single frieze drawer. The piece is raised on sharply tapering, square-section legs. c.1810. H:77crn
AUSTRIAN CHERRY WOOD TABLE
KARL FRIEDRICH SCHINKEL (1781-1841)
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL GERMAN MASTER-BUILDER OF THE EARLY 19th CENTURY,
SCHINKEI_ WAS ALSO A CITY PLANNER AND ARTIST, AND A FAMOUS FURNITURE DESIGNER.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was born near Berlin, and originally trained as an architect as one of the first students at the new Berlin Bouakademie. He studied under the architect Friedrich Gilly, whose plans for a monument to Frederick the Great of Prussia greatly inspired the young Schinkel.
He travelled to France and Italy, and was influenced by the Classical-style architecture and furnishings he saw. His theory was that new designs should draw on the ancient world for inspiration, rather than slavishly recreate it. On his return to Germany, he worked for the Prussian state, including working as a
stage designer for the National Theatre.
One of Schinkels earliest works was a bed with bedside table, designed for Queen Louise for the Charlottenburg castle in Berlin. His use of light-coloured veneers anticipated the Biedermeier style (see pp.216-17). He was not
afraid to experiment with shape and created pieces designed for specific places within a room. Typical Schinkel designs are for architectural secretaires and comfortable armchairs. His publication Vorbilder fur Fabrihanten and Handwerker (Role Models for Makers and Craftsmen) in 1835 had a widespread influence. In later years, Schinkels work drew less on the
Neoclassical style, and more on the designs of the Renaissance.
Schinkel armchair This generously upholstered armchair has a curvaceous frame with a high backrest and is decorated with motifs from the ancient world.
Schinkel in Naples This oil painting, by Franz Louis Catel, shows Karl Friedrich Schinkel in Naples in 1824 during his second Italian journey. 1824
This rectilinear commode is made from mahogany veneered with maple. It has canted corners and three drawers with ebony stringing. The commode is supported on square, tapering legs. Early 19th century.

empire antique hall bench
empire bohemia china
empire bureau mahogany
empire chair reproduction claw foot
empire chairs with brass  feet
empire chairs with lions paw brass  feet
empire chamber pot
empire chest of drawers+acanthus
empire claw foot sofa
empire couch prince of wales emblem
empire desk with claw feet
empire dining chairs antique
empire drop leaf
empire drop leaf lyre base mahogany table
empire drop leaf pedestal table
empire era+leather top+pull out side extensions+mahogany+violin/harp shape on sides of coffee table
empire folding chair
empire furniture co
empire furniture drawer handles
empire furniture dressers with large mirror
empire furniture with scroll feet
empire gateleg table
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empire oak buffet
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empire period sideboards
empire pillar and claw table
empire porcelain 1960’s  trinket holder
empire rectangle library table
empire revival buffet
empire sheraton bureaus
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empire state art deco lamp
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empire swan egyptian chair antique

german “baroque cabinet” “18th century”
german 18th century porcelain figures
german 1930 furniture
german 1930’s burled walnut sideboard
german 1940 art deco
german 19th century furniture
german antique china cabinets
german antique farmers trestle tables
german antique fold-up game table
german antique inlaid wood table
german antique shrunks
german antique sugar and creamers from the 17th century
german antique wood chair 1800’s carved
german antique woodworking bench
german armoire oak 19th century
german art deco cabinet
german art deco furniture value
german art nouveau writing desk
german austrian baroque cabinet 18th century
german cabinet doors metal inlay
german candlesticks
german carved inlay cabinet
german ceramic figurines 1930
german coat of arms +horoldt
german copy of derby porcelain figures
german deco furniture
german dining table with slide leaves
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19th Century Empire Furniture.

A ROYAL FRENCH CENTRE TABLE
Centre tables became increasingly popular in the early 19th century Designed to stand in the middle Of a room, this piece was intended to be seen from all angles. Consequently, the tessellated marquetry top is decorated on all sides, and the top even
swivels. Placed over planks, which make up the top, the veneers include alternating petals of maple and mahogany. The outer border is crossbanded with tulipwood and encloses several thuyawood panels “inlaid” with trophies of Science, Painting, Gardening, Architecture, Music, and Navigation.
Technically the use of the word “inlaid” is inaccurate here as the trophies and the thuyawood ground are cut from veneers of equal thickness and pieced together (more like parquetry). In other words, the trophies are not laid into a thick piece of timber but are veneered on top of the secondary carcase of the table top. The pentagonal column and the concave-sided plinth are veneered in burr elm. This local light-coloured wood, like the maple veneers on the top, is typical of the taste for boil (lairs during the Empire period.
Equally typical of this style are the ormolu mounts on the column and plinth, depicting
winged figures of victory. This choice of subject is of great significance, as the table bears a print label inscribed Chateau des Tuileries/1929 and 1047 Salon dc la famille du Roi.
This table was made for
Louis XVIII of France by LouisFrancois-Laurent Puteaux around 1815. The victory
figures could, therefore, refer to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy after the final exile of Napoleon in that year.
