Posts Tagged ‘four continents’

Antique Mid 19th Century American Furniture.

A RENEWED RUSH of immigration from
northern Europe swelled America’s population in the mid-19th century. After the Civil War (1861-65), the victorious North was imbued with new vigour and wealth as the tide of industrialization swept across the states.
The Gothic style also remained popular during the second half of the 19th century. Examples of solid dark wood furniture crowned by cathedral-style trefoils and quatrefoils could be found in many middle-class homes.
UNITED STATES
APPROPRIATIONS FROM EUROPE The American Empire style reached its zenith around 1840, when the tide of fashion turned in favour of plain surfaces. Heavy furniture in mahogany and rosewood veneers dominated the later American Empire period.
The Empire manner was gradually ousted from its central position in American taste by an influx of European craftsmen, who helped to disseminate the Rococo-revival style. The Classical motifs of Empire furniture gave way to emblems drawn from the natural world, and rounded Rococo forms replaced the earlier architectural structures. The development of laminate veneers greatly aided the practitioners of the Rococo revival, led by German-born New Yorker J.H. Belter (see pp.296-97). Some American designers, such as Alexander Roux, eschewed the use of laminated bentwood in favour of a more authentic Rococo look. Roux was a French immigrant whose elaborately carved pieces featured decorative motifs drawn from hunting, such as grouse, dogs, and deer.
HOMEGROWN INGENUITY George Hunzinger, a German who arrived in the United States in 1855, devised ingenious space-saving, mechanical furniture. He amassed more then 20 patents during his career, for furniture that folded, extended, collapsed, or converted. William Wooton, a native of Indiana, secured a patent for an equally clever, but altogether more immutable form in the 1870s. The Wooton Patent Secretary was a large desk that concealed innumerable small drawers and compartments for the storage of documents and chattels.
A NEW AMERICAN RENAISSANCE Renaissance forms were rediscovered after the Civil War and incorporated into a new, distinctly American look. The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial
Exhibition was a statement of the nation’s confidence and marked the culmination of the Renaissance revival. Luminaries of the Gilded Age, such as j.P. Morgan, commissioned grand houses designed in the Renaissance style. The Centennial also spawned an interest in a revival of American colonial furniture forms.
The American people had long been fascinated with Egyptology, and a number of exhibitions of ancient Egyptian artefacts drew vast crowds during the latter half of the 19th century. It is therefore no surprise that Egyptian motifs found their way on to furniture of the period. Actual Egyptian forms were rarely used. Instead, lotus, sphinx, and other emblems were applied to Renaissance-revival furniture.
CHIPPENDALE-STYLE CHAIR
This mahogany side chair with an upholstered drop-in seat has an openwork splat, shaped top rail, and scrolled ears. Elegant cabriole legs terminate in claw-and-ball feet. It is one of a set of six chairs. c.1900.
GOTHIC-REVIVAL ARMCHAIR
This walnut armchair has a carved and pierced crest. The back is flanked by spiral spindles and stiles. The ring-turned arms terminate in ball-turned hand-holds, and the seat is raised on spiral-turned legs.
CHEST-ON-CHEST
This Colonial-revival chest-on-chest is made from mahogany. The upper section of the chest consists of an outset gadroon-carved top, two moulded frieze drawers, and three graduated drawers. The lower section has two
long drawers positioned above a gadroon-carved base and the piece is supported on claw-andball feet. The overall form is based on a mid 18th-century original. The legs are inspired by a mid 18th-century form, while the moulded top drawer is 19th century in style. Mid 19th century.
This tea table or card table, is an exact copy of a late 18th-century piece, with a top that opens out to provide a larger surface. Made from mahogany, the table is inlaid with boxwood. The frieze is inlaid with an urn motif, and the table is raised on square, tapering legs. Mid 19th century.
This Renaissance-revival, laminated walnut, triple-arch sofa is influenced by Louis XV style. It has a pierced foliate, scroll-and-grape clustered frame, centred by a carved mask crest. The tufted back of the sofa is in three sections above a padded serpentine seat with a floral-carved apron on cabriole legs.
