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FRENCH FURNITURE
Louis XIV, 1643-1715
T is desirable for the man interested in English furniture
to have at least a working knowledge of the French styles,
if for no other reason than that of appreciating their influence on English work seventeenth century english stoneware . To understand them thoroughly is a study equally as wide and intricate as that of English furniture (if not more so) and to do justice to the subject would call for a separate volume as large as the present one antique porcelain tea pot made in france . In these few pages one can hope to do little more than point out the salient features 19th century floral paintings .
Historically speaking the subject goes back farther than our own, for the continental craftsmen were far more advanced than the English, and have left more and better examples of their work to posterity antique table 8 legs with brass feet . For the present purpose, however, the reigns of the three Louis, XIV, XV, and XVI are all that we are concerned with, for when speaking of French furniture it is the work produced during the period of these monarchs that one invariably calls to mind antique blue and white earthenware jug with zigzag pattern .
Louis XIV came to the throne in 1643, a time when the French Renaissance had lost much of its Italian origin and had developed a strong individual character lenci wall masks . Whatever his merits or demerits as a king may have been, the world of art certainly owes much to him for the encouragement he gave to all arts and crafts antique french tier table . He was a man of most extravagant tastes, and, living in a time when France was one of the strongest and wealthiest of European Powers, he was able to give full play to his fancies antique drop-leaf end tables . His court was probably the most magnificent that Europe has ever known, and the daily extravagant ceremonial called for a setting for which nothing but the costliest and richest would do napoleonic campaign chairs . Fortunately, this great impetus to fine work came at a time when men of considerable talent were seeking expression, and it required only this talent on the one hand and the wealth and encouragement on the other to produce a style which (in its own particular way) has never been excelled theodore haviland 1958 pattern .
Period of Louis XIV
Of the capable craftsmen whose names are outstanding probably the greatest was Andr6 Charles Boulle who was born in 1642 and died in 1732 dresser accessories . He had experimented with a form of marquetry which had originated in Italy, and when the great tide of building and furnishing came he took it at its flood, and developed this marquetry into a distinctive kind which for sheer exquisite workmanship, coupled with fine design, stands unique antique card table with one flap . It is often termed ” Buhl,” and was carried out in brass or copper, and tortoiseshell, ebony, and horn drop leaf table wall semi circle .
A brief explanation of how marquetry was produced was given in Chapter V chamber pot in cabinet . Two sheets of dissimilar materials were fixed together temporarily and the design cut through both with a fine saw gillows three hinge . The two sheets were then separated and the parts interchanged so that in the one there would be a design of, say, brass on a background of tortoiseshell, and in the other the exact reverse antique “la granja” glass . Thus it was possible to produce two cabinets of precisely the same outline and design, but the one the reverse of the other in the material of the design and background designer extending round dining tables in kent . The one was the (4 counter ” of the other, hence the terms ” Buhl ” and if counter black lacquer dining chairs .”
A typical Boulle cabinet is shown in Fig silver fish slice . 165, in which this rich marquetry work is an outstanding feature figural silver antique candlesticks . In addition to the scrolling design of the inlay itself the whole of the brasswork is richly engraved, producing an effect which almost approaches the work of the jeweller rather than that of the cabinet maker antique english dressing table . A point to note is that wood carving is almost entirely absent, the decorative effect, apart from the marquetry, being obtained entirely with rich brass mounts antique mirror back sideboard 1920’s . Some of the leading artist-craftsmen of the time were engaged in the production of these mounts wooden arm chair pedestal castor antique oak .
It was for the decoration and furnishing of the Palace of Versailles that the finest and richest work was produced, and the Palace, even as it stands to-day after the ravages of the Revolution, leaves one gasping at its sheer extravagant splendour origins and development of arts . One has to remember that the furniture maker then was regarded as an artist, and certainly the results seem to justify such a status edgard brandt . It is with something like a shock that one realises that the cabinet in Fig antique table round drop leaf claw foot . 165 was produced at the same time as the simple early walnut furniture in England art nouveau . It is true that a colossal amount of money was spent on the production of such pieces, but it has to be admitted that the French cabinet makers were far in advance of our own staffordshire figures of royalty . It is points like this that help one to realise why it was that a revolution of ideas took place when Charles II came to reign in England after years of exile spent in France georgian telescopic silver candlestick .
