Posts Tagged ‘Gothic’

Globes
Pair of early nineteenth-century mahogany library globes by Newton, published in 1838 and 1836. The tripod frames with out-scrolled legs ending in brass castors, 3 ft 8 in high        780 0
Large pair of terrestrial and celestial globes by Newton; published 25 March 1875. Supported in mahogany frames on triple curving legs 205 0
Pair of terrestrial and celestial globes in turned stands by James
Wyld, Charing Cross East; published 1847 185 0
Knife Boxes
A pair of mahogany urn-shaped knife boxes, stamped W. Johnston, with domed lids and bodies inlaid with flowers and stripes, 2 ft 5 in high 115 0
Sheraton  inlaid  mahogany serpentine-fronted knife box in
original condition 32 0
Mirrors—Mantel
Empire-style giltwood overmantel with triple mirrored panels
and decorated with classical figures 105 0
Rectangular mantel mirror in a giltwood frame carved with
acanthus and shell motifs, 31 in by 25 in 60 0
Mirrors—Toilet or Dressing
Sheraton serpentine-fronted box-frame toilet mirror fitted with
two drawers, 17 in wide 36 0
Sheraton box-frame shield-shape toilet mirror with two drawers,
18 in wide 30 0
Mahogany box-frame toilet mirror with three drawers, 15 in
wide 15 0
Edwardian   mahogany   box-frame   toilet  mirror   with three
drawers to base, 22 in wide 9 0
Mirrors—Wall
Pair of Chinese-Chippendale giltwood girandoles of rococo outline mounted with phoenix-birds and clusters of flowers from which issue two scrolled candle branches. The base enriched with acorns and oak leaves, 38

in high 650 0
Mid-Georgian wall glass in a giltwood frame carved with scrolls
and foliage and pierced, 44 in high 200 0
Chippendale mahogany mirror with gilt gesso beading
George IV convex mirror in a gilt frame enriched with spherical ornament with two scrolled candle sconces. Crested with a gilt eagle with outspread wings 76 0
Regency giltwood convex mirror with ball encrusted moulded
frame and ebonised slip, 1 ft 11 in diameter 15 0
Settees, Couches and Chaise Longues
Small carved mahogany sofa, the arched back carved with
rococo motifs. Curved arms, carved seat rail and cabriole legs        135 0
some auction room prices ‘. 1968-69
Decorated satinwood cane-panelled settee with loose seat
cushion, 4 ft 4 in George III painted settee with flat rectangular back and arms,
on turned legs. The arms, seat rails and legs are painted
with husks and flowers on a cream ground, 6 ft wide Early George III mahogany settee with stuffed back and arms.
The seat rail and legs are carved with blind fret, 5 ft 8 in
wide, (some restoration) Victorian rosewood frame serpentine-fronted chaise longue on
short cabriole legs
Settles
Eighteenth-century oak settle, 5 ft 5 in wide Seventeenth-century panelled oak settle with box seat, 4 ft 6 in wide
Seventeenth-century carved and panelled tall-back hall settle, 5 ft 7 in wide
Sideboards
Small nineteenth-century sideboard inlaid with ebony lines. Raised back, the centre drawer flanked by a cupboard and deep drawer. Supported on six turned and tapering legs, 4 ft 8 in wide
Hepplewhite-style mahogany serpentine sideboard of rich mellow colour, cross-banded in kingwood and fitted with a napery drawer and cellaret cupboards with octagonal gilt metal handles and supported on chamfered

legs, 7 ft 2 in wide
Georgian mahogany half-moon sideboard with two cupboards to the sides and two drawers with lion ring handles in the centre. Four tapering legs, 4 ft wide
Large mahogany Sheraton-style sideboard fitted with two long drawers and flanked by two deep drawers, supported on tapering legs
Regency Empire mahogany sideboard of architectural form, with a reverse breakfront with two shallow drawers to the centre flanked by deep cupboards. Supported by two curved and four simulated bamboo legs

terminating in brass paw feet. The whole mounted with ormolu and brass griffins, lions’ masks and sphinx and with Adams-style garlands and patera, 7 ft 6 in long
Late Georgian mahogany sideboard with shaped front, the top back rail fitted with three tambour slides. Two cupboards and a centre drawer to the base over a waved apron. Supported on six slender tapering legs, 5 ft

7 in wide
Early nineteenth-century mahogany bow-front sideboard on spiral-turned legs, 6 ft 1 in wide
Tables—Break fast
Regency mahogany breakfast table with brass stringing on the banded top and a turned pillar ending in a reeded quadruped, 5 ft by 3 ft 5 in
Georgian mahogany oval breakfast table with reeded edge and
Tables—Card
Chippendale mahogany card table with shaped folding top on boldly carved cabriole legs ending in claw and ball feet, 2 ft 7 in wide 370 0
Late George II mahogany card table with border of carved flowerheads and legs and frieze carved with blind fret, 3 ft wide 250 0
Regency card table in figured rosewood inlaid with brass flowers and leaves, the D-top on a ringed stem and quadruple brass capped legs, 3 ft wide 190 0
Sheraton mahogany card table inlaid with satinwood lines and
on tapering legs, 3 ft 2 in wide 180 0
George II walnut card table with rectangular top on turned legs
with mantled knees and club feet, 3 ft wide 95 0
Regency mahogany card table with green baize interior on curving quadruple support, ending in brass claw feet. The top is cross-banded 65 0
Victorian mahogany card table with double Sap top supported
on four tapering shafts, terminating in curved legs 44 0
Tables—Centre
Regency painted centre tabic, the circular top simulating green marble, the border with brass mouldings hinged to a carved turned central support on a curved triangular base with lion’s paw feet, 4 ft diameter 120 0
Edwards and Roberts eboniscd centre table with ormolu beading on cluster column and quadruple base, 5 ft 6 in wide 38 0
Red Buhl shaped centre table with heavy ormolu mounts, two
drawers and on cabriole legs. (Poor condition) 11 0
Tables—Dining
Charles I oak dining table with a triple-plank top and the frieze carved with leaves and interlaced arcading, on column legs, 6 ft 5 in long by 2 ft 7 in wide 360 0
Large late George III mahogany dining table, the top richly carved with acanthus, ribbon motifs, satyr masks and a coat of arms. Supported on ten tapering spiral-twist legs with five loose leaves, 12 ft 4 in long 185 0
Georgian mahogany two pillar dining table with triple curving
legs ending in brass-capped feet 122 0
Georgian mahogany oval drop-leaf dining table on turned legs
and pad feet 75 0
Eighteenth-century mahogany oval drop-leaf cottage dining table
on taper legs with pad feet, 3 ft 6 in wide 44 0
Mahogany gadrooned oval dining table with cabriole legs and
claw and ball feet 40 0
Georgian mahogany drum library table with leather top and four real and four dummy drawers. On triple curving legs with brass-capped feet, 3 ft 3 in diameter 680 0
some auction room prices : 1968-69
George III mahogany library table fitted with seven drawers and dummy drawers with gilt metal lion ring handles, the top with gilt tooled green leather and the whole raised on a curved quadruple support with

brass-capped feet
Tables—Games and Sewing
Eighteenth-century mahogany, shaped folding top, games table on nutcracker frame with cabriole legs and claw and ball feet, 34 in wide
William IV games table with sliding and reversible top inlaid as a chess board opening to reveal a backgammon board with two drawers to the side. Central pillar supported on quadruple curving feet
Nineteenth-century mahogany sewing table with rising top and drawers below. The slender tapering legs ending in brass-capped feet
Tables—Gate-leg
George I elmwood gate-leg table, the oval top with flaps on
cabriole legs carved with scrolls and leaves and ending in
pointed pad feet, 3 ft 9 in wide Seventeenth-century oak oval gate-leg dining table with double
flaps supported on bobbin turned legs with plain cross
stretchers, 4 ft 9 in wide Late George II mahogany gate-leg table, the oval top with two
flaps, on unusual legs fluted and ending in paw feet, 3 ft 9 in
wide
Oak oval gate-leg table on turned underframe with drawer, 4 ft wide
Tables—Occasional
Late George II mahogany piecrust table with bird-cage support on fluted stem with carved legs and claw and ball feet, 2 ft 2 in diameter
Large mahogany piecrust tripod table with baluster stem and
pointed pad feet, 3 ft 5 in diameter Mahogany tripod table, the circular top with raised rim, on
cabriole feet, 1 ft 10 in diameter
Tables—Pembroke
Late Georgian mahogany oval Pembroke table with drawer, on
square tapering legs, 2 ft 7 in wide by 3 ft 6 in long Late Georgian mahogany Pembroke table painted with a floral
border and on turned and fluted legs Georgian mahogany Pembroke table with folding flaps and
single drawer, inlaid with satinwood lines and fan motifs, on
tapering legs, 3 ft 2 in wide
Tables—Refectory
Seventeenth-century oak refectory table of slender plain form, the base having square ends united by a single stretcher, 7 ft 3 in long
Oak refectory table on bulbous end supports with central
stretcher, 7 ft 7 in by 3 ft wide 130 0
An exceptionally long oak refectory table with triple curving
supports, 18 ft 6 in long, 3 ft 3 in wide 90 0
Tables—Side
Queen Anne banded walnut side table with two deep and two
shallow drawers on square legs, 3 ft 3 in wide 170 0
Chinese-Chippendale mahogany side table, the frieze carved with
blind fret. Moulded legs, 3 ft wide 88 0
Oak side table with drawer, on turned legs, 3 ft wide 64 0
Walnutwood side table with cabriole legs carved with acanthus
leaves 31 0
Tables—Sofa
George III satinwood sofa table cross-banded with acacia, fitted with two drawers and false drawers opposite on trestle supports with splayed curved feet and brass castors, 2 ft 10 in wide        750 0
Regency banded mahogany sofa table with tulipwood stringing with two drawers on end supports and central stretcher with brass claw feet, 5 ft 10 in extended 380 0
Late George III mahogany sofa table with two drawers in frieze and raised on flat trestle supports with out-curved legs, 3 ft 2 in wide 270 0
George III mahogany sofa table banded in rosewood and with two drawers. It has trestle supports with tripod splayed legs and brass feet, 3 ft wide 250 0
Tables—Sutherland
Mahogany Sutherland table on turned underframe, 2 ft 9 in
wide 42 0
Victorian walnut-veneered Sutherland table on turned supports,
2 ft 6 in wide 36 0
Tables—Tea
Regency mahogany tea table with folding top on a turned pillar and four curved legs, the whole inlaid with brass stringing, 3 ft wide 120 0
Late George II mahogany tea table, the top with a border of flowerheads and ribbon and the frieze and chamfered legs carved with Chinese blind fret, 3 ft wide 60 0
George III mahogany tea table with folding top, a drawer in
the frieze and square tapering legs, 3 ft 8 in wide 38 0
Tables—Wine
Hepplewhite mahogany wine table, the inlaid octagonal top
supported on triple concave curving legs 105 0
Victorian mahogany wine table on pillar and tripod base, 21 in
diameter 10 0
Tables—Writing
George III mahogany pedestal writing table, the gilt tooled leather top with three drawers at each side of the frieze and
the pedestals with cupboards and drawers at either end, 4 ft wide
Early eighteenth-century banded fruitwood writing table, fitted
with three drawers, a shaped apron and on cabriole legs with
pad feet, 2 ft 4 in wide Victorian lady’s mahogany writing table with two short drawers
on lyre end supports, 3 ft wide Carved mahogany writing table with fitted drawer, the top lined
with leather, on cabriole legs, 2 ft 5 in wide
Tallboys and Lowboys
George II walnut tallboy, the top with reeded and canted corners and three small and three long drawers. The base having three long drawers and bracket feet
Queen Anne small walnut tallboy of mellow colour, the upper chest fitted with two small and three long drawers over a brushing slide, and three long graduated drawers
William and Mary lowboy inlaid with scrolls and motifs. The top fitted with two small and two long drawers and two long drawers to the base, 4 ft 3 in high
Georgian mahogany tallboy with dentil cornice and two small and three long drawers to the top and tliree long drawers to the base which is supported on bracket feet
Georgian mahogany tallboy with dentil cornice, the top fitted with two small and three long drawers, the base with three long drawers and supported on bracket feet, 6 ft 1 in high
Waiters
Mid-Georgian mahogany dumb waiter with turned and carved columns supporting three trays. The whole on cabriole tripod feet, 4 ft high
George III mahogany dumb waiter with two revolving tiers and baluster centre on three curved and moulded legs and castor feet applied with roundels, 3 ft 2 in high
George II mahogany dumb waiter with three graduated revolving tiers and spiral fluting on turned central support. Plain cabriole legs, 3 ft 6 in high
Wardrobes
Mahogany breakfront wardrobe fitted with sliding trays, four
drawers and panelled cupboards Small Georgian mahogany wardrobe enclosed by two panelled
doors with three drawers in the base, 3 ft 9 in wide George III mahogany gents wardrobe with pierced swan-neck
cresting, a pair of doors banded in satinwood and two short
and two long drawers below, 7 ft high by 4 ft 4 in wide Regency mahogany wardrobe the upper part with sliding trays
with four drawers under on splay feet, 3 ft 11 in wide
Washstands
Late George III mahogany washstand, the top hinged and opening to form a back, the front with a pair of cupboard doors above one small drawer, on square splayed legs, 2 ft wide
Edwardian three-tier corner washstand with basin 18 0 George III mahogany corner washstand, the slender legs joined
by a stretcher with a drawer, 2 ft wide                                      14 0
Wine Coolers
Georgian inlaid mahogany sarcophagus wine cooler with lion
mask and ring handle on paw feet 65 0
Georgian mahogany octagonal wine cooler with lifting top and
short square moulded legs, 18 in wide 55 0