An exceptional piece, it is unusual for the period, as most pieces relied on well-figured veneers for decoration rather than parquetry.
A burr-elm and marquetry centre table This piece has a circular swivelling top, with a central geometric-inlaid rosette and broad border. It is raised on a pentagonal column and supported on a concave-sided pentagonal plinth. The table rests on bun feet. Made by Puteaux
Table top
The trophies of Science, Painting,
Gardening, Architecture, Music,
and Navigation are divided by
green-stained wreaths.
A GREAT DEAL OF the furniture produced in Europe,
the United States, and South Africa from the time of
the French Revolution to around 1830 owes some closely
stylistic allegiance to the French Empire style. The
British Regency and German Biedermeier styles (see
pp.206 and 216) were both highly idiosyncratic and,
although indebted to the Napoleonic manner, were
influential in their own right. It is one of the ironies countries France had conquered,
of the period that countries so hostile to Napoleon including Spain, Italy, and the
and French rule, including Britain, Germany and Netherlands.
Russia, adopted a style derived from Paris fashions.
NEW CUSTOMERS Napoleon famously failed to conquer, still
The period is also notable for a subtle shift in market
from the aristocratic patrons of pre-revolutionary
France to the bourgeoisie. It is sometimes argued that
the rise of the middle-class buyer heralded a decline
in the quality of furniture, but the discerning eye
will appreciate that fine Empire furniture is of an
equal quality to that which preceded it. The Industrial
Revolution also affected furniture workshops, which,
throughout the 19th century were increasingly
mechanized. This process was aided by the disbanding
of the guild system in France early in the Revolution,
freeing cabinet-makers and bronze founders from the
restrictive procedures formerly enforced upon them.
style remained the height of fashion until 1815 when the Emperor
was finally exiled for
good. Thereafter, it became heavier in porportion and freer of decoration such as ormolu mounts.
However, as the Empire style was taken up in various other countries in Europe, it was combined with the local traditions and
techniques. In the American furniture, which was largely Influenced
by British style: the shaped back panel, bowed front
and tapering legs display the Classical influences of the period.

THE GERMAN-SPEAKING world developed its own style years before the modern German state took shape. Although the Biedermeier style had evolved from the Neoclassical movement, particularly the Empire look that emerged from Napoleonic France, it was distinctly Germanic. Its popularity was such that Biedermeier furniture never quite disappeared in the 19th century and a number of popular revivals occurred, particularly in the 1860x. At the same time,
Germany and Austria embraced the same eclectic historicism that was popular throughout Europe during the mid 19th century.
ROCOCO REVIVAL
The Rococo revival was met with particular favour in Vienna, a city whose conservative nature was such that the court had never relinquished the original Germanic Rokoko of the 18th century, and so there was a seamless progression to the revival
style. New processes and technologies ushered in by the Industrial Revolution made it possible to recreate Rococo forms from published patterns at a Fraction of the original cost and in less time, making them accessible to a wider market. Machines cut much finer veneers and carved Rococo ornament for application to carcases constructed from local woods.
One of the pinnacles of the Rococo-revival style was the refurbishment of the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna,
which made a lasting impression on public taste. Michael Thonet (see pp.284-85), who assisted Peter Hubert Desvignes in this mammoth task between 1837 and 1849, went on to revolutionize the furniture industry in his adopted Austria with his mass-produced bentwood furniture. Other accomplished masters included Anton POssenbacher, whose lavish carved and embroidered chairs for King Ludwig 11 represent the zenith of Bavarian Rococo.
SIDE CHAIRS
These two chairs are from a set of six Biedermeier style, walnut veneered and polished side chairs made in Austria. The curved crest rail is supported on flat supports above a rounded, upholstered seat with lightly sweeping legs. c.1900.
GAMES TABLE
This Louis-Philippe-style mahogany games table has a moulded table top above a serpentine apron with carved finials at the corners. The rectangular table top opens up to reveal a playing surface, supported on a baluster column and four cabriole legs with floral carving. 1850-60.
PRESS CUPBOARD
This massive cupboard is made of oak, and is decorated with architectural style motifs. The design is completely symmetrical, in keeping with the Neoclassical style. The Lipper section of the cupboard consists of a moulded cornice, which projects above a carved frieze. Pilaster supports are positioned either side of two trained doors, which are designed
to resemble those found in Classical architecture. Below this are four narrow drawers. The lower section of the cabinet consists of two small cupboards with heavily inlaid and carved doors, also flanked by fluted pilasters. The whole piece is supported on a base that contains a further four drawers. Such an impressive piece would have belonged to a wealthy household. Late 19th century.
UNIFICATION AND RENAISSANCE Reworking of historical styles was characteristic of German and Austrian furniture design at this time. The same Gothic, Rococo, and Renaissance revivals that informed furniture design in Paris and London diffused through the continent far more quickly after the development of an integrated rail network in the mid 19th century. After the eventual unification of the German states under Bismarck in 1871, there was a general reappraisal of the roots
of German culture, creating a fusion of traditional vernacular design with these wider European trends.