The famous Gobelins factory for the production of tapestry was purchased by Louis XIV, and cabinet-making workshops were established in it art deco upholstery . Charles Le Brun became the director, and the world of art owes a great deal to his energetic leadership perpetual calendar 18th century . :Much of the finest work at Versailles was produced at the factory carlo bugatti furniture antiques .
In general form the surfaces of cabinets were flat—at any rate early in the period west indies antique paintings . This is mentioned in particular because we shall see that in the next phase curved surfaces were introduced everywhere art nouveau origins . The general decoration took the form of Boulle marquetry of brass or copper on a background of ebony or tortoiseshell, the design consisting of elaborate scroll work richly chased, allegorical figures, fruit and floral motifs, swags of husks, and acanthus leafage, the whole in a somewhat free interpretation of the Renaissance daniel quare 1674 tortoiseshell case pocket watches . Bold ormolu mounts heavily gilded were fitted, these taking the form of lion masks, scrolled consoles, acanthus scrolls, human masks, and deep nullings royal sheffield silver . Both straight and curved legs were used, the last named becoming more popular towards the end of the period in harmony with the tendency towards shaped work generally william kent console table .
COMMODE IN KINGWOOD WITH INLAYS queen ann gate leg table .
Laois XV antique prohibition table example .
This cabinet, made for the King’s chamber at Versailles, is a design of SIodtz and was made by Antoine Robert
Gaudreau In 1738 antique fluted gateleg table legs . The gilt bronze mounts were by Jacques Caffiere booths pearlware marks .
FRENCH FURNITURE
Louis XV, 1715-1774
T0 appreciate the underlying causes of the changes in the type of furniture produced in Louis XV’s reign
it is necessary to know something of the historical events of the period 18th century forks . Louis XIV had died in 1715 when his heir «as but five years old, and it became necessary to appoint a regent antique decorative motif . The Duke of Orleans took the office, and he was virtually monarch until his death in 1723 directoire consulat empire . There was thus a break in the extravagant court grandeur which was so essentially a feature of the reign of the late king art deco antique furniture makers . The wild expenditure of the seventy odd years of le Grand i1lonarque, too, had left its mark on the finances of the court and aristocracy antique pouch table . No country, no matter how powerful and prosperous, could continue for an unlimited time to spend money on pure aggrandisement to such an extent, and as a result there were but two alternatives : to live in a quieter way, or to find fresh sources of income mid 17th century foods france . In the event a sort of compromise was effected 17th century french fashion . The aristocracy began to contract marriages with humbler but wealthy classes, bankers, merchants, and so on ; and in place of the grandeur of the great salon so beloved by Louis XIV came the rise of the smaller boudoir photos of antique chambersticks . In fact the two periods are often referred to respectively as the periods of the salon and the boudoir jupe table mechanism .
Its effect on the furniture was that it was in its way equally rich, but was on a smaller scale how much is a claw foot table worth . Then, too, the masculine grandeur gave way to an effeminate prettiness, a change quite in keeping with the general conduct of life emile galle furniture . People began to look for elegance rather than grandeur, and to use ornament purely for its own sake boulle console table with marble tops with elaborate friezes .
We have had occasion to note in earlier chapters in this book that an idea, once it takes root, frequently is carried to extremes, and it thus happened that the tendency to introduce shaped work towards the end of Louis XIV’s reign reached such a height in the succeeding reign that many cabinets were made with scarcely a straight line or a flat surface in them regency antique mahogany dining table styles . This extraordinary use of curves is the keynote of Louis XV furniture when was art deco furniture stated in france . The skill shown in overcoming the difficulties that such work presented is amazing octagonal brass & silver table . One may’ or may not admire this flamboyant phase of French furniture, but no one can but admire the excellence of the workmanship augsburg marquetry table cabinet . The fronts and sides of cabinets, bureaux, and so on were curved in both plan and elevation, and some idea of the difficulty of veneering over such a surface can be obtained by trying to lay a flat sheet of paper around a ball barrel leg oak dining table . Added to this was the fact that the whole was usually elaborately inlaid or given a decorative effect by the use of designs in which the varying, direction of the grain of the wood was made to play a part round rosewood breakfast table .
