Posts Tagged ‘commode’

During the last years of the reign of Louis XIV and the first years of the reign of his great-grandson Louis XV, France was governed by a regent, Philip of Orleans. The furniture made in this period (from about 1710 to 1735) was Baroque in character, but somewhat different from Louis XIV furniture; this division of the Baroque is called the Regency style. The principal cabinetmaker of the Regency period was Charles Cressent (1685-1768). In Regency furniture the tendency towards informality was further developed: it was a style of transition between the Louis XIV style and the Louis XV style that was to follow. The slightly curved outlines of the later Louis XIV furniture were replaced by freer, more graceful curves—the S-shaped legs were not so stiffly upright. But the strict symmetry of the Louis XIV style was retained. Martial motifs were no longer used. Sometimes little monkeys were introduced, suggested perhaps by the paintings of Gillot and Watteau. Not only were the outlines more curved, but the surfaces as well became bombe, or slightly bulging. The typical Regency commode has a slightly bulging front.
It was at this time that the cabinet-makers learned the technique of veneering curved surfaces. Mahogany and rosewood drove out ebony, though gilt was kept for the carved furniture. These woods, imported from the tropics, were found excellent for veneering. Much of the carved and gilded furniture was made, as it had been to some extent under Louis XIV, in beech. This is a wood very suitable for such treatment. It is hard and close-grained enough for delicate carving, and tough enough for a strong joint; and since its grain is uninteresting nothing is lost by gilding it. Moreover it is easily obtainable in Europe, and consequently cheap. For the construction of chairs there are few better woods than beech. It is not often used for carving where strength is not required—for picture frames, for example, a softer wood such as lime is used.
The style known as Louis XV was fashionable from about 1735 till 1750. Louis XV went on reigning till 1774, but there was a complete change of style at about 1750. In Louis XV furniture the symmetry characteristic of the Louis XIV style at last disappears. A general balance was kept in the design of carved decorations, but the parts were not strictly symmetrical. The motifs of the carving included shells, garlands of flowers, musical instruments and gay figures from Greek mythology. Furniture was still partly gilded, but white paint was used with gilt for a lighter effect. Ormolu mounts were placed wherever possible: on the ends of table legs as doe’s feet, on the corners of table-tops and round the edges of commodes. In the search for gaiety of style lacquering was adopted; cabinets were lacquered in the Chinese manner, but there was no general `Chinese style’ as there was at about the same time in England.
The furniture of this period shows the unnatural curves into which ingenious cabinet-makers and joiners can shape wood, a fairly straight-grained material. Everything that could be curved was curved—not only the legs of tables and chairs, but drawer-fronts, the sides and fronts of cupboards, the edges of table-tops. The style was nicknamed Rocaille, or Rococo, from a type of fancy pebble-work fashionable in garden decoration at the time. In the end, the curves became so exaggerated that inventiveness could go no further, and designers began to seek for a new style.
The authority for the change of style did not come from the king, who was a person of weak character, but from Mme de Pompadour, who had great influence at the Court. In 1748 the ruins of buried Pompeii were dug up, and in the same year Mme de Pompadour sent a mission to Italy to study ‘the true beauty of ancient art’. The mission consisted of her brother, the Marquis of Marigny, the architect Soufflot and the engraver Cochin; these envoys were expected to find ideas for a new furniture style.
Louis XVI Carved Details
Acanthus leaf (cf. Renaissance) and Louis XIV acanthus leaves)
Rose of laurel leaves
Egg and dart moulding
CLASSICAL REVIVAL (1750-1815)
The new style which resulted from the researches of this mission came later to be known as the style of Louis XVI, although it began some years before his accession. All the Louis XV curves were now abolished, and chair legs and table legs became straight, and were usually turned and fluted. Gilt was used in smaller quantities, and much of the furniture was painted in pale colours. The decorative detail—the profiles of Carved roses
Arm-chair
with
fluted leg
Ribbon decorating a moulding
also used as decoration, for the chief cabinet-maker of the time, Jean Henri Riesener (1734-1806) worked for Marie Antoinette, and she was very fond of roses. The early Louis XVI furniture, as compared with the grossly elaborate furniture of the end of the Louis XV period, was graceful and light in appearance; yet it was soberly made and gave an effect of dignity and strength.
In the time of Louis XIV the people of the Court had thought of themselves as conquering heroes; and in the time of Louis XV as dallying nymphs and shepherds. They now played the parts of Greek gods, and looked down upon ordinary human affairs with haughty indifference. They indulged themselves in simple tastes and manners, and pretended to be preoccupied with virtue. Superficially they had purer customs than their predecessors; and their furniture was superficially simple. In spite of their affectations, they made their rooms very comfortable indeed. The furniture, smaller than that of any preceding style, was more home-like and gentle.
Towards the end of the reign of Louis XVI more Greco-Roman remains were dug up. Classicism now dominated furniture-making to such an extent that all the natural French graces were suppressed. Ancient designs were exactly copied rather than used as ideas on which to base a native style.
Although the French Revolution was accompanied by many social changes in French life, it had little effect on furniture style: furniture continued to be made in the unnatural late Louis XVI style, except that for a short time revolutionary emblems (clasped hands, workmen’s tools) were used in the decoration. The new rulers, who called themselves friends of `the people’, were as arrogant in their airs as the Court had been, and took over all the trappings of monarchical pomp. There were a few affectations of lower-class simplicity, but there was not sufficient interest in general welfare for the daily habits of life to be much affected. There was no modernization of furniture: it remained ‘antique’. The furniture style of the last years of the reign of Louis XVI and of the First Republic is called Directoire—after the Directorate by which France was governed for the four years preceding the Napoleonic period. Directoire style can be regarded as a version of Louis XVI style.
Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign produced a new kind of antiquity to imitate. The expedition was accompanied by archaeologists, who made drawings of everything they could find. There was immediately an Egyptian fashion in furniture. The Empire style, which lasted from about 1800 till 1820, was perhaps even more pompous than the Louis XIV style. Most of the furniture was of dark red mahogany, decorated with ormolu mounts. Designers sought an Egyptian effect in everything—stern and impressive simplicity. Gilded sphinxes held up the arms of chairs : Egyptian motifs were symbols of Empire. With the imperial manner went the martial manner. France was an armed camp, and the Parisians played at being world conquerors. Stools were made in the form of drums, beds in the form of tents, and ormolu spearheads were stuck on to mahogany panels. So much energy was spent in making furniture express national glories that comfort was neglected. Empire furniture was more uncomfortable to use than any furniture made since the Renaissance, when comfort began to be an important consideration.
NINETEENTH CENTURY
With the fall of Napoleon and the end of the Empire, France relaxed from the efforts and responsibilities of greatness. There was a strong back-to-the-good-old-times movement, but some difficulty in deciding which good old times were best. In the eighty years from 1820 till 1900, France revived all her old styles one by one. There was a Gothic revival, a Renaissance revival, a Louis XV revival, a Louis XVI revival, and then an Empire revival—all in quick succession. Towards the end of the century nearly all French houses contained pieces of imitation period furniture from all the periods. Most of the imitations were rather bad copies of old pieces; many of them were machine-made, and delicacy of detail was therefore lost. Much of the furniture was not even copied from models, but designed ‘in the spirit of the style’ by designers who were too busy to have a very accurate knowledge of any one style. There was no uniformity of fashion; a designer might be working on Renaissance one day and Louis XVI the next.
At this time the production of fake antiques was a flourishing business. The fakes were very well made, often exactly copied from museum pieces—experts are sometimes deceived by nine-Empire Carved Details
Rose from the cradle of the
King of Rome
Arm-chair
Arm-chair
Bed
teenth-century fakes. One enterprising manufacturer pretended
to have discovered a hitherto unknown Louis XV cabinet-maker
and supported the story with faked documents giving the details
of his life. When people became interested in the discovery, the
manufacturer had pieces of Louis XV furniture made in his workshops and offered them for sale one by one as genuine examples of the work of this imaginary cabinet-maker.
Towards the end of the century, French pride reasserted itself. Designers at last grew disgusted with copying and decided to create a new style, one that would take nothing from the past. Nature was to provide the inspiration. The teachings of William Morris were partly responsible for this break with tradition: he attacked the bad taste of machine-production and made designs, for furniture and house furnishings, suitable to hand-production. The French designers, however, were more eccentric than Morris and his English followers, but equally sincere in their resolution to develop a natural beauty of design. They studied the forms and pattern of nature, making careful drawings of roots and twigs to guide them in their work. The furniture they designed is known as Art Nouveau, or ‘Style 1900′. In the furniture made from their designs natural wood was used, without paint or gilt, and it was all hand-made. Forms undreamed of even in the period of Louis XV were imposed on wood; not being furniture-makers themselves, the designers took little thought for the appropriateness of their designs to construction in wood. The style flourished from 1900 to 1905, and then went completely out of fashion. Although this furniture was too eccentric looking for domestic use, it represents the first attempt to abolish the nineteenth-century custom of copying, and, more important, the first realization in France of the bad effects of machine production on style. The Art Nouveau designers tried to solve the machine problem by ignoring machines and designing furniture that could only be made by hand. A better solution still remains to be found.
We have followed, briefly, the history of French furniture styles from the twelfth to the twentieth century. We have studied the way in which the various styles have developed one from another, and we have seen how the impact of new materials and technical advances has influenced furniture-makers in their creation of new styles. But such influences are common to furniture-makers in all countries—they do not explain why particular styles have been evolved in France different from the styles of other countries. The French quality of the styles is due, not to the furniture-makers, but to the people for whom the furniture was made. To complete our picture of the succession of French styles, it is necessary to show why each style in turn became inadequate from the point of view of the users of furniture, and what each new style offered them to satisfy their changing needs.
The first furniture was made in the Romanesque style, which was derived from the remnants of Roman architecture. It was the only possible style at the beginning; in seeking a respectable appearance for their furniture, the first carpenters naturally chose the conventional forms popular at the time.
This style could not long satisfy a people that was gradually coming to be conscious of itself as a distinct nation. A style based on what was to them a dead past, a past during which their country was occupied by foreign conquerors, was not one in which they could take pride. They therefore found a new, French, style : the Gothic style. The principles of Gothic architecture were first worked out in France; the Gothic style is truly French.
The Gothic style became identified with the Church. The desire for freedom from Church authority expressed itself in the Renaissance. Renaissance furniture, in superseding the Gothic, corresponded with a change in domestic life to freer, livelier habits.
Renaissance furniture, though much more elaborate than Gothic furniture, was not gorgeous enough for the Court of Louis XIV. In his attempts to make France the centre of the world, and himself the most conspicuous world figure, he insisted that everything around him should be dazzlingly magnificent. Baroque furniture was designed to flatter the vanity of Louis and his Court.
But the enthusiasm for Baroque furniture declined when people grew weary of the strain of keeping up a constant show of grandeur. In the two later Baroque periods, Regency and Rococo, there was a general relaxation from grandeur. Rococo was not merely informal, but vulgar; there was no discipline of design—the decorations were piled on in a deliberately untidy way.
Rococo became so chaotic in design that it had to be abandoned. The French are fundamentally a very sane people; and in the styles of the Classical Revival they reaffirmed their sanity. Louis XVI and Directoire furniture expressed restraint and self-possession. It avoided the ridiculous errors of taste of Rococo furniture, and had a delicacy that was altogether lacking in the furniture of those periods in which France was striving for national glory.
But Classical Revival was greatly modified during the Empire; all its gentleness was suppressed. Empire furniture was pompous, like Baroque furniture, and designed to dramatize impressive public and martial achievements. There was a new sternness—the pride of a nation of campaigners could not be expressed in Baroque magnificence.
The strong public emphasis of Empire furniture made it impossible for ordinary private use. A domestic version of the Empire style followed. Furniture became heavier, its lines rounder. The period of public glories was over and people turned to domestic pleasures. But private happiness throughout the whole nineteenth century meant chiefly physical comfort, and the furniture showed it. The public dignity characteristic of the Empire style was lost; and the mixed styles that succeeded it did not have private dignity, only a look of prosperity.
Art Nouveau furniture was an attempt to escape from the deadening hold of the traditional styles. People were feeling that in the new century all the stale customs of the past must at last be got rid of, and completely new ways found of doing things—ways so right that they would never need to be changed. The Art Nouveau designers hoped to create an original and perfect style, safe from corruption by outside influences. The style was supposed to be so natural that, like nature itself, it would not degenerate, no matter what changes took place in life. But these designers only succeeded in isolating furniture from the normal activities of life. The style was a failure—because any solution of furniture problems must relate furniture to the world in which it is being used.
Traditional French furniture was closely related to Court life, which was, however, itself isolated from the daily affairs of the world. Much French furniture is beautiful, and the standard of craftsmanship has always been high, but it is like stage furniture. Its chief purpose was to provide a dramatic setting for the Court. French Provincial furniture, although much better than the Court furniture, was too homely in character to be accepted by the French as a standard of good style.