Just as the United States embraced the Neo-Renaissance style after winning their independence from Britain, German designers developed a particular affinity for the style following the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. Known as the Granderzeit, this style continued to be popular into the 20th century, remaining fashionable in some circles in parallel with the
more radical jugendstil. New wealth, industrialization, overseas trade, and colonial acquisitions all contributed to a burgeoning confidence in the
new German state.
GOTHIC STYLE
The German Gothic revival, a lighter and fussier aesthetic than its British counterpart, often featured boullework – a product of Louis XIV’s France
rather than of the
medieval period.
The German version of the Gothic style was more elaborate, making use of multiple colours where the original French version had been predominantly monochrome. A carved oak bookcase designed in Gothic style by Austrian cabinet-makers Bernardo de Bernardis (1808-68) and Joseph Cremer (1808-71) was displayed at the Crystal Palace exhibition in 1851, and afterwards it was presented to
Queen Victoria by Emperor
Franz Josef.
Ebonized cupboard This piece is richly decorated with Meissen porcelain mounts, the most prominent being the oval panel on the cupboard door. They have chased gilt-metal borders and depict courting couples. The cupboard has a rectangular top with conforming gallery and is flanked by four polychrome, floral-decorated detached columns above turned, bulbous feet. c.1880.
PORCELAIN MOUNTS
GERMANY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF EUROPEAN FURNITURE DESIGN IN THE MID I 9TH CENTURY, BUT THE PORCELAIN MOUNTS PRODUCED WON INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM.
Ever since Meissen produced the first European porcelain, Germany has been a market leader in the ceramics industry. During the mid 19th century, enterprising cabinetmakers undertook to harness this resource and combine it with their own stock-in-trade. Cabinets decorated with porcelain mounts were not an entirely new concept - Oriental craftsmen had been making furniture with applied ceramic plaques For centuries, although their minimalist designs
were a far cry from the elaborate models produced in Germany. In France, Sevres plaques had been used to adorn cabinets on occasion, but it was in Germany that the most celebrated examples were made.
The carcases of these cabinets were roughly constructed from pine in Renaissance forms. An ebony veneer or, more usually, a coat of black paint provided a suitably dark ground on which to mount elaborate porcelain plaques, pillars, and feet: the dark wood acted as a foil to the richly decorated white ceramic. The best examples, many of which came from the Meissen factory, were hand-painted with scenes taken from 17th-century paintings with antiquarian or folk themes. The public appetite for these cabinets was vast, and William Oppenheim won widespread acclaim for an example he exhibited in Paris in 1878 For the Royal Dresden Factory.

Enamelled glass
The process of enamelling has been known since Roman times, and from the end of the 13th century was used to great effect by Islamic glassmakers to decorate mosque lamps. In Europe enamelling first appeared in Venice in the 15th century, and spread elsewhere during the 16th century. In Vienna in the early 19th century beakers were decorated with transparent enamels
in the Biedermeier style by such artists as Gottlob Samuel Mohr and Anton Kothgasser and in the later part of 19th century copies of earlier styles were made by manufacturers all over Europe, the most outstanding of which were Islamic- and Iznik-style wares, which were made in France, and Histortsmus wares, which were produced in Germany.Enamelling
, which can be used to decorate both colourless and coloured glass, was used extensively in Europe from the 16th century. It was employed most notably to decorate armorial wares, but it was also used to create bright and colourful decoration in naturalistic motifs; naive and charming designs of flowers and animals are highly characteristic. On many wares enamelled decoration was used in conjunction with gilding.
ITALY
The invention of cristallo glass c.14.50 by Angelo Barovier (4.1460) provided a perfectly clear ground that was ideally suited to enamelling in brilliant colours. Enamelling, a technique that the Venetians probably learned from Islamic glassmakers, was at its peak in Venice from the 15th to the mid-16th centuries. The process involved applying a thick paste of powdered glass and a colouring metallic oxide in an oil medium to the surface of the glass, which was then heated in a furnace, where the enamel and glass fused. Each colour required a different firing temperature, and the work could easily burn if overfired. Enamelling is a notoriously difficult technique, and most enamelling of this period is
restricted to the borders, with simple scale and dot patterns. On much more sophisticated wares, such as specially commissioned commemorative tazze (ornamental serving dishes), enamelling was often combined with gilding, and decoration included portraits, coats of arms, family and guild crests, and mythological figures. Although enamelling fell out of favour by the late 16th century, it was revived during the second half of the 18th century by Oswaldo Brussa, who, with his son Angelo, decorated clear-glass beakers, carafes, and bottles with birds, flowers, and biblical scenes in a charming and naive style.
