Posts Tagged ‘elizabethan court cupboard’

JUG  DARK GREEN BOTTLE GLASS Willi
c OMBED OPAQUE WHITE THREADED DECORA I KIN
England, laic iSth early 19thcentury
Hi. 105 mm (4-13 in.)
PIPE IN (TEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH OPAQUE
WHITE STRIPED DECORATION
Probably Sowerby’s Ellison Glassworks, England,
about 1X60. I.englh 367 mm (145 in.)
Vessels made from bottle glass, and later
clear glass, with applied glass threads,
usually opaque white in colour, marvered
and combed to the surface of the glass,
have come to be known as ‘Nailsea’ glass.
The tradition that associates this type of
glassware with the Nailsea glass-house,
near Bristol, England, is a strong one, but
since this factory made crown window
glass, the earlier bottle glass wares arc
unlikely to have been made there. Because
most of these vessels were made as a
sideline, little documentary evidence re-
mains to show exactly when and where
they were produced. The few dated
examples come from the early part of the
ioth century. It is known that clear glass
‘Nailsea’ type wares were made at a glass-
house in Warrington in Lancashire. ‘Alloa’
glass is the Scottish term for a ‘Nailsea’
style glass. Though there is little direct
e\ idence, there is no reason why the Alloa
Glass-house in Scotland should not have
produced this glassware.
Many other simple wares in a style akin to
‘Nailsea’ glass were produced in the first
half of the 19th century. Among these were
the friggcrs, or glass fantasies—unlikely
objects such as fantastic tobacco pipes,
rolling pins, walking sticks, shepherds’
crooks, bells, witchballs and musical in-
struments represented in glass. Many of
the rolling pins and most of the tobacco
pipes have applied glass threads in opaque-
white or coloured glass, in true ‘Nailsea’
tradition. It is impossible to say where
most friggcrs were made, and they should
be considered as individual pieces of glass-
makers’ skill made both for amusement
and for commercial purposes. They were
produced as private sidelines in the largest
window glass concerns such as Pilkington
Brothers of St. Helens. Probably triggers
were made throughout the 10th century
but a new interest in them appeared at the
end of the century, when small factories
started to produce ruby pipes and bells,
spun glass ships and birds and walking
sticks in quantity.
JUG IN AMBER GLASS WITH WHITE BLOBBED
DECORATION
Found in one of the Aegean islands, mid-tst
century A.D. Ht. 238 mm (9*35 in.)
Marvering small pieces ofglass into the body
of a vessel is a somewhat cruder form of
decoration than applied glass thread-work.
The Romans certainly favoured this mode
of decoration for their vessels. This jug, in
amber-coloured glass, has opaque white
blobbed decoration. The white blobs cover
the whole of the body and the neck of the
vessel, though only a few stray ones can be
found upon the base. Pieces of white
opaque glass would have been scattered on
a flat stone slab (marver) and caught up on
the hot gather of amber glass on the
Roman glass-worker’s blow-pipe. By work-
ing the gather of glass on the marver, he
would bring the white glass level with the
surface of the amber glass, so that a smooth
surface was achieved when the vessel was
eventually blown. This 1st century A.D.
decoration was probably produced in
Northern Italy.
Adding: The Glass-maker’s Skill
FLASK IN PALE BLUE GLASS WITH ‘PEBBLED’
DECORATION
France, 17th century. Ht. 157 mm (6-13 in.)
Though the technique was never wholly
forgotten, the next notable instance of
small pieces of glass being used as a
decoration on the surface of the vessel
came in France in the second half of the
16th century. The technique had been
practised by the Venetians, and was copied
from them by the French glass-makers.
Their multi-coloured ‘marbled’ or ‘peb-
bled’ glass usually consisted of bright
opaque colours splashed on a light blue
glass ground. Shapes favoured by the
French glass-house which produced this
glass were the characteristically French
pilgrim-bottle and barrel-shaped vessels.
There are ample records that Venetian and
Altarist glass-makers worked in France
from the late 15th century onwards,
though few examples of their work have
been recognised. This ‘pebbled’ glass is a
genuine example of French glass a la
fag on de Venise, but remains distinctly
French in style.
Adding: The Glass-maker’s Skill
JUG IN GREEN BOTTLE GLASS WITH FLECKED
DECORA! IDS
England, 18th century. Ht. 181 mm (7-13 in.)