The pediment has a central domed crest.
WOOTON DESK
Panel doors are lined with shelves and divisions.
This imposing variation of the fall-front desk has an elaborate, domed pediment. Two lockable, hinged front panels open to reveal an extensive, complex arrangement of interior drawers and divisions. The writing surface, also hinged, lifts from horizontal to vertical so the panel doors can close. The doors are also fitted with shelves and divisions. Late 19th century.
The wooden knobs are in a darker wood than the drawers.

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.

Meissen
The attempts by Count Marcolini, director of Meissen from 1774, to improve the quality of Meissen porcelain were not entirely successful, and at the beginning of the 19th century the factory was still in decline. There were several reasons for this: competition from other porcelain factories in Europe, mass production, and the effects of the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). When Marcolini retired in 18 14, production was at a level j t high enough to keep the factory open.
Until the mid-19th century mass production grew steadily, thus reducing costs and meeting demand. From the 1820s the factory kept pace with new developments by using “round” kilns that led to a fourfold increase in production, and introducing new techniques and products. In the late 1820s gloss-gilding was introduced; this inexpensive method of decoration used gold mixed in a solution, which was applied to the porcelain. The time-consuming method of hand-pressing clay into moulds to produce plates with moulded decoration was replaced by pouring slip into glass moulds. One of the new mass-produced items was the lithophane (a thin, translucent plaque with moulded decoration that can be viewed by transmitted light), made from 1829, featuring religious or sentimental subjects.
The 19th-century international exhibitions popularized both new and historical styles by displaying artifacts from different cultures and civilizations, and manufacturers copied these objects using new techniques. Taste was now led by the bourgeoisie, and manufacturers’ output became more diverse to meet demand. More than one fashion was often popular at any one time, so 19th-century objects often display a bizarre combination of styles. The Biedermeier style was introduced c.1830; wares are similar in form to earlier Neo-classical pieces but are heavier, and have less elaborate decoration, often being painted with topographical views.
From the early 1830s the Rococo style was revived, and Meissen enjoyed a renaissance owing to its re-use from the late 1840s of 18th-century figure moulds. Rococo Revival figures and wares were greatly
in demand and formed the bulk of the factory’s production during the second half of the 19th century. Produced under the supervision of the chief modeller, Ernst August Leuteritz (1818-93), these figures are of Such typical 18th-century subjects as shepherds and shepherdesses, the aristocracy, and allegorical figures of the Seasons and the Four Continents. They can be distinguished from the originals by their hard, shiny gilding, harsh colours, and overelaborate decoration, such as intricate lacework, made by dipping real lace into the paste. The most notable Meissen products in other revival styles made during the second half of the 19th century include plates and cups and saucers of the 1840s, moulded or painted with Gothic arches and tracery patterns, and blue-ground krater vases painted with Classical scenes imitating medieval and Renaissance enamels. From the 1860s large-scale Renaissance Revival vases, often painted with flowers and blue-ground sections and with curling snake handles, became increasingly popular. From the 1870s the factory produced figures in contemporary costume, although these were outweighed by the number of Rococo and Neo-classical reproductions.
KEY FACTS
• BODY pure white hard-paste porcelain with a distinctive hard, glassy glaze
• STYLES Empire, Biedermeier, Rococo Revival, Neo-classical, Renaissance and Gothic Revivals
• PALETTE harsh versions of 18th-century colours, such as a strong pink and a yellowish green; figures covered completely with paint; hard, shiny gloss-gilding
• DECORATION encrusted flowers; topographical views on Biedermeier wares
Example
mythological figure group of a maiden sitting on a Neoclassical stool, binding Cupid’s wings with a ribbon, was
produced using a model that had originally been made by Christian Gottlieb Juchtzer, one of the modellers working at Meissen in the Neo-
classical style during the late 18th century The rather harsh palette, so typical of 19th-century Meissen figures and wares,
is especially
evident in the
red drapery over
the attendant’s
shoulder, which would never have been used on an 18th-century figure.

