Posts Tagged ‘furniture styles’

Art Nouveau English Furniture: OCCASIONAL TABLE, TWO-TIER ETAGERE, DISPLAY CABINET, REVIVAL FURNITURE

WHILE SOME EDWARDIAN households
embraced the latest Art Nouveau forms, many returned to the furniture styles of the past and the latest Classical revivals. Designs from various historical periods were dusted off and reworked by companies throughout Britain. Inspiration ranged from the distant past – Renaissance, Elizabethan, Jacobean, and even Gothic – to the more recent Neoclassical work of Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Robert Adam. The result was comfortable rather than cutting-edge, and less cluttered than the Victorian ideal.
Art Nouveau and Revival furniture were made in parallel to satisfy the needs of the less adventurous Edwardians as well as those who subscribed to
the latest fashions.
REVIVAL FURNITURE
The Revival trend had started in the late 19th century after a new series of interior design books, aimed at the middle classes, reignited the fashion for the three great names of British Neoclassical furniture. Then, in 1897, Sheraton’s The Cabinet-Maker and
Upholsterer’s Drawing Book and Hepplewhite’s The Cabinet-Maher and
Upholsterer’s Guide were reprinted and the Revival was confirmed. The result was a fusion of the work of these three designers, adapted to suit smaller
Edwardian rooms and a desire for comfort. It was also a rejection of the heavy, sombre furniture popular in Victorian times.
Revival furniture was often made from light mahogany, satinwood, or satin-birch, and decorated with stringing, crossbanding, and wooden inlays of fans or shells, set with bone, or painted with flowers and foliate scrolls. Decoration was often elaborate. Sometimes pieces were made from less exotic and expensive wood and
painted to resemble satinwood. Some designers slimmed down Sheraton’s designs to make them more delicate. This occasionally went too far and resulted in pieces that were spindly and out of proportion.
Others took the path of true imitation
and aimed to recreate Sheraton and
other Neoclassical designers exactly
Some of these pieces are so faithful to
the original that it takes an expert to tell them apart. Gillow of Lancaster and Edwards and Roberts of London are among the best of these furniture-makers, but many other firms made inexpensive copies for the mass-market. Many pieces were not marked by the makers, so attributing them can be difficult.
A STEADY DEMAND
Despite the volume of furniture made, much Edwardian furniture was of
good quality However, veneers were sometimes used to disguise poor construction. There was a great demand for desks; bookcases; chests-of-drawers; display cabinets; commodes; side, dining, and other chairs; tables including dining, occasional, and dressing; marble-topped washstands; bedside cupboards; and wardrobes that were frequently part of a bedroom suite.
Sofas were often based on Sheraton and Hepplewhite styles, but were less overblown than Victorian examples. Manufacturers made suites of chairs with matching sofas, usually from
mahogany, but sometimes walnut or satinwood. Seats were often upholstered in silk or damask, while the backs and sides were caned.
PRINCIPAL MAKERS
Important names in Edwardian furniture included Waring and Gillow and Maple and Co. Maples was based in Tottenham Court Road, London, and was the largest furniture store in the world. It made its own furniture
for sale at home and abroad, and drew its customers from both the middle and upper classes and even royalty – Tsar Nicholas of Russia furnished his Winter Palace with furniture from its workrooms. Maples also furnished British Embassies, even going so far as to arrange for a grand piano to be carried up the Khyber Pass on packhorses.
For those whose taste did not fit in with either the Revival or Art Nouveau movements, there was an opportunity to furnish their homes in an exotic
manner using the new bamboo and wicker furniture, or pieces with a Moorish or Japanese influence.

SIDE CHAIR
This is one of a pair of Sheraton Revival satinwood side chairs. The pierced, oval back is centred by a portrait of a young girl, and the seat is covered with caning. The front legs are turned. Early 20th century.
SATINWOOD VITRINE
The elegant proportions of this cabinet are characteristic of the Edwardian era, when furniture became more slender and delicate. Influences were diverse, but the painted swag decoration, medallions, and motifs typical of
Glass panels allow treasured objects to be displayed.
Painted swags and medallions are Classically inspired.
The casing and legs are slender and delicate.
the period, are Classical in style. The cornice and pediment are decorated with portrait-style paintings. Vitrines did not become common until the second half of the 19th century. This one bears a label from Maple & Co.
OCCASIONAL TABLE
This circular table is made from mahogany and has satinwood banding and floral marquetry. The square tapered supports are united by stretchers. Early 20th century.