Glasses with flecked decoration, consisting
of fragmented coloured glasses marvered
into the surface of the glass, have often
been brought under the general heading of
‘Nailsea’ glass. This was indeed a charac-
teristic form of decoration for ‘Nailsea’
glass, besides the bold looped and striped
decoration described in the previous sec-
tion. As already mentioned, ‘Nailsea’
glass must be regarded as a style rather
than as a product of any specific glass-
house. Generally speaking, ‘Nailsea’ glas-
ses were made in green bottle glass,
which was used for its cheapness, as it
avoided the Glass Excise Acts of England
(repealed in 1845). Clear glass with striped
and flecked decoration is sometimes also
ascribed to Nailsea and Wrockwardine
Wood, though it was probably produced at
many of the other centres that made this
type of glassware. Products notably in-
cluded jugs, bottles and flasks in the flecked
ware, though more fanciful examples can
be found, such as top hats.
Hobhs, Brockunier& Company, U.S.A., 1884
Ht. 152 mm (6 in.)
In 1884 a patent was issued to William
Leighton, Jr, of Hobbs, Brockunier &
Company of Wheeling, West Virginia, for
his method of producing ‘Spangled Glass-
ware’. His process was a simple one. Flakes
of biotite or mica were laid on a marver and
picked up on a gather of opaque white or
transparent coloured glass. The gather
with the flakes adhering was then dipped
into a pot of clear colourless glass, which
locked in the ’spangles’. The gather could
then be blown and shaped into the desired
article. Spangled glass became one of the
most popular products in both art and
table glassware produced by the Wheeling
company. Sowerby’s, of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, England, produced a similar ware,
usually with a deep blue base called ‘Blue
Nugget’. ‘Spatterglass’ is similar to Span-
gled glass, except that instead of metallic
flakes, variously coloured fragments of
glass were marvered into the opaque white
or coloured glass base.
About 1884. Ht. 127 mm (5 in.)
In the same style as the foregoing were the
so-called ‘Vasa Murrhina’ glass products.
Coloured glass and mica flakes were em-
bedded in the opaque base, with an overall
transparent casing. John Charles De Voy
of the Vasa Murrhina Art Glass Company
of Sandwich, Mass., and Hartford, Conn.,
registered a patent for this type of glass-
ware in 1884. Sheets or particles of mica
were coated with gold, silver, copper or
nickel. The coated mica was then incor-
porated on to a gather of glass, which was
subjected to heat. This caused the glass to
flow over and adhere to the mica. The
gather could then be blown into the article
required. Shards of ‘Vasa Murrhina’ type
glass have been found on the site of the
company’s factory in Sandwich, also on
the old factory site of the Boston &
Sandwich Works. Patents for this type of
glassware were registered in England
between 1878 and 1882.
WINE-GLASS INCORPORATING rHREADS Of OPAQUI
WHITE GLASS
Venice, Italy, 16th century. Ht. 131 mm (5-13 in.)
Incorporating threads of opaque white glass
into the body of a vessel was a development
of the Venetian glass-makers. Thin rods
of opaque white glass (lattirno) were
probably set at exact intervals round the
inside of a heat-resistant open container.
A gather of clear, colourless glass would be
blown into the centre of the container, and
the rods of glass caught and worked very
gently into the gather of glass. The bubble,
now containing the white threads, could
then be blown to the desired shape.
Another method that might have been
used by the Venetians was to lay alternate
rods of opaque white and clear, colourless
glass side by side on a tray, and then to fuse
them together in a kiln. These could then
be caught up on a gather of clear, colour-
less glass and blown to the shape required.
In both these processes, in order to make
the ends of the rods meet, the end of the
bubble would have to be pinched together
and the unwanted glass cut away.
The influence of Venetian glass-making
spread all over Europe, notably to Spain,
Germany, France, the Netherlands and
England, during the 16th and 17th cen-
turies. Thus the technique of incorporat-
ing threads of lattimo glass into the body
of a vessel appears in other glass-making
centres besides Venice. Each of the Euro-
pean countries mentioned developed its
own version in the facon de Venise, the
influence of the local glass-blowers making
itself felt, so that pure Venetian inspiration
vanished and strong regional characteris-
tics began to prevail in the glassware. The
jug illustrated—a remarkable example of
the use of broad vertical bands of lattimo
glass between very narrow lines of clear,
colourless glass—is, in shape, a vessel of
typical late mediaeval form in the Southern
Netherlands. The contemporary value of
the piece is reflected in the use of silver-
gilt mounts on rim, handle and base. A
similar glass is listed in the 1559 Inven-
tory of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
In Roman times glass-makers sometimes
decorated the edge of vessels with a rope-
pattern, where an opaque white thread was
twisted and embedded in clear, colourless
or coloured glass. This is the only early
parallel to the Venetian technique of
incorporating threads of white glass into a
vessel. The Italian glass-makers who
migrated to other countries, and their
pupils, certainly had full command of the
technique. As well as the illustrated flute
glass, which has made delicate use of the
technique in the long bowl, handsome-
tankards employing the technique were
produced at Liege or in the Netherlands.