OCCASIONAL TABLES
THE SMALL-SCALE OCCASIONAL table
truly stands out. Many examples were also portable and could be moved around a room to serve a variety of functions, although often they had a specific use. In this case, a table could be brought out when required and then moved back to the walls or out of the room. Because occasional tables might be seen from all sides, they were usually veneered on the back, unlike side tables.
Occasional tables are often associated with leisure or with ladies’ activities. Worktables, for example, were given considerable attention by Sheraton and were largely an invention of this period.
Intended to hold sewing apparatus, worktables often have a silk work bag which slides out from beneath the upper surface. Others have a rising lid
with compartments. Some are even fitted with a rising screen for use in front of the fire. Small and fragile, worktables are often made in exotic wood, either with marquetry or
painted details.
Other types include those for gaming (often with a marquetry chess and backgammon board) and reading stands. These were known from the mid 18th century and had a ratcheted slope, sometimes inset with leather if the table was also to be used for drawing. Small, circular gueridons in France were often used to hold candelabra or perfume burners. Quartette, or nests-of-tables, were also an invention of the period. Elaborate examples with cut-brass decoration and exotic wood were made by George Oakley, and others with ring-turned supports and veneers by Gillows.

SWEDISH SIDE TABLE
This fine-quality, giltwood side table has an inset table top made of white marble, which is set above a giltwood frieze carved with laurel leaves and with recessed panels incorporating black and gold verve 6glomis6 vignettes. There
are additional panels above the legs and at the centre of the frieze. The turned, tapering legs are carved with low-relief laurel above a band of Greek key pattern, and then carved with spiral flutes below. The legs terminate in baluster feet. c.1810.

INLAID STAND
This stand is from the southern states of America and has a rectangular top with rounded corners and a band of double string inlay. It is raised on
inlaid, tapered legs below bird’s-eye maple panels. The single drawer has three interior compartments.
CONSOLE TABLE
Made in Franken, Germany, this console table s veneered in mahogany. It has a rectangular Warble table top above a frieze drawer and stands on square, tapering legs.
SHERATON GAMES TABLE
This mahogany games and worktable has a rectangular top with chamfered corners and a chessboard inlaid in its surface. It stands on square, tapering legs. c.1790.
REGENCY WRITING BOX
This bird’s-eye maple and ebony string writing box has a hinged slope with a leather inset, a drawer, and dummy drawer. The ring-turned, ebonized legs are joined by a C-scroll stretcher. c.1810.
BIEDERMEIER SIDE TABLE
This solid beech and beech-veneered side table has a round frieze with an overhanging circular top. It is raised on three sabre legs, joined lower down by an additional, circular shelf. 1820.

SWEDISH SIDE TABLE
This gilt-metal, mounted, mahogany side table by Karl Johan has a circular top above a frieze. The circular stem ends in a tripartite base with scrolled feet.
OCCASIONAL TABLE
Inlaid with brass, this French Empire mahogany table has a circular top featuring an inset marble and pierced-brass gallery. It has a fluted column support ending on a tripod base. Early 19th century.
SOUTH AFRICAN TEA TABLE
This stinkwood tea table has a rectangular top with rounded corners, a plain frieze, decorative contrasting inlays, and slightly tapering legs. 1790-1810.
ITALIAN BEDSIDE COMMODE
Made of olive wood and tulipwood, this crossbanded, bedside commode has a lift-up lid above a fall front and fitted interior. It has square, tapering legs.
BIEDERMEIER SEWING TABLE
This sewing table from Weimar is veneered in cherry wood with ebony stringing. The overhanging table top has rounded corners. The rounded case has two drawers and sabre legs. c.1830.
FEDERAL WORKSTAND
This figured mahogany workstand has a rectangular-shaped top supported by half-round colonettes and two drawers. It stands on rounded, tapering, ring-turned legs ending in ball feet. c.1820.