LADY’S WRITING DESK
Probably made by Maple & Co, this rosewood and marquetry compact lady’s writing desk, or bonheur, du jour, has a raised, galleried back with lidded interior compartments. The inset-leather writing surface sits above three frieze drawers and the piece is raised on slender legs. c. 1905.
Elaborate drop handle
Classical inlay motif
ROLLTOP DESK
TWO-TIER ETAGERE
The lid of this satinwood marquetry-decorated piece opens to reveal a mechanical interior. Initially introduced in the 18th century, the rolltop desk was reinterpreted during the Art Nouveau period to meet changing tastes. Early 20th century.
This etagere is made of inlaid mahogany and satinwood banding. The top is formed from a later glass-based tray, and the piece stands on square, swept supports. Etageres were used for displaying objects or serving food.
Early 20th century.
This impressive mahogany cabinet has fine crossbanded decoration and an astragal-glazed door and panels. The cornice is centred with an architectural pediment and the base is decorated with fiddleback mahogany and satinwood lozenges on the central door and canted sides. The cabinet is supported on slender legs. Early 20th century.
DISPLAY CABINET

French Art Nouveau Furniture: DISPLAY CASE, TWO-TIER TABLE, TABLE LAMPS, ROSEWOOD AND WALNUT VITRINE.

FRANCE: THE NANCY SCHOOL
MANY OF THE FINEST WORKS of French
Art Nouveau were created at the Alliance Provincale des Industries d’Art, or Ecole de Nancy, in the province of Lorraine. It was founded in 1901 by the innovative furniture and glass designer Emile Galle, and was based on the example set by the English Arts and Crafts guilds. A design school and workshop that was profoundly influenced by the Symbolist movement in art and literature, the goal of the enterprise was to modernize technical training in both the decorative and applied arts.
The natural world inspired and informed the artists and craftsmen
who gathered around the brilliant Galle at the Ecole de Nancy, and the school gave a coherent identity to the diverse craftsmen working there.
Among those who ran the Nancy school with Galle were some of the finest craftsmen and designers of the day, including Louis Majorelle, Eugene Vallin, Victor Prouve, and the Daum brothers, Auguste and Antonin.
BOTANICAL INSPIRATION
In addition to history of art and Symbolist poetry and literature, Galle’s rich influences included the study of local flora and fauna — cow parsley, thistles, insects, and so on — which
was to furnish him with creative inspiration for shapes as well as decoration. His romantic vision of nature, a delight in plants, animals, and other living creatures, and a passionate faith in the mystery of creation lay at the heart of his most inspired designs.
FURNITURE STYLES
Galle’s emotional connection with the vitality of nature and his love of symbolism resulted in highly original, imaginative furniture that seemed to breathe with life.
Tables and cabinets were made
from richly coloured or exotic woods,
including rosewood, maple, walnut, or fruitwoods such as apple or pear. The pieces stood on carved supports in the shape of dragonfly wings, or boasted cornices featuring carved
creatures such as snails, moths, and bats. Decorative bronze mounts resembled insects, and fruitwood inlays in extravagant compositions depicted natural motifs, including flower blossoms, leaves, fruit, cars of corn, snails, and butterflies.

Many of Galles pieces were unique, and were signed and frequently engraved with verses by Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, or Charles Baudelaire.
LOUIS MAJORELLE
The other great furniture designer working at Nancy – Louis Majorelle –turned his back on the Louis XV taste, which had been the staple of many established workshops, and created some of the finest pieces of Art
Giltwood Aubepine table by Louis Majorelle This occasional table has a circular marble top above a moulded gilt frieze. The tapering moulded legs are decorated with foliate carving.
Nouveau furniture. Although his desks, tables, chairs, and bedroom suites lack the symbolic poetry found in the works of Galle, his finely crafted furniture is beautiful in its own right.
Majorelle established several workshops so that he could increase his output. He was a trained cabinetmaker, and although much of his furniture incorporated some machine-made parts, the quality was superb. Majorelle’s furniture was usually made
of dark hardwoods such as mahogany and rosewood, with fluid outlines and massive, sculptural gilt-bronze mounts shaped as orchids or water lilies,
alongside delicately carved, inlaid, or marquetry decoration in fruitwoods, pewter, or mother-of-pearl. He also collaborated with the Daum brothers, who were famous for their glassware, to produce a wide variety of decorative lamps with glass shades and elegant bronze or iron mounts.

