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BIEDERMEIER FURNITURE

THE TERM “BIEDERMEIER” covers the wide spectrum of simple, Classical, handcrafted, functional furniture made between 1805 and 1850, which was made at the same time as furniture in the Empire style (see p.212). While the nobility furnished their formal rooms with Empire furniture, the more
private parts of their houses and mansions were furnished in the Biedermeier style, which was favoured by the wealthy middle classes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavia.
Political unrest in the German states in the early 19th century created a general feeling of uncertainty and increasing poverty. As a result, people withdrew into the privacy of their own homes, and the middle classes in particular began to take an increasing interest in furnishings.
MODEST STYLE
Biedermeier furniture typically had straight lines and lacked decorative carvings. Motifs inspired by Classical designs, such as columns, gables, egg and dart, and bead and reel details
were all popular.
The cupboard door is decorated with an arched panel.
From about 1830, designs incorporated scrolled forms: chairs often had splayed legs, sofas had arched backs, and moulded cornices were used as ornament for writing cabinets.
POPULAR WOODS
The most fashionable woods for Biedermeier furniture were mahogany which was imported and, therefore, rather too expensive for this essentially middle-class style, and also less costly local woods such as walnut, cherry,
pear, birch, and ash, combined with dark elm and thuyawood. The grain of the wood was the most important decorative feature. The natural grain of the veneer was emphasized with various pyramidal or fountain-like shapes. Root veneers of acorn, burr-walnut, and elm were also popular because of their varied colour and attractive markings. Darker woods were frequently used as borders around diamond-shaped keyholes, block feet, or cornices.
RESTRAINED INTERIORS Biedermeier interiors were modestly furnished, and the emphasis was on practicality and comfort, rather than decoration. The furniture was moderate in size, rounded in shape, comfortable, and homely.
Many pieces had a counterpart –another piece that was similar in size – to balance the furnishing of the room. The secretaire with a fall front and the blender, which looked like an imitation secretaire, but was
A typical Biedermeier living room, c.1820-30
This simple Saxon living room is typical of a modest townhouse of the period. The living room was the social centre of the home, and great care was taken with the arrangement of the furniture.
designed for use as a linen press or wardrobe, were very common styles.
An overall colour scheme was a prominent feature of Biedermeier interiors and frequently light-coloured upholstery, curtains, and woods were chosen to create a homely interior with an integrated sense of design.
The advances in manufacturing that occurred during this period did not have much impact until the second half of the century, so early Biedermeier furniture was visibly hand-made. Upholstery was generally flat and square, made of silk or horsehair, and wooden surfaces were simply planed and polished with oil.
By the mid 19th century, the style was seen as comfortable but rather dowdy, and was given the name Biedertmeier, a satirical term that meant “the decent common man”. The name was originally used in a German publication for a fictional middle-class character, and was not intended to be particularly flattering.
The style gradually began to decline in popularity and it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that this negative evaluation began to fade, and Biedermeier-style furniture once again became much sought after. This led in turn to the style being widely copied.
BIEDERMEIER DINING CHAIRS
These chairs are made of solid walnut wood and walnut veneer. The backs are balloon-shaped and have double baluster splats and a shaped top rail. The tapered, upholstered seats are typical of the period and sit above sabre
legs. The chairs are upholstered with a Neoclassical-style striped fabric, probably the original fabric, that is decorated with flowers. 1820
BIEDERMEIER WRITING CABINET
Covered entirely in cherry-wood veneer, this impressive writing cabinet has a fall front that opens to reveal a fitted interior. The inner compartment consists of 11 small drawers flanking a central tabernacle. The lower portion
of the cabinet consists of three large drawers set on simple bracket feet. This practical piece embodies the Biedermeier ethos of comfort and convenience and would have been used in the sitting room, which was the focal point of the home. c.1820.
Pigeonholes provide storage space for letters.
The interior drawers have Ivory handles.
The fall front opens to forma writing surface.
The bottom part of the cabinet is made up of three drawers.
BIEDERMEIER SOFA
The frame of this elegant sofa is scroll-shaped with a slightly raised back. The shape takes its inspiration from Classical pieces, and is typical of the simple, geometric design that was favoured by Biedermeier designers. Ornate carvings and
decoration were not part of the Biedermeier style. The sofa is veneered in cherry wood, which has been blackened in places, using a simple inlay of ebony to accent the flat surface of the wood. The upholstered seat
is coil-sprung for comfort. c.1825.
BIEDERMEIER WALL MIRROR
This mirror frame is architectural in style and is decorated with cherry veneer. The ebonized columns are edged by gilded bases and capitals, which support a Classical-style cornice and pediment. The central mount shows the goddess Diana. 1820 30
BIEDERMEIER WALNUT-VENEERED COMMODE
This commode has a top with an ebonized border above a frieze drawer. A further two recessed drawers are flanked by turned, ebonized columns with gilded Corinthian capitals and feet. The middle drawer is decorated with floral and figural details. 1820 30.
BIEDERMEIER GLAZED CABINET
This birch-veneered cabinet was made in Berlin and has a stepped pediment with a flat top. The oval glazed door panel is decorated with fine wooden spokes emanating from a central sun motif. At the base of the cabinet there is a single drawer with a lock. c.1820.
BIEDERMEIER DINING TABLE
Made in southern Germany, this simple dining table is veneered in cherry wood with a star pattern on the table top. Some of the veneer is blackened to add visual interest. The single pedestal terminates in a tripartite base.
c.1830.