Although Italian maiolica reached its apogee in the masterpieces of the 16th century, there is still much to admire in the products of the following 100 years. Potteries in Deruta continued to make colourful albarelli (drug jars), although these
Undoubtedly lack the vigour of their 16th-century predecessors; and, while embossed wall plaques of the Madonna and Child were now virtually mass-produced at Deruta, some still convey a spirit befitting their imagery. The great istoriato (narrative) painting of Urbino became debased, and Montelupo dishes are of inferior quality. However, the depiction of soldiers boldly standing with legs apart – the characteristic Montelupo decoration of arlecchini – remained a powerful image on dishes and plates.
1650-1800
New varieties of fine maiolica were developed in the second half of the 17th century. At Castelli thin potting was combined with careful painting that employed perspective, quite unlike the Italian maiolica of the previous century. The workshops of the Gentile and Grue families in Castelli produced a large number of high-quality wares, including dishes, vases, and pharmacy jars, the best being made by Francesco Antonio Xaverio Grue 1686-1746) and Carmine Gentile. Most of their wares were essentially functional, but they also included plaques made purely for display. Dishes depicting Classical heroes, spirited hunting scenes,or biblical epics are the successors of 16th-century istoriato wares. Production continued at Castelli until the mid-18th century, although there was a gradual decline in quality.
Drug jars continued to be made, although with less spirit than in the past. Instead of [)right colours, the influence of Chinese porcelain led to borders of blueand-white scrollwork or naive landscapes, which were both pleasing and original. From the late 17th century, dishes produced in Savona represented the istoriato ato tradition in a fresh and lively fashion, combining somewhat sketchy painting with high-quality potting. The standard of maiolica produced by the various Savona workshops varies considerably.
In the 18th century, Italy was no longer the leading force in European pottery. Nevertheless the centres of Le Nove, Bassano, Turin, Milan, and Faenza produced good pottery influenced by silver forms, French faience, and Chinese porcelain. Potters in Milan made dinner services decorated with the Chinese famille-rose palette and Japanese Imari patterns. The Ferniani family in Faenza made good-quality dinnerware often decorated with potato flowers or carnations.
AFTER 1800
In the 19th century, Italian pottery was dominated by mostly debased copies of earlier models. Among these, the bold flower painting of G.B. Viero at the faience factory (est. 1728) in Le Nove stands out, as does the work of probably the best-known 19th-century Italian maiolica potter, Ulysse Cantagalli (1839-1901) of Florence. Original 16th-century dishes were already very valuable, and there was an eager market for high-quality reproductions. Cantagalli’s famous copies of wares from Urbino and other centres of Italian maiolica production were so good that they fooled many connoisseurs in the 19th century. Many other 19th-century potters also reproduced the glories of the past, maintaining a tradition that continues to the present day.
1650-1800
• BODY new, fine maiolica types, which were thinner than those made in the previous century were
developed after c.16-50
• GLAZE high quality, and generally a greyish cream
• STYLE influenced by silverware, Chinese porcelain, and French porcelain and faience
• FORMS decorative plaques, vases, dinner services
• PALETTE Castelli: naturalistic tones of olive green, brown, and yeIlov,
• DECORATION continuation of istoriato (narrative) painting; introduction of perspective in painting of landscapes; allegorical and mythological themes; flowers and figures; Oriental motifs, including Chinese landscapes and blue-and-white scrollwork
• IMPORTANT MAKERS the Grue, Cappelletti, and Gentile families
After 1800
• FORMS a return to classic 16th-century forms; many produced as tourist wares
• DECORATION high-quality reproductions of 16th-century designs (e.g. istoriato)
Marks
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Cantagalli used this distinctive cockerel mark,usually in black; collectors should tic wary as
unscrupulous dealers have often removed this mark in order to pass pieces off as originals
Savona: this late 17th/early 18th-century representation of the tower or beacon in the harbour of nearby Genoa has been much imitated

Dining silver
Plates, salvers, tureens, and other items of dining silver first appeared in the late 17th century, when the complete dinner service, NN ith matching dishes and cutlery, was introduced at the French court. From that period, and especially in the 18th century, elaborate dining silver in the latest fashions was often used to display the wealth and status of the host, and finely engraved coats of arms or crests, identifying the owner, are common features of items such as salvers. For collectors today, heavy and elaborately decorated items including tureens and centrepieces are generally more rare and expensive than flatware, utilitarian drinking vessels such as tankards, and casters, cruets, mustard-pots, and salt-cellars, all available in a great variety of styles.