ROSEWOOD AND WALNUT VITRINE
This rosewood and walnut vitrine by Emile Gallo is inspired by organic motifs. The upper section has glazed doors with carved foliage surrounds extending to a central support to form a heart motif. The back is decorated with fruitwood leaf-form marquetry. 1900.
ARMCHAIRS
These mahogany chairs by Louis Majorelle have rectangular padded splats, stuff-over arms on unusual, sweeping, reverse-curved supports, and stuff-over seats on moulded legs. This is a graceful variation on the traditional chair style with gently curving lines. c.1900.
This is an unusual pair of glass and bronze lamps made in Nancy by Daum Freres and Louis Majorelle. The tapering, gilded, bronze shaft has a flower motif in high relief and three raised supports for the domed, mushroom-shaped shades. The lamp shades are made of clear flashed glass with powder inclusions in rose, greenish-yellow, and dark violet. They are signed “Daum Nancy” and have a Cross of Lorraine on the rim of the shade. c. 1904.
TABLE LAMPS

Made rom mahogany and makasar, this display case by Louis Majorelle rests on curved diagonal legs. The doors have distinctive blossom ornaments. c.1920.
This rosewood occasional table by Emile GaIle has three out-splayed supports and scroll legs with carved hoof feet. The table is decorated with floral marquetry. c.1900.
This sumptuous, blonde mahogany, goose-design cabinet by Louis Majorelle is decorated with marquetry, pierced wood, and exotic timbers. The piece has pierced side panels, a frieze drawer with bronze goose-head drawer
DISPLAY CASE
NEST OF TABLES
These Emile Galle tables Aux Magnolias are made of fruit- and rootwoods and decorated with magnolia and butterfly design inlays, and carved branch patterns on the legs of the largest tables. c.1900.
TWO-TIER TABLE
ARMCHAIRS
This pair of Marrons d’Inde armchairs by Louis Majorelle have splats with exotic wood marquetry, bent and curved arms, tapering legs, and stuff-over upholstered seats. 1905-10.
Pierced side panels
are decorated
with repeated scrolling motifs.
Bronze drawer pulls are in the shape of goose heads.
The goose motif is continued on the front doors.
GOOSE DESIGN CABINET
pulls, and cupboards inlaid witn exotic wood showing a gaggle of geese. A superb designer and highly skilled technician, Majorelle created flamboyantly luxurious pieces of unrivalled
quality. c.1900.

Antiques: Furniture, Porcelain, Silver, Clocks Recently Featured at Antcollectors (1)