So far as furniture was concerned the preference for gilded mounts in place of wood carving continued, and the workmanship of these was of an extremely high order table octagon marquetry drawer . One may not care for the effect as a whole—it frequently appears restless and overdone, but regarded individually the work was extremely fine i.i.e. exclusive capodimonte . The love of curves developed to an extraordinary extent, resulting in its fulness in what is known as the Rococo decoration thonet rocking chair . The term comes from two French words meaning rocks and shells, to which the ornament bears a certain resemblance antique porcelain czechoslovakia wall face . It is exemplified in Fig austrian mirrored tables . 166—in which the elaborate scrolls and acanthus leafage can be seen antique collector’s cabinet . The chief exponents of the rococo were Meissonier and Slodtz palissy patterns .
The French version of the cabriole leg reached its zenith during this period side table black hand painted birds and flowers made in italy . It was essentially suited to the general and wide use of shapes antique metal tables with drop leaves . In a limited sense it bore a resemblance to the English version, but it had an entirely different spirit telescopic glass tables . The English leg at its best had a high, well-pronounced knee running abruptly into a square at the top, and terminating at the bottom with one or other varieties of the club or claw and ball foot can antique dressers pair with modern furniture . An example was given in Fig flemish refectory table . 116 at E meissen figures . The French variety was of a more flowing shape steuben stemware deco . There was no square at the top, the shape either flowing naturally into shaped rails at the sides, or continuing with a concave curve upwards antique english dressing table . At the bottom the foot was usually scrolled italian buffet decorations . The cabinet in Fig antique english rhenish ware . 166 shows the typical French shape black lacquer china cabinet .
A great many varieties of woods were used ; mahogany,amboyna, tulipwood, boxwood, rosewood, sycamore, ebony, and amaranth are amongst the commonest antique cabinets coat of arms . Satinwood too was used towards the end of the reign, though this is more usually associated with the following reign of Louis XVI antique console table carved wood . Gilding and lacquering were popular meisen hand painted plates 1920 allegorical . At first the lacquer work was imported from the East, or panels were prepared and sent to China to be lacquered, but later it was imitated in the French factories, though the detail in it was often faulty, western motifs being introduced in a somewhat incongruous manner brislington delftware . A firm of the name of Martin paid special attention to this lacquer work and produced a preparation known as Vernis-Martin towards the middle of the century 1945 mahogany desk . In its final stage this originally Oriental decoration became almost wholly westernised, the decorative artists painting allegorical subjects in natural settings on a lacquered background patent imperial dining table gillows .
Towards the end of the reign a reaction against the elaborate Rococo work set in, and there came a revival of the classical spirit which was the keynote of the work in the Following reign canterbury music stand .
FRENCH FURNITURE
Louts XVI, 1774–1793
THE financial difficulties of the reign of Louis XV have already been noted reproduction 18th century tea bowl . They still existed, in fact
were increased, when the ill-starred Louis XVI came to the throne in 1774 hand blown romer glass . The clouds were already gathering for the storm which was to break close on twenty years later antique empire and biedermeier periods 1800 to 1848 . This, combined with the reaction against the Rococo work of the middle of the 18th century, produced a type of furniture in which the shaped work was largely, if not wholly, eliminated daniel quare 1674 tortoiseshell case pocket watches . Design became altogether more refined and returned again to the classical spirit, prompted largely by the excavations of Herculaneum which had been begun seriously in the middle of the century table paw feet antique .