PATTERN BOOKS
THE VOGUE FOR SMALL, OCCASIONAL TABLES WAS ENCOURAGED BY VARIOUS PATTERN BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURIES.
The use of pattern books by furniture makers was well-established by the end of the 18th century, when Thomas Sheraton published The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book. Hugely significant in disseminating the Neoclassical Regency style in England and America, this book included many designs for occasional tables, from pot cupboards to urn stands. Although this was not particularly new – Chippendale and Ince arid Mayhew had included such objects in their pattern books of the 1750s and 60s – the lightness and variety of Sheratons examples was innovative.
Sheraton’s next book was his Cabinet Dictionary, published 1803, which, possibly influenced by Thomas Hope, included some Egyptian designs. The influence of French furniture is also evident in the inclusion of the small writing desk known as a bonheur-du-jour. Sheraton never completed his final massive volume, The Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer, and General Artist’s Encyclopaedia, although it was published, incomplete, in 1805. in this late title, contemporary developments in France, notably the post-revolutionary styles, were particularly evident.

ITALIAN TABLE
This Neoclassical inlaid fruitwood table en chiffoniers has a three-quarter gallery, two drawers with chevron banding, and square-section, tapering legs. Early 19th century.
WORKSTAND
This Massachusetts Sheraton mahogany workstand has a rectangular top with cut corners and two compartmented drawers. The ringed pilasters lead into tapering, reeled legs with ringed cuffs.

19th Century Chests of Drawers. NORTH ITALIAN SIDE CABINET, FRENCH COMMODE, AMERICAN CHEST OF DRAWERS, DANISH MAHOGANY COMMODE

THE CHEST OF DRAWERS is limited in
scope by the rectangular shape of its drawers. Whilst its more elaborate cousin, the commode, might contrive to contain them within serpentine or bombe shapes, the chest of drawers shows little stylistic development.
With the exception of plain British pieces, which often bowed at the front, chests of drawers tended to be box-like in the early 19th century. Meanwhile- the status of the commode as the seminal item of drawing-room furniture was on the decline. Also on the wane were chest-on-chests and tallboys, although the occasional bowed example does survive.
A smaller version was developed resembling a miniature tallboy and similar to the French semanier. Called the Wellington chest after the famous commander, its drawers were locked by a hinged pilaster to one side.
A particular type of French Empire chest of drawers was popular throughout Europe. It was rectangular,
usually with a marble top, below which was a projecting frieze drawer supported on either side by a pair of architectural columns. Set back were two or three drawers above a plinth base. The piece in flamed, or plum pudding, mahogany was decorated with Neoclassical ormolu mounts, particularly on the frieze drawer and around the capital and column bases.
Another type of chest, which had its origins in the Louis XVI style, also featured a marble top but, instead of the projecting upper drawer, all the drawers were flush. The piece had a more delicate look, possibly because it was raised on square-section, tapering legs. It was especially popular in Italy, and was known to be produced by Maggiolini, sometimes in walnut.
Due to their widespread use and relatively simple carcase construction, chests of drawers had a huge range of surface decoration from veneering in exotic timber to painting, which was useful for disguising cheaper woods.

NORTH ITALIAN SIDE CABINET
This side cabinet, or commode, has a slightly overhanging top above a straight frieze, and a rectilinear case with two large cupboard doors at the front. The front and sides of the cabinet
are richly decorated with inlays of figured walnut and other contrasting, stained woods, forming a strong, colourful geometric design. The cabinet is supported on short, tapering legs.

Inlays of walnut and other stained woods create a strong, geometric design.
A straight frieze emphasizes the rectilinear shape of the case.
Escutcheon and geometric inlay detail
Short, tapering legs support the case.
The side cabinet has two large front cupboard doors.

AMERICAN CHEST OF DRAWERS
This Federal inlaid chest of drawers is made of mahogany. The piece has a rectangular top with an applied, inlaid edge which rests above four long, graduated drawers, each one with
crossbanding, stringing, and a beaded edge, and brass, oval drawer-pulls. The case is supported on a moulded base with straight bracket feet. Although American, the design closely follows British prototypes. Early 19th century.
AMERICAN EMPIRE CHEST OF DRAWERS
This Empire carved mahogany and mahogany veneer chest of drawers is stamped “Wm Palmer/Cabinet Maker/Catherine St./New York”. The moulded top is set over three outset short drawers, with carved attached columns flanking four drawers. The case sits on leaf-capped hairy-paw feet. Early 19th century.
FRENCH COMMODE
This case of this provincial commode is made of walnut and the piece is designed in the Empire style. It has a rectangular, dark-grey marble top which is set above a deep,
rectangular frieze. The three drawers have glass handles and matching escutcheons and are flanked by ogee scrolls. The piece is supported on block feet. Early 19th century.

This Neoclassical walnut and marquetry commode has a marble top above a frieze drawer inlaid with foliate swags and flaring urns. Below are two further drawers, similarly
inlaid sans traverse and centred by a panel inlaid with two maidens and a cupid. The sides are decorated to mirror the front, and the case is raised on square, tapered legs. c.1800 (the marble top is later). W. 132.5cm (53in). FRE 4
This rectangular top of this late Gustavian commode has canted forecorners above three long drawers. The drawers are flanked by fluted and canted sides, and the commode is raised
on short, tapering, fluted legs. The whole commode is painted in a typical Gustavian pale grey. c.1820.
ITALIAN COMMODE
SWEDISH COMMODE

DANISH MAHOGANY COMMODE
This Danish Louis XVI commode has a rectangular top above a fluted frieze drawer and return with roundel corners. The three lower drawers are flanked by fluted quarter pilasters. The commode is raised on bracket feet. Late 18th century.
This walnut and parquetry inlaid commode has a top with a projecting concave front set above four corresponding long, graduated drawers. It stands on bun feet and the case and drawer fronts are inlaid throughout with geometric walnut, mahogany, and boxwood panels.

SWEDISH CHEST OF DRAWERS
This is a late Gustavian chest of drawers, with a shaped top and curved corners. There are three graduated drawers with brass roundels and the case stands on turned, tapering feet. It is
probably veneered in    mahogany. Early 19th century.

19th Century Sideboards, Cellarets, Tambour Secretary, Regency Side Cabinet, Desks, Worktables. New Trends.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS
IN THE EARLY 19TH century, many
different forms of furniture were developed for specific purposes. Previously; furniture was placed against the wall and had to serve multiple functions, but this had gradually changed through the 18th century and, by the early years of the next century, more specialized pieces were made. The same period saw the rise of novel patent furniture. Thomas Morgan and Joseph Sanders of London specialized in the “Patent Sofa-Bed & Chair-Bed”. They also made a celebrated type of armchair that hinged over to form library steps.
Not only were new forms of furniture developed, but old types were revitalized after taking forms derived from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. For example, a cellaret, or wine cooler — an 18th-century invention — might be reconfigured in the form of an ancient sarcophagus.
New types of furniture were made for the dining room. The sideboard was still a relatively new invention. Often of rectangular form with a bowed front, it usually had two compartments separated by a drawer.
These might contain shelves or even a cellaret drawer. They frequently had a brass railing at the back, although they are now usually missing. British
sideboards are generally made of mahogany with brass or ebonized stringing. Side cabinets and chiffoniers, both developments of the commode, were also new. They often had a pair of doors with brass grilles backed with pleated silk.
The cheval mirror, or Psyche glass, was a new piece of bedroom furniture. It consisted of a large single mirror held within a plain frame on a pivot, through which it was attached to the uprights of its stand. This was generally set on splayed legs with casters, so that it could be moved around easily.
Other new types of furniture, such as campaign furniture, reflected the military turbulence of the period. Campaign furniture was specially designed to be portable and easy to dismantle (sec pp.280-81).
In similar vein, the chaise a l’officier (officer’s chair) was made in France. it had arm supports, but lacked elbow rests, to enable a man wearing a sword to sit down with relative ease.