South African Furniture

SOUTH AFRICA
THE DISTINCTIVE FURNITURE of the
Cape of Good Hope reflected the styles of the two major colonial powers in the area: Britain and the Netherlands. The various struggles in Europe had also been played out in the colonies, but by 1800 British dominance was assured. In 1820, more British settlers established themselves further up the East coast. The Cape’s position at the mid-point of the trading routes between Europe and the Far East also gave rise to influences from such places as Batavia.
A wide range of furniture was made in the Cape both for the metropolitan homes of Cape Town and the famous white-painted and gabled homesteads of the vineyards. Their forms and motifs were often simplified versions of those in Europe. A slight delay is generally considered when dating colonial furniture. The Empire style, omnipresent in Europe, appears to have had little influence in the Cape, except maybe in an increased linearity of design. Its preference for highly polished timber and expensive gilt-bronze mounts did not suit the local traditions, life styles, or materials.
The most recognizable aspect of South African furniture is the use of local timbers, which unlike mahogany, do not tend to take a glass-like polish to their surfaces. Most characteristic is the combined and contrasting use of stinkwood and yellowwood.
COLONIAL CHAIRS
A wide variety of different chairs were made in the early 19th century. Some so-called “Adam” chairs from the early
Painting in oil on wood This shows typical wall decoration, curtains, and furniture styles of the early 19th century. All the furniture, with the exception of the writing bureau, was made according to the prevalent Neoclassical style. 1815. PRA
years of the century survive at Groot Constantin. With their upholstered, oval back-panels, this type is luxurious and rare. Far more common are
Sheraton and Neoclassical chairs —the latter with pierced vertical splats, caned or thonged (animal hide strips) seats, and tapering, square-section legs that were sometimes fluted. The Sheraton variety, introduced around 1810, had a wide top rail, generally above a second horizontal bar splat and square seat. Later the front leg was either turned or ring-turned. More provincial chairs, the tulbagh, of simplified box-like form, survived into this period. These shapes are also evident on the rusbank, a Cape type of settee-cum-settle with a chair-back.
TABLES AND CUPBOARDS
D-end dining tables and gateleg tables were also produced during these years. Different timbers were sometimes used for the top, frieze, and legs, which were often tapered and fluted like other chairs of the period. Chests of drawers in the Sheraton style, which were popular in Britain, seem to have been relatively rare in the Cape; South African cabinets tended to favour earlier serpentine lines. However, the monumental armoires, corner-cupboards, and wardrobes, so typical of high-production Cape furniture in the 18th century, seem to have been produced into the early years of the next century.

This round, stinkwood table has a moulded edge above a plain apron with a beaded edge. The table top is supported on four ring-turned, tapering legs terminating in turned feet. 1830-40.
Thonged seat
NORTH EASTERN CAPE CHAIR
The top rail of this stinkwood chair is inlaid in yellowwood with simple geometric motifs, which are repeated in the two additional back rails. The chair has simple, carved uprights and similarly carved legs joined by an H-stretcher. One of a pair. 1830-40.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE CABINET
This low cabinet is made from amboyna, stinkwood, and satinwood. It has a rectangular top, shaped at the front above two bowed
doors, divided by a fluted pilaster. The canted corners of the cabinet are also fluted and are raised on claw-and-ball feet. Early 19th century.

SOUTH WESTERN CAPE HALF-MOON TABLES
These two half-moon tables, which can be placed together to make one round table, have table tops and aprons made from yellowwood, and square-section, tapering legs made from the darker stinkwood with yellowwood inlay. The aprons have a simple moulded edge with stinkwood beading. Сupboard is of simple rectilinear form and has a moulded rectangular top above two panelled doors. The panels have chamfered edges and are set within an additional, rectangular frame. The case has a shaped apron and stands on shaped, bracket feet. I820 30.
The two panelled doors
have chamfered edges set in a rectangular frame.
A shaped apron
rests above shaped bracket feel.
EASTERN CAPE CUPBOARD
CAPE TOWN TEA TABLE
The rectangular top of this satinwood and stinkwood tea table sits above a plain apron. The table is supported on square-section, tapering legs.

SOUTH AFRICA 227
WESTERN CAPE SETTEE
This stinkwood settee has a carved top rail above a seat back comprising a series of evenly spaced pierced panels – ten in total - and gently outswept arms with simple scroll terminals. The settee is supported on tapering, square-section legs joined by H-stretchers. c.1800.

