Posts Tagged ‘lids’

Chests, Chests of Drawers and Various Small Boxes
Origins of the chest—cofferers and arkwrights—the carpenter’s planked chest—chip-carving decoration—the panelled chest of the joiner—development of the mule chest—early enclosed chest of drawers—the chest in two stages—the joiner’s slide—veneered chests—chests on stands and tallboys—bachelor, dressing and linen chests with presses—commodes and military chests—later forms—drawer construction and dating by feet and handles—Bible and ruff boxes—knife and candle boxes—tea caddies, cellarets and portable liqueur cases—sewing boxes antique christening shell .
Chests belong to the very beginning of domestic furnishing antique drop leaf painted table 1800 . Blanket chests, hope chests, even treasure chests—they served as wardrobes, as safes, as seats and sometimes even as beds antique french campaign chair . A chest is probably one of the earliest pieces likely to come the way of anyone starting to collect antique furniture in a modest manner porcelain vases czechoslovakia . Those belonging to the early Stuart period are not difficult to find and may be had for under £10 everest patent for two-seater sofa . They are not always large and a length of 3 feet or very little more is fairly common antique porcelain and china clocks .
Very early chests, some of which may date from Saxon times, were primitive but served their purpose well antique occasional table pie crust top . Usually they were made from rough hewn logs which were sawn down the middle and hollowed out classism semicircular arc . Then the two parts were hinged together and encircled with strong iron bands to which locks could be attached small antique dresser with cabriole legs . The French word trove, meaning a collecting box, and the English trunk have the same origin and refer to this tree-bole type of chest china made in czechoslovakia . I have seen one in the church at Llan Eilean, near An-ilwch in Anglesey, with three locks furniture + finmar ltd . It was customary for the keys to be held by the priest and two churchwardens so that the chest could not be opened without all three being present chamber pot chair value .
Medieval chests for transporting money and valuables were known as coffers semichina blue ware . They were comparatively small and often covered with leather and studded with nails warm entree dish . The man who made them was known as a cofferer and another craftsman who made chests was called an arkwright antique bombe commode louis the xv with marble top . He made them with bevelled lids and wooden pins served as hinges mahogany gateleg table . These belong to the Gothic period and are very rare art deco game tables .
The early Tudor chests, made for the smaller household, were known as planked chests silver flatware wood handle . They were made by a carpenter and consisted of a number of boards or planks held together with nails or wooden pins creamware tureen neoclassical acanthus . Planked chests had thick iron wire or wrought-iron strap hinges and were often decorated with chip-carving or architectural motifs in low relief antique italian pottery marks . Some of these planked chests were quite small and make interesting acquisitions for those who like old oak antique drop leaf gateleg dining room table .
The joiner’s panelled chest appeared about 1550 and the
panels were usually decorated like the example shown in
Chapter 1 baltimore neoclassical sideboard . The panelled chest, in various sizes, was an
essential chattel in every Tudor household and the larger
establishments seem to have had a chest in every room japanese imari 18th .
Visitors to Haddon Hall in Derbyshire may care to count
the great number and variety of chests which are to be
seen there chiffonier 19th century . A type of chest, made about this time, which
is now very rare and really a collector’s piece, was one
constructed with fairly long legs, about table height soup turrene . It
was known as a counter and used by house stewards and
clerks for paying out or collecting money 17th century chairs . The modern
word counter, as in a shop, derives from this long obsolete
piece of furniture space saving rectangular drop leaf tables . In a slightly different form, with doors
opening at the front and with the top fastened down, the counter was known as a hutch 1920s draw leaf dining set turned legs . Further details of this are given in Chapter 6 small antique dressers from montgomery wards .
The ordinary planked or panelled chest had one great drawback in that only the contents at the top were readily accessible antique 19th century daybed and brass feet . To reach anything carefully tucked away at the bottom of the chest necessitated the removal of all the other things lying above how high above a sideboard should a mirror be hung . Early in the Stuart period, some ingenious joiner invented the mule chest 1930’s austrian furniture . This was a shallower type of panelled chest, under which were situated two or three drawers brass dolphin triple dining table base . This design was extremely popular and mule chests continued to be made in the country towns and villages until around the year 1800 indian antique tea kettles .