The Exotic: the 1860s and 1870s
In the 18 6os hair went up again and earrings returned to favour. Their comeback was marked by a great variety of types and styles. Size fluctuated throughout the period, but grew to enormous proportions in the late i 86os and early 18’70s, when earrings almost rested on the shoulder. This fashion, although started in France and England, spread throughout Europe, and we also learn from an article in the trade-paper Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith of 187 5 that: ‘long pendent earrings are coming into fashion again in America.’
It was the great age of novelty. Women suspended from their ears any unusual and bizarre object they could think of. Among the favourite shapes for earring pendants
were windmills, buckets, shovels, hammers, hens brooding in baskets, and hum P. 78 ming birds. Even exotic creatures such as Brazilian beetles were suspended from ears
in the place of gemstones. Goldfish swimming in bowls were simulated by tinted in P 03 taglios. The Chinese-inspired ‘willow pattern’ is seen on many plate-shape gold earrings from 1870, enamelled in blue and white with the traditional pagoda, willow tree and figures on a bridge. Arrow earrings also appear to have been in great favour, P 79 either simply attached to the earlobe or designed in two sections so as to appear to transfix it.
Earrings of these types were not products of ‘haute joaillerie’ and not intended to be particularly artistic-, they were meant to be amusing and decorative, ‘novelty’jewellery to be worn for a season and then discarded. This explains firstly why they are always of little intrinsic value, being made of thin gold leaf decorated with enamel rather than gemstones, and secondly why few of them survive. They were certainly not the type of jewel to pass down in the family as an heirloom.
Interest in travel and advances in scientific knowledge together with the development of new industrial techniques, all affected the design of earrings around the middle of the century. New materials such as ‘Blue John’ or Derbyshire spar, lava from Vesuvius, colourful feathers of hummingbirds from Mexico, and beetles from Brazil, whose hard and green iridescent shell proved a successful and unusual sub-
stitute for gemstones, all made their appearance. The beetles were either simply at P. 107 tached to a gold hook to be inserted through the pierced earlobe or grouped more 126 elaborately in girandole arrangements. There were also exotic flowers, such as cas- P. roe
cades of stained ivory fuchsia blossoms; bunches of bulrushes set with turquoises baskets of flowers held by a hand, and acorns. The popularity of the latter is demon-
1o6 strated by its appearance among the drawings of Mellerio and by the firm’s ad-
vertisement in the magazine La Femme et la Famille et le Journal des Jeunes Personnel. p. 102, Animals were also favourite subjects; among the most amusing are frogs ready to
103 spring from bulrushes, nesting birds, brooding hens and coiled serpents entwined
with a vine spray. Hammers, ladders and well-pulleys with buckets reflect an interest P. 78 in industry. Although the fashion for novelty earrings appears to have started in
France, it assumed its most bizarre forms in England.
Classical revival
Another leitmotiv of i 9th-century jewellery is revivalism, a means of enriching the present by looking at the past. This had developed in the I 830S when designers such as Pugin in England and soon after Froment Meurice in France turned to Gothic art as a source of inspiration. Few examples of earrings in Gothic style are known, and those are usually made from Berlin iron, a material particularly well suited to reproducing Gothic tracery. The full bloom of revivalism occurs in the 18 6os and I 870s and this is particularly true of jewellery. The styles to be revived were mainly pre-Classical and Classical, Italian and French Renaissance and the period of Louis XVI.
Contemporary archaeological discoveries in Etruria and in the Greek Islands such as Knossos, Melos and Rhodes were bringing to light large quantities of exceptional ancient jewellery. The importance and popularity of earrings in antiquity was in some ways comparable to the 18 6os and 18 70s- It was natural, therefore, that antique shapes, designs and techniques were copied or reinterpreted in this period.
Among the leaders in this style were the Castellanis in Rome and Naples; they not only copied and reinterpreted the examples of the past but also set antique fragments such as engraved gemstones and coins as part of their interpretation of ancient jewellery. This is particularly evident in works like the gold and cornelian earrings set with Roman intaglios depicting a trophy of arms and a hunting scene.
P 97 Ernesto Pierret was another famous jeweller in Rome who produced earrings of Etrusco-Roman inspiration. A good example is the pair designed as a triangular panel decorated with bead-work and corded wire typical of Greek and Etruscan goldsmithwork flanked by baton motifs with spherical drop terminals probably inspired by the Roman crotalia which Pliny describes as ornaments designed to tinkle at every movement. This was a favourite motif for earrings and many examples survive where the baton-shaped drops are combined with various surmounts such as the Athenian owl with spread wings perched on a pediment.
The taste for Classical designs was widespread throughout Europe. Similar examples were produced by firms such as Robert Phillips in England and Eugene Fonte-
P 109 nay in France. Fontenay made great use of bead-work and corded wire in the mounts of his earrings, which were frequently set with carvings or enamel miniatures of scenes from Pompeian frescoes and had fringed drops and palmette or rosette surmounts.
Gold and pearl earring in archaeological revival style, circa 1870, inspired by the ancient Roman `crotalia’.
This archaeological fad was such that as early as 18 59 it became the target of satirical sketches. In ‘A Young Lady on the High Classical School of Ornament’, Punch (15 July 1859) depicted a devotee of the Antique style with an excess of jewels, tiara, hair ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, pendants and long earrings, all of Greek and Etruscan inspiration.
Some revivalist earrings derive specifically from well known antique prototypes while others are merely pastiches of different archaeological motifs. A good example
of the first type is the Etruscan a baule earring of 6th/5th century BC pedigree, which p. io, reappears, almost identical, in the late i 86os. It has one closed side, with a decoration of applied stylized flowerheads, rosettes and wirework typical of ancient examples. The enamel decoration is undoubtedly prompted by close examination of ancient a baule earrings, where inlays of glass paste, which unfortunately have barely survived, were used to enliven the decoration. This represents an attempt by the 19th-century jeweller to reproduce in its entirety the ancient prototype and stresses the past importance of polychrome work.
Subjects such as rams’ heads, miniature Eros figures riding birds, amphorae of p. 99, various shapes and blackamoors’ heads popular in late Classical Greek, Hellenistic and Etruscan earrings were revived in abundance. Not only were the forms derived from Antiquity but also the techniques: granulation was largely used — although never reaching the finesse of Antiquity — with wirework and beading to pick out details, and, as in the past, enamels were preferred to gemstones.
Other popular shapes of Antiquity which had never been related to ear ornaments were now converted into earrings, e.g., Carlo Giuliano’s miniature oil lamps decorated with black enamel, modelled on lamps used for votive offerings in temples and sanctuary precincts.
Even 19th-century ‘novelty’ materials such as lava from Vesuvius, Wedgwood jasper-ware and tortoiseshell were adapted to earrings inspired by the Antique. Somehow the frilliness typical of the 19th century creeps through the severe and linear shapes of archaeological Classicism, so that they could never be mistaken for
the real thing. This is particularly true of two pairs of earrings where Roman gold p. 98 low-relief and Greek amphorae are suspended from circular surmounts decorated with frivolous 19th-century flower motifs.
The typical fitting of all these earrings is a thin S-shaped gold hook inserted in the ear from front to back, at times secured, like many ancient examples, by an additional semicircular catch at the back.
Notable as a successful reinterpretation of Classical ideals is the emerald and diamond parure commissioned by Napoleon III from Mellerio; although its overall design is definitely archaeological, its pendent earrings of sober, sculptural shape p. 8o have no strict connection with any ancient prototype.
Besides Greek, Roman and Etruscan art, Egypt provided an important source of inspiration, not only in terms of shapes and designs but also of colour choice and com-bination. Interest in ancient Egypt was stimulated by the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 and by the contemporary excavations in the Nile Valley carried out and
P 96, published by Auguste Marlette. Falcons, papyri, mosaic or gold Pharaoh masks and
113 scarabs were soon fashionable motifs to adorn the ears, and dramatic combinations of bright colours such as lapis or turquoise blue, deep red and opaque white typical of Egyptian art gained favour throughout Europe.
Renaissance and 18th-century revival
The Renaissance revival, with its interest in sculptural and figurative shapes and enamel-work, began in the 1840s in France but did not affect earrings until the 18 6os and 18 70s. Among the influential jewellers working in this style was Carlo Giuliano, an Italian who spent most of his working life in England. Among his most
P. striking works is a pair of earrings in gold and polychrome enamel, opaque and translucent, each in the form of a stork devouring a serpent. In this case not only does the enamel technique and the bold sculptural shape remind us of the famous Renaissance figurative pendants, but the symbolism too is Renaissance; the stork devouring a snake standing for the soul overcoming carnal pleasure derives from a well known Renaissance emblem.
Fantastic creatures such as dragons and griffins with pronounced sculptural quality and the widespread use of polychrome enamels were typical of the French Renaissance revival. What gives away the fact that these belong to the 19th and not the 16th century is their passion for ornate and frilly detail, which always tends to creep in and
P. detract from the boldness of the sculptural effect. This is particularly evident in the
fringe of pearls and rosette surmount of the griffin earrings reproduced.
P 79 The gold, polychrome enamel and hardstone cameo earrings, each set with a cameo mask holding a floral festoon suspended from a tree-headed mask surmount, which the London jeweller John Brogden exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition oft867, although imbued with a certain Renaissance feeling, are closer to late i 8th-century Neoclassicism. The choice of differently coloured agate for the two cameos of Classical Dionysus masks is a rather unusual feature for the period. It is interesting that in this case both the original design and the finished jewels survive.
P. 74, In France, among other revivals, that of the Louis XVI style was particularly
77 favoured by the Empress Eug6me who, anxious to emulate Marie Antoinette in establishing in France a ‘grand’ monarchic tradition, revived, together with the crinoline, all the girandoles, bows and ribbon motifs of French 18th-century jewellery. She commissioned J. -E. Bapst, the famous French jeweller, to remount part of the crown jewels in Louis XVI style. The great majority of pendeloque and girandole earrings revived at this time in France were set with pearls and diamonds, but Eugenie’s favourite stone was the emerald, and it quickly became the most popular coloured gemstone in France.
Fin de sihle
As a consequence of the opening up of Japan to trade with Europe in the 18 5os and of the revolution there in 1866, Japanese art, until then little known in the West, started to exert considerable influence on the evolution of ornament and decoration. In the mid- i 870s it became popular in Europe to mount small pieces of Japanese metalwork as jewellery. Shakudo and shibuichi, the metal inlay techniques developed by Samurai swordmakers for the decoration of sword mounts and guards, entered the world of jewellery. Shibuichi and shakudo plaques and miniature fans decorated with flowers, butterflies, insects, birds and bamboo provided with a small suspension hook became very fashionable earrings and the Europeans soon began to imitate them in chased gold and silver. A good example is the pair of pendent earrings in the shape of a rectangular plaque decorated with fan-shaped motifs.
The increasing ease of travel in Europe encouraged interest in foreign countries and people liked to bring home souvenirs of the localities they visited. Italy with its sights and monuments was amongst the favourite destinations. Souvenir earrings are usually made of materials which are typical of a certain location: Roman mosaics, or micromosaic, made of minute glass tesserae depicting sights of Rome or scenes from the Campagna, and Florentine mosaic made of larger pieces of variously coloured inlaid semiprecious hardstone, usually in floral patterns, were extremely popular. Roman and Florentine mosaics had in fact been used in jewellery since the early i 800s; the earliest form of mosaic earrings consisted of a simple oval plaque connected to a smaller panel surmount with fine gold chains. Later examples dating from the i 86os and 187os are much more varied in shape and often reminiscent of archaeological revival designs. Early examples of Roman mosaic earrings have almost unbelievably tiny glass tesserae, producing a precision of detail which matches that of painting. Later examples are much coarser.
Among the plethora of 18 6os and 18 7os earrings another type can be clearly distinguished, known as the ‘fringe’ earring. This usually consists of a circular or oval surmount above a fringe of articulated pointed drops. It was popular throughout Europe but especially fashionable in England around 1870 where the drops tight-
Three earring designs in pencil and gouache of the late i 870s, from the archives of Mellerio, Paris. Note the fringe ornament typical of the time.
ened up to form a compact fringe of tapered gold chains in contrast to their Continental counterparts where the pendent elements are frequently fewer and well spaced. The distinction is clear if one compares the French designs illustrated in Mellerio’s archives with English examples set with carbuncles, Wedgwood jasperware plaques
P. 123 or decorated with white and royal blue or turquoise coloured enamel. The inset of small pearls or diamonds in a starshaped motif at the centre of the gemstone or enamelled boss surmount is another typical feature of jewellery of the time. Archaeological influence is frequently noticeable on the surmounts of these earrings. Most examples are fairly voluminous and long, measuring approximately 6 to io cms; in spite of this, their weight is negligible since the fringes that constitute a large portion
p. i 1 of the earring are made of hollow gold drops or of light gold chain. More expensive examples of diamond-set fringe earrings, though less common, are well known.
Naturalism in jewellery reached its peak in this period under the spell of the Parisian Oscar Massin, whose naturalistic and botanically accurate creations characterized by tremblant and pampille decoration became a model for jewellers throughout Europe. Cascades of flowerheads, sprays of leaves and flowers and single flowerhead
P. 124, clusters were to be seen on grand occasions. The designs by Mellerio and by the Ger-
125 man Frederick Kreuter reproduced here illustrate the variety of forms fashionable at the time.
The star motif had been popular in jewellery since the 18 6os. At first its design was exploited mainly for brooches, and only in the late 18 6os was it introduced into earring design. Typical of this date are earrings mounted with large carbuncles, amethyst cabochons or enamelled gold bosses inlaid at the centre with a pearl or diamond
p. 116, star-shaped motif. In other examples the whole earring takes on the shape of a star
117 suspended by a simple hook from the ear. The basic six-pointed star offered scope for many variations: the points could multiply up to eighteen, of different lengths and widths. In the late 18 8os and 189os knife-wire settings came into favour and this, together with a taste for light and less symmetrical shapes, prompted the creation of elaborate earrings in the form of off-centre stars, comets and shooting stars. The favourite gemstones for this type of ornament were diamonds since they could best suggest real stars; less expensive versions were set with half pearls and very pale opals. Many sets were made in this style, comprising earrings, a brooch, and a necklace which could also be worn as a tiara; a design by Mellerio commissioned by Queen Isabella II of Spain is a good example.
Towards the end of the century the fashion for large and varied earrings subsided in favour of smaller and more sober ear ornaments, either clusters or single gemstones, simply claw- or collet-set in very unobtrusive, delicate mounts provided at the back with a flattened hoop fitting. The fashionable design for daywear in the 18 gos consisted simply of a single pearl embellished with small diamonds. At night the favourite earring would be a single diamond of varying size. The change towards smaller earrings was this time dictated not so much by hairstyles, since the ears were
Four ink designs for pendent earrings by Kreuter, Germany, 1867-70. The top one is star shaped; the second and fourth decorated with star and fringe motifs; and the third with a fringe only.
A collection of North Italian gold
pendent earrings, circa i 800. Their large size, linearity and two-dimensional, geometrical quality are typical of early t9th-century earrings in Europe. Many include a central plaque in relief stamped out of a thin sheet of gold, to simulate a cameo with a profile of a Classical warrior, a type of imagery which had become popular at the time of the Napoleonic campaign in Northern Italy Of 1796-97. Note the contrast between the austere profiles and the delicate lace-like filigree border decorated with typical hollow hemispherical motifs.
still left uncovered, as by the fashion for high frilled collars during the day and for the ‘collier de Chien’, or dog collar, at night, both of which dressed the neck and filled in the space between ears and shoulders. Long pendent earrings which visually interfered with high collars and neck ornaments disappeared almost completely. The few pendent earrings of the 189os were of moderate size, in the shape of very delicate pearl and diamond articulated drops which moved and reflected light.
The discovery of the Cape diamond mines in South Africa brought a plentiful supply of fine stones onto the market. A single, large, flawless, white diamond of high quality was now usually preferred to a fussy arrangement of small stones. The new abundance of diamonds also led to new ways of cutting: cushion-shaped diamonds, fat and bulky in order to retain the maximum carat weight of precious material, became thinner and circular in shape, with the culet or back facet reduced to a pin-point, thus exploiting to the maximum the exceptional optical quality of diamonds to reflect and disperse light. The new brilliant cut involved a waste of up to 5o% of the rough crystal but the final result was thought to be worth it.
Apart from diamonds, a variety of other stones were set in cluster earrings; often a larger coloured stone would be mounted within a border of smaller diamonds. Black Australian opals, together with pale and metallic sapphires from Montana, appeared on the market in the 189os; amethysts and peridots were great favourites and with their purple and lime green colours well complemented the pastel tints of contemporary dresses. In the 189os pearls and half-pearls were the preferred alternative to the more expensive diamond borders and with their delicate sheen particularly suited the soft silks in fashion during the last decade of the century.
The Art Nouveau movement, which reacted against the repetitiveness and lack of imagination in the decorative arts and jewellery and challenged the excessive emphasis placed on intrinsic value, promoted many new, original and daring designs — but not for earrings. There are hardly any Art Nouveau earrings, and the few that survive must be considered exceptions. An extraordinary pair created by Rene Lalique is definitely a ‘one off’. They are typical in their choice of less expensive materials (large milky opals, translucent enamels echoing the colour of the opals, richly coloured matt gold) and in the flowing line of the decorative thistle motif rendered in enamel at the front and engraved at the back. But they are unique in their unconventionally large size and their detachable clip fitting, a feature which became normal only in the I 930s. It is possible that such clip fittings were devised to allow the earrings to be worn as necklace pendants.