Plates and salvers
Dinner services, comprising individual plates and cutlery as well as serving dishes for specific courses and foods, were first introduced at the French court in the late 17th -century. Initially they were the preserve of royalty and the aristocracy, but the fashion for complete services spread in the early 18th century to the minor nobility and gentry, who often acquired different parts of the service over a period of time as their finances allowed. Silver plates, of various sizes, were generally made in sets of 12 (and are normally sold as such today). On both plates and salvers, the main decorative feature is usually the engraved coat of arms or crest of the owner, and sometimes the engraving is of very high quality.
PLATES
The earliest plates found on the market today tend to date from the early 18th century, when the first complete dinner services were made. These plates are seldom larger than 25cm (10in) in diameter and are starkly plain, except for a crest or coat of arms engraved on the broad, flat rim. Marks on these plates are generally found on the underside of the rim and should be clearly visible.
Missing or distorted marks usually indicate that the
plate has been altered; new borders may have been added and the rim reshaped to accommodate them.
More common than early 18th-century
plates are those dating from the 1740s
onward. During this time the fashion
for complete dinner services, unified by
matching ornament, reached its peak
and the custom of dining on a grand scale
necessitated services of up to 200 pieces. The standard service included six dozen meat plates, generally 25cm (10in) in
diameter (first-course and dessert plates were slightly smaller), and two dozen soup plates. Larger oval dishes for serving roasts were also made en suite.
Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century plates vary little in design except for the borders. During the 1730s the broad, plain, flat rim was replaced by a narrower, wavy rim (giving the plate a five-sided appearance) with gadrooning. With the development of the Rococo style in the 1740s, shell and gadrooned borders became most common; some of the finest plates have separately cast and applied borders, which should be marked. Simpler patterns of reed-and-tie or beading became fashionable in the 1770s and 1780s. The more elaborate gadroon, shell, and foliage border is characteristic of the Regency period. After about 1840 porcelain services were more popular than silver, and most silver plates made were replacements for or additions to earlier services.
17TH- TO EARLY 18TH-CENTURY SALVERS
Dating from the mid-17th century, the earliest salvers were of thin-gauge metal with a raised central foot, and were made as stands for porringers or candle cups. The finest examples were gilded and richly chased and embossed around the border with acanthus leaves, fruit, and flowers in the Dutch Baroque style. From (.1680 to (.1720 heavier-gauge metal was used, and the central foot, sometimes detachable, was often strengthened with applied cut-card work. In the 1720s the central foot was replaced by three or four small cast (usually bracket) feet, eet, especially on the rarer square, octagonal, or octafoi I -sh aped salvers popular during this period. Salvers before c.1740 often had moulded and applied rims of convex and concave curves.
LATER 18TH- AND 19TH-CENTURY SALVERS
Like plates, salvers from (.1740 onward are generally circular or five- or six-sided in shape, with only the borders and engraved armorials changing in style. On salvers, however, the armorials usually appear in
the centre rather than on the rim. The style of engraving should be contemporary with that of the border and correspond to the date of the marks. In the Baroque period, designs of arms and cartouches were relatively symmetrical, with strapwork and interlacing scrolls; the finest designs on English pieces were by Huguenot engravers such as the Gribelin fatuity.
In the mid-18th century, delicate, asymmetrical designs of flowers, shells, and scrolls reflected Rococo fashions. Salvers were particularly in demand for carrying tea and coffee services. Smaller versions, known as “waiters” (generally less than 20cm/8in in diameter),
ENGRAVING
Engraved designs were traditionally cut into the metal surface by hand with a sharp steel tool known as a “burin” or “graver”; today, most engraving is done
by machine. The technique was particularly popular for reproducing coats of arms, ciphers, and crests. Some of the finest engraving was done in early 18th-century England by such specialists as William Hogarth (1697-1764) and Simon Gribelin (1661-1733). The style of engraving can help to date a piece, but it is not always a reliable method as arms were often re-engraved with a change of ownership.
were also made, and sets of two or more salvers became common. The largest, measuring up to 38cm (15in would usually be engraved with a coat of arms; smaller ones (15-20cm/6-8in) had only a crest. Elaborate Rococo borders appeared, sometimes cast separately, featuring forward and reverse scrolls interspersed with shells, and feet took the form of scrolls or shells. The finest salvers were also flat-chased around the outer edge with designs of scrolls, shells, and foliage.