In Germany, the popular tall cylindrical
glass, or ‘Stangenglas’, was not only made
of cristallo glass, but was often decorated
with these bands of lattimo glass incor-
porated into the vessel. Rarely, coloured
as well as opaque white threads were used,
in colours like yellow, purple and blue.
Adding: The Glass-maker’s Skill
A superb sophistication of” the technique
just described is shown in the plate
illustrated. It is in fact made up of two
plates, with opposing white radiating
thread decoration, which were fused to-
gether to form one piece. Tiny air bubbles
were caught between the threads, giving
the plate a rich and delicate appearance—a
wonderful example of the Venetian glass-
maker’s versatility. The essentials of the
technique have been copied successfully
by the American glass artist and tech-
nologist, Dominick Labino, of Grand
Rapids, Ohio. He placed 12 opaque white
threads in a metal container at even dist-
ances and worked these into a gather of
glass, as already described. He then blew
the gather into a bubble, catching the end
of it and twisting the glass one way so that
the threads spiralled to the left. After
forming a bowl shape, he put this into a
specially prepared crucible and placed it in
the annealing kiln to keep warm.
The next stage in the production of
Labino’s vetro di trina was to repeat the
procedure with another gather of glass.
this time with the 12 threads spiralling to
the right. The first bowl shape was then
taken out of the annealing kiln in its
container, and the second partially-blown
gather dropped into it, so that the two were
joined when further blowing was em-
ployed. The two joined paraisons were
then reheated, and a further gather of glass
taken over them, to give the finished object
added strength. From this Labino formed
in the usual way a dish which had opposing
white radiating thread decoration in the
Venetian tradition. The Italian name for
this type of glass means iace glass’; in
German it is known as ‘Netzglas’. Apsley
Pellatt in his book Curiosities of Glass-
making (London, 1849) describes basically
the same technique, whereby two cup-like
formations, one with milk-white canes
spirally applied inside the cup, the other
with milk-white canes spirally applied
outside, were combined, the former over
the latter, to produce a vessel in vetro di
trina. The technique was used in England
and on the Continent in the 19th century.
In the mid-iqth century, Bohemian,
French and English glass factories all
imitated Venetian techniques of glass
manufacture. This included the incor-
poration of opaque white or coloured
threads of glass into the body of a vessel.
So-called 19th-century ’striped’ glass fol-
lowed this technique. Coloured and clear,
colourless glass rods would line a mould.
A bubble of glass blown into the mould
picked up the rods, and they became as one
with the body glass. When the bubble of
glass was deftly twisted, the embedded
rods could be made to spiral around the
body of the finished vessel. To produce
the fine effect seen on the ewer illustrated
demanded a considerable amount of skill
on the part of the glass-maker. A patent
for ‘Improvements In Decorating Glass
With Stripes’ was taken out in 1885 by
V\ illiam Webb Boulton of Bonbon &
Mills, who had the Audnam Bank glass-
house in England.
Ice Glass: The Venetians decorated some
clear glass by plunging a bubble of hot
glass for a moment in water and then
reheating it. This produced a roughened,
fro/en or crackled appearance, given the
name ‘Ice Glass’. A further means of
producing a frosted effect upon glass is to
roll a bubble of glass over a marver that
has previously been covered with frag-
ments of broken glass. The fragments
adhere to the hot bubble, and when the
whole is slightly reheated, form an ‘icy’
effect. The bubble can then be worked to
form the desired article. The beaker
illustrated is a handsome example of the
Venetians’ work. The frosted texture is
only on the outer surface of the glass, the
interior surface remaining smooth to the
touch. Visually, these pieces appear to be
covered with cracks, but the reheating
makes them perfectly whole and quite sale
for use. Once the technique had been
invented by the Venetians, it spread
quickly throughout the Continent.