Then again the Queen of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, favoured simple country life ; the elaboration of the preceding reign made no appeal to her, and although the movement towards simpler lines began before she was Queen, her influence undoubtedly encouraged the new feeling mirrors antique british chevron . It should be realised, however, that the term ” simple ” is used relatively antique neoclassical . Compared with the English, French cabinet work of Louis XVI was vastly more ornate hunt roskell silver auction . French furniture always was, It was just the natural national expression, but when it is compared with the full shaped work of the preceding reign the simpler and more refined feeling is apparent small dressing table cupboard .
The chief characteristics of Louis XVI are the use of straight lines and flat surfaces with a delicate and refined treatment of the detail floral ornaments art nouveau . Mouldings are small and the carving light and delicate old cantagalli pottery . Gilded mounts are widely used (they were still largely preferred to wood carving) and the quality is of a very high order reverse serpentine sideboard . The subjects take the form of rural, natural, and conventional objects ; scythes, spades, lutes, pipes, birds, cupids, torches, ribbons, swags of husks, flowers, medallions, and acanthus scrolls ormolou decoration . The last named are altogether less flamboyant than the ornament of Louis XV
time antique card table flaps . The woods used were the same as those of the previous reign with an increasing popularity for satinwood 18th century wine cooler brass feet . Lacquer work was also still widely used, and was often bounded by gilded mouldings antique mahogany drop leaf work table .
With the disappearance of the shaped work the cabriole leg lost much of its popularity, especially for cabinets and commodes, though it still was used for small bureaux and console tables in a lighter form cantagalli pottery . The light turned and square tapered leg was used largely, the last named often being recessed on its faces and decorated with gilded mounts fixed in the recessed panels 1930s antique square table . The chief designers were Riesener, Gouthiere, and Roentgen slant front desk antique .
All design is largely a matter of personal taste, but it is usually conceded that the work of Louis XVI shows French design and workmanship at its best 17th century oak side table . The furniture of Louis XIV had a certain grandeur tending to heaviness at its worst, this developing into an overdone elaboration in the following reign antique bombe commodes for sale . In the last of the three reigns there was a reaction against the worst features, and the result shows a welcome restraint scotish chest of drawers .
Readers wishing to study French furniture at first hand should examine the fine specimens at the Wallace collection, and the Jones bequest at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington oak art deco scandinavian furniture . Those who are able to visit France should see the magnificent collection at the Palace of Versailles cheverton machine .
UPHOLSTERED CHAIR WITH BRASS MOUNTS josef maria olbrich furniture . French Empire gustavian chairs pierced splats,fluted legs .
The chair was made in about 1810 column empire style bedside tables . The wings of the beasts are in brass
and are screwed beneath the seat rails provincial furniture number drawers . The feet too are brass, being
socketed to fit over the stub legs antique french saxon china flowers with gold .
FRENCH FURNITURE
EMPIRE
THE period of the French Revolution during which Louis XVI and large numbers of the French aristo-
cracy were executed was scarcely a time in which cabinet making could be expected to flourish antique bedside toilet . Wealthy people went into hiding or fled the country, and there was nobody left to order the fine quality and expensive furniture one usually associates with France of the second half of the eighteenth century gateleg table antique . In fact, some of the famous ebenistes themselves were prosecuted for their close connection with the royalty and aristocracy george serving table fluted . It was not until conditions had settled down under the forceful government of Napoleon that any revival of the making of fine furniture was possible makers of silver table ware in late 1800’s .
It was then that was evolved the style which has become known as Empire chair 18th queen rococo revival . If Louis XIV furniture be characterised as solid magnificent grandeur, Louis XV as flamboyant elegance, all shapes and curves, Louis XVI as delicate refinement, sometimes verging on the effeminate, then the Empire can be reckoned as stately and dignified with a strong influence of the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian dutch silver octagon trinket box . Compared with the elegant style preceding it, Empire furniture is considerably more restrained, mostly with straight lines, usually in mahogany, and invariably mounted with brass or gilt ornaments meissen/cabinet plate/19th century . These ornaments took the form of the Greek honeysuckle and vases, laurel wreaths, caryatid figures, martial helmets, torches, winged animals, and so on english furniture toilet chest .