Tables, Dressers and Sideboards
Medieval boards and trestles—survival of the term “board”—the Tudor refectory table—pull-out or draw-leaf tables—the cre• dence and origin of the gate-leg table—long period of the gate-leg—occasional joined tables-18th-century patterns with club legs—the composite “D” end table—tripod tea tables with dished and pie-crust tops—dating by shape of feet—early games tables-18thcentury card tables–Sheraton quartette or nest tables—variations of the Pembroke style—sofa tables and early 19th-century folding tables—early dressers—dressers developed from side tables—Welsh dressers—appearance of the sideboard—Victorian chiffoniers mason’s patent ironstone china .
In the communal life of medieval times the servant ate with his master and his place at the table was a kind of status symbol regency revival furniture . The master would sit at the head with his guests and family; next would come the retainers of importance such as the steward and the priest and finally the servants expensive antique plates . Accordingly the table was a very long one and as the great hall was also used for recreation and even for sleeping the table had to be constructed so that, in spite of its size, it could be easily dismantled and put to one side when not required furniture+scallop+wheat .
Tables of the Gothic period were referred to as boards and trestles and were made in a variety of styles edwardian c19th construction buildings . Sometimes the supports were as those illustrated in the Luttrell Psalter and later they took the form of pedestals french words for dinner stand . Until the middle of the 16th century the table top consisted of a massive board of oak or elm boards nailed together 1600 century scroll back chair . When laid over the trestles or pedestals the very weight preserved its stability table consoul antiques caried or gold “rococo” . Even to this day, landladies advertise “board and lodging” and we still speak of a board of directors, a board room and a board of governors flemish trestle table . It is interesting to note how this term, used to describe a council of men and women meeting around a table, is a survival in our language from a very distant past catherine the great of russia plates .
By 1550 the communal life of the hall had begun to disappear john bell, porcelain, value . Houses were being built with a greater number of rooms and master and man took their meals apart kent silversmiths bread basket . There was no longer a need for the long trestle table and so a smaller table with a permanent underframe and legs was taken into general use writing cabinet officers antique . It was probably a smaller adaptation of the joined tables used in the abbey refectories and nowadays the term, refectory table, is used to describe it, although it was a purely domestic piece of furniture types of bureaux .
The refectory table, which was in everyday use from about 1550 to 1660, was usually 8 to 12 feet in length art deco brass stool . It was stoutly constructed with four, six or eight legs with bottom rails between them, and the top permanently fixed 19th century chairs’ . The underframing was made of oak but the top was often of elmwood, because of the wide boards which could be obtained from that tree antique neoclassical .
During the reign of Elizabeth I a variant of the refectory table, known as a draw-leaf table, appeared on the scene earthenware mixing bowls antique with handles . It enabled a comparatively short table to be extended to nearly twice its length by pulling out under-leaves from both ends dinnerware silver tureen . It was a design introduced from Flanders and France and it enjoyed an equal popularity with the refectory table botanical whimsies are considered some of the finest examples of art nouveau glass . Both of these types were displaced by the gate-leg table after the Restoration but the draw-leaf table has been revived during the 20th century and many modern homes possess similar, but lighter versions of the Elizabethan prototype steel dining table germany .
During the second half of the 16th and the early years
of the 17th centuries, table legs were massively made and often took the form of heavy bulbous turnings english creamware marks . On Flemish tables these swollen shapes are often spherical, like a melon, but the English versions were considerably more elongated with rounded tops and bottoms dresden german antiques . It has been said that these bulbous legs were functional in that they were designed to prevent rats climbing on to the table tops ant cherry antique dictionary tables . I have it on good authority from a biologist friend that any self-respecting rat could easily leap on to a table without any climbing aids 19th century gothic bedside tables .
Between 1600 and 1630, a small but sturdily constructed kind of side table was developed antique chippendale “solid mahogany” dining table lions paw . It must be considered a somewhat rare example of early Stuart furniture as examples these days are seldom encountered ernst archibald furniture . The tabletop was of the folding type, that is, it consisted of two halves hinged together and normally kept closed cherry ladies writing desk by pennsylvania house . When required for use, the upper leaf would be opened outwards and this would be supported by a fifth leg, which could be swung out as in a gate-leg table serpentine pembroke table . Actually, this small table was the forerunner of the gate-leg pattern turkish style sideboards uk . It is sometimes referred to as a credence table, which was placed at the side of the altar in the churches and on which the wine vessels and plate were arranged for use in the Communion service antique “trestle table” kent .
The gate-leg table, as already mentioned in Chapter 1, became generally fashionable after the Restoration and, in one form or another it is the one type of table which has been in continuous service ever since art deco polished matte lost-wax castings o nude women in bronze by viennese artisans . Usually made with a gate on each side, some larger tables are to be found with quadruple gates “art deco dresser” and “marble top” . These were of the period when spiral twist legs were in vogue and were made of walnut or, occasionally, of oak louis xv antique french commode .
A small type of side table, with a drawer and bobbin turned or baluster legs, must have been made in large numbers towards the end of the 17th century as they are frequently to be found in sale-rooms and antique shops antique music cabinete with mirror at the top . The finer versions are sometimes veneered and have curved stretchers as illustrated in Chapter 2 federal style table with brass paws . A more common and probably country-made variety is the so-called tavern table with its top overhanging the ends to a more than usual degree trent potteries designs by george jones . The drawers of these tables are sometimes found with joiner’s slides on the sides porcelain wincanton .
After being generally adopted as a dining table during the Restoration period, the gate-leg table was given a variety of leg shapes over the next hundred years rene lalique nude woman art deco lamp . Baluster and spiral twists gave place to scrolled legs and eventually to a type of cabriole shape known as the club leg italian,furniture,maker,address . Except for use on extending card tables, the cabriole leg was not ideally suited to larger table design, but the club leg variation remained in vogue until the introduction of the Chippendale square leg and the tapered legs of the Adam and Hepplewhite eras deco style dressing table .
It was customary during the late Stuart and William and Mary periods for a host to seat his guests at several gate-leg dining tables if the company was a large one sheffield rote iron . By the mid-18th century, however, long mahogany dining tables at which all the company could be seated, began to appear in the more important households antique wood cutlery urns . For over fifty years, these long dining tables consisted of one or several gate-leg tables, with rectangular side-leaves, which were joined together and semi-circular “D” end tables were placed at each end to make up the piece ruhimann table . The wide mahogany boards, introduced during the previous decades, rendered the construction of the broad table-tops a relatively simple matter antiques antique oak sideboards dutch style .
When only a few people were at dinner, the “D” ends would be placed against the wall to serve as side tables and only the gate-leg would be in use new york antiques light art deco . These “D” end tables are quite often to be seen in antique shops, either singly or in pairs, and it is not always realised that they have originally been part of a long Georgian dining table antique mahogany handkerchief table . When placed together, a pair of these tables make a very attractive circular dining table, which would be admirably suited to a present-day flat or smaller modern house http://antcollectors.com . The long “D” end tables continued in use well into the 19th century but the tapered legs were in time replaced by centre pedestals, each supported on four long curved feet antique furniture spanish art nouveaux . These were usually reeded and had brass-capped ends with castors or brass leopard-paw ends wheat antique dresser .
Designed during the closing years of the 17th century, but not becoming generally popular until fifty years later, the small, snap-top, tripod table with a circular top is probably one of the commonest pieces of antique furniture to be found today walnut escutcheons . The hinged top of the simpler country-made examples is usually flat but a tea table with a dished or slightly hollow top is not uncommon reproduced oval shaped dinnig table with lion’s paw . The dished top was designed to prevent spilt tea or milk running over on to the carpet campaign furniture pottery furniture . A more elaborate type of the dished top was known as a pie crust early 19th century mahogany desks with lion feet . Here the edge was carved into a series of scallop shapes, but genuine pie-crust tops are rare and there are many reproductions about value of george iii english mahogany gateleg card table? . Some tripod tea tables have an open, box-like structure fitted underneath, known as a birdcage and into which the single, central pillar is made to fit dutch silver 17th century . With this device, the table top not only folds upwards but can also be rotated so that any dish upon the table may be brought within reach of the guests period antique mahonany dining table with lions paw pedestal legs .
It is possible to date a tripod table, to within twenty years, by the shape of the feet tilt-top birdcage tea table . As illustrated on p small antique pembroke table fold-over . 63, the feet of around 1750 to 1770 have a flatter curve with a wider spread, while those of 1770 to 1790 have a more pronounced hump at the knee antique imari porcelain . From 1790 to 1810 approximately, the curve of the feet was reversed and by the time of the Regency, slender, concave shaped feet had been introduced toilet habits during 1800th century . The early Victorian period saw the revival of the “S” shape, but this was usually rather thick in proportion and decorated with elaborate carving bassano maiolica .
Tables which were specially designed for playing games were rare during the 17th century but an interesting piece, known as a shuffleboard table, is sometimes to be found in the long galleries of our greater country houses 18th century antique american gateleg . The long galleries were built for leisure and relaxation so that during the winter months, while the gentlemen went hunting, the ladies could take more gentle exercise indoors dressing table with small tables . The shuffleboard table can best be compared with a shove-ha’penny board, save that large brass discs were used instead of coins and the table top was often very long rh vase austria . There is one at Astley Hall in Lancashire which has twenty stout legs and is 2712 feet long jennens and bettridge . It must have been prefabricated and then assembled in the long gallery as it is far too large ever to have been brought up the staircase in one piece botanical antique ceramics collectors .
During the reign of Queen Anne and the Georgian period, card games were extremely popular and folding top tables with cabriole legs were in general use during that time finmar alvar aalto stool . These tables were, mostly made of walnut and had small recesses near the edges of the top to hold the guineas or counters while small circular platforms were provided at each corner to hold candlesticks for the night’s play fashion in the 16th century netherlands .
Card tables and tea tables, particularly the folding, semi-circular variety with tapered legs, were made to an almost identical pattern, the only difference being that the games tables had inset baize tops while the tea tables were of polished wood how a goldsmith made a candlestick . The early 19th century saw the production of many small games tables with tops inlaid for chess and backgammon and with drawers beneath to hold the apparatus for the games end tables lions head table with brass eagle claws on legs .
To Sheraton must be given the credit of designing the nest of tables, the idea for which appeared in his Cabinet Directory in 1803 antique kidney shaped dressing table . The nest comprises four small, separate tables which all fit one under another splay leg sofa table . They were originally referred to as quartette tables and being very lightly con-structed and somewhat fragile, it is uncommon to find an original, complete set of four istoriato china . Luckily, I have such a set in my possession which I believe was made by Gillow of Lancaster old gateleg wooden drop leaf tables . It was salvaged from a second-hand furniture shop, the tables being scattered around among the jumble and the shopkeeper having no idea, apparently, that they formed a unique set kakiemon bow price .
Small Pembroke tables with side flaps supported by hinged brackets and said to have been designed originally at the request of the Duchess of Pembroke for occasional use, appeared about 1775 mahogany french dining chairs . They were common in late Georgian homes and in the early part of the 19th century a larger version was made to serve as a supper or breakfast table rectangular drop leaf table antique .
Sofa tables were designed to stand behind a sofa and to carry such things as reading and writing matter, trays of refreshments and candelabras rococo display cabinet . A few years ago, they were fairly common but are now in such great demand as bedroom dressing tables, that they have become a somewhat rare and expensive item pop up cigarette deco dispenser .
The Regency and early Victorian periods saw a vast number of tables with folding tops, made to stand on a central pedestal with three or four feet value of clawfoot cabriole legged dressing table? . In this type, the double top, when opened out, could be rotated so that it was supported by a rectangular underframing odiot tureen . These tables were used for games, writing, serving tea and a whole host of leisure activites french scrolling art nouveau style chairs .
A necessary adjunct to every dining room is a sideboard and to every kitchen or living room, a dresser trestle draw leaf table . The sideboard, as its name implies, was a small side table in those far off days when a dining table was referred to as a board gateleg drop leaf table 19th century . As the piece of furniture we know, it did not appear until the second half of the 18th century 18th century french fashion . The dresser, on the other hand, is of far more ancient lineage and in the painting of the More family by Holbein, referred to in Chapter there is shown in the background a high-backed, canopied Gothic dresser, or, as it was called in that period, a dressoir dutch rococo walnut cupboard . These dressers were really related to the cupboard or buffet and further reference will be made to them in the chapter on Cupboards vintage porcelain plate with brass pedestal .
Dressers with a high back were out of fashion during the early Stuart and Commonwealth times but there were two simpler types in general use aaron burr antique furniture . One was made in the form of a long, narrow side table with three or four deep drawers refectory tables trestle . It stood on four or six legs and had an under shelf, as wide as the dresser top, near the floor level antique epergne glass . This was, no doubt, used for the display of brass and copper ware what were wood tables with porcelain tops used for . The other type was a development of the chest and presented a more solid appearance, the entire front being filled with drawers and small cupboards demilune chiffonier . This second kind of dresser was not generally adopted until after the Restoration but both types were used then until the end of the 17th century drop leaf table with lion claw feet .
By the beginning of the Georgian period most dressers were fitted with a set of plate shelves which stood at the rear of the dresser top poole pottery est. 1873 . This version was usually referred to as a Welsh dresser and while it may have been popular in the Welsh farmhouse kitchen, it was undoubtedly made throughout Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries drop leaf table with spiral turned legs . Occasionally dressers are found made in walnut but more frequently in oak with the edges of the drawer fronts and the cupboard doors cross-banded in walnut or mahogany antique cabinets coat of arms .
Long sidetables were normally used as sideboards in early Georgian dining rooms and on these would be placed the knife and fork boxes with the cellaret for wines underneath antique french ormulu furniture . It was about 1775 that the first sideboards were designed with drawers for the silver and cutlery and deep cupboards on either side to hold the wines boulle table . Sheraton is supposed to have added the low brass rail with a small silk curtain at the back to the designs for bow-fronted sideboards, which had originated during the Hepplewhite period goldscheider staffordshire myott .
In Victorian times, some monstrous sideboards were created with the addition of the most elaborate carving chamber pot cabinet . In the great dining room at Charlecote Park, near Stratford upon Avon, there is installed such a piece of furniture with carved effigies of every variety of edible fish, animal and fowl hanging in great swags from every point and corner chestnut tables antique . This monument to the questionable good taste of the Victorians is all meticulously worked in varnished oak, a spectacle which must have made the shade of Grinling Gibbons sadly shake its head turn a silver tray into a table .
On the other hand, it was during the mid-Victorian period that a very attractive little sideboard, known as a chiffonier, made its appearance antique claw foot table . It was equally useful as a sideboard for a small dining room or as a cabinet for a drawing room fish tail knife 16th century fruit knife 15th . Made in mahogany or veneered with burr walnut, it was certainly one of the more commendable inspirations of the designers during the Victorian era american antique slant front desk .