The mule chest proved to be a great improvement in its capacity for storage antique round oak dining table claw and ball feet . Not only were the bottom drawers available for the separation of items, but inside the chest itself it is not unusual to find a small box or till with a lid, situated at one end near the top myott son compagnie . This was used for keeping letters and documents and these little tills often repay a closer examination, for on several occasions I have found that the front of the box will slide upwards to reveal two or three secret drawers beneath antique chinese chamber pot . In some of the larger chests, intended for storing blankets or linen only, the till would be merely a shallow tray on which the good housewife could place a spray of lavender to sweeten her sheets and pillow slips clear glass trinket boxes or powder boxes .
To the student of woodwork history, the mule chest is particularly interesting because there can be little doubt that the chest of drawers developed from it finial silver flatware . This process was not a swift one and for a space of time, roughly between t620 and 1660, there was a type of chest of drawers in use which was really a cupboard full of trays or drawers, surmounted by one large deep drawer creamware bird on pedestal . The cupboard doors with one lock prevented unauthorised access to any of the lower drawers but this must have proved unworkable as this pattern new deco furniture . ceased to be made shortly after 1660 and the chest of drawers assumed the form by which it is known today 17th century trestle table with claw feet .
For ease of removal the first chests of drawers were made in two stages or sections english wedgewood . The upper stage of two small and one long drawer fitted on to four pegs on top of the lower section of two long drawers secretaire desk antique . These early chests in two stages also had drawers with grooves cut in the sides, known as joiner’s slides earliest tilt top tea table . They were designed mainly to prevent wear on the drawer bottoms and also to prevent the drawer from tipping downwards when more than half open inlaid silver black bone china antique . It was found, however, that the slide grooves required disproportionately thicker linings to the drawers so that the cabinet-maker, with his improved ideas of jointing and finer standard of craftsmanship, caused the joiner’s slide to become obsolete about the year 1690 dutch rococo cupboard . Any antique chest of drawers with joiner’s slides may be safely said to be earlier than this date although this ancient construction has been revived in the last few years for modern kitchen units and office furniture milanese ebonized antiques .
Cabinet-maker’s chests with their broad, flat surfaces provided suitable subjects for veneering antique glass top tea table bird . By the end of the Restoration period, chests with marquetry decoration were in fashion and it is not uncommon to find country-made oak chests of this time with panelled oak sides and the top and drawer fronts veneered scottish chest drawers . Smaller chests of drawers, of 3-feet width and under and covered with oystershell veneer, are scarce and in good condition might be worth up to £80 and more antique mahogany french bedside commode .
During the William and Mary period, the chest of drawers on a stand made its appearance and shortly after developed into a chest on a chest or tallboy what are japanese black laquer screen made screen . The chest on a stand did not last long as a furnishing piece but the tallboy remained popular throughout the greater part of the 18th century german antique romer drinking glasses . It is difficult to understand this, as access to the upper drawers of a tallboy is very awkward and necessitates standing on a chair or stool antique west indies console table . Perhaps, for this very reason, they were considered safer for the storage of valuables revolvong bookcase .
Bachelor chests and dressing chests were brought into use during the first half of the 18th century 19th century commode with chamber pot . These were intended primarily for bedrooms, the former having a folding top which opened outwards on lopers, or pull-out supports vintage mahogany drop leaf table 1940 . Sometimes, instead of the folding top, a pullout slide for brushing clothes was included in the construction turkish sofa design . The dressing chest had a top drawer fitted with a toilet set and further reference will be made to it in Chapter 9 antique french drawleaf table .
Another type, adapted for a special purpose, was the linen chest with a press 17th century marquetry bombe commode . It was usually about 3 feet long and had several small drawers near the top art deco writers . Its particular feature was a wooden screw-press, mounted on the top for the purpose of compressing the linen before putting it away in the drawers french 17th century cabinent makers . On several occasions I have come across these chests, with rectangular pieces of wood let into the top at each end to fill the spaces left where the screw-press uprights had been removed antique chippendale display cabinet .