Presumably the style was a tribute to the leadership of Napoleon, the Emperor who had marched through Europe and beyond antique tray table white . It scarcely outlasted his final downfall in 184, though its influence continued to be felt in this country during the Regency period antique enamel top table .
UPHOLSTERED CHAIR WITH BRASS MOUNTS new england antique dining tables .
‘The chair was made in about 1810 1920s draw leaf dining set turned legs . The wings of the beasts are in brass
and are screwed beneath the seat rails 3 leaf antique extending dining table . The feet too are brass, being
socketed to fit over the stub legs scandinavian octagon dining table .

Furniture
The first humans were nomads who moved from place to place and found what they needed about them from what nature provided. When they learned to cultivate the soil humans generally ceased living as hunter-gatherers. They established homes beside their cultivated land and meadows. At first these were simple huts of wood and reed, perhaps daubed with clay or mud. Later some of them learned to make homes built of natural stone and baked clay but this was more the exception than the rule.
The walls of their houses were often weaker than the solid timber doors. It is not surprising then that the ancient Greek word for a ‘housebreaker’ has the literal meaning of ‘he who breaks through a wall’.
Early furniture
Humans only began to make furniture when they started to settle in a fixed place.
Anntiques can sometimes contain surprises. The year 1703 is inscribed in the leaf of this table but when the table is turned around it becomes apparent the top was originally a door (the keyhole can still be seen). Does the date relate to the door or when the table was made?
The early furniture was understandably very primitive and entirely utilitarian but gradually the appearance of furniture also began to have more importance and it became decorated. The furnishings of wealthy households became more refined and unified in style.
Large-scale excavations and research have revealed a rich treasury of information about early cultures. These provide evidence of an abundant variety of design in crafts and architecture. A few surviving fragments of furniture and surviving illustrations show that the early Egyptians and people of Mesopotamia used tables, chairs, chests, and cabinets.
Furniture in antiquity was sometimes richly and extensively decorated. Inlay techniques with gemstones, wood, majolica, and metal were already known. They were not used again widely until the eighteenth century.
The ancient Greeks and Romans had stools, three-legged footstools, easy-chairs, and forms of chaise longue.
There were tables with one to four legs (card tables and folding tables) and also beds, plus large and small cabinets and chests. In Egypt these were made of different types of wood, leather, string, palm fronds, and reed. Luxury furniture was often decorated with glass and majolica with fittings of precious metal.
Greek furniture
Comfort and aesthetic appearance of furniture was intentionally combined in Ancient Greece. In addition to chairs, tables, and chests of widely differing forms they also made high-backed lounging chairs or chaise longues and lightweight portable beds. Typical decorations on such furniture included stylised acanthus leaf motifs, meanders, metopes, eggand-tongue moulding, and parallel mouldings. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Hellenic sphere
This chair of mixed styles is of no value to purists. The back is Louis XV, the legs are Queen Anne, and the sides are Louis XV.
of influence extended throughout the eastern end of the Mediterranean. This led to an interchange between the upper echelons of Hellenic society and the local populace which became apparent in arts and crafts.
THE CLASSICAL INFLUENCE
The Romans made contact with Greece and the Hellenic empire from the third century BC. In the centuries which followed, the Greeks became subject to the Romans but the Romans were in turn conquered by Hellenic culture.
The leading Roman scholars studied Greek and Greek literature and adopted Greek religions. Religious subjects were very important in Greek art and the Romans adopted this too.
Although there were differences between them it is possible to speak of a Greco-Roman classical culture.
The spread of this culture and its longterm influence was of great importance in the civilisation of western peoples and manifested itself in their arts. Think of the furniture makers of the Renaissance and Classicism who harked back to Greco-Roman forms of art. This classical influence has also been felt in later trends in which the specific intention has been to depart from the strictures of classical forms. Examples of this are Jugendstil and Art Nouveau around 1900 which determined to break free of both classical forms and their bombastic derived forms in the neo-styles.