Mid 19th Century Furniture: Styles.
FURNITURE THAT DEBUTED during the
mid 19th century was imbued with the innovative spirit, social mores, and the whimsy of its age. Metamorphic furniture allowed cabinet-makers to show off their technical expertise.
The German-born American cabinetmaker, George Hunzinger, pioneered the design of functional, mechanical pieces in the United States, and many manufacturers soon followed suit.
Stephen Hedges patented a desk in 1854 that converted from an elegant side table to an ecritoire combined with a seat. It became known as the Aaron Burr desk after an article appeared in the New York Herald in 1911, stating that Burr had challenged the presidential candidate Alexander Hamilton to a duel in a letter written at one of them. In fact, Hedges had patented the ingenious desk 50 years after the duel and 18 years after Burr’s death, but the desk became forever known as the Aaron Burr desk.
Various collapsible and extendible forms, including dining tables and buffets, proliferated as people became enamoured with their ingenuity and space-saving qualities.
SOCIAL MORES
The fashion for lavish entertaining gave rise to the cocktail cabinet, which contained crystal decanters and perhaps a cigarette case or humidor. The wealthy displayed their valuables in a glass-topped bijouterie — the name is derived from the French word for “jewellery”. The Sutherland table, named for Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Robes, was used for taking tea and playing cards. A precursor of the coffee table, it was never very popular.
The repressive morality of the period conspired to create the dos-a-dos and the conversation suite. Both these seat forms enabled courting couples to become acquainted in what was regarded as a seemly manner.
The exterior surface of the desk has a simple panel with beading.
The hinged top opens to reveal a seat and a drawer.
The seat is upholstered In leather, fixed to the wood with rivets.
The underside of the desk
bears the patent label, “by
Stephen Hedges”.
Lockable drawer
The scroll feet terminate in brass casters.
AMERICAN AARON BURR DESK
This ingenious, space-saving design was patented by Stephen Hedges. The long, oval top of an unassuming mahogany side table is hinged so that it can fold back on itself, and the case of the desk is also hinged to open at
the front. When both are opened, the table is transformed into a writing desk with a drawer to one side and a leather upholstered seat to the other. The piece is supported on cabriole legs and scroll feet on casters for portability.
CONVERSATION SUITE
this upholstered suite in Louis XV manner comprises four independent buttoned sections - two long sides and two short ends – arranged Dock-to-back with each other. The angled ends of each section make it easy for a person
seated with another in one of the long sections to turn towards a person seated in the adjacent smaller section and converse. The sections are supported on rosewood scrolling feet and casters: a 19th-century innovation allowing ease of movement around the room. Late 19th century.
s early Victorian show-frame sofa is made
rosewood. it has two high-backed,
ends and a lower back section with
2 l fluted supports. The seat, back, and
arms are upholstered in green raised
fabric. The seat is supported on carved legs with ceramic casters. The sofa is a combination of styles: the twist decoration is Jacobean, while the cabriole legs are inspired by Louis XV style. c.1850.
METAMORPHIC OAK CHAIR
This chair converts into a set of library steps. The chair seat is hinged near the front so the chair back swings up and over the seat to become the rear support for the steps, which double as the back legs of the chair. Late 19th century.
GOTHIC-STYLE CHAIR
This walnut chair features Gothic-style, needlework upholstery and Jacobean twist carving. The tall back is framed by barley-twist columns above a spreading seat. The high back and low legs make this a new form.
SCOTTISH DINING TABLE
The top of this extending dining table has demi-lone ends and boldly moulded edges above a plain frieze. The table top is raised on turned and tapering legs with fluted decoration, ending in brass caps and casters. The table is extended by using a winding mechanism operated by a key. The mechanism was
invented in 1835 but became popular later in the century. It can use up to six extra leaves. Late 19th century.
ENGLISH MAHOGANY BUFFET
The top of this buffet has moulded angles and a counterbalanced undershelf. Beneath that lies a third shelf. On opening the buffet, the bottom shelf slides down the supports at each end of the table, the middle shelf remains in place, and the top opens out to form the upper tier. It is raised on panelled trestle supports and scrolled console brackets. c.1860.
MAHOGANY COCKTAIL CABINET
This cabinet has a divided, hinged top, which encloses a rising interior with crystal decanters, glasses, and a cigarette box. It is supported on square-section, tapering legs with brass caps and casters. c.1900.
MAHOGANY BIJOUTERIE CABINET
The circular hinged top of this cabinet is inset with bevelled glass. The capriole legs have gilt mounts, terminate in hoof feet, and are joined by a shaped stretcher. Late 19th century.
BIJOUTERIE CABINET
This mahogany and gilt-metal mounted cabinet has a serpentine top with floral marquetry, inset with glass. The case is supported on slender cabriole legs, which are united by an undertier.
ENGLISH ROSEWOOD CARD TABLE
The serpentine top of this Victorian table opens out and swivels to provide a playing surface. It has a moulded edge, enclosing a round baize lining, and rests on four scroll supports with a central finial and scroll legs with recessed casters. Mid 19th century.
SUTHERLAND TABLE
This burr walnut, oval, drop-leaf table has a veneered top over twin, carved, baluster uprights with carved cabriole supports on casters, joined by a turned stretcher. It has a swinging action to each side.