Apsley Pellatt (1791-1863), the 19th-
century glassmakcr of the Falcon Glass-
house in Southwark, London, continued
to make his mark on his trade by the
publication of two books on glass-making,
published respectively in 1821 and 1849.
In his Curiosities ofGlassmaking, published
in 1849, he described several of the
Venetian techniques, including the pro-
duction of ‘Ice Glass’ or frosted glass. At
the 1851 exhibition his firm made a special
display of the technique, which he called
‘Anglo-Venetian’. In his explanation he
shows how a gather of glass was slightly
inflated, then plunged at nearly white heat
into cold water; it was then immediately
reheated, giving a crackled effect on its
outer surface. The bottom of the bubble
was flattened and a pontil rod attached;
the blow-pipe was removed and the article
finished on the pontil rod. Great care had
to be taken not to overheat the article, as
this would melt out the frosting.
Apsley Pellatt claimed that the technique
of ‘Ice Glass’ was known and practised
only by the Venetians until he revived it in
the mid-i9th century. This would seem to
be incorrect, since several examples of the
technique are to be found from the
Continent between these dates. At first,
only clear colourless ‘Ice Glass’ was pro-
duced, to simulate real ice, but mid-igth
century fashion soon desired it to be
coloured. Usually the base glass was
coloured in ruby, rose, yellow, blue or
green, the fragments picked up being clear
and colourless. Occasionally the reverse
happened, the fragments being coloured
and the base glass clear and colourless. Ice
Glass known as ‘Craquelle’ and ‘Overshot’
was produced by the Boston & Sandwich
Works, and possibly by some other
American factories. It was advertised in
1883 by Hobbs, Brockunier & Company in
‘Rose, Sapphire, Old Gold and Marine
Green’ colourings.

Tudor Gothic Period Stools, Chairs and Tables

EVOLUTION OF THE CHEST
We have spoken of the chest as being part of the furnishing of the early house, and we deal with it first, not only because it was a most important piece of furniture, but because so many other pieces were evolved from it. It was used for all sorts of purposes : the storing of clothes or valuables, for a travelling chest, as a seat, or (in the larger sizes) even as a bed. In fact it was its all-round usefulness
that was its great virtue, and accounts for the comparatively large numbers which have survived.
Early Hollowed-out Chests.—In its earliest form it was merely hollowed out of a solid baulk of timber, the lid usually following the line of the trunk in shape and so being rounded. Such chests belong generally to a period before the fourteenth century, after which the more economical method of jointing up timber was evolved. Fig. 2 is an example. It stands in the old church at Harbledown, Kent.
A curious example of how convention sets its stamp on things is shown in the next example, Fig. 3, which exemplifies the next stage in which separate boards were peggedtogether. Note how the lid, although not actually rounded, is raised in the centre and is so a survival of the older hollowed-out solid lid. Another feature of special interest is the way it is hinged. The end pieces into which the lid boards are housed are made extra wide at the back and fit outside the ends of the lower chest portion. Pegs passing through both enable the lid to be raised. It was a system of hingeing (usually termed pin hingeing) which survived until some time during the thirteenth century, when it was replaced by the more convenient metal strap hinges.
Planked Chests.—At the time our story begins—the late fifteenth century—most chests were little more than a series
PROBABLE EVOLUTION OF FORM AND SETTLE.
The construction of the form is practically identical with that of the
planked chest, and it is probable that the one was evolved from the other.
In the same way the early settle was really only a chest with the posts
and back continued upwards.
of four boards nailed or pegged together to form the sides, and a bottom and lid. It was a method of construction about which there was something rather obvious. It was essentially simple, a serious consideration in days when every operation had to be done entirely by hand, and up to a point it served its purpose.
At the same time it had its disadvantages. For one thing it was extremely limited in the form and degree of decoration that could be given (and the Renaissance craftsmen were extremely fond of decoration), and, what was a more serious point, it was not sound structurally. All timber is bound to shrink, and providing the entire shrinkage takes place during the seasoning no harm is done. But this is seldom practicable. A board which has been seasoned for years may still shrink more after it has been worked and built into a piece of furniture.
Now if the grain of these chests is examined (take Fig. 4 for example) it will be seen that that of the front and back runs horizontally from side to side, whereas that of the ends is vertical. As wood always shrinks across the grain, it follows that the front and back are trying to reduce their width but are prevented from doing so by the upright grain
FIG. 18. PANELLED BACK CHAIR DECORATED WITH INLAY AND
CARVING.