In the Neo-classical period more restrained borders of gadrooning, reeding, and beading, together with bright-cut engraving of ribbons, husks, and swags, were introduced. However, the taste for more ornate plate in the Regency period led to the appearance of large and heavy, often silver-gilt, salvers with paw feet and richly cast borders of shells, vine leaves, and gadrooning. Throughout the 19th century salvers in 18th-century styles were popular; some earlier salvers were also redecorated with chasing, but the 19th-century style is more elaborate and covers more of the flat surface than on 18th-century examples.

Bureaux after 1840
The development of the bureau during the mid-19th century was more a matter of changes in decorative style than of any major technical advance. Desk forms of the 18th century, such as the French bureau de dame and bureau a cylindre, and the English fall-front bureau, were still current. As an important item of furniture in the middle-class interior, the bureau reflected the prevailing diversity of styles and techniques and was often fashioned with consummate craftsmanship.
MID-19TH-CENTURY BUREAUX
Mahogany and rosewood were still used for a considerable amount of writing furniture, but walnut was most fashionable and provided a greater diversity of figured surfaces, from the relatively plain straight-grained varieties to the variegated dappling of burr veneers. Yellow-toned woods such as satinwood, amboyna, and, especially in eastern Europe, maple, poplar, and birch, were much favoured. Locally available fruitwoods, yew, and oak were occasionally used.
The flat-topped writing-desk seems mainly to have been a feature of the male-oriented study, and was often of strikingly plain design, in keeping with the businesslike and usually private nature of this room. The bureau, on the other hand, often of small proportions and delicate decoration, appears generally to have been kept in the drawing-room, where it struck a distinctly feminine note. The influence of the French Rococo style is seen in the contoured aprons, and tapering cabriole legs with gilt-metal mounts, of bureaux made in England, The
Netherlands, Italy, and eastern Europe, as well as in France, between the 1840s and 1860x. Floral marquetry was the usual surface decoration, and was often more lavish in the 19th century than it had been in the 18th.
There was great variation in the superstructures of these bureaux, which were far from being slavish copies of 18th-century patterns. Some had arrangements of small drawers and pigeon holes around the writing areas; the very best examples might be fitted with gilt-bronze candle sconces or even clocks to match the highly elaborate cast-metal mounts and handles of
the main carcases. Others had superstructures of tiered drawers, or combinations of cupboards, drawers and pigeon holes; a central mirror in the upper part suggests a dual purpose bureau-cumdressing table. More restrained were those bureaux with shelves edged with gilt-metal or brass galleries for books or ornaments. Mechanical features such as rising or sliding sections, and concealed compartments, were sometimes included.
By the mid-19th century writing
furniture with brass-and-tortoiseshell marquetry, known as Boullework, was produced both by French cabinetmakers, who enjoyed a lively export trade, and by English firms, some of them employing French craftsmen. Boullework, used in France throughout the 18th century, was revived in England (where it was known as “Buhl” work) by George Bullock (c.1777-1818) during the Regency period. The best Boullework-revival pieces are close copies of the originals; the poorest examples have repetitive designs. Elaborate tours de force in ebony, brass, and tortoiseshell were seen in the major exhibitions of London, Paris, and other centres during the 1850s and 1860s. Writing furniture, including some monumental desks and bureaux, was among these extravagant examples of virtuoso craftsmanship. The English firms of Town & Emmanuel (1830-40), Wright & Mansfield (est. 1860), Jackson & Graham (1836-40), Hindley Wilkinson, and Holland & Sons (est. 1803) were some of the foremost manufacturers of high-quality reproduction Buhl and other French furniture, and the fashion for such pieces continued for the rest of the century. Another cabinet-making firm, Edwards & Roberts, was among the few English companies that regularly marked both the furniture it made and the items it restored. Edwards & Roberts used brass inlays with more restraint and practicality than other cabinetmakers, generally in the form of stringing lines on dark rosewood surfaces. Desks and bureaux in this style provide an elegantly muted contrast to the luxury of full-blown Rococo Revival, lending a note of gravitas to the inevitable abundance of decoration.