BUREAU BOOKCASE AND WRITING TABLE cabinetmakerthomassheraton .
Typical features in the left-hand example are the barred doors and shaped
pediment with fretted detail beneath antique dining table sutherland . The writing table is of a kind that
became popular early In the century scalloped folding antique table .
Gothic was really one of contempt), but it appealed to a passing fancy to pick isolated details here and there and to weave them into the work staffordshire pearlware figures french revolution . At best the result was a mere travesty, and it fell out of favour as quickly as it had come decoupage cabinets .
Our last example of a chair is that in Fig mortlake salt ware stoneware . 112, which shows a small upholstered armchair of about 1755—176o antique spiral leg oak dropleaf table .
Chippendale Period
An interesting feature here are the small fretted corner pieces fitted in the angles of the front legs oval . ‘These were often used on the square leg type of chair and of other pieces having similar legs square walnut and burr elm coffee table .
Settees porcelain table casters .—The Queen Anne settee NN,itb double or triple back has already been mentioned gate leg fold over antique tables . In Fig george i folding card table antique . 113 is its development in the early Chippendale period “biedermeier candelabra” . There is a great deal about it that is strongly reminiscent of the walnut period, especially in the rounded shaping of the back and the arms with their acutely scrolled front corners octagonal oak carved table . The
FIG antique meissen clock . 120 brandt mahogany 2 tier table . SIMPLE MAHOGANY CHEST OF DRAWERS,
1760-,770 collectors of paul frankl .
Although of plain form this simple furniture was thoroughly well made
as a rule gateleg drop leaf table 19th century . It was the sort of thing that the merchant class would have
used spiral legs on drop leaf table .
shell detail, too, is retained in the top rail of the back, and the splats, although pierced, have in their general outline something that can be traced back to the Queen Anne urn shape davenport “pattern numbers” .
It will probably be felt that there is something unsatisfactory about the back marqueterie cabinet . The centre section is well balanced enough, but those at the sides are uneven because the main side uprights are different from the curves of the wide inner uprights identify - shaped pedestal or pillar leg . This difficulty was sometimes overcome, especially in latter Chippendale models, by making the inner uprights double, each part being a replica of the main outer upright refectory wood .
Revival of Veneering
CHIPPENDALE TABLES
We saw in the last chapter that, apart from the William Kent productions, side tables had usually cabriole legs and were often fitted with marble tops antique porceline candle sticks . A tendency was to introduce an elaborate apron piece between the front legs, this being usually pierced right through and carved with acanthus leafNvork intricately scrolled and intertwined art deco inspired bookcase . It rapidly began to grow out of all proportions until the beginning of the Chippendale period why are pier tables called .
Fig kitchen antique furniture deux corps cupboards . 114 shows a small table of simple form, and of special
FIG antique inlaid occasional table . 121 art nouveau porcelain marks . SERPENTINE SHAPED COMMODE telescopic supports for tables .
i76o-1770 antique brass and marble cocktail table 1950 .
This shows strong French influence both in general form and in the detail
of the carving mallard tester bed . It would have been extremely expensive to produce and
be made for only the wealthiest classes antique dressing table 1925 .
interest in that it shows a revival of veneering bernard palissy . In fact it may be mentioned here that a great deal of veneering was done in Chippendale pieces, probably as an economy in the finely-figured woods then being imported century italian provincial cherry bombe armoire . It was, however, usually of a different spirit from that of the Queen Anne period, when the veneer usually hid entirely the construction antique table wooden hinge drop leaf . In Chippendale work no attempt is made as a rule to hide the construction, and any detail is usually subservient to obtaining good strength antique dinner services .
The difference came about in this way antique adams and sons company england ironstone . A Queen Anne cabinet maker would make the framework of, say, a door and would veneer it so that the latter ran right across the joints, concealing them entirely chinese precious stone and laquer cabinets . In Chippendale’s time the
cabinet maker used far thicker veneer (about I in italian nlaid bronze marble table tops .) and 8
generally veneered his parts before jointing and putting them together what is a chamber pot of 1800s . In this way the joints were bound to show, and it involved no practical difficulty because the veneer was thick enough to allow the joints to be levelled with the plane after being put together, a thing which would have been quite impracticable when the veneer was thinner flemish ivory inlay furniture antique .
The table in Fig spode ironstone china . 114 is rather an exception to this general rule in that the top rail was veneered after it had been jointed to the legs george serving table fluted . It is easy to tell this because the veneer runs across both rail and legs what is antique library table worth . Cross-grained veneer is the exception rather than the rule in Chippendale work, though in a case like this advantage was taken of the fine figuring to show it at its best refectorytables . The legs are of the straight moulded type already noted, and are deeply chamfered at the inner corners to lighten the appearance tripod table marble .
Use of Frets black desk curved legs .—Another table showing typical Chippendale features is that in Fig antique crofters cottage antique . 115 antique draw leaf table . It has the square moulded legs with deep chamfer, and the rails are decorated with frets antique cherry dictionary stand . This form of ornament was originally derived from the Chinese style north west antique dresser . In its purely Chinese form it consisted of intersecting straight lines somewhat in the form of lattice work (see the chair back in Fig antique mahogany drum tables library tables writing tables . III), but the idea once prompted soon developed into a purely Western conventional design consisting of curves and scrolls nabeshima antique . On p classic white bombe drawers maker . 157 is given a group of typical Chippendale frets, some still distinctly Chinese in character, and others of the conventional English form empire furniture company .
These frets, where similar positions to that in the table in Fig copper brass tray coffee table . 115, were later applied—that is, they were not carved out of the solid wood, though often enough the ends of scrolls and other small details were touched up with carving tools to give a more realistic appearance of carved work spaanse 17de eeuwse antieke tafel . In some cases the frets had no backing lidded urn with hole underneath . For instance, little galleried edgings were often fitted to small tables george hunzinger chairs . These were pierced right through in the form of a fret meissen whiteware animal . The cabinet makers soon found that these had little strength when cut out of a single thickness because the grain was necessarily short in certain parts small round chippendale center hall table . Consequently they hit upon the idea of glueing together three or more pieces of veener, the grain of the centre layer running at right angles Chippendale Side Tables
to those outside french design desk . Frets cut in this were considerably stronger graduated drawers formula . This is probably the first example of the use of plywood, though of course it had little in common with the large plywood panels produced to-day daghestan prayer rugs .
Side tables, such as that in Fig antique walnut settee chairback . 115, would be placed in