Roman furniture
The Hellenic culture developed further during the rise of the Roman empire. Flexible furniture was made using metal and lathes were already in use. There were many forms of table but these were mostly round. Large pieces were decorated with plaster reliefs of chimeras, lions, and acanthus leaf motifs. Small numbers of folding chairs, tables, and bronze chairs have survived from this period. The Romans also had furniture with shelves.
Medieval furniture
Early Middle-age furniture
Knowledge of the majority of tools and techniques disappeared in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire and were only rediscovered once more in the late Middle Ages. Certain techniques were retained though within the walls of monasteries.
An example is the lathe that once stood in the monastery of St Gallen in Switzerland. Knowledge of this technology and of other techniques spread once more through Europe from the ninth century.
A characteristic of the time was the lack of a fixed home. The rulers (kings and
queens) travelled from castle to castle and took furniture with them that needed to be portable: bed-side cabinets, beds, dining tables, chests, lounging chairs, lecterns, foot stools, three-legged stools, and folding chairs. The many different styles and shapes from the early Middle Ages is the result of localised culture, and the tools and materials available.
The personal tastes of the persons ordering items also differed and hence so did the styles of their furniture. This ranged from outstanding to ordinary, from intricate to simple, from royal to bourgeois or even somewhat rustic.
CHESTS
Chests were very important during the Middle Ages. They were used to keep money in particular but also clothing and tableware in. Northern European chests were mainly of softwood such as deal and other pine. The main tool used to make these were an adze (specialist woodworker’s axe), saw, and perhaps also a plane. These chests took various forms including those with saddle-form lids, elongated chests with decorative but straight moulding, and others that had the form of a coffin.
Middle-Age chests were also the first pieces of furniture to be artistically enhanced with very rich decoration. Northern European wood carving with arabesque motifs and twists was exceptionally imaginative.
New techniques for making furniture were first developed in southern and central Europe and the fronts of chests were embellished with copious curvilinear mouldings, irises, rows of stopped arc-forms, rosettes, and carved decorative mouldings. Iron fittings were not just used to join the wooden planks together but also formed part of the decoration. The few rare pieces from this period are mainly found in museums.
Gothic furniture
The feudal system began to change in western Europe in the twelfth century and standards of living gradually improved. The concept of chivalry, high moral principles, and courtly practices became increasingly more important. The nobility became increasingly more interested in pomp and splendour and much the same was true of the towns and cities, where the guilds in particular were of great influence in the development of the painting as an art form.
The guilds ensured the quality of goods and professionalism of craftsmen. The guilds also kept the various hand crafts entirely separate from each other. New guilds were even formed from within the timber workers’ guilds for joiners, turners, and cabinetmakers who specialised in finer quality furniture. Furniture only became everyday items in the late Middle Ages. Pieces from this period only turn up for sale very exceptionally. The form, design, and standard of joinery often exhibit high standards of craftsmanship. The sawmill was invented in Germany in the early fourteenth century and this enabled cabinetmakers to make lighter and more elegant pieces.
It was now readily possible to saw pieces for the construction of a carcass and furthermore very thin pieces of timber could be cut to use as veneer.
These were used for inlay work of wood of contrasting colours. This development also led to a new style of art arising: Gothic. This first became apparent in the building of churches which we can still enjoy to this day, with great richness of sculpture, slender columns, and pointed arches.
GOTHIC CHESTS AND CABINETS
Chests were still the main form of show in his home for the increasingly better-off citizen. In the fourteenth century these were often decorated with reliefs of heraldic animals but this gradually gave way to a series of Gothic arches and by the late Middles Ages to finials. The type of ornamentation was determined by the wood used and varied from area to area. Timber from conifers decorated with leaf motifs was used in southern Germany, Austria, and Tyrol. Joiners in the Rhineland and North East France decorated pieces with garlands of fruit and flowers, and stylised vine stems. The hardwoods used in England, northern Italy, Scandinavia, and Spain was ideal for carving cruciform decorations and script panels.