AMERICAN D-SHAPED SIDEBOARD
The rectangular top of this satinwood and figured maple sideboard has a bowed front above a conforming case with an arrangement of drawers and cupboard doors. The reeded legs have ringed cuffs.
1800-05.
Each of the drawers and cupboard doors has banded and satinwood-inlaid borders.

ENGLISH CELLARET
This Sheraton mahogany, arched-top cellaret -as a domed lid above a rectilinear case with central oval panels and geometric inlay, set on ,cpe-twist legs. c.1800.
AMERICAN TAMBOUR SECRETARY
This desk has a rectangular upper section with tambour doors that open to reveal a fitted interior. The lower section has two long drawers raised on square-section legs with tapering feet. c.1795.
ENGLISH REGENCY SIDE CABINET
–e shaped top of this parcel-gilt rosewood side :abinet is outlined with satinwood stringing. The frieze beneath contains five drawers, each
with lion’s-mask ring handles. The cupboards below have front grilles, and there is a centre shelf. The cabinet has gilt-wood lion’s-paw feet. c.1805.
AMERICAN KLISMOS CHAIR
This mahogany chair has a curved, rectangular top rail with scroll carving, and a shaped, carved back rail. The seat is supported on sabre legs. c.1815.

REGENCY WATERFALL BOOKCASES
AMERICAN WORKTABLE
ENGLISH DAVENPORT DESK
Each mahogany bookcase has a three-quarter gallery above four graduated shelves and a single drawer with ivory handles. The cases have brass carrying handles at the sides.
This Classical mahogany astragal-end worktable has various compartments. It sits on a reeded urn pedestal on four splayed, carved legs, which end in brass feet and casters.
The hinged top of this pollard oak desk has a three-quarter spindle gallery enclosing two real and false drawers, flanked by a pen drawer and slides above four side drawers.

MID 19TH CENTURY CHESTS OF DRAWERS

MANY OF THE CHESTS made and sold in this period were direct descendants of their 18th-century counterparts. The chest was still in widespread use, both in the bedroom as a clothes store and in the salon, very often for display purposes only. Examples with specialist uses, such as music cabinets and folio chests, augmented the range of commodes, cabinets, and vitrines already found in the home. The traditional low, broad chest was frequently of very fluid form, incorporating serpentine, bombe, or bowfront curves reminiscent of 18th-century styles. Elaborate commodes were rare, however, and, in the drawing room, were often replaced by credenzas, or side cabinets.
CONTRASTING STYLES
A more contemporary look was provided by a new generation of tall and slender, rather elegant, filing cabinets, precipitated by the bestselling Wellington chest. These filing
cabinets tended to be less fussy than the more old-fashioned chests of drawers, particularly those in the Rococo-revival style, which were often excessively ornamented. Profuse use of gilt-metal mounts, sabots, and inlays combined with marble tops, carved skirts, friezes and aprons, and intricate marquetry decoration often made these very busy items of furniture. Neoclassical and Gothic forms sat alongside chests in the Rococo style, although these labels often referred to little more than token applied decoration, used by cabinetmakers to distinguish an otherwise plain piece of furniture.
FAVOURED WOODS
Tropical hardwoods, such as mahogany and rosewood, were frequently used for chests, although Dutch cabinetmakers often substituted walnut for their marquetry-decorated pieces, and cherry wood was sometimes used in the United States.
FRENCH COMMODE
This 18th-century-style commode has a moulded, veined marble top above a Rococo-style, rosewood- and walnut-veneered bombe case with polished, gilded, bronze mounts. The front of the piece is inlaid with colourful
marquetry, and shows an asymmetrical floral pattern. The case is set on cabriole legs. It is an accurate copy of a Louis XV commode and uses expensive materials. However, this mid 19th-century example was constructed by
machine rather than by hand.
ITALIAN PARQUETRY COMMODE
This kingwood parquetry commode is of bombe form and has a moulded Siena marble top above two chequer-veneered drawers. Each drawer has a flower-head motif centred over
the escutcheon plate. The same motif appears on the sides of the case. It is raised on square, cabriole legs, terminating in sabots. Although almost an exact copy of an 18th-century piece, its excessively slender legs reveal its 19th-
century origins.
DUTCH CHEST OF DRAWERS
The moulded top of this Dutch, Empire-style, walnut and marquetry tall chest of drawers has an outset frieze drawer. Below this are five equal-sized drawers, decorated sans traverse with fine floral marquetry inlaywork, which
exhibits a mixture of mid 18th- and late 18th-century styles in its overall design. The oval border is Neoclassical in inspiration, while the floral design within it is asymmetrical and, therefore, more Rococo in style. The case is supported on tapering, square-section feet. 1880.
FRENCH FILING CHEST
This late Louis XVI-style ebony and brass filing chest has a moulded edge above eight drawers. The drawers have leather fronts and brass catches and are supported on a plinth base. c,1900.
ANGLO-INDIAN WELLINGTON CHEST
Made of the distinctively striped coromandel wood — a type of ebony from the Coromandel coast of India —this Wellington chest also features surface carving typical of the subcontinent. c.1880.
BRITISH WELLINGTON CHEST
The moulded top of this figured maple chest protrudes above its frieze. Beneath the frieze are seven graduated drawers, flanked on either side by a locking flap. At the top of each flap is an applied scroll-leaf decoration. 1860.
GERMAN COMMODE.
This mahogany commode has a protruding rectangular top above four flame-mahogany veneered drawers. The front of the case has canted corners, with a carved scroll and acanthus top and bottom. The case is supported on carved scroll, bracket feet. c.1850.
FRENCH COMMODE
This bowfront kingwood commode has a moulded, veined marble top. The four drawers have veneered fronts, and are divided and flanked by brass-lined flutes. A veneered herringbone pattern is on each side. The commode has a shaped apron with gilt mounts and stands on bracket feet. c.1900.
AMERICAN CHEST OF DRAWERS
This chest has been grain-painted in ochre and yellow with dark green mouldings and recessed side panels. The backboard is dark green with the initials “A” and V’ in gold and copper. The chest has two short above four long drawers. Each side panel is stencilled with a vase of flowers.
AMERICAN BUTLER’S CHEST
This cherry wood chest has panelled sides and four dovetailed drawers with glass handles. The top drawer has a drop front with spindle columns and opens onto a fitted interior with four drawers, eight cubbyholes, and a central prospect door. Mid 19th century.
BRITISH CREST OF DRAWERS
This rectilinear chest of drawers has two short above three long, equal-sized drawers. Each drawer is decorated with laurel swags, and the long drawers also feature a central carved rosette. The chest is supported on a shaped plinth base. Late 19th century.
GERMAN COMMODE
This small commode is made from solid mahogany and veneered in various exotic woods. There is a single frieze drawer below the moulded top and two additional, bombe-form drawers decorated, sans traverse, with flowers, figures, and rocaille. c.1900.