see also biedermeier art  deco desk kidney shape
biedermeier art deco desk bureau
biedermeier bedside commode chest
biedermeier furniture swedish drop front desk
biedermeier glass kaendler
biedermeier love seat sweden
biedermeier reproduction desk
biedermeier style doors
biedermeir interiors

authentic biedermeier mouldings

antiques clock index vienna biedermeier

Seat furniture
Until the 17th century most seating was provided by the stool; box-settles were also common in wealthier households. Side chairs and armchairs were introduced in the 16th century and the settee in the mid-17th century; this evolved over the next 200 years into the fully upholstered sofa. The demand for comfortable seating increased throughout this period, with upholstery gradually
eclipsing wood carving and decoration, especially after the introduction of the coiled spring in the 1820s. Over the centuries seating has been profoundly influenced by a succession of styles and forms, from the extravagant Baroque to the austere Neoclassical, all of which have been revived by later generations of craftsmen. The interest in historical design continues to this day.
Stools
The stool has been in use for thousands of years, and was and is common in one form or another to all civilizations. Its often simple construction and its portability have ensured its lasting popularity. Until the 17th century, seat furniture with backs and arms was scarce, and the chair was reserved for the head of the household; most seating was provided by the stool.
17TH-CENTURY JOINED STOOLS
Inventories from the 17th century show that stools existed in large numbers and were reserved for members of the household who had sufficient status to sit at formal occasions. This hierarchy persisted in court circles well into the 18th century. Most stools found today were made from the 17th century onwards. As with all types of furniture, examples of stools before 1600 are rare and those that come onto the market can be valuable. The simple, pegged, oak stool with carved decoration is probably the most common type. Called a joined or joint stool, it was made by a joiner, with mortise-and-tenon joints secured by pegs. Although regional variations exist, the design was basically the same throughout Europe. Generally only those pieces that were well made in good-quality wood have survived, and many stools intended for everyday use have long since disappeared.
Joined stools could be extended in length to become benches and were occasionally made with a small drawer underneath the seat. Even at this early date they were often made in sets, a practice that was to become widespread in later centuries. Originally the seat would probably have been softened with a squab cushion but during the 17th century padding became an integral part of the stool as the demand for comfort increased.