Two other varieties belong to the Chippendale and Sheraton periods 1930s frankart lamps . One was the commode, a very elaborate chest of drawers which was raised on shaped legs engliosh design consoles furniture . It often had a convex or bombe front and later types were embellished with ormolu mounts in the French style value of 18th century dressing table . The other was the military chest, used during the campaigns of the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century 17th century dining tables . It was made in two stages for ease of transport and is easily recognised by the clean-cut rectangular shape, the addition of brass corner pieces and the sunk handles on the drawers japanese art nouveau desk . A design usually associated with Sheraton was the bow-fronted chest and these continued to be made well into Victorian times portois fix .
Certain details of drawer construction, handle design and feet are invaluable in dating a chest of drawers antiques marks on furniture . Dovetailing of a rather crude nature had been used for the corners of boxes and small chests before the Restoration kidney shaped antique furniture . During the years between 1660 and 1750 the technique of making fine dovetail joints was brought to a high degree of craftsmanship latter carving on pembroke table . Large tails and widely spaced pins are indicative of early or country production roccoccoware . Herring-bone stringing, set in walnut veneer, was used for drawer front decoration during the Queen Anne period but became obsolete soon after 1720 spanish marquetry dining table .
Oak chests of drawers, belonging to the second half of the 17th century and the early years of the 18th, are sometimes found with the corner joints lapped and nailed world market carved brass charger plate . This is, of course, the mark of a poorly made piece georgian sideboards and serving tables . I believe the idea of nailing drawer fronts was adapted from cheap, imported furniture and the practice was undoubtedly followed by our own country joiners, of whom a few were prepared to produce shoddy furniture, even in those days 1940’s decco furniture .
Until the time of Hepplewhite, drawer bottoms consisted of thin boards, fitted into a rebate on the inside of the drawer front and nailed along the under edge of the back lining earth driven electrical clock bentleys . About 1775, a new method of securing the bottom appeared whereby a centre batten running from the front to the back of the drawer held the bottom boards in grooves whilst the boards, instead of being placed from front to back, now ran parallel to the drawer front meissen porcelain blumen design .
Bun feet were the normal means of support for chests until around 1700 when bracket feet were introduced art deco kneeling dancer lamp . At first, bracket feet were high and appeared out of proportion but by 1750 they were made lower and continued so until the end of the century early imperial ming porcelain . Cabinet-makers during the Chippendale era used bracket feet of an ogee shape on the better class of work, but these lent a heavy, baroque appearance to the chest amphora czechoslovakia . A lighter type of foot, known as the French foot and associated with Sheraton furniture, is usually found on the earlier bow-fronted chests antique cabnit barley twist legs . After the Regency, this design was displaced by an uglier, turned foot which remained in use until the mid-Victorian period wooden cylinder pedestal .
The first chests of drawers had brass, drop handles which were pear shaped or flat with split ends 19th century ceramic wooden clock . These handles were fixed to the drawer by means of a split pin, which passed through the drawer front and was then opened out on the inside and the ends driven into the wood louis 16th sofas . Small wooden knobs were also in use at this time but these became obsolete and did not reappear until they were adopted by Hepplewhite for his mahogany chests about 1775 antique paper mache card table . Drop handles were succeeded by a ring type around 1700 and these are sometimes referred to as Dutch drops inlaid wood chinese duncan phyfe occasional table . From these developed loop handles with brass back plates which were first seen from about 1710 meissen porcelain marking . To begin with, back plates were simple butterfly shapes but by 1730 had become very elaborate, in a variety of fretted and saw-pierced patterns art deco lamp globe . By 1750, the back plates to drawer handles had disappeared, being replaced by small circular discs behind the handle mounts antique card table 1920 fold over top . Towards the end of the century knobs of cast brass or wood superseded the loop type of handle and were in use well into the Victorian period regency day bed . Back plates, either round or octagonal in shape and with longer loop handles attached, were revived during the time of the Regency repair antique dresser drawers .