FRANCE: French 1848-1900 Antique Furniture
IN CONTRAST TO THE reconciliatory stance adopted by Louis-Philippe, Napoleon III sought to align himself firmly with the Classical past as part of his consolidation of power. Designs from the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, were appropriated along with forms and decorative motifs from the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Napoleon III had promised France glory, and he hoped to provide this at least in part by reminding it of a golden age. There was also a pan-European revival of interest in the Classical and Renaissance periods.
LUXURY AND COMFORT
Dark woods, especially mahogany and ebony, were used in abundance by the cabinet-makers of the time. Newer materials such as cast iron, turned out by foundries all over newly industrialized France, and papier-mache, provided a contemporary twist. Precious materials such as gilt bronze heralded the wealth and status of the owner and loaned visual interest to a piece, as did inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl, which provided a dramatic contrast to the dark wood. A revival of the intricate veneering and marquetry work as practised by Andre-Charles Boulle in the time of Louis XIV further added to the sumptuous decadence that is a hallmark of Second Empire furniture.
Comfort was a high priority. Upholstery became far more prevalent due to the widespread availability of the
The Salon de Musique This music room at the Chateau de Compiegne has an eclectic mix of 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century furniture that is typical of interiors of the Second Empire.
coiled spring. Tapissier chairs, named for the richly embroidered upholsteries with which they were covered, became staples of fashionable salons. The
1850s saw the introduction of new forms to the canon of French cabinetmaking, including the round, upholstered ottoman known as the pouffe, which is still in use today. The dos-d-dos and the boudeuse, or courting chair, also date from this period. In such seating, the occupants sat beside each other but facing away from each other, divided by an “S”-shaped seat rail.
ANTIQUARIAN NATIONAL STYLE Architectural elements, such as columns and pediments drawn from Greco-Roman buildings, provided the Classical and Renaissance look that pandered to the Emperor’s desire to root his regime firmly in the glorious past. Egyptian motifs provided a similar link but were the consequence of French archaeologist Marcel Dieulafoy’s keen interest in architecture. Many 19th-century designers were heavily influenced by his studies of excavated Egyptian and Middle-Eastern buildings. All these ingredients combined to produce a national style that became more extreme towards the end of the century, as shown by the kingwood vitrine opposite.
“BOULLE” CABINET
This Louis XIV-inspired cabinet is decorated with premiere-partie boullework on a red tortoiseshell ground. The black, shaped, rectangular marble top has moulded serpentine edges. The conforming front has a frieze above a door, centred with an oval panel and flanked by outset rounded stiles with figural chutes. The shaped skirt is centred with an espagnolette and raised on disc feet.
c.1850.
LOUIS XVI TABLE
Almost an exact copy of an 18th-century piece, this rosewood, marquetry-inlaid, gilt-metal mounted side table has a fitted frieze drawer. The table top is raised on gilt-metal caryatid legs. The legs are joined by a pierced platform stretcher with a bowl at its centre, and stand on spiral, tapered feet. 1880.
TRANSITIONAL-STYLE COMMODE
This kingwood, satinwood, and gilt-metal mounted serpentine commode has a marble top with outset corners. The three long drawers have inlaid panels, each centred by a grotesque mask motif. The capped, splayed legs are joined by a shaped apron and have hoot feet. c.1900.
Gabriel Viardot was an expert woodcarver and was already operating his own business when he took over the reins of the family furniture business in 1861. Records show that in 1885 Viardot employed around 100 men at his premises on Rue Amelot in Paris. I lis renown was such that he was invited to adjudicate at the Expositions Universelles held in Paris. He also submitted his own pieces for exhibition and was the recipient of a series of awards, including a gold medal in 1889. The Viardot name is most closely associated with furniture in the Japanese style, but he also produced Vietnamese stylework – Vietnam was one of Napoleon III’s most prized colonies.
The furniture created by Viardot was solidly constructed, typically from beech or walnut, with decorative motifs drawn from the East. Grotesque masks, very much a feature of mainstream French furniture, were adapted so that they took on an Eastern countenance. Carvings depicting dragons and demons were inspired by Oriental mythology and tradition, and the frequent use of lacquer coating was a direct influence of Chinese style. Viardot’s juxtaposition of European and Eastern forms resulted in the creation of very distinctive pieces that bridged the gap between exotic imports and more prosaic homespun furniture.
The drawers are inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
KINGWOOD VITRINE
The tapering ogee top of this serpentine vitrine has a central cartouche above a pair of glazed doors and sides, enclosing a mirrored interior. Below is a single central door inspired by Louis XV style with a vernis martin bombe panel of lovers.
The carved dragon motif is inspired by Oriental mythology.
The fret decoration is in the Chinese style.
The surface is inset with velvet.
Dressing table This piece is made of stained beechwood with mother-of-pearl inlays. It has an asymmetrical appearance that is Asian-inspired, but it is of European construction. c.1890.
CONVERSATION SEAT
This Louis XV-style giltwood and upholstered conversation seat is covered in a red and gold striped fabric. The piece has a serpentine back with a shell surmount and stands on moulded, cabriole legs. c.1890.