GERMANY AND BOHEMIA
In the 16th century enamelling was developed as a popular form of decoration in the regions of Germany and Bohemia. From the mid-16th century German glass decorators, inspired by finely decorated wares from Venice, used brightly coloured enamels to decorate large, simple shapes made from coarse, robust soda glass. The technique was especially popular for decorating traditional drinking glasses or goblets, particularly the Humpen (simple, cylindrical drinking vessels, the foot rims of which are decorated with white enamelled dashes). Variations on the Humpen include the Reichsadlerhumpen (”Imperial Eagle Beaker”), which was designed to toast and show allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor, and featured the double-headed Imperial eagle with outstretched wings from which hang shields showing the constituent parts of the Empire; the Hofkellereiglas (decorated with armorial decorations), Wilkommhumpen (”greeting glass”), usually of large proportions, and Kurfturstenhumpen (”Elector’s beaker”), decorated with depictions of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Seven Electors of the Empire.
Other German drinking vessels that were enamelled Include goblets and beakers such as the Passglas (a tall cylindrical beaker decorated with horizontal bands, which indicated the amount of beer to be consumed by a drinker before they passed the glass on to the next person) and the Stangenglas (a long narrow beaker on a pedestal base). These wares were enamelled in very bright colours with decoration such as dated armorial and political motifs, Lind designs commemorating guilds and trades.
In Bohemia in the 18th century enamelling was mostly used to decorate flasks, bottles, and tankards made of opaque-white Milchglas (”milk glass”). The white body imitated porcelain, and the decoration featured people, animals, and flowers painted in a naive folk style in bright polychrome enamels.
In the 17th century Johann Schaper (1621-70),
a Hausmaler (”home painter”) based in Nuremberg, developed an enamelling techniques which he used to decorate both glass and porcelain. Schwarzlot (black-lead) enamelling involved decorating glass vessels (mainly tumblers) with black or brown transparent enamel, and was fashionable from c.1650 to 1750. Designs were typically inspired by engravings and depicted battle scenes, landscapes, and mythological subjects.
In the 18th century the popularity of Schwarzlot decoration spread to Bohemia and Silesia. One of the most celebrated exponents of the technique at this time was Ignaz Preissler (1676-1741), a glass and porcelain painter, who used the technique to decorate glass tumblers and flasks with mythological scenes, townscapes, Laub- and Bandelwerk (decoration of interwoven leaves and strapwork), and chinoiserie.
BRITAIN AND SPAIN
Before 17.50 enamelling was relatively rare in Britain. Among the best-known early British enamellers were the Beilby family. In 1760 William Beilby (1740-1819) and his sister Mary Beilby ( 1749-97) moved from Bilston, in Staffordshire, to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the north-east of England, where they enamelled wares between c.1762 and 1774. Their most celebrated wares are large pieces, Such as the “Royal Beilbys” – goblets featuring the Prince of Wales’s feathers and made from 1763 to commemorate the birth of the Prince of Wales (later George IV); their armorial goblets enamelled on the howl and commissioned by local families are also of note. Typical decoration includes simple borders of thinly applied white flowers, fruits, hops, and barley; more ambitious designs include Arcadian landscapes, ruins, and even sporting scenes.
Other British decorators who painted with enamels include-80) and Michael Edkins
,James Giles (1718
(173 1 34-18 11). Giles decorated glassware for the Falcon Glassworks (est. 1693) in London. Edkins, who worked
in Bristol, painted opaque white glass, both with chinoiseries and with charming, naive designs of insects, birds, and other naturalistic motifs.
In Spain enamelled glassware was produced most notably at La Granja de San Ildefonso near Segovia. Established in 1728 by the Catalan glassmaker Ventura Sit (d.1755), near the palace of La Granja, the factory employed French and German glassmakers, who brought with them a variety of techniques and styles that gave the glass an international character. Typical wares include glasses and tumblers, and although many were embellished with gilded decoration, enamelled floral designs, notably tulips and roses, were also popular.
Italy
• GLASS cristallo glass is most typical; some wares appear slightly cloudy due to Grizzling
• DECORATION many pieces feature naive folk art designs of flowers or biblical scenes; on some examples enamelling is used in conjunction with gilding
Germany and Bohemia
• GLASS Milchglas should be a slightly off-white colour
• COLOUR earlier, more collectable glass is often a smoky greyish-green colour; most later glass is a strong green
• DECORATION commemorative designs, rustic scenes, and flowers in bright colours arc typical
• CONDITION damage to enamelling can greatly reduce
the value; worn gilding is common but insignificant
• BEWARE be careful with .Schwarzlot glass that features transfer-printed decoration, as many reproductions were made in the 19th century
Britain and Spain
• GLASS glass is mostly clear, or sometimes blue or white
• DECORATION Britain: some wares by the Beilby family feature armorials; many pieces depict charming, naturalistic designs; Spain: floral designs, especially tulips and roses, arc highly characteristic; designs should be neat and well drawn; enamelling is often combined with gilded decoration
• COLLECTING Britain: “Royal Beilbys” and armorial goblets with coloured decoration are valuable and highly collectable
Styles of enamelled glass produced after 1800 are many and varied. In Germanic Europe (a region that included such cities as Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Berlin) the period known as the Biedermeier period (c.1815–c.1848) was one of middle-class prosperity, and this ensured the continued popularity of such decorative arts as glassmaking. Enamelled wares from the early 19th century are typically decorated with topographical scenes, floral designs, and portraits in bright colours. Following the re-establishment of the German Empire in 1871 there was a revival of the production of traditional German styles of glass; this revival is known as “Historismus”. Exceptional enamelled wares were produced in France in the 19th century, notably elaborate Islamic designs and some delicately decorated opaline wares. In Britain enamelled decoration was mainly restricted to monochromatic transfer-printed patterns on opaque white grounds.