FIG chamber pot . 124 writing table with bookshelf design . CHIPPENDALE FRETS german antique card table .
,760-,775•
A, B and C are conventional patterns of Western form antique book ends . D and E show the Chinese influence dating meissen figures .
the dining-room, and their purpose was to provide a useful standing space for the dishes art nouveau antique drinking cabinet . The day of the sideboard with drawer and cupboard accommodation had yet to come classical column drawing . The reader may care to turn to Fig antique drop dresser with marble top . 116 to see examples of other kinds of legs used in tables of this kind french console table 1830 . The second example is interesting in that it is pierced right through, a detail which came from the Chinese influence what is a chippendale ring . One entirely new form of leg is the fourth example, which is composite, that is, built up of a number of small separate pieces antique gilded table glass . It consists of a series of clusters of turned columns fitted between squares antique chamber pot chair . Quite light tables had this form of leg mallard tester bed .
Many new kinds of occasional tables made their appearance at this time, and amongst them was the small tripod form also shown in Fig chippendale pinecone . I15 regency side chair with brass motif . The simpler examples were quite plain, consisting of three legs (like that at F, Fig antique gateleg table and chairs center drawers . I16), joined to a turned centre upright, and a circular top love seat pietro piffetti . Finer specimens as that in Fig antique vitrine table . 115 had acanthus carving on the knees of the legs and on the turned upright chinese export porcelain wall plaque . The edge of the top, too, was often ” pie-crusted antique book ends .”
BURFAUX AND WRITING TABLES
We saw in Chapter V how the
great increase in writing led to the
introduction of pieces intended
specially for writing antique dressing table w/mirrors . Of these the
bureau (usually with the bookcase
above) and the writing table
remained popular palissy patterns . The secretaire
in its original form, with huge fall
writing top, lapsed, though a certain
number of pieces with compara-
tively small falls were made antique mahogany rent table . These
were similar to the bureau except
that the fall when closed was
upright antique “duncan phyfe side chair” . When opened out flat the
whole writing arrangement was
made so that it could be pulled forward, so giving easy
access to the stationery nest and providing ample knee space harlequin pattern commode for sale .
CHIPPENDALE GRANDFATHER CLOCK checkoslovakian figurines .
1760-1770 red and yellow rose czechoslovakia china .
The domed shape of the hood
with a pediment above was
Invariably used markings on antique candelabra .
Writing ng Bureaux
A simple Chippendale bureau is given in Fig chippendale rosewood table . 117 art deco modern deco antique furniture . It is similar in general form to its predecessor of Queen Anne’s time, though, apart from being in mahogany, the decorative treatment is entirely different tub chair design . Sometimes the sides, drawer fronts, and so on were veneered (about 8 -1 in antique oak table trestle drop leaf . thick), but there was no ruling on the subject duncan phyfe drop leaf buffet table . In any case, when veneer was used the front was simply regarded
as a solid piece with a facing of mahogany ; that is to say, there was no attempt to use the veneer to give a decorative effect as in walnut work collector’s table . No quartering or crossbanding was used lenci artist signature . Drawers were usually surrounded by a cocked bead, as in the present example “lion feet” wardrobes . For interior parts, drawer sides, etc chinese wooden tables with brass leaves inlay ., oak was generally used value susie cooper tea set yellow with blue dots .
Another bureau similar in form, but with bookcase above, is shown in Fig antique jacobean dropleaf desk . iig antique pembrook game tables . The bookcase has many typical features, of which the pediment with carved rosettes and fretted underpart, and the barred doors are the most obvious antique duch east india company plates . These barred doors were a continuation of the Queen Anne type (see Fig elements of art value . 84), whic h probably owed their origin to the comparatively small sizes in which glass was first available fine bohemian china made in czechoslovakia compagnie . All the panes are separate and fit between bars consisting of a moulding, usually an astragal, with a thin flat bar at the back to form rebates for the glass . A few other Chippendale patterns of barred doors are given
in Fig antique upholstered chair curved side . 122 italian wood armchairs . Both these bureaux are Note the use of bracket feet in both flatware 17th century .
almost universally in these pieces, though in finer specimens they were often finely carved chinese influence to rococo . More elaborate specimens had pilasters flanking the doors with fine carving in them, and had altogether more elaborate pediments victorian cherry drop leaf table .
A writing table is shown in Fig antique desks/captain’s davenport . 118 napoleon antique chests . In this we have a variation of the bracket foot, the solid plinth theodore haviland 1958 pattern . Note that POLE
SCREEN parts of chambersticks .
About 1765•
The screen portion was
made so that it could
be adjusted at varying
heights kakiemon bow price .
of simple form delicate trestle table .
certain of the mouldings are carved amakusa candlesticks . This was a revival which took place in the mahogany period recipe for “soft paste porcelain” . In the earlier oak days carving was used to decorate mouldings to a considerable extent, but it lapsed entirely in walnut furniture because in this the mouldings were invariably cross-grained italian inlaid sideboard . This produced a decorative effect in itself, but it was not practical to carve them because the cross-grain was simply a thin layer glued over a solid groundwork spider leg circular dining table . With the return
FIG, 127 15th century chamber pots . TYPICAL MOULDINGS OF THE CHIPPENDALE SCHOOL vizagapatam furniture .
1750-1775•
In his finest work Chippendale invariably used carved mouldings spanish revival walnut console table . It was prob-
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to the use of solid wood in the first half of the eighteenth century carving was once again possible, though it was on altogether finer lines than that of oak work tambour commode . A smaller writing table with knee hole space is given in Fig vintage wooden handled three tined dinner forks . I ig antique collectors cabinet for sale .
BEDROOM FURNITURE
The chest of drawers, established by Queen Anne’s time, was a recognised part of the furnishing of a Georgian bedroom antique spanish cabinet marble top . In its simplest form it was often severely plain with no decoration 4 foot drop leaf table . The drawers usually had a surrounding French Influence
cocked bead, but even these were primarily utilitarian, since their chief purpose was to protect the edges of the veneer antique walnut writing table with pillar (post) legs . An example of this simple furniture is given in Fig tripod side table . 120 barometre du style directoire . The chamfered front corners are worth noting because, although in this particular example they are quite plain, in better class pieces they were often developed as an important feature, carving, fluting, or frets often being used as decoration antique shop slovakia . A chest of this kind would have been used in the house of one of the middle classes or in one of the lesser bedrooms in an important house burr walnut tallboy with sunburst inlay .
In contrast is the fine chest of drawers or commode shown in Fig marble dining table antique oval modern . 12I antique wooden oval french music stands . A piece of this kind represents the high water mark in cabinet work, and is obviously the product of a first-class workshop silver pillar candlestick . It is distinctly French in character, and is probably taken from a Louis XV commode, except that, whereas the latter would be largely gilded (probably the mountings of the legs would be of metal), in the present example they are entirely in mahogany, showing its natural surface english bone handled knives and silver forks . A feature adding considerably to the difficulty of making such a piece is the fact that it has compound shaping ; that is, in addition to being of serpentine shape in plan, it is shaped in its height antique escritoire desk . This double shaping was often used in Louis XV work for the French were a long way ahead of us in work of this type—possibly because very elaborate work has never specially appealed to us drop leaf walnut table gate legs . Other features in the chest definitely of French origin are the scrolled legs, with their Rococo ornament and the handles daniel quare 1674 tortoiseshell case pocket watches . An enlarged detailed drawing of one of these French type of handles is given on p how much did porcelain cost in the 1500s . 02 antique french drum table .
Bedsteads england biedermeier chest of drawers .—The Queen Anne bedstead was for the most part the four-poster type, entirely covered with soft materials, as in the example given in Fig antique bureau writing desk . 96 candle sticks antique porcelain victorian couple . A few were made with head and foot and no upper tester, these having a typical Queen Anne shaping at the top of the panel and cabriole legs below “jean luce” arzberg . A great many modern reproductions of the type are made to-day 19th century native american pottery . The majority, however, were four-posters, with every part of the woodwork (except possibly the feet) covered entirely up with velvet and other materials 18th century worcester porcelain . It was scarcely a thing fit for everyday use in an average house, though it might be well enough in a palace french chippendale dining table library desk . It was not like a four-poster with curtains only that could be taken down and washed dressoir timber . Once the material became faded Chippendale Bedsteads
or worn nothing short of stripping off the whole would be of the slightest use 18th century french silver makers .
In Georgian times came a return to the all-wood bedsteads burslem yellow trellis ceramics . In a sense these were similar to the four-posters of Jacobean times, but were altogether lighter and were in mahogany instead of oak walnut and glass coffee table, italian . A Chippendale example is given in Fig 19th century. mahogany buffet . io6, P- 136 historismus beakers . In some cases the Chinese character was used entirely writing bureau “sliding” . There stands in the museum at South Kensington a bedstead of this kind, in which the tester follows the form of a pagoda roof, whilst the back is decorated with lattice work drawing furniture by michael thonet . The whole thing is in gold and black lacquer and was probably made in Chippendale’s own workshop name a piece of furniture that begins with v .
The development of the grandfather clock is shown in Fig french/belgian art deco table for sale . 125 where can i buy antique candlesticks in dorset? . Note the scrolled pediment above the rounded heading of the hood door antique coaching table .