Classicism, Empire, and Biedermeier
England
English furniture makers between the sixteenth and eighteenth century adopted both the ornamentation and forms of continental furniture, although with a British tendency towards modesty and simplicity. There are three main periods of English furniture. The first is the Elizabethan era in which solid oak dominates. This lasted into the reign of the Stuarts. At this time Dutch furniture, which had much in common with the character of the English pieces, was imported together with luxury Flemish and French furniture.
The first new era of a distinctive English style was that of William and Mary when walnut was widely used.
The form of chairs brought over from the Dutch republic were adapted. The fretwork backs were raised in height and given scrolls. Fabric upholstery was replaced with harder woven seats and chair backs. Other types of chairs also evolved from this original type. A bench with a back was also created (a settee), a two-seated bench (double stool), and small sofa, known as a lover’s seat. These types were made well into the eighteenth century.
Oak furniture was often covered with walnut or other veneers and decorated with inlays. The Dutch example of tulips, other flowers, and birds was also adopted.
Both the cabinet and secretaire on turned legs were important pieces of furniture, which were fitted with drawers. Both marquetry and lacquer along the Dutch lines were popular between 1680 and 1720. Things continued in this vein until 1750.
The most important piece of furniture though was the chest of drawers, made in the form of a low or taller commode.
The wide and curved cabriole leg was very popular during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) but was being replaced by 1710 with the bull and claw foot. The ubiquitous English Windsor chairs has neither of these characteristics.
THOMAS CHIPPENDALE
English furniture making was significantly altered in 1754 by Thomas Chippendale. He preferred to work in mahogany and had taste preferences drawn from French and Asian examples. But he was also inspired by native English Gothic. He brought together Rococo shells for instance with late Gothic elements.
Chippendale produced a number of types of table including reading tables, bookcases closed at the bottom and enclosed with glazed doors above, card tables, glazed dressers with a taller central section, three-part cabinets, a small table on bowed legs, a round folding table, and bureaux or writing commodes.
His commodes shared a curved front with those of France. But his greatest love was probably for chairs. Following on from his Chinese and Gothic influences he produced chairs with square legs and the merest hint of decoration. All his creativity went into the decoration of the backs of his chairs.
The curved central `splat’ of the back was fretcut and carved in the form of woven leaves and flowers, with curls, scrolls, `ribbons’, and loops.
ROBERT ADAM
Robert Adam gained great fame in the subsequent stage of English furniture design. Adam used Classicism in a very decorative way.
His semi-oval commodes have their front decorated with painting and extremely fine marquetry. The painting took the form of banding, garlands and laurel wreaths, mounted trophies, oval forms, urns, and columns.
Robert Adam’s storage furniture with its geometrical lines was made solely using light-coloured timber. This was mainly sandalwood. The top leaf and stringers of tables were decorated with either carved or burnt in patterns. These too utilised simple geometric motifs.
SHERATON AND HEPPLEWHITE
Thomas Sheraton and George Hepplewhite differed from Adam. Both made different types of cabinets but instead of using carving they preferred to see the natural figure of the grain of the wood.
Both Sheraton and Hepplewhite had a hand in the development of several types of table and they also made bureaux with cylinder locks, dressing tables, tables for placing against a wall, and bedside tables.
In common with Robert Adam they gave considerable attention to the backs of the chairs they made. Sheraton made the simpler type of chair, using sober, fitted for the purpose, and geometric designs. After 30 years as a furniture maker he reintroduced the use of rush seats for his chairs.
Hepplewhite in turn introduced the Prince of Wales feathers or ears of corn designs into the oval framing of his chair backs. More pointed oval forms and heart shape panels were also used by Hepplewhite.
ENGLISH REGENCY
The great flourishing of English furniture making drew to a close at the end of the eighteenth century. The English Regency period is considered by some as a mere variant of the French Empire style. It was not again until the 1860’s that English furniture once more emerged with fresh ideas.
France — Louis XVI and Empire
A new style arose in France out of the Louis XVI style known as Empire. It was directly derived from the Napoleonic ideal of a Roman Empire.
French ebenistes were not greatly inspired by theexamples from classical antiquity given by wealth of treasures uncovered by excavations.
Fortunately it was an era of artists with vivid imaginations and this included the architects P. Fontaines and Christian Percier who drew on the classical past for their designs for interiors, covering walls with carpet or colourful silk. Classical
Early 19th century mahogany half-moon table.Antiquity was glorified at this time so that artistic concepts of these idealistic days gained a romantic heroic overtones. This expressed itself through an almost pathetic level of ostentation, which was revealed in interior furnishings.
It is striking how similarly Empire furnishings are worked, making them readily distinguishable and rather uniform in appearance.
The furnishings were uncluttered and derived their form from architecture. The solid looking furnishings are strongly symmetrical with straight lines.
The Empire style also expressed itself in the design of furniture for the rooms. Important elements for Empire furniture are the cornices, pilasters, and columns
The decorative mouldings of acanthus stems, dolphins, egg and tongue mouldings, nymphs, laurel wreaths, lions, palmettos, sphinxes (which referred to Napoleon’s Nile expedition), urns, and swans created their own identity.
Empire style tables were fairly lavishly made for a range of purposes. Many four-legged tables served as writing desks but there were also bureaux with shutters and desks with pedestals.
Ordinary tables were round as was the case in ancient Greece and Rome. But tables were also made in various polygonal forms. Initially the table top was borne by a carved figure but this was later replaced by a plain columns with inlay and bronze capitals The wash stand also evolved.
A separate leaf was added for a water jug and the wash basin was often supported by a swan. The sliding drawer of the dressing table was often fitted with a mirror for hair styling.
Secretaires were an enclosed but compact piece of furniture. Commodes were simples and without curves, with two drawers or two doors. A new item in the bedroom was a large swivel cheval glass mirror or psyche set in a frame on a stand. Considerable attention was given during the Empire period to the design of beds. Although these no longer had canopies they still remained pretentious. Furniture makers happily used a boat form for beds, known as lit de bateau. Matching style bedside cabinets and night cabinets with decorated fronts were also made for such beds.
Chairs and other seating from the Empire period is characterised by an emphasis on woodworking skills and heavy construction.
At first these had round turned legs but later these stood on arched sabre legs. Interiors were also furnished with dumb waiters, plus flower and sewing tables and a bird cage. The strong love of music also meant that pianos were increasingly found that were mainly imported from London and Vienna.
Germany
German furniture making reached a crescendo in style shortly after the French Revolution. It is entirely unfair to compare the German style of this period with the style of Louis XVI.
New directions in art in Germany generally arose from philosophers rather than practitioners. The Louis XVI style had reached Germany by 1760 by way of the Rhineland. German copies lack the same finesse of the French originals and did not fully implement the style.
Furthermore Baroque influences still endured in Germany and affected this new style import.
Furniture from the area around Liege and Achen was much closer to the French examples. Further north in Germany, along the North Sea coast and around Lubeck, the Louis XVI style was diluted by traditional Scandinavian styles.
The heavy in scale white furniture from this region was influenced by the simple beauty of furniture from Sweden and Denmark. German furniture makers were increasingly influenced as the years passed by their English compatriots. Wide use was made in Berlin and Hamburg and other major cities of veneer.
In addition to the use of native wood from cherry, conifers, walnut, and pear, mahogany was imported on a greater scale. Eventually the native timbers were forced to yield to the imports. Types
of furniture dating back to the time of Queen Anne were copied from Britain, such as double commodes, sawing and dressing tables, and bureaux.
These were later followed by bookcases and glazed-fronted cabinets. English style tended to rule until the emergence of Biedermeier.
Display cabinets though were mainly inspired along French lines, largely due to David Roentgen. These pieces were largely made of course for the palaces and castles of the ruling German princes. These were decorated with inlays of animals, birds, and floral still life designs at Roentgen’s instigation.
After some time these designs were supplemented with allegorical scenes and chinoiserie along Dutch lines. The sober way in which ordinary German folk furnished their homes stood in stark contrast with the overwhelmingly ornate interiors of the palaces.
It is impossible to over-emphasize the longevity of the influence of Baroque throughout the whole of Germany. We have seen how English style influenced the north. In Prussian Berlin Karl Friedrich Schinkel was open to both high classical and emancipated popular classical examples. In the south, in Munich, Leo von Klenze was rather more inspired by French style. Vienna in Austria was another matter though. Furniture makers there combined decorative tastes with comfort.
GERMAN BIEDERMEIER
The first tendency towards more approachable furniture for the ‘ordinary’ home could be seen in the work of Klenze of Munich and these were popular with the generations leading up to the revolutionary year of 1848.
Biedermeier style became popular in the German-speaking countries of Germany, Biedermeier style was a counter to the rigid and pathetic Empire. It was inspired by furniture design that was popular with ordinary people around 1800.
The ordinary citizen preferred more approachable furniture with rounded corners and lightly curved surfaces, circles, ovals, and curved broad lines. The popular notion of comfort meant for instance wide sofas and divans. Sets of tables and chairs were given pride of place in the ‘ordinary’ home. Little use was made of bronze encrusted decoration or fittings in Biedermeier furniture. This was restricted to small turnkeys, horns of plenty, and key escutcheons.
In Germany, as in England, bookcases consisted of three parts.
Wardrobes, linen cupboards, and china cabinets had pilasters at their corners and otherwise were entirely glazed. secretaires managed to stay in existence during the Biedermeier period but their style varied from area to area.
The tops of these secretaires were sometimes reminiscent of a cathedral. The inside of a secretaire was subdivided along architectural lines with small drawers, mirrors, and small columns. It is fun to find all the secret cavities.
The most widely used woods were native elements. beech, ash, cherry, and pear plus ‘exotic’ mahogany. Most secretaires were decorated with paintings or veneer.
Furniture was often covered in floral cretonne with intensely coloured roses or with cotton rep. The walls were hung with plain wallpaper or with paper with floral or vine patterns. This made the rooms look busy even before the many items of furniture were added. These included sewing tables, dumb waiters for books and china, and wastepaper baskets.