GERMANY AND BOHEMIA
During the Biedermeier period Samuel Mohn (1762-1815), a Hausmaler (”home painter”) in Dresden, pioneered the use of a thin, transparent enamel decoration, which he used to great effect on tumblers and beakers. His son Gottlob Samuel Mohn (1789-1825) learned the technique from his father and in c.1811 went to Vienna, where he
met Anton Kothgasser (1769-1851), a painter at the Royal porcelain factory. Both men used the technique to decorate simple, straight-sided beakers and,
from 1814, a type of beaker known as a Ranftbecher, with a waisted or tapered body and a thick cogwheel-cut base. Kothgasser’s enamelled decorations resembled romantic watercolours; his designs included fine landscapes,
cityscapes (particularly of Vienna), portraits, and allegorical and Neo-classical subjects. Mohn used silhouettes and allegorical subjects as decoration but is best known for his tumblers decorated with topographical motifs – palaces, cityscapes, and tourist views; his beakers typically have gilded borders. Other distinguished contemporary enamellers include Carl von Scheidt and Andreas Mattoni (1779-1864), 79-1864), who established a school at Karlsbad where Ludwig Moser (1833-1916) was a pupil.
Following the unification of Germany in 1871, there was a fashion for reproducing “historic” styles to create a sense of national identity; this trend (which also appeared in Italy in the mid-19th century) is known as “Historismus”. Glassware was just one of the media in which designs were reproduced in the “old German” style, characteristically with decorations of spurious crests, dates, and national insignia. There was a flood of traditional German drinking glasses made, including Humpen (simple, cylindrical beakers), Romer (drinking glasses with flared feet, wide cylindrical stems, and ovoid bowls), the Kuttrolf (a type of pouring flask), and other vessels made in imitation of 16th- and 17th-century originals, with false dates and inscriptions. These copies can usually be recognized by overelaborate decoration in bright, inappropriately coloured enamels, fictitious crests, crests of large towns rather than families, and heavy glass that is free from imperfections (early glass is frequently flawed). Wares, which are often of a very high quality and collectors’ items in their own right, may bear enamelled signatures identifying the manufacturer. The leading producers included the Rhenish Glasshouse (1886-92) in Ehrenfeld, Koln-Ehrenfeld, situated on the Rhine, near Cologne, and Meyrs Neffe of Bohemia (1841-1922) in Adolfov, known for producing copies of goblets with Hochschnitt (”high cut”) decoration during the 1890s. Hausmaler who worked on “Historismus” wares include Fritz Heckert, a glass enameller who established a glass-decorating works in Petersdorf, Bohemia, in 1866 and a glass factory in 1889. The company was active until c.1890 and specialized in the production of Humpen, enamelled with designs copied from traditional woodcuts and engravings. The strong Bohemian enamelling tradition was also continued late into the 19th century by such companies as Ludwig Moser & Sons (est. c.1857) in Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic).
FRANCE AND AUSTRIA
In the 19th century French enamellers gained international renown for their fine wares, receiving
commissions from all over the world, particularly
from Arab states, in the Near East. Much French
enamelling was executed on the finest opaline
glass. Some of the best examples arc Vases
decorated with animals, birds, and sprays of
wild flowers. Some of the most impressive,
although quite rare, French enamelled wares
pre produced by Philippe Joseph Brocard
(4.1896) and I.J. Imberton Inspired by 13th-
and l4th-century Islamic lamps, which were
elaborately decorated with arabesques, stylized
scrolls, and floral designs in thick, opaque
enamel, Brocard experimented with this style
from the I 860s. His designs included copies
of mosque lamps, vases, ewers, and dishes;
these pieces, decorated with thick enamelling,
jewelling, and gilding, won first prize at
the Paris Exhibition of 1878. Imberton also
decorated fine Islamic-style wares with stylized
motifs. In Austria the style was taken up by
the glass company of J. &’ L. Lobmeyr- (est. 1823) in Vienna, which designed a range of Islamic style glassware for the domestic and export market, and also won prizes for its Islamic-style wares at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.
BRITAINIn
Britain the firm of W.II.., B. Richardson (est. c. 1836) near Stourbridge, was famous lot- it, high quality wares and patented designs. It produced glass using many patented techniques. One was known as “vitrified colours”, the finest examples of which were shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. The commercial process involved transfer printing [)lack or coloured designs such as a pictorial scene onto the glasse
hebody
(which was i opaque:), and then firing the design. Sometimes the enamels were hand-painted onto the body, although this is not so common. The firm of Bacchus (est. c.18 16; later George Bacchus & Sons) in Birmingham also produced a series of wares in the 19th century, which were decorated with transfer-printed enamels, most of which feature Neo-classical scenes.