LATER STOOLS Because stools were perennially popular they tended to keep up with fashion trends. In the late 18th century British stools were made after designs in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide ( 1788-94) by George Hepplewhite (d.1786) and French stools after designs by Pierre Fontaine (c.1762-1853) and Charles Percier (1764-1838), as well as those in Receuil de decorations interieures (1801-12). Shapes diversified as the interest in historical styles and forms, whether real or imaginary, took hold. For example, the X-frame form, first made in ancient Egypt and common in Europe during the Renaissance, was revived in Europe and North America during the early 19th century.
The 19th century saw an increased use of mechanization, which enabled carving to become extremely elaborate, and stools were made in a variety of bizarre forms with carved and moulded decoration. From the third quarter of the 19th century a new type of upholstered seating, the pouffe, was introduced. The upholsterer played an increasingly prominent role in furniture-making as comfort became an ever more important criterion.

•   COPIES OF JOINED STOOLS during the 1920s and 1930s
many copies were made of the joined stool; signs of a genuine example include wear in the right places, such as the stretchers; irregular pegs that stand proud due to shrinkage and are visible on both the inside and outside of the frame; “dry” wood underneath the seat
•   GEORGIAN STOOLS look at the colour of the wood under the seat rail (the drop-in seat should lift out) – this should be “dry” and unstained; exercise caution with small stools, which are popular with collectors – fakers may have used the front pair of legs from two damaged chairs and fixed them into a seat rail; check for odd proportions and for tops of legs hidden by the seat rail