The eighteenth century
The somewhat oppressive style of Louis XIV died with him. After his death life at court was characterised by elegance and a lighter touch. The effect was also felt in art with the salons of Paris being at the heart of the cultural life. The luxury of city life worked through to the country homes of the aristocracy which set an example to all Europe. The houses were extended with libraries, boudoirs, dining rooms, ballrooms, dressing rooms, bedrooms, workrooms and quarters for the servants being added. To give each room
its distinctive function, the range of furniture also became extended.
France — Regency and Rococo
During the Duke of Orleans’ regency rooms were still furnished with robust furniture but in the second half of the eighteenth century this altered radically. The fashion switched to lighter, more elegant designs that were also somewhat decadent in their decorative style. This made itself apparent in furniture with flowing lines, S-forms, and scrolls. Rococo was a fairly radical style period that endured for a shorter period in France than in other European countries. Customers made ever increasing demands on the furniture makers and furniture was required that was larger in size.
This caused a demarcation among the furniture makers with them specialising for instance in a particular type of expensive wood which they then made into furniture of the very highest standards. This was equally true of the bronze founders who engraved their adornments as if it were jewellery.
Increased demand brought about a certain amount of standardisation. The ebenistes started to buy in timber, drawers, mouldings, marquetry, and handles and catches. All the ebenistes were required to sign their work from 1743, except for those working in the service of the King and yet it can be extremely difficult to identify a maker. This is because all the ebenistes also sold furniture made by others and it was their custom to sign all the furniture that they sold.
Daily life for the upper echelons of French society was extremely lively. Lots of callers were received and many visits also made, and in the evening they either attended or gave dinner parties. Lots of different types of seating were therefore needed which had to be comfortable.
Only curved forms would do for these. Among the new types of seating there was a short upholstered sofa of which one type was known as a berg&e.
This had a closed back.
There was also the bergere a joue, which somewhat resembled a modern wing chair, and a number of versions of the chaise longue for lounging on. A chaise longue that was open at the front was known as a turquoise, while the variety with upholstered armrests was known as a vieilleuse.
A canape has open armrests at the side, while a sofa has S-form closed side arms. The dressing table was accompanied by a fauteuil de toilette and a desk or bureau by a fauteuil de bureau. Rococo furniture was decorated with brocade, damask, velvet, or satin. Damask came from Genoa, Lyon, or Peking. Gobelin tapestry and cloth with petit-point embroidery from the state factory at Aubusson were used to upholster furniture. Woven reed was also used to make seats and chairs backs.
The gilt carved cartouches and shells of Italy disappeared from decorations to be replaced with unrestricted compositions with ribbons and flower stems.
The rocaille from which some say Rococo got its name came into vogue around 1750. There was a movement, up to the middle of the century, away from structure-led form towards ornamental design and was expressed also in the bronze embellishments. These were applied to table legs for example where stringers and legs met. A piece of furniture with a purely decorative function is the Rococo console which eventually replaced the console table.
Cabinets disappeared from interiors during the Rococo period except for in country homes and those of the citizenry, although there were half-height cabinets with two doors serving as wash-stand chiffoniers known as meuble d’entre deux and small bookcases with two doors. There would be a games table in
the salon, sometimes with a chessboard inlaid into its top and the round gueridon or pedestal table was made for all manner of small items. There would be a large table in the dining room together with a whole series of smaller tables and for when they wished to talk without being overheard by the servants, there would be a ‘dumb waiter’ on which the staff would leave the food before retiring. In a ladies’ room there would certainly be a dressing table or table de toilette which later became known as a poudreuse. The lady would also have a writing table or bonheur du jour in one of her rooms. Men’s desks were much heavier in appearance, usually made from palisander but other words were also used for bureaux. Flat-fronted bureaux were popular until 1750 after which the cylindrical bureaux became more fashionable.
There would be several night tables in the sleeping quarters: the tables de nuit and tables de lit. During the Rococo period beds became more elegant and graceful but often with whimsical valances from which their names were derived of lit a la Chinoise, l’Anglaise, l’Allemagne, or l`Italienne. No chests or coffers were to be seen anywhere in the salons, these had been replaced by a commode with two attendant corner cabinets.
The form of the commode had also changed. The curves of the front had now disappeared and the bronze handles and catches were geometrically arranged. The bottom of the commode was bowed. As the years passed, Rococo became increasingly more complex. Bronze ornamentation and intarsia inlays now covered the entire fronts of pieces, without regard for the drawers.
Subsequently the decoration moved more to the sides of pieces. Bronze ornamentation became more simple with cleaner lines after 1740. Whatever their specialisation, virtually every furniture maker produced commodes during the Rococo era. Some of the famous names are J.P.
Latz, J.F. Leleu, Nicolas Pineau, F. Oeben, J.H. Riesener, Bernard van Risen-burgh, and Abraham Roentgen.
There was strongly exotic side to Rococo so that lacquered furniture was extremely popular at this time. Rococo flourished most during the first half of the eighteenth century and at this time French lacquer-work production overtook even that of the Dutch who had been the biggest producers of reproduction chi-
noiserie and the largest importers of Chinese and Japanese lacquer items. The Dutch Martin brothers were the major producers of reproduction chinoiserie.
Germany and Austria
The political situation had as great an influence on the furniture industry during the Rococo period as during the preceding era.
The artistic and cultural leanings of the individual courts depended both on their geographical position and political realities. Hence the main cities of Berlin, Dresden, Munich, and Vienna took their lead from the French court.
The German/Dutch Rhineland and the area between Liege and Achen differed markedly from the German/French Rhineland. There was a clear preference for Dutch and English style furniture in northern Germany.
The biggest variation in types of furniture and their styles resulted from the personalities of the persons commissioning them. When German makers did follow French inspiration they did not do so closely. This resulted in the Bandestil or `banded style’ which got its name from the banding motif popularly used until the mid eighteenth century on much furniture, but specially on bureaux.
A German Rococo secretaire had a style of its own, with a curved form which gave a far from restful appearance. The legs and corners were also slightly bowed and slanted. These secretaires were mainly made of ebony and fitted with drawers. Colourful marquetry was very popular for decoration. Frankfurt cabinets had a similar appearance and were therefore also extremely popular.
Northern makers who followed French ideas for commodes fitted them with three, four, or five drawers but they used no veneer. Further south, in contrast, a commode was deemed to be a tall cabinet finished in walnut veneer. This was finished unpretentiously with iron handles and fittings and had straight sides. The only decorated examples were those for aristocratic houses of the princes. The commode was a piece of furniture for the common folk. These were finished with refined carving in unvarnished oak and walnut in both Achen and Liege. These cities also made corner cabinets for tableware, wardrobes,
small and tall dressers, and display cabinets.
The bureau was adopted from France too but German versions were both lower and less deep.The glazed fronted Dutch cabinet was further developed in north-west Germany and there was also clearly a Dutch influence in their lacquered furniture. Some chairs were both lacquered and decorated with inlays. The most common furniture though is made of stained walnut and oak.
The most precious pieces were gilded. Furniture made of beech or lime was usually painted yellow or white. Luxury items of furniture were also made in some places in Austria and Switzerland, often with the help of important artists. There are also delightful country pieces from this era. Rocaille motifs continued to be used in painted decoration until the middle of the nineteenth century.
France - Louis XVI
A desire for the classical world returned in the middle of the eighteenth century resulted in a number of artists making journeys to Greece and Italy. Classicism became more widely known through their books, lectures, and works of art. Excavation of Herculaneum and Pompeii produced a great array of artistic treasures which inspired many contemporary artists.
This also coincided with a movement in art towards simplicity and naturalism. This trend manifested itself first in furniture, before the other arts. Furniture makers once more used motifs such as plaited garlands, egg and tongue mouldings, Hermes, nymphs, lion’s heads, vines, rosettes, bull’s heads, and Doric friezes. Rococo had shown a preference for gilding, white paint, and light colours. The mouldings and bronze ornamentation now faded into the background. Muted coloured veneers
Louis XVI dining chair.
From the 1880’s, at the end of Rococo, inlays of Sevres porcelain had been used together with glass painting and lacquer from Asia. Floral motifs were popular for upholstery fabrics. Chairs were not just required to look fine but also to be comfortable. The backs of chairs became rounded or oval in the 1870’s. These were crested with carved decoration. Legs resembling fluted columns were popular. The types of seating did not change though.
A newcomer was the three-seat sofa known as a confidente. The sides of both sofas and bergeres were now generally straight. Console tables stood on a fluted column. Beds were no longer placed in an alcove and the side not against the wall was decorated.The common folk’s furniture remained conservative. Items made for the citizenry
included two-door cabinets, ladies’ and medium height two-door dressers. Commodes were rectangular, smooth, and mainly set on conical legs.
A newcomer to less exalted homes was the cylinder bureau.One of the best furniture makers of the time was undoubtedly J.H. Riesener.
His pieces are decorated with marquetry flowers, urns, and fruits. Furniture was decorated with many allegorical figures and bronze embellishments. Riesener partially changed his approach towards the end of the eighteenth century with the introduction of straight legs and more geometrical marquetry. He undoubtedly gave his closest attention to his rectangular secretaires and commodes with rounded corners Most of the ebenistes working for the French court were actually German.
Great names among suppliers to the court include J.F. Schwerdtfeger and Adam Weisweller. The greatest of all were Abraham and David Roentgen, who also sold to the courts of other European rulers.
A provincial Louis XVI cabinet with basin for rinsing glasses.
David Roentgen’s speciality was furniture with secret mechanisms. His marquetry decorations were based on designs by the fresco artist Januarius Zick.
David Roentgen lived in Paris between 1775 and 1780 and it was at this time that his finest pieces were made. Most of them were light in colour with bronze decoration.
The first to incorporate English ideas in furniture in France was G. Jacob, a woodcarver, who made armchairs of mahogany. The backs of his chairs were in the form of an oval medallion and they had console legs.
The fan-like fretwork form of his chair backs was very fine. The German maker J.G. Bennemann specialised after 1779 in large horizontally arranged dressers that were decorated with bronze adornments specially made by P.P. Thomire.