About 1600.
A big advancement on the previous chair. The lower part Is open, and
the arms are unpanelled. The back has a definite incline, and, although
back legs are upright, they are made extra thick at the bottom to give
the good stability.
of the ends. As a consequence they have to split, and it is this that accounts for the bad condition in which the fronts of these chests are often found. If the reader turns to P. 21 he will find the point explained yet more fully.
Framed-up Construction.—It was to overcome this fundamental fault that the panelled system of construction was evolved, in which the strength was provided by a frame-work joined at the corners with mortise and tenon joints, the centre portion being filled in with a panel which rested in grooves worked in the inner edges of the framework. The panel was entirely free in the grooves, so that in the event of shrinkage no harm whatever would be done. Fig. 12 shows the idea. It was a system which has remained as a standard practice ever since.
The effect of this new form of construction on the chest is shown in Fig. 5. It is virtually four separate frames except that the legs are part of both front and sides. The
FIG. 19. LONG FORM WITH GOTHIC SHAPINGS.
Early 16th century.
This was the usual seating accommodation for the majority of people.
In a hall there might be one chair, the seat of honour for the principal
person (hence the term “chairman “), but forms or stools were good
enough for the others.
bad effects of shrinkage are eliminated, since the panels are free to shrink.
Whilst still on this subject of panelling, it is instructive to note that the width of the individual panels was seldom more than that of a single board, this saving the necessity of jointing. It is a useful point to remember because it accounts for the comparatively narrow panels found in early oak work.
TREATMENT OF PANELS
Linenfold Panels.—A favourite method of embellishing the panels of these chests was to carve them in the linenfold pattern as in Fig. 5, and many ingenious theories have been put forward to account for the origin of this device. That it was carved to represent a piece of folded linen is un-doubtedly true, but it probably owed its origin to a practical reason, especially as the earlier patterns were of simple form, just an ogee-shaped section, thin at the edges and rising to a point at the centre.
Most early oak was riven, that is, the log was cleft at the end with a wedge and so forced apart. The method was far less laborious than sawing, and it was stronger since it followed the natural line of cleavage. Fig. 9 shows the
FIG. 20. SIMPLE TUDOR GOTHIC STOOLS.
Early 16th century.
Note that the Gothic shaping of the uprights in the stool to the right is
similar to that in the long form in Fig. 19.
FIG. 21. ELIZABETHAN BOX
STOOL.
Late 16th century.
A small box space is formed beneath the seat, the latter acting as a lid.
process. At the same time the boards were not so straight and the surface was liable to have ridges in it. These ridges may have suggested the lines of the folded linen, and in any case the edges had to be reduced in thickness to enable them to fit in the grooves of the framing. Thus it seems to be a case of the craftsmen making the most of the peculiarities of the material, and adapting the design to suit the natural formation.
The enlarged illustration on p. IS shows a linenfold pattern in closer details in which the wood is cut thin at the sides to enable it to enter the grooves. This cutting-away forms a part of the design. Note also that the recessing of the groundwork at top and bottom to throw the folds into relief answers the same purpose.
Curved Rib Panels.—Another form of decoration was what is usually termed the curved rib design, an example of which is also given on p. 18. It probably owed its origin to the same causes as the linenfold. If the two illustrations C and D are compared it will be seen that the linenfold has the same downward curve in the ends of the folds at the top. The only fundamental difference is the introduction of the centre fold. The thinning of the edges occurs in both, and the riving of the timber would make it suitable for either one or the other in accordance with the amount of timber left by the cleavage. In fact it may be that the craftsman decided which treatment he would give after the timber had been riven. Or, alternatively, assuming that he had some timber already riven, he would select that which was the more suitable for the design he had in mind.
Tracery Designs.—This, however, is largely theory, and we may now turn to yet another kind of panel, the origin of which is more certain. This is the traceried panel of which two examples are given on p. 18. They were taken from the Gothic traceried windows which were a common feature of buildings of the period. Generally they were pierced right through, and this had the advantage of providing ventilation for such items as were used for storing food. When this was undesirable, for instance in the front of an ordinary chest, the ” window ” portions were just recessed, leaving the ribs standing up in high relief.