TABLES
The table is a fairly obvious piece of furniture. It is required for all kinds of purposes in the house, though its chief function is for use when dining. One of the earliest surviving specimens are the huge trestle tables at Penshurst Hall, Kent. They date from the fourteenth century, when it was still the custom for the entire household to dine together in the great hall. One would be placed across the upper end of the hall, usually on a raised dais, and another, or sometimes two, at right angles to it, going lengthwise along the hall. The more important guests used the raisedThe tendency to use a framed-up construction already mentioned in connection with the chest is seen in the next stage of the table, when an underframing of four or six legs joined by rails (such as in the present-day table) was used. There stands in the museum at South Kensington an interesting table dating from the opening years of the sixteenth century. It has square legs with the corners chamfered, and the top rails are shaped on the underside with the Gothic arch formation. The long form in Fig. ig has this shaping—in fact it is a companion to the table of which we are speaking. Its most interesting feature, however, is that it is of the ” draw ” type ; that is, it is provided with extending leaves which, contained beneath the top when not required, can be drawn out, so increasing the size of the top considerably. As a matter of passing interest, this type of table has again become popular at the present time ; indeed, few extending tables are made now which have not this method of extension.
Bulbous Turnings.—The draw table of the Elizabethan period is shown in Fig. 23, and the feature that at once strikes one are the heavy bulbous legs. These represent a fashion in turning that had the most amazing popularity in Elizabethan times and in the first half of the seventeenth century. Turning had been introduced in this country during the sixteenth century, though it does not appear to have been widely used until about the middle of the century. One imagines that the turners, having acquired the technique, decided to make the most of what they had learnt, for there is nothing really logical about such disproportionate legs. The strength of the leg is governed by its thinnest part, so that the heavy bulbous part is entirely wasted from the constructional point of view.
In the particular table shown in Fig. 23 the legs are plain, direct from the lathe, but in most cases they were elaborately carved with nullings, scrolled acanthus leafwork, and other details, as shown on the turnings in the Court cupboard in Fig. 29. Possibly this is another reason why they appealed to the Elizabethans ; they offered such scope for decorative detail.
In most cases the stretcher rails ran round the four sides of the table in the same way as the rails at the top, but occasionally the H arrangement in Fig. 23 is found. In one, and the retainers were accommodated at the others in rotation, the serfs sitting at the lower end.
These trestle tables were generally made with movable tops, so that they could be taken to pieces and stored away when the floor space was required to be cleared. They were extremely massive in build, with tops of 4 in. or so in thickness, supported by heavy trestles or pedestals. The illus-BUFFET WITH BULBOUS TURNINGS.
Late 16th century.
Thiswas the Elizabethan form of sideboard. The modern dinner wagon
is of similar formation. Often a drawer was fitted beneath the top, the
rail acting as the drawer front.
tration of the hall at Penshurst Place on p. 12 shows these tables.
When as the years passed men sought more privacy there arose a demand for smaller tables which could be used in the smaller private room in which the family took their meals. The rise, too, of the merchant class brought about the erection of vast numbers of smaller houses, and so there have survived a fair number of smaller tables dating from the sixteenth century. The term ” smaller ” is used com-paratively. Actually they usually measure 6 ft. to 9 ft. or io ft. in length.
At the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the next the Gothic tradition was still strong, and tables
FIG. 31. FOUR-POSTER WITH PANELLED HEAD AND TESTER.
Second half 16th century.
These were extremely massive structures and were held in great value.
They were often specifically mentioned in wills. Note the holes in the
bed frame to support the mattress and clothes.
were often still of the trestle kind shown in Fig. 22. It will be noted that the rails are held to the trestles with wedges, so that the whole thing could be stacked away when not required in use. It is interesting to compare the Gothic shaping of the trestles with that of the small stool in Fig. 20.other types two legs only were used, these being built into the centre of the end rails and fitted with cross pieces at the bottom, and were a revival of the pedestal leg used in Gothic times, as exemplified by the Penshurst table on p. 12, except that the bottom was joined by a stretcher and the top had a framing to contain the mechanism of the extension.

ELIZABETHAN
COURT CUPBOARD.
Late z61h century.
love of Elizabethan crafts. This exemplifies well the men for ornament of every
kind. The upper recessed portion is inlaid with various woods such as apple, holly, cherry, bog oak, and stained woods. The carving is typical of
the time, being virile, deep and bold if somewhat barbaric in execution.

SETTLES, CHAIRS, AND STOOLS
It has been already noted that the chest was often used as a seat, and at a time when furniture was scarce one can understand that it would conveniently fulfil the purpose. Just what the first chair was like is doubtful. The writer came across the curious Penitent stool, Fig. 16, in the old church at Fordwich, in Kent, and it may be that a similar structure was used for secular purposes. It is a solid block of oak with a sort of huge notch cut in it to form a seat. The church itself dates from before the Norman Conquest, though the date of the stool itself is uncertain.
The earliest form of seating accommodation was probably evolved from the early planked chest as suggested by the dotted lines in the left hand illustration in Fig. 13. The construction of the two is practically identical, and one can conceive a craftsman of some imagination cutting away the front and back and evolving a long form of the kind in Fig. ig. The only real difference is that in the latter the ends or legs are given a cant to give stability, and are shaped out in Gothic form. Also the long rails are fitted in slots in the legs instead of being nailed to notches at the outside, and the underside is cut away in imitation of the heading of a Gothic arch.
The two stools in Fig. 20 show clearly this stage of development. That to the left is entirely of the planked chest formation, whilst the other has the refinements already noted in the use of slots to contain the side rails and the shaping of the rails and legs.
Just as the framed-up chest replaced the planked type, so a framed construction came to be used for stools. The method used for the one probably gave the suggestion for the other. Fig. 21 shows a stool of this type, and it is interesting to note that the chest idea is still retained in that a box is formed beneath the seat. The carved flutes partly filled with millings are a feature that was used considerably in Elizabethan times and in the following century.
Settles.—Returning to Fig. 13 it will be seen that the development of the settle from the framed-up chest is suggested. It seems a likely theory that this is what happened. The disadvantage of using a chest as a seat must have become obvious, and as men began to make their houses more comfortable and were able to afford more luxury it probably occurred to someone that by suitable adaptation the chest could be made far more comfortable. It meant merely that the back posts would have to be continued up to enable a back framing to be added, and the front posts taken up high enough to provide support for the arms.
The result was the form of settle shown in Fig. 15, which is virtually just a chest with the back and arms above it. The chest portion is retained with the seat acting as a lid. It seems that sometimes the chest was omitted, as shown in Fig. 14, though even here the panelled front is retained.
FIG. 26. SIDE TABLE WITH GOTHIC DETAILS.
Early 16th century.
A piece such as this would probably have stood in the dining hall of a
manor house. It is virtually a chest with the corner posts made extra
long to form legs. The Gothic tracery designs carved In the panels are
pierced right through.
This would be done partly from convention, and partly because it helped to keep away draughts which must have been strongly in evidence in early houses. This illustration is from a small piece of carving cut out of a solid block, and now in South Kensington Museum, and its chief interest from our point of view lies in its showing the form of settle used in the late fifteenth century.
As furniture became more plentiful, and there was no longer the rigid need for economy, the chest portion was eliminated entirely, the under-portion being made up of an open framing of turned legs and stretchers.
Evolution of the Chair.—The development of the chair was identical with that of the settle. It was really just a short chest or box with back and arms above it. That in Fig. 17 shows the early type. It is not suggested that this was the earliest form of chair (forgetting the Fordwich example, Fig. 16), but that the evolution of the domestic chair came about in this way. There is of course the famous coronation chair in Westminster Abbey which dates back to the fourteenth century, and there are various other early Gothic chairs in churches and halls in various parts of the country, but these were made for special purposes and cannot be classed in any way as domestic pieces.
By omitting the lower box portion the chair became less cumbersome, and, as we have noted, the need for economy was not of such importance. A particularly fine example dating from the end of the Tudor Gothic period is that in Fig. 18. It now stands in the museum at South Kensington, and there are several features about it that make a close examination worth while.
Firstly, the back is given a backward rake, a detail that soon occurred to the carpenters once the idea of a chair had been thought of. At first the back had been continued straight up (see the settle in Fig. 14), but any man who has sat in a straight-backed church pew for any length of time will appreciate how really uncomfortable this can become, and a similar conviction must have come into the minds of the early carpenters—or possibly the people who had the chairs made. Consequently the back was made to slope, but the legs were still kept upright, probably because the old convention derived from the chest structure did not suggest the desirability of giving them a corresponding slope.
It is surelya rather remarkable thing that for the whole of the sixteenth century, and for the better part of the next, chairs were still made with straight, upright back legs. One would imagine that it would occur to a man leaning back in a chair that some means might be invented of preventing the chair from tilting right back. It is true that the Elizabethan chairs were heavy, and this would certainly help to counterbalance the weight, but even so there must have been the tendency for a man to topple over backwards, especially when leaning back after a meal, during which the flagon might have passed freely. In the later years of the seventeenth century the heaviness of the chair was no longer an argument, for the chairs had become incomparably lighter and the height of the back had increased !
However, there it was, and in returning to the Elizabethan chair in Fig. 18 we find in it a detail showing that the possibility of an accident had occurred to its maker, in that the lower ends of the back legs are made extra thick at the back to help to prevent the chair from tilting backwards. It was probably the germ of the idea which resulted later in the legs being splayed outwards, though, as we say, it took a long time for it to develop.
Use of Inlay.—The ornamentation of the back brings to notice a form of decoration not yet mentioned, which came into great popularity during the second half of the sixteenth century, that of inlay. This was carried out entirely in the solid. That is, the background was carved out to receive the shaped inlays. All kinds of native woods were used, apple, pear, holly, cherry, and bog oak, and the design, as in the present example, was usually a conventional treatment of naturalesque motifs. Occasionally geometrical designs were used. The solid method should be noted in particular, because later on an entirely different system was evolved.
The shaped arms, terminating with semi-scrolled fronts, are of the kind invariably used in Elizabethan chairs, and it may be noted that chairs without arms are exceptional in the period. It is just another example of how ideas will cling on. Possibly it was felt that the arms gave a certain dignity to the person using the chair, for these were still reserved for the more important people, though they were becoming more plentiful.