The period of Eclecticism,
The Biedermeier style is regarded as the last creative style of the nineteenth century. Furniture makers had started casting their eyes back to examples in classical antiquity during the period of
It became fashionable to decorate and furnish in oriental style at the end of the nineteenth century. Furnishings such as carpets and rugs, vases, mother-of-pearl decorated furniture, and divans were widely found at this time.
The heroic style of the first Napoleon was overwhelmed beneath a welter of large upholstered pieces and drapes in the France of Napoleon III.
This excess and ostentation covered up a lack of creativity on the part of the citoyens who now held the leading positions in industry and commerce. This also brought about an increase in mass production. The flood of cheap and indiscriminate furniture led to a marked reduction in fine hand-made furniture by craftsmen. This process was also hastened by the attitude of the schools for the applies arts.
Eclecticism manifested itself in virtually every branch of the arts. Only Michael Thonnet contributed new creativity at this time. He discovered in about 1830 that it was possible to make thin lightweight sheets of oak veneer which could be bent and laminated in order to make furniture. He bent laminated sheets of oak veneer with the help of steam.
Another raw material which was also popular in the past for making lightweight chairs is rattan.
Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco
Opposition to Eclecticism arose in the late nineteenth century. The imitations of old styles and tasteless mass produced items were detested. Artists formed themselves into groups in many countries and strove for pure craftmanship and simple art. Above all objects were to be functional, original, and logically constructed.
Munich became an important centre in this movement. A publication entitled Die Jugend was established there and this gave its name to style which arose: Jugendstil.
This was more of a movement and trend than a style in itself with many different approaches in different countries.
An important group formed around John Ruskin in England for which the social aspect was also important. The emphasis was placed on craft traditions that still existed and had done so since the Middle Ages. The Arts and Crafts movement, as it was known, placed its main emphasis on craftmanship in the making of pieces. Another group of artists in Scotland, led by the architect Charles Rennie Macintosh, went its own way. Another important centre was Vienna where Sezession was formed, under leadership of the artists J.M. Olbricht and Gustav Klimt.
France had been pushed into the background during the previous period of furniture making and Art Nouveau arose as an innovative movement which tied in with activities elsewhere at that time. The main centres of French Art Nouveau were Paris and Nancy.
The British Arts and Crafts movement had hardly any effect on France and certainly none on its furniture designs. Hence the French developed a style of their own. French artists produced many delightful decorations with elegant and original designs, using expensive materials. Generally these new styles started from a standpoint that the eclectic character of nineteenth century furniture was pompous. The new designs were therefore lighter, more transparent in their construction, more fluid, and more `honest’. The silhouettes used were still of classical origin. Decorative elements were drawn from nature and the extent to which these were then stylised depend on the individual movement. This can be seen in the difference between Jugendstil and French Art Nouveau. Jugendstil’s decorations are more naturalistic than the stylised forms of Art Nouveau.
Major names of furniture designers of the time are Van der Velde and Horta in Belgium, Bugatti in Italy, and Louis Majorelle and Emile GaIIe in France. The German makers included names such as tioners in Britain. In addition to Macintosh, another great name from around the turn of the century is C.F.A. Voysey.
A further detail tends more towards Art Nouveau.
The Viennese Werkstatte was led by Josef Hoffmann who found himself drawn to the work of the Scot Macintosh. In common with other centres, the artists of the Werkstdtte did not fully subscribe to the ruling ideas of either Jugendstil or Art Nouveau. They did not consider that only traditional hand-crafting was valid and they also used machinery. Reproductions of the popular main great styles continued to be made up to the outbreak of World War I.
The styles of the French Kings Louis, Sheraton, and Chippendale continued to be very popular and not everyone admired the modern art approach of Jugendstil and Art Nouveau. After World War I a new style was discerned — Art Deco. Art Deco absorbed much of Art Nouveau but rejected its adherence to hand craftmanship and expressly chose to machine make objects. It was not furniture of the mid eighteenth century that inspired Art Deco designers, rather than that of Louis XVI and the Directoire at the end of the century.
The influence of Cubism can be readily seen in the modern designs of this time.

Easy chairs before 1840
As the Baroque movement swept through Europe during the late 17th century, the design of seat furniture became increasingly luxurious, elaborate, and more importantly comfortable. Caned and leather chairs, which until this time had sufficed, were largely abandoned in favour of richly upholstered easy chairs as stiff upright backs were discarded and were replaced by sloped and subsequently shaped backs. The number of types of chairs also increased enourmously.
ITALY AND FRANCE
It was in Italy, particularly in Venice, Florence, and Rome, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, that the Baroque style found its clearest expression. The most elaborate open armchairs of this period are usually of either boxwood or giltwood. They are carved with scrolling acanthus, espagnolette masks, and even mythological figures emblematic of the four seasons. Some Venetian examples feature seahorses in deference to the city’s seafaring tradition. Such pieces were usually the work of trained sculptors who had turned their hand to furniture-making; the most celebrated of these was undoubtedly Andreas Brustolon (1662-1732).