Among the more diminutive chests and boxes which were made during the 17th century was one type, about 20 inches long and 14 inches wide 16th century antique refectory tables . It was used for storing the large, black letter family Bible or for documents antique calamander . Another box, not quite so long and narrower, was used for keeping lace and neck-ruffs victorian cedar drop leaf table . It was really an early form of collar box dinning table carved like an animal . These boxes were usually made in oak with hasp locks and were decorated with chip-carving and gouge-cuts meissen cris de paris . These small chests should not be confused with the sloping topped table desk which will be dealt with in the chapter on desks and bureaux antique octagonal tilt top tea table .
Candle and salt boxes were in everyday use in the kitchens during the 17th and 18th centuries, those for candles being long and comparatively narrow to accommodate tapers as well as candles antique monks chair . Later examples were often made in oak with mahogany cross-banded edges scottish dresser .
Table knives, particularly those with silver handles, were carefully safeguarded in the dining room furniture ornaments ny . In the Chippendale period, beautifully veneered and inlaid knife-boxes were made to stand on the sideboard, while similar boxes were provided for spoons and forks 1930 art deco french armchairs . Servants of the 18th century must have been notoriously dishonest or masters and mistresses of an equally suspicious nature, for it was the practice never to allow the cutlery and silver to be removed from the dining room gate leg table english oak antique . After a meal the knives, forks and spoons would be washed at the sideboard and the butler would then count and lock them away in their respective boxes english ironstone pottery .
Tea was an expensive commodity between 1700 and 1800 and here again a special little box or coffer, which could be kept locked, was used to hold the precious leaves rectangular drop-leaf table . Tea was always made at the tea table and the mistress of the house would keep the key of the tea caddy among the other housewifely belongings which hung on the chatelaine from her waist victorian dome revolving re serving dishes .
Tea caddies usually had two compartments, lined with lead foil to preserve the tea, but those dating from the early years of the 19th century are sometimes found with a cut-glass sugar bowl of Irish glass, situated between the compartments antique draw leaf dining table . A collection of wooden tea caddies is an admirable way of getting together, in a small space, examples of all the different types of wood and the decorative processes used by the cabinet-makers of the 18th century 19th century mechanical desks .
Reference must be made to the wine cellarets and portable liqueur cases, which were in general use between 1775 and 1830 gabriel viardot . The cellaret was a heavy, strongly made coffer about 2 feet square and lined with lead antique pemproke tables . It stood on feet and was placed beneath a side-table in the dining room andrea baccetti . Cellarets were nearly always made of mahogany with large brass ring handles at the sides barocan roll furniture .
The portable liqueur case was essentially a travelling companion and contained four or six square shaped decanters whose contents would fortify the traveller on the long coach journeys of those days sideboards . It was often finely veneered in walnut or mahogany and strengthened, like the military chest, with engraved brass corner pieces enterprise porcelain italy . These, in the finer examples, were sometimes of chased silver northern song dynasty ru ware . I have seen these little chests made in oak, shaped like a trunk and reinforced with wrought-iron bands antique table from a monastery in europe . As these oak types usually contain Liege glass decanters I think they must be of French or Flemish origin 1620 plate british cobalt blue .
Ladies’ sewing and needlework boxes, particularly those of the first half of the 19th century, can still be purchased for a pound or two chenghua foot rims . They are usually veneered in walnut or mahogany with ebony or brass inlay or with rosewood inlaid with ivory carlo zen furniture . A popular form of decoration at this time consisted of a very fine parquetry in various coloured woods, known as Tunbridge ware tables with chamber pots . These work boxes can be included, to advantage, with a collection of tea caddies and other small boxes chippendale drum table 2 drawers .

Stoneware
Stoneware was first made in Europe in the 12th century by potters in the Rhine valley, where there were abundant supplies of wood for fuel. Steinzeug as stoneware is known in Germany, was made mostly in the Rhineland, but also in Saxony. Cologne was the first important centre for the production of Renaissance-style Rhenish stoneware in the first half of the 16th century. There are obvious regional differences, it is not always easy to distinguish the wares of different Potteries located close to each other. In terms of production, almost the entire output was of drinking vessels fitted with pewter lids. The few exceptions include flasks (resembling tea-caddies), inkwells, table salts, and small tureens. The complete absence of stoneware dishes or plates indicates a German preference for pewter or wood for use on the table.