Dining-tables before 1840.
The gateleg table enjoyed enduring popularity in Britain and The Netherlands well into the 18th century, and indeed the provincial tradition carried on virtually unbroken to today. Although gateleg tables were usually oval or circular, rectangular gatelegs, conceived en suite with U-shaped gateleg end-sections, emerged during the reign of George II ( 1727-60). The earliest recorded extending dining-table was that supplied to Sir Robert Walpole for Houghton Hall, Norfolk, c.1730. Conceived with two single gateleg denn-lure end-sections and two double-gatelcg central sections, which could be easily stored away when not in use, it has a moulded top and is supported on 32 ring-turned columnar legs with bun feet. However, this design had its failings, as the vast number of legs made it awkward for large numbers of sitters to be seated, and it was only with the introduction of leaves that more guests could be accommodated comfortabl,.
18TH-CENTURY DINING-TABLES
During the reign of George II, dining-tables with pedestal supports were introduced. Invariably of mahogany, with D-shaped ends and up to as many as five further rectangular tilt-top central sections, the earliest examples made during the 1750s have a separate pedestal to support each section. These pedestals, closely mirroring contemporary tripod tables in design, were initially simple, with a ring-turned columnar or gun-barrel shaft supported on cabriole legs, and pad feet, often with leather casters. During the 1760s the shafts of the pedestals became increasingly rich in both form and carving, perhaps with a vase-shaped baluster and spiral-fluting, or foliate trails to the knees. The tops, joined together by brass U-shaped hooks, were usually covered with linen tablecloths, and were therefore invariably rather plain, as crossbanding was only introduced in the last quarter of the 18th century. Most examples of this period were made of mahogany, with the best timber available being employed to impress. With the advances of Neo-classicism, the pedestals again became increasing]) restrained in form and decoration, the vase-shaped shafts of the 1780s and 1790s giving way to ring-turned columns with dokvnswcpr reeded legs.
Although, rather surprisingly, designs for dating- tables did not feature in I ;ih-century pattern-books, Thomas Chippendale ( 1718-79) certainly supplied several, Sir Edward Knatchbull being charged f5 for “2 Mahogany round ends to Join his Dining-Tables, with 2 pair of strap Hinges, Hooks and Eyes” in 1769. While the tilt-top central sections of pedestal dining-tables could certainly be stored away when not in use, they were still somewhat cumbersome. A sophisticated refinement, therefore, was the Cumberland-action table, which first appeared in the 17-()s. Named after Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III, these dining-tables have double-gateleg scissor-action central sections and single-gatcleg end-sections, which can all support further leaves when opened. They arc more stable and easier to enlarge than pedestal dining-tables; their tops are often both moulded and thinner, the most accomplished examples being veneered with exceptional richly figured timber, particularly fiddleback (flame) or plum-pudding mahogany, often crossbanded with tulipwood, padouk, or ebony. Provincial versions of this table were also made, usually constructed of solid mahogany. However, rather than having rent cable leaves to reduce or enlarge the size, these had instead double-gatcleg-action central sections with attached leaves, which hung down when not in use.
During the late 18th century, dining-tables in the Neo-classical taste were made throughout northern Europe and North America. Usually with two semicircular end-sections, often above a plain panelled frieze, and further leaves, supported on square, tapering or turned and fluted legs, Russian and Louis XVI examples are often enriched with brass collars and flutes. While French and German examples are usually made of mahogany, Swedish, Danish, and Russian dining-tables are often of Karelian birch and cherry.
19TH-CENTURY DINING TABLES
This basic form of dining-table described above could not support more than one leaf between pedestals securely and thus Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) revealed in The Cabinet Dictionary (1803), pedestal dining-tables enjoyed enduring popularity: “The common useful dining-tables arc upon pillar and claws, generally four claws to each pillar, with brass castors. dining-table of this kind may be made to any size, by having a sufficient quantity of pillars and claw, parts, for between each of them is a loose flap, fixed by means of iron straps and buttons so that they arc easily taken off and put aside”. Such massive “pillar” or pedestal dining-tables, often lavishly decorated with classically inspired motifs, such as claw monopodium and Roman acanthus scrolls, as popularized by George Smith (active c.1786-1828), continued to be made throughout the 19th century. In North America, mahogany pedestal dining-tables with columns on platform supports with sabre legs were made in the Federal style, and after 1815 in the Regency style, by such cabinet-makers as Duncan llhxfe ( 1 76 8-1 8 54) in New York. After 1820 this type Was largely replaced by Empire pedestal dining-tables, with heavier carved pillar supports resting on platform hales, often with four curved legs and animal-paw feet.
Although telescopic dining-tables (discussed right) were popular during the 19th century, both in Britain and abroad, their form when extended could only ever be rectangular. It was the inventor and cabinet-maker Robert Jupe of New Bond Street who revolutionized the design of oval and circular dining-tables in the reign of William IV (1830-37). In 1835 he was granted a patent – subsequently known as “Jupe’s patent” – for the design of a segmental extending dining-table. This mechanism, whereby the segments of the top could be pulled out on their brass-channelled runners and further segments could be placed between them, increased the circumference of the table by up to half as much again, and applied equally well to both circular and oval dining-tables. Jupe dining-tables were invariably made of mahogany and were usually supplied with two sets of leaves, together with a leaf-case, which enabled a typical circular table to be approximately 1.41n (4ft 7in) in circumference when closed, 1.81n (5ft I I in) when partially extended, and 2.1m 16ft I fill) when fully extended. Usually supported on baluster shafts and channelled downswept legs with lion’s-paw, feet, most Jupe tables are stamped “Johnstone Jupe & Co., New Bond Street” and numbered. Long admired, this pattern was inevitably imitated by Jupe’s contemporaries, but those that carry the Johnstone Jupe & Co. stamp command a considerable premium.
TELESCOPIC DINING-TABLES
Although the firm of Gillow (est. c.1730) of Lancaster is best known for its restrained and often utilitarian mahogany furniture of superb technical craftsmanship, ri ship, it also manufactured some novel forms. In 1805 Richard Gillow (1734-1811) patented a design for the “Imperial Extending Dining Table”, which was “calculated to reduce the number of legs, pillar and claws and to facilitate their enlargement and reduction”; the perennial problem of enlarging a dining-table without having to store numerous tilt-top pedestals was therefore fully addressed. This new device, “whereby the two ends of the table are connected by pieces of wood, so joined together to form what are commonly called lazy tongs”, meant that any number of leaves could be added to the “telescopic” frame when it was extended. Distinguished by their finely figured mahogany, seeded edges above a plain panelled frieze, and reveled baluster legs, Gillow’s dining-tables are among the most famous and sought after. They were made throughout the 19th century, and their date is usually betrayed by the increasing thickness of the top and the more bulbous, heavier, and often carved legs supported by ceramic rather than brass casters. From c.1780 the firm stamped much its furniture with one of several marks including “GILLOWSLANCASTER” and individual craftsmen often signed their work in pencil.

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