Cabinets developed from chests and two chests stood one on another formed the first decorated cabinets, which became the second important item of furniture. A decorative moulding ran through the centre of the cabinet and they rested on a plinth. The first forerunners of dressers were made in Flanders. These were chests with a cupboard set on high legs.
The legs were joined together with cross-stretchers. Metal tableware was stored and displayed on these cabinets which had doors on them.
TABLES
Tables existed in a variety of forms. There were round and octagonal tops on a broad foot, long rectangular tables with broad cheeked supports on which the legs were joined by cross-stretchers. Chest tables and cashier’s tables were made well into the eighteenth century.
SEATING
Little changed with seating. Folding chairs and those with three or four turned legs and also stools remained in use for some time. Throne like backed chairs were also used in France and the Low Countries. These contained storage space, making them part chest/part chair. Benches were lighter and less robustly made. Some of these had folding back rests.
BEDS
The bed was a major eye catcher in the well-to-do home. In northern parts of Europe these had a full or semi canopy over them.
In France and the Low Countries, beds were often fixed to panelled walls.

18th-19th Century Silver Entree Dishes and Sauceboats
Entree dishes and sauceboats were among the new items of dining silver introduced in France in the late 17th century. French fashion changed European tastes in food: as the new trend developed, the typical plain roast meat served with cold sauces was replaced by soups, stews, and dishes accompanied by hot sauces made from seafood or veal stock, ham and bacon, and herbs and spices. Silver was a particularly useful material for vessels containing these hot foods as it retains heat well. In the 18th century dishes and sauceboats were decorated en suite with plates, tureens and other dining utensils, as the complete dinner service with matching ornaments became the height of fashion.
SILVER ENTREE DISHES
Entree dishes were used for serving the “entree” – the first course of cooked food that came before the main meat course – for example, small game such as hare, pheasant, or partridge. From about the middle of the 18th century they were also known as “hash” or “curry dishes”, from the hot and spicy curries that were introduced to Britain via its extensive trade with India. Today, entree dishes are more popular for serving vegetables or salads.
Made in various sizes and often in pairs or sets of four, these dishes are shallow with a flat bottom and/or four low feet and usually a domed cover with a handle. As with candlesticks, single entree dishes are generally less collectable than a pair or set. The handles, which are sometimes wooden on early examples, are generally detachable, so that the cover can be used by itself as a separate dish. The cover should always fit comfortably into the dish, and both should bear the same marks. Some entree dishes had Sheffield-plate covers, possibly to reduce the cost of the whole piece.
Entree dishes from the mid- and late 18th century are usually oval in form, with a handle on the cover and very little ornament other than gadrooning or fluting around the edges. The finest entree dishes have heavy cast handles in the form of a family crest, but simple reeded or plain ring handles, with leaf decoration covering the locking plate, are more common. Most examples are also engraved with a coat of arms, but some pieces have a coat of arms on the cover and a crest on the base. Those made in the late 18th century tend to Lie much lighter than earlier ones, as the gauge of metal used was considerably thinner. Such pieces should therefore be carefully checked for denting or splitting.
In the early 19th century entree dishes became larger and heavier, with a more pronounced domed shape to the cover, and with ornate cast handles sometimes in the form of vegetables, reflecting the contemporary taste for naturalistic ornament. Shapes became more varied, being square, oblong, round, and cushion-like as well as oval. The simple gadrooning around the rims was often replaced by more elaborate reeding interspersed with flowers, scrolls, or shells.
To keep the food warm, the dish was generally placed either on a dish cross (incorporating a burner) or, from the early 19th century, on a plated heater base, usually made from Sheffield plate, which contained hot water or a block of heated iron. Only a very few entree dishes are found today with their original heater base.
Fewer dishes were being made for the entree course by the mid-19th century, principally because the custom of laying out dishes on the table so that diners could help themselves was replaced by the practice of servants serving food to each of the diners individually as they moved around the table.