TUDOR GOTHIC PLANKED HUTCH.    FIG. 28. FRAMED-UP TUDOR GOTHIC HUTCH.
Early 16th century.    First half 16th century.
Just as there were two systems of construction in the chest, so the early form of cupboard or hutch was made either by single
planks nailed or pegged together as in the left-hand example, or by a much improved method in which there was a framework with
panels fitting in grooves as in the hutch to the right.

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.

Pressed glass
The invention and development of mould pressing c.1820 revolutionized glass manufacture; previously an exclusive and highly priced commodity, decorative ,,lass became accessible to all. The technique involved pressing a gather of molten glass into a metal mould using a plunger. When the glass cooled, the mould was opened, and any excess glass attached to the seams was removed by hand.
NORTH AMERICA
The most important pressed-glass manufacturer in North America was the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. 1826-88), founded by Deming Jarves (1790-1869), in Sandwich, Massachusetts. The firm produced inexpensive pressed-glass tableware in “lacy” glass with intricate stippled designs that resembled lace and covered the flaws caused by the pressing process; wares included table services and a range of coloured glassware. The earliest pressed patterns of Gothic arches, acanthus leaves, and scrolls were probably copied from cut glass. Another well-known company was the New England Glass Co. (1818-90), originally of East Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also founded by Jarves. Both firms specialized in the production of oil lamps and candlesticks with contrastingly coloured glass tops and bases. By the 1850s other pressed glass factories were also established throughout the Midwest.
Many firms produced brightly coloured pressed glass with a vivid orange or green iridescent surface, which is known as “Carnival” glass. It was made by spraying pressed glass with metallic powders, and was used to create eye-catching yet inexpensive tumblers, bowls, plates, and vases. Major makers include the Northwood Glass Co. (1888-1925) in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the Imperial Glass Co. (est. 1902) in Bellaire, Ohio, and the Fenton Art Glass Co. (est. 1904) in Williamstown, West Virginia. Between 1925 and 1950 mould pressing was widely used to mass-produce inexpensive glass items, such as trinkets, which were given away as premiums at petrol stations and in boxes of cereal, and also affordable pastel-coloured tablewares; these pieces are now known as -Depression” glass. Primary makers include the Jeanette Glass Co. (est. 1898) in Jeanette, Pennsylvania, and the Indiana Glass Co. (est. 1902) in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
BRITAIN
Mould pressing was used in the North of England before 1827, and from the mid-1870s was widely employed
by such firms as John Sowerby’s Ellison Glassworks (1847-1972) and George Davidson & Co. (est. 1867), both in Gateshead, Henry Greener & Co. (est. 1858) in Sunderland, and John Derbyshire & Co. (1873-6) in Manchester. Commemorative ware was
very popular in Britain, and in the 1870s John Derbyshire & Co. introduced patriotic mould-pressed figures to its range, including those of Britannia and Queen Victoria. In the 1860s
Henry Greener & Co. produced glass with a ground of small raised dots that was especially
well suited to press moulding. One of Sowerby’s most popular ranges was “Vitro-porcelain” glass, which closely resembled china. Launched in 1877, it was produced in several colours, including cream (registered as “Patent Queen’s Ivory Ware”), turquoise, white, green, and a marbled version known as “Malachite”. Ranges by George Davidson & Co., introduced in 1889, include opaque “Pearline” glass, which was produced in different shades of turquoise.
• DECORATION American pressed-glass designs are sharp; pieces with softer patterns are likely to be either copies or European; decoration is often in imitation of cut-glass designs; “lacy” patterns were also popular
• COLLECTING although primarily collected in the USA, pressed glass is now becoming more popular with collectors in Europe; generally, the more ornate the piece, the more desirable it will be
• BEWARE supposedly “rare” examples may be copies

Furniture and the Renaissance
There was a revolution in thinking in the fifteenth century which was much apparent in the visual arts but fed through more slowly to the design of furniture. Most of what was made was just a reworking of old themes and styles, even in Italy which was the forerunner of new forms of arts at this time. It was in Italy that late Gothic elements were first replaced by architectural forms such as pilasters, rounded arches, and columns. These designs were decorated with motifs borrowed from classical antiquity.
A 16th century carved cupboard attached to a wall.
This included rosettes, toothed friezes, parallel, and egg and tongue mouldings. Where the structure of the furniture had previously been obvious it was now less obvious and greater emphasis was placed on the beauty of the shape of the piece itself.
Interior furnishing of the home was further extended during the Renaissance with hat stands, mirrors, busts, and bookcases. The choice of furnishings were largely dictated by the architectural character of Renaissance homes.
The functional form of the furniture was partly determined by aesthetic considerations.
CHESTS
This new style was found in chests of the time which became one of the main decorative pieces in the homes of the era. At first the chests were assembled from framing and panels which were initially solely decorated with simple geometric patterns. Subsequently the tops of these chests were embellished with human figures placed at the corners and the panels were often supplemented with mythological or historical scenes.
Chests changed shape in the second half of the fifteenth century, becoming more cubic.
The geometric shapes of the surfaces were now enhanced with figurative decorations and also with plant forms. The feet of these chests were strikingly decorated.
CABINETS
Cabinets and cupboards became increasingly more important in the furnishing of homes. At first these had appeared in town halls and sacristies but they now started to turn up in private homes.
A credence table was used as a dresser. This is a two-door cupboard with sliding leaves beneath a folding leaf with quite limited decoration.
Two cupboards were placed one on top of another in less important rooms that were decorated even less. Cabinets sometimes also possessed a slide out or fold-down leaf which could be used as a surface to write on so that they could act as a bureau.
There were also bookcases, with and without doors and chests of drawers.
A 17th century oak pillow cabinet inlaid with walnut and palisander from the southern Netherlands.
BEDS
A higher standard of living brought a further showpiece into homes — the bed. This formed part of the fitted furniture, attached to the walls. The principal end of the bed was raised and at first sat on a chest-like base but this disappeared around 1500.
During the high Renaissance the bed featured superb examples of sculpture. The richly embellished pillars bore a canopy.