SIEGBURG
Siegburg became a centre for stoneware production in the I 5th century. The most celebrated wares, dating from the second half of the 16th century, are Schnelle tall, tapered tankards), decorated with shallow reliefs Moulded separately and carefully scaled onto the sides. Subject-matter tends to be either biblical, allegorical, or heraldic. Other wares include Sturzbecber (”somersault cups”) and Schnabelkanne (”beak jugs”). The most important family of potters were the Knutgen, active during the late 16th century. At the beginning of the 17th century the industry declined, owing to increased competition from other Rhenish centres.
RAEREN
Stoneware appears to have been produced in Raeren near Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) from the mid-1 5th century. Early wares arc virtually indistinguishable from those of Cologne or other Rhenish areas, and it was not until after the mid-16th century that an individual style developed. This was a grey-bodied stoneware covered In a lustrous brown glaze. The leading makers were members of the Mennicken family, particularly Jan Emens Mennicken. Wares include handsome, bulbous-bodied drinking jugs, the profiles of which reflect the legs on late Elizabethan tables or buffets; these are decorated with a broad central band of relief-moulded panels containing arcading, religious subjects, Holy Roman Emperors, or dancing peasants. With their complex, graduated borders of tiny medallions and Kerbschnitt (carved, diagonal crosshatching), these vessels have a weighty, architectonic appeal. Raeren continued as a major centre through the 19th century, producing 16th- and 17th-century-style wares and beer-mugs.
WESTERWALD AND CREUSSEN
The region known as the Westerwald is noted for its manufacture of grey stoneware detailed in cobalt blue and manganese brown. From what survives it is evident that the output was almost wholly of hollow vessels such as the Enhhalskrug (narrow-necked jug) and the
(bulbous globular tankard). Many of these jugs are stamped with a date and the monograms of English monarchs, such as “Anna Regina” and “Georgius Rex”, suggesting that they were intended for export to England. Production has continued in the region up to the present day.
Creussen (Kreussen), near Bayreuth, was a centre for the production of stoneware from the late 16th century until the 1730s. The product was a light-brownish-grey ware covered in a rich, chocolate-brown salt glaze,
and output consisted mainly of tankards and flasks with metal screw-tops. Decoration was applied, moulded, or enamelled, and included hunting scenes, the 12 Apostles, and figures symbolizing the planets.
• BODY off-white (Siegburg), grey (Frechen, Cologne, Raeren, and Westerwald), or dark brown (Creussen)
• GLAZE salt glaze
• FORMS tankards, narrow-necked and spouted jugs, bellarmincs (globular bottles with a bearded mask at the neck, made famous by those produced in Cologne)
• DECORATION applied, enamelled, and moulded: strapwork and ornamental motifs taken from pattern books; biblical scenes; Holy Roman Emperors; rich figural scenes; coats of arms
• FAKES beware of 19th-century copies of 16th-century Schnellen, the bases of which are too finely finished and very flat
Marks
Early wares may bear the initials of the potter or decorator incorporated into the design; marks never appear on the base until the 19th century; factory marks
as opposed to individual’s initials were unknown before the 19th century
Faience
The technique of manufacturing tin-glazed earthenware was spread throughout Europe to France, the Netherlands, Britain, and the German-speaking world in the early I 6th century by itinerant potters. German tradition has it that tin-glazed earthenware was first produced by the stove-makers of the south in Bavaria and the Tyrol, and there are a few pieces dated to this time. The majority of German faience, however, dates from the late 17th
I until the early 19th century.