SILVER SAUCEBOATS
First introduced c.1715, sauceboats were used for serving gravy or the rich, thick sauces that accompanied meat and fish dishes. They were often made in pairs, and sometimes in sets of four or six for larger services. Like other items commonly made in pair or sets, a single sauceboat is generally less desirable than a pair. The earliest examples of the George I period were double-lipped and stood on a flat oval base with simple scroll handles on either side of the body. The only decorative features were the moulded, wavy rim and engraved armorials. However, this form, which was copied by early European porcelain manufacturers, proved impractical for pouring, and by c.1725 the familiar bulbous form of sauceboat had appeared, with its single everted (out-turned) lip opposite a handle. It was first made with a central pedestal foot; three or four cast hoof, shell, or scroll feet were introduced in the 1740s, and cast masks or shells applied where the feet joined the body. Some sauceboats were made with a matching circular or oval stand and ladle and sometimes a cover.
The body of the sauceboat was generally raised from a single sheet of silver, so no seaming should be evident. For practical reasons, decoration was restricted to gadrooning or punching to strengthen the wavy rims and the shells or masks where the feet joined the body, although crests were sometimes engraved on either side
of the body or under the lip. Cast double-scroll handles were usual until c.1745 and flying-scroll handles (with only one end joined to the body) thereafter, sometimes with leaf decoration.
The sauceboat was a form particularly well exploited in the 1730s and 1740s by the best Rococo silversmiths, often of Huguenot descent – in England, Paul Crespin (1694-1770), Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751), and Nicholas Sprimont (1716-71) – who produced shell-shaped bodies with ornate cast handles
in the form of dolphins, caryatids, birds, griffins, and animals, and cast and applied shells and marine creatures. The bodies of Rococo sauceboats are also sometimes decorated with cast and applied scrolls
and cartouches. Some of the highest-quality sauceboats are gilded inside. Among the finest examples of this period are the set of naturalistic shell-shaped sauceboats with sculptural figural handles made by Sprimont in 1743-4 for Frederick, Prince of Wales.
The prevalence of sauceboats with shell-and-fish motifs indicates the popularity during this period of rich sauces made with fish. Some rare examples have
a body with a double thickness of silver, to be filled with hot water to keep the sauce warm at the table.
In the 1770s the central foot
again became fasionable and bowls were deeper, with a tall loop handle replacing the
scroll handle. However, sauceboats were generally superseded by sauce tureens in this period, although they returned after the 1820s. In the 19th
century, sauceboats were often made in 18th-century styles as part of a ceramic dinner service. Common features of 19th-century sauceboats include a heavy cast foot, applied shell decoration, leaf-capped scroll handles, and three feet. The shell shape was also revived
and was produced in Sheffield plate as well as silver; similarly, the early double-lipped sauceboat was popular in the 1820s and 1830s; examples of this date can be distinguished from the early 18th-century versions by their high, inward-curving handles. Sauce-boats of this period were commonly produced in large sets of varying sizes, especially in response to the expansion of the hotel and catering trades after the mid-19th century.
Entree dishes•
DESIGN the cover may have gadrooned rims on the inside to match the base when turned over and used as a dish.
• CONDITION the cover and handle should both fit properly; lead may show on Sheffield-plate examples –this is caused by bleeding from lead-filled plated and applied handles under heat.
• COLLECTING most entree dishes found today are not in good condition because they have been subjected to considerable use – only the best are collectable; lack of detachable handle (or handle soldered on) reduces value; plated heater bases are often found separately.
Marks
The cover and dish should bear the same marks; armorials on the cover should match those on the base
Sauceboats
• CONDITION the handle should be securely attached –seaming under the handle may indicate repairs; pieces in good condition, raised from a single sheet of silver, should have no seaming; rims are thin and often damaged or repaired; feet are vulnerable to damage.
• COLLECTING pairs are more valuable than singles.
Marks
These are under the body on three-footed pieces and on the edge or inside the foot on pieces with a central foot.