In France, under the influence of Cardinal Mazarin, the court of Louis XIV (1643-1715) became increasingly hungry for foreign luxuries and fashions, especially those from Italy. In the mid-17th century French easy chairs became increasingly comfortable and elaborate, owing to their generous proportions, richly turned decoration, and lavish use of velvet upholstery from Genoa or Utrecht.
The Regence period (1715-23) saw significant developments in the design of seat furniture. Although the menuisiers (joiners) were slow to abandon the traditional Louis XIV fauteuil (armchair) form, they were increasingly lavish in their carving. Chairs were decorated with gadroons, shells, and rosettes, and even richly upholstered in velvet or lavish textiles made at the Savonnerie in Paris (est. 1604 in the Louvre for the production of textiles; from 1627 at the Savonnerie). The stretcher became more sinuous, and was abandoned by the 1720s. Further changes in form and design were
dictated by the fashion for wearing hooped dresses, introduced c.1720, which resulted in the arms of easy chairs being set back by a quarter of the length of the side-rail. The introduction of upholstery it    allowed the loose covering to be changed according to the season.
Under Louis XV (1715-74) the fashion
for placing chairs around the sides of the room was abandoned in favour of a more relaxed arrangement that encouraged intimate conversation and gave birth to the fauteuil en cabriolet, with its Rococo form and exuberant carving in the round. Louis XV seat furniture is usually made of either walnut or beech, the latter wood
always either gilded or painted; a
pegged construction was used, and pieces are very often stamped by the menuisier responsible, in accordance with the strict rules of the furniture-
makers’ guild (Corporation des Menuisiers-Ebenistes). During the 1730s numerous styles of informal easy chair emerged, all of them richly carved. The most luxurious was the bergere, which was popular throughout the 18th century and characterized by its deep seat, padded back and sides, and squab cushion. Widely copied throughout Europe, it was to prove inspirational to chair-makers during the Regency period (c.1790-1830) in Britain, and was also much copied in the late 19th and
20th centuries.
BRITAIN AND NORTH AMERICA
The earliest-recorded wing armchairs, known as bergere en confessionnal because the identity of the sitter was hidden by the side wings, are French examples from the early 1670s. Invariably of walnut, this form was rapidly adopted in Britain. The wing armchairs made during the late 17th and very early 18th centuries were usually of walnut or, in more provincial examples, of beech stained to simulate walnut. These armchairs are characterized by the exaggerated scroll of the arms, the high, slanted back flanked by high wings, and the stylized carving of scrolls and foliage on the legs and stretchers.
The most celebrated form of wing armchair was made from the early 18th century until c.1750. Examples are usually of walnut, and are
supported on cabriole legs, which, unlike their 17th-century prototypes, are rarely joined by stretchers. Wing armchairs made in Britain during the reigns of Queen Anne and George I are often carved with trailed husks and scallop shells on the top of the knees and stand on pad feet, although some later examples have hoof or claw-and-ball feet. The most refined wing armchairs of this period were upholstered in gros and petit point needlework, often with figures on the back (but never on the seat) within a flower-strewn border.
Wing armchairs continued to be made throughout the 18th century in mahogany, and were widely copied in walnut in the 19th and 20th centuries. North American early 18th-century wing chairs were generally of walnut or maple, with a high arched crest, and block and vase turned legs joined by a stretcher. During the 1720s short cabriole legs with “Spanish” feet, were used and front stretchers were eliminated. From the mid-18th century mahogany was used. Stretchers continued to be used in New England, while easy chairs made in Philadelphia generally did not have them. In 1760 the serpentine crest design was introduced, modifying the verticality, and it was used along with the rounded profile until the 1780s. Between 1780 and 1800 American chair-makers used George Hepplewhite’s design for a “Saddle Check Chair”, an easy chair with serpentine contoured wings, straight legs, and “H” stretchers, a chair design also associated with Thomas Chippendale (1718-79). There are regional differences in construction and upholstery. Maple was often used for the one-piece rear legs and stiles in New England chairs, stained to match the mahogany of the front legs.

A Library bergere or “Uxbridge” chair
This British armchair is of a style introduced in the early I8th century for use in the library. It has a cane-filled back and sides, and leather-covered cushions, the best examples have reeled or fluted front legs (early 19th century; ht 1.2ml3ft 1 lin; value 1)
Other types of late 18th-century easy chair were based on designs in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book (1791-1802) by Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) including “conversation” chairs, with deep upholstered seats and padded toprails on which the sitter, facing backward, could rest his or her arms. In Sheraton’s The Cabinet Dictionary (1803) there is a reference to a “curricle” chair, so-called after a tub-shaped carriage, which was popular in libraries at the time. About 1810 to 1820 bergere-type armchairs with deep, upholstered or leather seats and backs, and cane or upholstered sides, were also widely used in libraries.
SCANDINAVIA
Trade between England and Scandinavia was well established by  the mid-17th century, and some English furniture had been exported to Scandinavia by the end of the century. Craftsmen in these countries produced good copies of English furniture; the joiners (although not the cabinet-makers) were very conservative, with the result that early 18th-century styles continued to be produced until c.1800. Around this time, too, mahogany was introduced; before this, walnut was used for expensive pieces. More commonly employed, however, were native light-coloured woods such as birch, ash, and pine; these were left bare, stained, or painted in colours.