BEFORE 1700
The arrival of Dutch potters in Frankfurt and Berlin in the later 17th century encouraged the development of German pottery. The first centres of production were Hanau (1661), Frankfurt ( 1666), and Berlin ( 1678). Much of the output at this time is in the manner of Dutch Delftware and indeed is frequently wrongly identified as such. Decoration is mainly blue on a white ground, inspired by decoration on Chinese export porcelain, landscapes and figure subjects. Chinese-inspired themes carry on throughout the golden age of German faience in the 18th century, although local themes do sometimes appear. One of the most popular was songbirds among scattered foliage and flowers.
A small proportion of the late 17th- and early 18th-century faience is painted in manganese and yellow as well as blue. Although petit-feu (low-fired) enamelling was developed here at least as early as the 1680s it is
scarce and therefore. As well as plain contoured dishes and hollow-wares the potters made lobed wares – both deep dishes, often with 30 or more lobes, and Enghalskrugen (narrow-necked jugs).
AFTER 1700
In the 18th century a large number of potteries were established; apart from Hanover (1732) these were principally in the southern and central regions, including Ansbach (1708), Nuremberg ( 1712), Bayreuth (1719), Brunswick (1719), Fulda (1741), Hochst ( 1746), and Crailsheim ( 1749). After 1700 the decorators’ repertory included a continuation of their love affair with Chinese ornament – although now in a much-debased form. However, as the century developed, the Chinese designs were gradually replaced by a more native style. Among the most popular themes were birds and foliage, naively painted buildings, figures, landscapes, chinoiserie riverscapes, the double-headed eagle, and coats of arms. Decoration was executed in both the high-fired palette (blue, yellow, and red against a speckled manganese ground) and low-fired enamels.
A considerable portion of the surviving output is the Walzenkrug (cylindrical tankard), one of the most characteristic forms of German faience. Also popular were Enghalskrugen, dishes, tureens in the form of animals, birds, or vegetables, plates, salts, inkwells, and vases (sometimes in garnitures, or sets). Figures were made by some manufacturers, the majority from the north of the region, such as Brunswick and Munden. Although competition from English creamware (cream-coloured earthenware) forced many of the factories to close at the end of the 18th century, some factories actories continued into the 19th century. The potteries in Kellinghusen established in the 18th century made good-quality peasant-style wares decorated in high-temperature colours with bold flowers; one factory continued until -.1860.
• FORMS multi-lobed dishes and hollow-wares, WaIzenkrugen and narrow-necked jugs; figures are rare
• DI CIO RATION based on Chinese wares; from -.1750 replaced by a more native style
• COPIES in the late 19th and early 20th century, copies of the more exotic petit-feu enamelled wares were made; 18th-century wares tend to have a pinkish took where the glaze is thin – most evident on the base
• BASES 18th-century wares, particularly from south ave a s -called “thumb print” on the base,
Germany,have so-calle
when the item was removed with a string from the wheel; these do not appear on 19th-century wares
Marks
Marked examples are rare before c.1700; a considerable number of faience makers used factory marks, but not on every piece
Bayreuth: this is the mark for Johann Georg Pfeiffer, owner between 1760 and 1767Hanau
: mark used between 1661 and 1806
k Dish from Nuremberg
This is a typical example of Nuremberg faience, complex in form and decoration. The finely fluted or ribbed form is washed in pale blue and then painted in greyish cobalt with a highly formalized design - a jardiniere charged with flowers enclosed within a corona of demi-lune panels and a rim of stylized Oriental flower-heads and floral cartouches. This entire arrangement is a fairly stiff descendant of the Rouen or Delft motifs that were dominant at the turn of the 17th century.

Writing cabinets-on-stands
Small slope-topped writing boxes were known from medieval times, and during the 16th and early 17th centuries they continued to be associated with the needs of a highly educated elite. With their sloping lids, often lipped at the lower edge, they could double as reading lecterns, and many were decorated with carving, inlay, or painting. Inside they were fitted with compartments and small drawers for papers and writing equipment. Conveniently portable, they could be used on top of a table or chest.