TABLES
Ancient stone furniture inspired Italian craftsmen in their construction of tables leading to two or three highly decorative side-pieces, with caryatids, acanthus scrolls, and winged fantasy animals.
SEATING
Great value was placed upon elegance and comfort by people in this era and this is apparent from their stools, backed chairs, and other seats. Regional variations now arose in the different types of seating.
France
The French were the first to be influenced by Italian arts — because of their eager meddling in Italian politics. Hence the first foreign country to adopt elements of the Italian Renaissance was France. The French were attracted by the reverence for classicism and the humanist attitude of the Italians. Italian artists were attracted to their court circles by the French aristocracy and yet the Gothic influences lived on long after this.
The early French Renaissance period saw development of the Frans I style, which saw late Gothic furniture acquire baluster legs, Corinthian capitals, friezes, pilasters, and decorative mouldings mixed with late Gothic characteristics. Chests, buffets, and benches retained an upright Gothic appearance.
Hence chests remained unchanged for a long time but dressers were used to store cutlery, tableware and other valuables.
The centre section was provided with a drawer for storage or was used to set out the cutlery and tableware. The top sat on Gothic pillars. Early dressers had the corners set back at an angle but later examples were more cubic in form as a result of the pilasters and pilaster legs.
The Gothic form of chair was retained but the armrests were raised and new ,architectural’ details were added. Despite the tremendous influence of the Italians, a new generation of French artists emerged who smothered furniture with a wealth of mouldings. These artists were mainly active in south-western France for in the north there was greater interest in functional design with both form and geometry arrived at logically. This found expression in an harmonic blend of neutral framework with modest decoration.
Cabinets were increasingly constructed with ever more slender legs. The body changed and was decorated with rich reliefs depicting the four seasons, the four elements, and ancient gods. Further south the form remained altogether more plump and cabinets still comprised two parts of equal size.
France already led the way in terms of style for the building of palaces for Royalty and the aristocracy by the sixteenth century. These needed to meet the increasingly refined way of life of the nobility. France also led the way in the style of the interior decoration and furnishings of such aristocratic dwellings. High-backed chairs are very characteristic of this era.
By the late sixteenth century, the shape of people was once more a consideration in the design of chairs and chair backs were lightly curved in order to make them more comfortable. Armrests ending with ram’s heads or scrolls rested on small turned column-like legs.
The high back of the Low Countries was exchanged for the low back of Italy. This development ended though when the Louis XIV style prescribed high chair backs. Very few chairs from this time have survived.
The bed with canopy established a firm place for itself in interior design in France in the sixteenth century. These used upright posts in the form of pilasters or caryatids (female muse forming a pillar) in the Italian manner and for the design of their tables too the French looked to Italy. The leaf was carried by two moulded side-pieces in the form of chimeras or Hermes. There are often column supports between the side pieces and the table leaf. Column legged tables were very popular. These had horizontal stretchers linking them in the form of a double T.
The centre of large halls were often filled with tables with six, eight, or nine legs. It is difficult to differentiate between Louis XIII and Louis XIV tables. This often makes it difficult to date such a piece.
Germany
The Italian Renaissance style die not make headway in Germany before 1500. Its adoption is largely due to the German artists Holbein and Durer. A great deal of work was done between 1525 and 1550 with drawings of ornamentation by the so-called ‘minor masters’. Their influence only extended though to the decoration of the surfaces while form and function remained unchanged.
Only the aristocracy really adopted Italian examples. The citizenry continued to use furniture with Gothic style elements until the arrival of Baroque.
Furniture increasingly became more centrally made in France during the Renaissance but this did not happen in Germany, which was largely fragmented at the time. Furniture in Germany therefore differed from region to region.
NORTHERN GERMANY
The greatest response to the new style was in northern Germany, largely due to examples in the engravings of Heinrich Aldegrever. Yet here too the field was not
wide open for greater ornamentation. There were two important types of cabinet: a large one with a Gothic style front with symmetrical mouldings, and a cabinet on tall legs that resembled a French dresser. The first of these types was decorated in a manner also found with chests from the Rhineland and Westphalia where the Gothic style endured. These chests were often decorated with long panels with lettering.
Most northern cabinets were made of oak while the preference in most other parts of Germany was for ash, larch, or deal (pine).
These timbers remained popular until well into the seventeenth century. High relief carving is particularly characteristic of northern German furniture of the time. The carcass was also decorated with allegorical or religious representations such as fertility rites and scrolls on the top moulding and also with sculptures of female muses as pilasters. This type of cabinet was made in Schleswig-Holstein until late in the Baroque era. Another type of piece that is typical of northern Germany is the small but tall ‘farmer’s’ cabinet.
There were a number of variations in type of northern German chests of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The variant originating from Luneburg was the least changed of these from its predecessors. This type was made by joining planks together and it stood on tall legs.
Those from Holstein were supported on chest-like bases and were decorated in the same manner as cabinets from this region. Chests from Bremen had the form of cube that is slightly taller than it is wide.
SOUTHERN GERMANY
There was a marked preference for fine inlay in southern Germany. Italian architectural features were introduced via Augsburg where the local cabinetmakers were very active in the use of exotic woods such as palisander and ebony and also native timbers like maple, beech, cherry, and poplar for inlaying. A characteristic of late Renaissance furniture is the thoroughness of its making. Decorative designs were made by famous artists such as Burgkmair and Holbein. The plinths, centre parts, and cornices of these cabinets gave them a somewhat horizontal appearance. The main lines of southern German cabinets are largely lost beneath a welter of ornamental and architectural detail.
In reality they still consisted of two pieces. The decoration comprised Doric friezes, vines, symmetrical grotesque motifs, egg and tongue mouldings, and triglyphs. The sculptor and architect Peter Flotner exerted considerable influ-
This early 18th century southern German or Czech trois corps or three part cabinet is of amboyna over deal. These cabinets incorporating a secretaire were made from Strasbourg to the Balkans.
The grain of the wood was also allowed its full expression. Southern German chests often had drawers in the bottom and the lids featured decoration divided into panels. The status of chests gradually reduced until eventually they were only found as furniture in farmhouses. Despite this chests were still made in southern Germany, with walnut being increasingly used.
Tables based on chests arrived in southern Germany from France and remained until late into the Baroque period. The influence of Gothic continued to be readily apparent.
Beds were free-standing with canopies mounted on posts with short valances or curtains. Very few chairs of this period from southern Germany have survived and those that have show clear signs of Italian Renaissance and German Gothic.
The ‘farmer’s chair’ with square seat is the simplest form. Extensively carved chair backs and angled legs were adopted from Italy. This type of chair continued in existence until well into the eighteenth century in the Alps and southern Germany. In addition, there were many chairs with square rear legs that extended upwards to form the uprights of the back of the chair. Richly carved horizontal stringers were placed between the legs to make the chair more rigid.
Another widely found type of chair has arms, leather seat, and scissor-legs. A new type of ‘Dutch’ armchair appeared around 1600 with turned legs or moulded balusters that became very popular in the seventeenth century. Folding chairs also continued in use, especially in Switzerland.
The Low Countries
The Catholic southern part of the Low Countries was mainly influenced by the French but the north went its own way. Furniture makers in the north were influential upon sculptors in Mecklenburg and Lubeck.
The preference in the Dutch Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was for inlay with contrasting coloured woods, especially with ebony and rails, balusters, and carved pilasters were greatly favoured. Chests of this period exhibit the same features. Between 1725 and 1750 there was a marked preference for richly carved pieces.
By the late sixteenth into the seventeenth century many homes had a two-storey cabinet with protruding cornice. The upper part of the cabinet was slightly set back.
There were many regional variants on this theme with cabinetstypical of North and South Holland, Zeeland (with tall legged underframe), and Gelderland. This type of cabinet was also much desired in Cologne where they developed their own richly embellished style.
England
There was some small but increasing influence from the European mainland on England during this period. The dominant style was Elizabethan, after the name of Queen Elizabeth, characterised by simple interpretation of French but mainly Flemish Renaissance. Gradually the Gothic pointed arches and rosettes were replaced by heavy baluster legs, friezes, and other classical architectural elements.
The solid oak ‘four-poster’ canopy beds of this era are famous and many can still to be seen in castles and great stately homes.

Dining-tables after 1840.
The 19th-century middle classes seem to have emphasized their much-vaunted family values with grandiose dining habits. The tendency during the later 18th century to eat in a dining-room furnished with a single large table rather than, more intimately, with several smaller ones, as had been the custom earlier in the 18th century, was developed most spectacularly in the baronial interiors of the Victorian nouveau riche, who recalled picturesque “Metric England” with long, rectangular dining-tables resplendent with “Tudorbethan” carved legs of massive bulbous form. The various styles of earlier periods were all recorded in the dining-table.
THE LEGACY OF THE EARLIER PERIODS
The fashion for this somewhat pompous dining furniture percolated through to the inhabitants of villas and terraced houses as well as the minor gentry in the country, who now found space for a dedicated dining-room whose central focus was a capacious table suitable for Victorian family meals. Expansion was the order of the day, and while few of these rooms could accommodate the 30- or 40-seater tables that only half filled the awesome spaces of mansion or baronial dining rooms, many were furnished with moderately sired tables that could be made bigger by the addition of leaves or the raising of flaps.
This idea of extending tables was nothing new. Tables with gateleg supported flaps had been in existence for more than two centuries, and “draw-tables”, with extending tops that could double the length of a rectangular table, for just as long. Dining-tables with extensions based on the gateleg principle were in use from c.1730. The D-end table, which could have extra leaves inserted, proved its worth from the 1750s onward, and the pedestal dining-table, made in sections and most convenient for sitters’ knees and feet, was
developed in the late 18th century. Extending tables with the “lazy tongs” telescopic underframing, which had been patented in 1805 In, Richard Gillow (1734-1811) of the firm of Gillow (est. c.1730) of Lancaster, were a popular introduction during the early 19th century. All these principles were exploited in the search for adaptability in the dining-rooms of Europe and North America. Some later 19th-century rectangular tables had as many as ten extra leaves to allow expansion from six or eight seats to twenty or thirty, and the round multi-segmented Jupe tables, patented in 1835, were copied with minor variations for the rest of the century.
MATERIALS AND DECORATION
Timbers were as varied as ever; mahogany, walnut or oak were most usual for large extending tables, while busily figured burr woods, amboyna, maple, or birch were favoured for the more ostentatious pillar tables, the tops of which might be covered in floral marquetry or intricate Gothic and Renaissance patterns in variously coloured woods. Throughout most of the 19th century the majority of dining-tables, of whatever shape or revival style, were fitted with casters, which allowed them to be moved around the room, and also enabled the extensions to run smoothly from the main framework. The architect Augustus Welby Northmorc Pugin (1812-52) was probably the first to break this general rule. His reformed Gothic style vle signalled a departure from the usual revivalist compromises, and his dining and other tables, whether of stark monastic simplicity or great decorative refinement, have their feet set directly and firmly on the floor. Progressive designers of the later 19th and early 20th centuries tended to follow his lead in this respect, but casters continued to be used on most mass-produced tables in the mainstream styles.
The dining-room was traditionally a place for ostentatious display of a distinctly masculine cast, and 19th-century exaggerations of earlier characteristics and styles were often most pronounced in dining-room furniture. The top of the dining-table itself was generally covered with a white damask tablecloth when in use, but legs offered plenty of opportunity, for conspicuous decoration, and even the tops of extending dining-tables, exposed at times, usii had deep moulded edges and ornamented friezes.
NEW TYPES OF TABLE
Some of the earlier systems of table extension were refined or slightly N altered during the later 19th century, but there was little real innovation. One of the few mechanical
developments was the square or rectangular table in two sections with a long metal screw under the top, which could be unwound with a special handle inserted at one end. Once the sections were fully separated, an extra leaf or leaves could be fitted into the middle. This system was adopted widely for the more ordinary dining-tables of the second half of the 19th century, of which examples abound today. The handles are often missing, but these call be easily replaced.
Not all ditung-tables were of the extending variety. A popular form, and one which could be embellished ill the widest variety of styles, was the round loo table. This table was
onginally conceived during the early 19th century for the card game of lantcrloo, but was probably later used just as often as a dining-table. I he top, chatacteristicalb, supported on a central sturdy pillar, could usually be tipped up when not in use, arid was often the vehicle for decoration, with flamboyant inlays or marquetry on the surface, and carving or moulding round the edge and on the pillar.
REVIVAL STYLES
Dining-tables were made in 19th-century interpretations of Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo, and Neo-classical styles, and eery often in an indiscriminate mixture of several of these at the same time. The Practical Cabinet Maker and upholsterer’s Treasury of Designs ( 1847) of Henry
Whitaker (active 182)-50) included illustrations of “Dining-Table Standards (pillars l and Legs” of both “Elizabethan” and “Italian” flavour, liberally carved with scrolls, fluting, and “jewelled” patterns in the Renaissance Revival style, or with fruiting vines. Mid-19th-century attempts to reform taste and purify design were largely unsuccessful, and dining-tables, like other furniture chosen by most of the population, continued to reflect the stylistic confusion and ornamental excess that characterized the period. However, from the 1860s, the efforts of the reformers gractualb, began to take effect. The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (est. 1861) in London, set up by the reformer and designer William Morris ( 1834-96), produced radical (and sometimes lavishly painted) furniture that became fashionable, at least among all influential elite (alongside furniture in the more cornmerciall, successful Chippendale Revival style), and the work of such designers as William Borges ( 1827-81), Owen Jones (1809-74), and Bruce J. Talbert (1838-81) was conscientiously Gothic in style.
The Japanese taste that swept Europe and North America after the International Exhibition of 1862 in London resulted in a wave of “aesthetic” fervour, turning table legs into spindly supports in real or imitation bamboo or with fretwork. However, on the whole, more solid styles such as “Old English”, “Jacobean”, or “Gothic” (but of a somewhat simpler and lighter form than before) were preferred for dining-room furniture.
Traditional forms, such as oval tables supported on pillars at either end, or tables with draw-leaf tops, were treated with stylish originalirv, but there were still plenty of dining-tables in revivalist modes for those who could not wean themselves from the past.