LATER 19TH-CENTURY BUREAUX
The Renaissance Revival stimulated ivory-inlaid furniture as well as the heavily carved oak associated with the later 19th century. While carved oak bureaux were produced, the eye-catching qualities of the more unusual ivory-inlaid pieces must have pleased the Victorians. In Italy, where walnut furniture with floral inlays of ivory and bone had a long history, the technique was revived with particular enthusiasm.
While wholly painted surfaces tend to be seen more often on folk and vernacular furniture than on typically middle-class pieces such as bureaux, painted flowers often embellished the delicate ladies’ writing furniture of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, much of it in the Sheraton Revival style. Painted panels were a feature of the Gothic Revival furniture of the 1870s and 1880s, Lind massive bureaux and roll-top desks in this style are occasionally seen.
Another 19th-century revival was the technique of arte povera in Italy, in which Oriental lacquer was
(very loosely) imitated by using paper scraps and painted vignettes applied to bright- or light-coloured painted grounds and covering the whole surface in varnish. This colourful form of decoration was sometimes applied to bureaux and bureau cabinets of traditional 18th-century design, and even to old items thought to be in need of “improvement”.
In The Netherlands, the bureau decorated with floral marquetry remained popular throughout the 19th century. The typical Dutch bureau is based on the English model, with a chestof-drawers surmounted by a sloping-topped writing section, with or without a cabinet on top; however, its shape, with a bombe swelling low in the base, is of French inspiration. The all-over design of flowers in different woods, usually on a walnut ground, is wholly Dutch. During the 19th century old pieces were often revamped with new marquetry, while new ones were produced with well-executed but rather mechanical flower designs.
From the late 19th century the vast majority of bureaux were made using factory methods, with all the variations of quality and design that a highly competitive industry implies. Most producers followed
the prevailing historic Revival, Aesthetic, Arts and Crafts, and progressive trends, tailoring their output to the economics of a growing mass-market. They were rarely innovative. Among the later 19th-century developments was the roll-top desk, a commodious but hardly decorative office cabinet with a kneehole arrangement of drawers beneath a slat-shuttered writing surface fitted with drawers and compartments. These functional desks, in oak, walnut and mahogany, sold in their thousands on both sides of the Atlantic.
Progressive designers of the late 19th century in Britain and on the Continent produced bureaux that met the reformers’ dictum of “fitness for purpose” and at the same time reinterpreted historical models in a highly original way, combining vernacular honesty with sophistication. Much of this furniture was sold by Liberty & Co. (est. 1875) in London, while the designers of the Vicuna Secession in the early 1900s made a further impact on design philosophy. The effects of the Arts and Crafts Movement have reverberated throughout the 20th century, with individual designer-
craftsmen producing bureaux and other furniture of simple, functional design from solid, often locally available timbers.
• FORMS most 19th-century bureaux were based on 18th-century designs; roll-top desks were mass-produced in late 19th century.
• STRUCTURE URE cupboards, drawers, and pigeon holes were commonly used; many examples have galleries to hold books and ornaments; examples featuring gilt-metal mounts with matching candle sconces are sought after.
• DECORATIVE STYLES marquetry decoration and gilt-metal mounts were fashionable during the Rococo Revival; 19th-century floral marquetry tends to be more elaborate than that of the 18th century; “Buhl” work was widely employed in the mid-19th century by French and English cabinet-makers; inlays of ebony and brass were popular during the 1850s and 1860s; ivory inlays arc associated with the Renaissance Revival; painted panels are seen on Gothic Revival furniture of 1870s and 1880s.