Baroque Furniture
The principal characteristic of Baroque is its rejection of the rationalism of the Renaissance. Baroque is much more dynamic and lively, particularly with its use of light and shade in the manner of a painter. The design of a piece and its detail were subjugated to achievement of dynamism, which was at the core of Baroque. The eye for the main lines was expressed through the materials used. Wood was inlaid with gemstones or semi-precious stones, tortoiseshell, precious metal, and ivory. Light was reflected by polished wood. Supports were turned as scrolls and an overall impression of curved form was created by the use of projecting pediments, plinths, and cornices. Much use was made of acanthus stems with broad leaves and conch shell motifs.
It is difficult to determine with furniture when Baroque replaced the Renaissance because the two styles co-existed for a time. Furthermore the characteristic Baroque elements only became fully apparent during the late eighteenth century.
France
Most of Europe, with a few exceptions, fell sway to the dynamism of Baroque. France though preferred more rigid classical lines. This found its expression in an individual French style of furniture. It was precisely at this time that greater power came into the hands of the French king and with it a greater role in artistic commissions and hence of trends at the hands of the French court.
The best artists and craftsmen worked in the Royal studios — with the establishment in 1677 of the Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne. Cabinet making became regarded as an art in itself, with cabinet makers also working as ebeniste (specialist in inlay or marquetry — the name is derived from the
French predilection for ebony inlay) and woodcarver.
In addition to the importance of construction and decoration in the making of furniture, consideration was also given to the location in which the furniture was to stand. The ebeniste, designer of the ornamentation, and the architect all made decisions about the final form of a piece. In the Middle Ages furniture had been largely portable or easily moved but during the Renaissance furniture was made for a more set place in the interior of homes. Now the far extreme was reached in which it was no longer intended that the piece should ever be moved.
A strange schism arose between furniture for the citizenry and very luxurious pieces. This also meant that different materials were used in the making of these different items. Instead of the customary walnut, more exotic types of wood were now used.
A good example of this is the use of ebony, which by the time of Louis XIII was already being decorated with coloured inlays.
The artist Andre Charles, who worked for the court of Louis XIV was exceptionally talented, and stood out from the other ebenistes. In his early period he also used Dutch motifs such as vases of jasmine, roses, and tulips in his mosaic woodwork. Later he was influenced by the designs of Berain and Marot and replaced his motifs with banding linked together with acanthus stems. His designs were formed with both negative and positive inlays such as light pewter in tortoiseshell and vice versa. Later still he replaced the marquetry of the 1660’s and 70’s as it became less fashionable.
The bed was an important piece of furniture as the whole morning ceremony of rising or lever occurred around it. The enclosed square form of the bed remained with four posts and both outer and inner curtains. The bedroom had several ante-rooms attached in which there was much coming and going of court functionaries. The chest was banished from the furnishing of rooms and was replaced by the commode which became popular in France around 1700. The commode was a development of the chest with drawer which Boulle placed on legs. In the French salons table commodes also appeared, set on tall legs, encrusted with inlays of metal and tortoiseshell. These legs were furthermore decorated with bronze mascarons or grotesque masks. The drawers too were fitted with bronze handles which also held the encrusted decoration in the veneer.
The most important piece of salon furniture was a superbly made cabinet with drawes. At first the Boulle cabinets had separate plinths but later these were integral.
Tables were adapted to the considerable demands of the time and there were numerous variations. In common with other furniture, tables too were inlaid with metal and the same was equally true of cashier’s tables, most of which had a small drawer. The older-style baluster legs were considered too plump and were replaced by cabriole legs.
Other rooms than the salons were often used for a number of purposes and as required night and toilet cabinets might be placed in them.
There were also heavy tables with marble tops plus smaller tables for lamps and suchlike. Console tables provided an architectural element.Seating in the form of fa u teu ils (armchairs), tabourets, sofas, and chairs formed part of the interiors of the homes of the wealthy and the aristocracy but cabinets did not. These were found in the homes of the citizenry but the new item of luxury furniture was the bookcase.
Many different types of armchair and chair were made. Armchairs with turned legs were widely used but later these legs were replaced with richly decorated baluster legs. These were joined together
with diagonal carved stretchers or with H-form stretchers but these disappeared with the arrival of cabriole legs.
The backs of armchairs became more all encompassing and were upholstered and rounded off at the top in an arch. The curved arms of the chairs also became upholstered.
French furniture makers were also influenced by English furniture makers. This led to the introduction of the commodite — a kind of wide armchair — into France. The canape was also partially developed from the English day bed or lit de repos.
German-speaking Europe and the Low Countries
Baroque expressed itself in Germany through very excessive and lively inlay and carving and was of considerable influence there. The elements of the Baroque style were incorporated with both imagination and consistency. The output of German furniture makers was equally diverse as German politics. Designs based on the Renaissance endured for a long time but alongside this a new style developed in the palaces, castles, and grand homes of the countless principalities, which adopted a great deal of the influences from elsewhere. Furniture was imported into northern Germany for some considerable time from the northern Netherlands. After the death of Frederick I of Prussia in 1713 late Italian Baroque started to become more widespread and the artistic centre moved to Dresden, which became one of the most important artistic centres in Europe under Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony.
The Bavarian court in southern Germany was strongly influenced by French examples and items such as console tables with French baluster legs and lighter tables in the style of Boulle were made. The encrusted decoration of this maker and also of Marot found favour here too. Cabinets in ebony from Augsburg of this period are exceptionally fine. They have inlays of polychrome stones, ivory, wood, and pietra dura (mosaic of semi-precious stones).
Furniture was largely made from walnut with intarsia inlays of other wood. Great care was taken to ensure that the beauty of the grain of the walnut was revealed to its fullest potential.
The cabinetmakers achieved considerable results in such furniture. German Baroque ornamentation was dominated from the 1660’s by heavy use of acanthus leaf motifs that had replaced conch shell forms, and by small arrow-like columns. Intarsia decorations became figurative from the start of the eighteenth century (bouquets of flowers were very popular) and no longer utilised vines, squares, or rectangular patterns. Baroque became increasingly more valid in Germany and this is clearly apparent with cabinets.
The older-style cabinet on bun feet was drastically altered. It changed into a four-door — later two-door — cabinet with heavy cornice, turned pilasters or columns, and angled fronts.
In terms of furniture, the northern parts of the Low Countries can be considered as an entity with northern Germany, although there were local style variations of course. Hamburg was an important furniture-making centre. The Hamburg four-door cabinet closely resembled Dutch Renaissance cabinets. In addition to these a fine two door cabinet appeared from Hamburg around 1700 with a straight cornice. The faсade comprised large decorated areas with continuous pilasters. A similar cabinet from the Dutch Republic of this time is the linen cabinet for storing pillows.
The partial cornices of cabinets from Dantzig (Gdansk) gave them a less fussy appearance and their square panels were decorated with mythological scenes. By contrast, cabinets from Lubeck had arched cornices. The Baroque influence ensured that cabinets from Holstein and Westphalia were embellished with figurative decorations.
The influence of the naturalistic Dutch floral intarsia decoration remained apparent throughout the eighteenth century. In addition to the main show pieces many painted and non carved pieces were made in northern Germany.
In southern Germany, new life was given to Renaissance cabinets at Ulm and cabinets from Augsburg were smaller and sometimes overwhelmingly decorated. The popularity of the Wellenschrank originating from Frankfurt was great from the beginning of the seventeenth century. This is a simply decorated cabinet in walnut veneer with an attractive curved front. Cabinets were also the most important item of furniture in northern Germany too.
There were various variants of these as elsewhere. Those from Hamburg were decorated with acanthus stems while Dantzig cabinets were smaller with one or two doors.
Commodes with pull-out leaf for writing and bureaux formed important pieces of furniture in the homes of the middle classes. Their chairs had spiral, turned, or cabriole legs and leather seats and these were also used to sit at table.
These chairs had high backs with heavy armrests and were decorated with carved banding and acanthus stems.
Many canopy beds with turned posts had large panels that were usually copiously decorated with intarsia inlay or carving. Gradually beds began to be made without valances.
Carving fell out of favour over the years so that cabinets had large plain surfaces on their fronts which gave them a monumental appearance.