It is sometimes argued that the ecclesiastical appearance of these chests suggests that they were made originally for a church, but this is by no means necessarily the case. That the traceried designs were similar to the work found in churches is true, but it must be remembered the same thing applied to all secular work, because there was no other style than the Gothic. The Gothic style was evolved chiefly from the building of churches, but secular work followed on precisely the same lines.
Renaissance Designs.—The panel at E on p. 19 is of particular interest in that it shows the beginning of the new spirit the Renaissance brought with it. It is true that there are features about it that are reminiscent of the Gothic, but the main design is something outside what the latter pro-duced. It was probably a case of a man brought up in the Gothic tradition feeling his way rather cautiously in an unfamiliar element. It is somewhat meaningless in the treatment of the upper scrolls terminating in the horizontal band with the leafwork sprouting below, and one has the feeling that here was a man to whom new ideas were suggested but who was uncertain what to make with them.
Romayne Panels.—Another basic motif found in early Renaissance work was the Romayne panel, which consisted of a wreath of leafwork encircling the carved representation of a head, usually in profile. Such designs were often found on buildings, for instance, in the Gateway of Hampton Court Palace, and they provided a rich field for the carver’s fancy. Sometimes they were purely mythological head pieces, often of Roman origin, the head having the wreath of victory around the brow. On the other hand, these busts were often carved as a portrait of the person for whom the chest was made, and one can imagine the self-sufficiency of the owner as he would point out the likeness to his friends—though to judge from some of them the result could hardly have been flattering.
We have gone into the details found on these chests at some length because they form the basis upon which ornament of the time was built up. First the Gothic tracery or the linenfold, then the curious intermixture of the Renaissance with the Gothic, and finally the purer Renaissance, if such a term may be applied to a style which was handled in so free a way. Whatever its merits as a design, however, it had this about it, that it was extremely virile and spirited in its execution. A man came across this and that motif, and he worked on them with a complacent disregard for their true meaning and gave of his best in dealing with them. The result was the production of the style we know as Tudor Gothic.
At this point we may leave the chest for the time being. That made during the last phase of the period, that cf Elizabeth, was similar to that in Fig. 5, except that the linen-fold device was replaced by Renaissance details, and the framing was usually more or less elaborately carved. We shall pick up the thread again when we come to the next chapter dealing with the Jacobean times.

Mid 16th century.    About 1530•
FIG. 7. TUDOR GOTHIC PANELS WITH RENAISSANCE
INFLUENCE.

TRESTLE TABLE WITH GOTHIC LINES.
First half 16th century.
These tables were made specially so that they could be taken to pieces
and stacked away flat. The withdrawal of the wedges enabled the rails
to be pulled away clear of the trestle ends.
FIG. 23. DRAW TABLE OF ELIZABETH’S DAYS.
Second half 16th century.
This is the earliest form of extending table, and it is still the most reliable.
The extending leaves rest beneath the main top, and as they are pulled
out they are caused to rise by means of tapering bearers beneath.

USING THE RIVING IRON TO CONVERT TIMBER,
The iron was placed at the end of the timber and struck with the ” beetle to enter it. It was then levered over so that the timber was split.
FIG. 10. THE ADZE.
This was used to clean
the surface after cut-
ting out.
FIG. 11. SCRATCH TOOL.
The chief purpose of this was to work
mouldings. It was simply worked
back and forth.
FIG. 8. CUTTING OUT TIM-
BER WITH THE PIT SAW.
The man at the top was in
control, and it was his job to see
that the saw kept to the line.
He was called the top sawyer.
The man in the pit simply helped
to supply the power.

CARVING OF
FIGURES SEATED ON
A SETTLE.
Late i5th century.
Although the whole thing measures only some IS In. in height, it is of special Interest in that it shows the type of settle in use at the time it was carved. Note the linenfold panels, and the way in which the front framework reaches
right to the floor.

FIG. 16. PENITENT STOOL FROM
FORDWICH CHURCH, KENT.
Date uncertain, but probably earlier than i5th century.
The construction of this is crude in the
extreme. It is simply a solid piece of timber
with the upper part chopped out to form
the seat and back.
FIG. 17. EARLY FORM
OF PANELLED CHAIR
WITH LOWER BOX
PORTION.
First half 16th century.
The general form is
similar to that of the
settle shown in Fig. 15,
and the idea was prob-
ably prompted by the
chest. The back In this
case has a slight slope,
though in many similar
chairs it was quite
upright.