EARLY CABINETS-ON-STANDS
During the second half of the 17th century a new form of writing compendium, with its own base support, was developed. Also known as a scriptor, or, in France, an escritoire, the writing cabinet-onstand was a rectangular structure, based on the
Spanish vargueno (writing desk) Instead of a sloping lift-up top, it had a fall front concealing drawers and pigeon holes, which opened to form a writing surface supported on cords at either side. The exterior presented an inviting
surface for veneering. Fine examples were made with oyster veneers of walnut or cocus wood, or with floral or “seaweed” marquetry; some cabinets were inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl, or japanned to imitate Oriental lacquer. The most spectacular, japanned in brilliant colours on white or light-coloured grounds, were by Gerard Dagly (1657-1715) of Berlin. The legs of the stand were baluster or spiral turned typical of fashionable furniture of this period. Already, by the close of the I 7th century, many of these cabinets had a distinctly feminine flavour, with compartments for toiletries, jewellery, and writing equipment.
Alongside the development of the mainstream bureau and bureau cabinet in the early 18th century was that of the slightly built slope-topped writing desk of bureau form, set upon a cabriole-legged base, with frieze drawers. Some of these desks were surmounted by toilet mirrors, showing their dual function as writing and dressing tables. Typically, they were veneered in walnut or marquetry, but some fine examples are decorated with japanning.
drawer below. French examples were lavishly decorated, with gilt-bronze mounts and fine marquetry veneers of unusual woods, and sometimes with porcelain plaques, or panels of Oriental lacquer. By the last quarter of the 18th century the cabriole supports – the last vestiges of the Rococo – were discarded in favour of straight-tapered legs, often with gilded grooves and understretchers.
The English interpretation of the bonheur du jour was more restrained, relying for its elegance on finely figured timbers and well-judged proportions; edges were straight and legs square tapered. Mahogany or satinwood was often contrasted with bandings or panels of rosewood, sycamore, tulip, or box. Both French and British styles were adopted by cabinet-makers in other parts of Europe. Porcelain plaques, marquetry, and ormolu mounts all appear on bonheurs du jour in Germany, Austria, and Poland, but the structure of such pieces tends to be spare and square rather than voluptuous.

• WRITING CABINETS-ON-STANDS some early very
fine examples were decorated with veneered with burr-walnut, oyster veneering or marquetry (floral or “seaweed”), inlaid or japanned; this type of furniture although not always very useful (unlike the bureau in all its forms) is very desirable, so unless the decoration is very badly damaged, they will still generally command high prices.
• BONHEURS DU JOUR usually very popular items of decorative furniture; those made in the late 18th-century style of Sheraton are particularly popular.
LATER CABINETS-ON-STANDS
In France, luxurious writing-cum-toilet tables for use in ladies’ apartments were made in large numbers from the beginning of the Rococo period in the early 18th century. Veneered in fine marquetry of exotic woods, and with cabriole legs, they were embellished with cast-and gilt-bronze mounts. Some of these bureaux de dames had sloping lids to the superstructures, while another type, the secretaire n capucin, had a flat writing surface opening out from the table top, and a superstructure of drawers and compartments rising from the back. By the late 1760s the bonheur du jour was an established form of ladies’ writing table. As its name suggests, it was destined for the feminine “delight of the day”, i.e. letter writing. It had a flat writing surface at the front, varying arrangements of shelves, drawers, or small cupboards at the back, and a drawer below. French examples were lavishly decorated, with gilt-bronze mounts and fine marquetry veneers of unusual woods, and sometimes with porcelain plaques, or panels of Oriental lacquer. By the last quarter of the 18th century the cabriole supports – the last vestiges of the Rococo – were discarded in favour of straight-tapered legs, often with gilded grooves and understretchers.
The English interpretation of the bonheur du jour was more restrained, relying for its elegance on finely figured timbers and well-judged proportions; edges were straight and legs square tapered. Mahogany or satinwood was often contrasted with bandings or panels of rosewood, sycamore, tulip, or box. Both French and British styles were adopted by cabinet-makers in other parts of Europe. Porcelain plaques, marquetry, and ormolu mounts all appear on bonheurs du jour in Germany, Austria, and Poland, but the structure of such pieces tends to be spare and square rather than voluptuous.