By the late 1730s French designs had become increasingly popular at the Swedish and Danish courts and also with the upper classes in these countries; the middle classes did not generally adopt the new fashions until the end of the century. French styles were particularly influential in Sweden, and from the Rococo period court architects were trained in Paris. One of the most influential Swedish designers of the period was Jean Eric Rehn (1717-93). Danish court architects learned their trade in Germany, but this situation changed after the reign of Louis XVI, when both countries adopted the French Neo-
classical style. In Sweden the cabinetmaker Georg Haupt (1741-84), who had trained in both Paris and London is well known for his work in the Louis XVI style. This style developed into the Neo-classical Gustavian style during the I 770S.

AMERICAN “CHIPPENDALE”
The carvers of the most elaborate American Rococo furniture were immigrants from England, Scotland, and Ireland, who had served their apprenticeship in London before going to North America. The first of them arrived in the 1740s, but the great wave of craftsmen tsmen was in the 1760s. Philadelphia was the city most hospitable to immigrants, and more Rococo furniture was produced there than in other colonies. The major cities in America developed distinctive furniture styles, due to the taste of the gentry, the mix of native born and immigrant craftsmen, and the availability of imported
furniture and English pattern books. It is known that there were copies of Chippendale’s Director in Philadelphia. The Library Company of Philadelphia acquired a copy between 1764 and 1769, and two cabinet-makers Thomas Affleck (1740-95) and Benjamin Randolph, owned copies. In America furniture was mostly made of solid pieces of primary wood, rather than veneers over a seconday wood carcase as in England.

RUSSIA
Throughout the 18th century Russian furniture was inspired by French and to a lesser degree English designs; by c.1815 German influence is also apparent. Generally the timbers used for Russian furniture were indigenous; during the early 18th century, when designs were dictated by early Georgian furniture from Britain, they included oak, beech, and walnut. By the 1720s Russian armchairs had tall curved backs with a vase splat and cabriole legs. By the mid-18th century, the taste for Rococo and Chinese ornament had spread to Russia due to the publication of such influential pattern-books as The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1754-62) by the English cabinet-maker Thomas Chippendale (1718-79). English-style chairs with pierced splats and sweeping cabriole legs with claw-and-ball feet, usually made in mahogany, were increasingly popular.
However, from the beginning of the 19th century the clearest influence on Russian furniture manufacture was that of France. Particularly favoured was the Empire style of the cabinet-maker Georges Jacob (1739-1814), who was based in Paris. About this time, light-coloured woods also became popular, anticipating the Biedermeier style in Germany and Scandinavia. From c.1815 chairs were executed in indigenous woods such as Karelian birch, maple, and poplar, decorated with restrained stringing.
HALL CHAIRS
Hall chairs (and also hall benches) were introduced in Britain from the late 17th century. They may have been inspired by similar chairs known as sgabelli, which were popular in the great Italian palaces during the 16th century. Hall chairs were designed to be placed in the entrance hall or passageways used by servants and tradesmen waiting to be called into one of the main rooms. Consequently such chairs were never upholstered, and generally they lacked arms; however, they were increasingly made of mahogany, with solid backs and dished or shaped scats. The designs were bold and simple and were frequently embellished with the painted crest or coat of arms of the family who commissioned them. In some cases they were carved with motifs intended to impress guests and to emphasize the social status of the owner. The importance given to hall chairs is suggested by the fact that there are six designs for such chairs in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director by Thomas Chippendale, three in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide (1788-94) by George Hepplewhite (d.1786), and two in The Cabinet Dictionary (1803) by Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806).

THE BIEDERMEIER STYLE
This decorative style was popular in Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia between c.1815 and c.1848. The name was invented by two German poets who wrote under the pseudonym Gottlieb Biedermeier, formed from a combination of bieder (meaning conventional or honest) and Meier, a common German surname. The solid, comfortable appearance of Biedermeier pieces was thought to mirror the unpretentious elegance of the German bourgeoisie. The simple, geometic designs, which eschewed ornate decoration, were inspired by French furniture of the Empire period. Function and comfort were of supreme importance to the Biedermeier craftsmen and to achieve this end they used coil-spring upholstery.

•    UPHOLSTERY gros and petit point arc very rare and greatly contribute to the value of a wing armchair
•    REGILDING well-executed regilding should not dramatically affect the value of an object; French Louis XV beechwood chairs were usually originally gilded or painted and traces are often found in the crevices
•    HALL CHAIRS these arc usually found in sets of four or more, although it is possible to find single chairs; they are often decorated on the back with a cartouche featuring the armorial of the family who commissioned them; they are generally very good value for money
•    COPIES AND FAKES Brustolon-style chairs were widely copied in the 19th century; Biedermeier chairs have been been widely faked in the 20th century, with many side chairs converted into armchairs – this should be obvious if the proportions seem wrong