Posts Tagged ‘victorian period’

CAMPAIGN FURNITURE
SPECIALLY DESIGNED TO BE ERECTED AND DISASSEMBLED IN A FEW MOMENTS, THE FURNITURE PRODUCED FOR OFFICERS TO TAKE ON CAMPAIGN WAS AS FASHIONABLE AS THAT MADE FOR THE HOME.
AS STARTLINGLY INCONGRUOUS as
the idea seems today, the military gentleman of the Victorian period would not countenance the idea of a foreign posting without taking his drawing room suite. Indeed, it appears that the 19th-century mindset detected nothing even faintly risible when Thomas Sheraton boasted in his 1803 Cabinet Directory that the addition of his stylish, collapsible furniture to one’s kit bag-”should not retard rapid movement, either after or from the enemy”. Among the -absolutely necessary” articles he produced for use on campaign were elegant dining tables that would seat as many as 20 guests.
A LONG TRADITION OF COMFORT Campaign furniture, or “knockdown” furniture
as it was often called, has its roots in the campaigns of the Napoleonic wars (1800-15). Among the most popular examples from this initial period of production was the Wellington chest, named after the legendary Duke. Available in a variety of sizes, it featured a
hinged, lockable bar that extended from the frame to secure the drawers.
During the reign of King George III (1760-1820), campaign furniture was commissioned almost exclusively by the wealthiest officers from the upper classes and was luxurious. Fine upholstery, leather lining, and intricate hidden compartments combined to make this furniture just as comfortable and elaborate as that produced for use in the home. Soon it was not just merchant officials and military officers who bought such furniture but also seafarers and families emigrating to start a new life abroad.
GOOD BUSINESS SENSE
By the mid-Victorian period, campaign furniture was a well-established and sophisticated feature of the best cabinet-makers’ repertoires. Of course, the most important feature of campaign furniture was that it should be easily transportable. Whereas most ordinary furniture was held together with dovetail or mortise-and-tenon joints, it was crucial that
knockdown furniture could be quickly erected and taken apart with the minimum of fuss.
REGENCY CAMPAIGN BED
This mahogany campaign bed, made by join] Durham of
London, has a rectangular headboard, downswept half-sides,
reeded baluster-turned posts, an arched tester; slatted base,
and six ring-turned legs. C.1810.
WILLIAM IV CAMPAIGN CHAIR
This dining chair, one of a set of Jour, has hinges at the front and back rail, which allow it to be folded neatly once the upholstered seat and two long bolts have been removed.
Most examples used screws, which did away with the need for specialist tools. Brass mounts, placed strategically in areas that were subject to bumps and knocks, especially the corners, helped to protect the furniture while it was in transit. A Victorian brassbound chest of drawers succeeded the Wellington chest as a campaign furniture staple. Composed of two parts, it was a simple matter to separate the top and bottom sections, which could then easily be carried with the aid of brass handles sunk into the body of the wood. Much campaign furniture was meant for use in the tropics and cabinetmakers used materials that were suited to extremes of heat and humidity. Canvas seats
were more comfortable in these conditions than wooden or upholstered examples, and cane furniture was far lighter and better suited to tropical climates than solid wood.
FASHION ON THE FRONT
Although campaign furniture was generally less fussy than that used in the home, expats and those on overseas assignments strove to keep up with the latest London fashions. The insular and competitive nature of life on camp was such that people would attempt to trump the efforts of the next man by acquiring the most extensive suite of furniture in the most up-to-date design. Furthermore, it was important for the colonialists to establish their perceived superiority over their charges. By displaying the wealth and sophisticated fashions of the seat of empire, an unspoken message might be conveyed to the “barbarous” natives. Asa result, a typical officer’s domicile might be furnished with a sofa, a dining table complete with six chairs, and two library or armchairs, all specifically designed for an itinerant lifestyle. Styles tended to lag slightly behind fashions at home, and pieces were often made in the country in which they were intended for use.

TRAVELLING GAMES TABLE
This early Victorian mahogany table has a top formed from its storage box. The top is marked with rosewood and boxwood veneers for chess and is
supported by a telescopic column on tripod legs. c.1840

The cotton canopy is white to reflect the sunlight.
The column supports are reeded and baluster -turned.
The slatted base is lightweight and can be folded.
The turned legs are on casters so that the bed is easy to move.
CAMPAIGN SECRETAIRE CHEST
Two drawers side-by-side sit below a career,
three-quarter gallery and above the secretaire di v( - of this camphonvood chest, which features brass-bound corners and contains a further lourshort drawers and three long drawers, all with sunk handles. 1835-40.

EARLY VICTORIAN BRITAIN
BRITISH FURNITURE DESIGN during the
early Victorian period was confused. The prevalent styles were overlapping attempts at recreating looks from three key historical eras — the Greek, the Gothic, and the Rococo.
In reality, the actual forms of the furniture created at this time were largely standard and had little basis in the eras they purported to emulate. Rather, the “design” of a piece of
furniture was all about the surface and the applied decoration it carried.
GOTHIC, ROCOCO, AND GREEK Victorian Gothic was a masculine style based on idealized notions of Tudor furniture. New cupboards, chests, tables, and chairs were created by piecing together fragments of older furniture from grand houses.
AWN.Pugin
led a move towards a more authentic interpretation of the Gothic style. This was at least partially successful: his work on the interiors of the Houses of Parliament prompted Gillows to
introduce a range entitled “New Palace Westminster”, which was distinguished by the use of roundels incorporating a Tudor rose or thistle at the conjunction of the legs and stretchers.
The feminine Rococo taste was widespread throughout fashionable drawing rooms because of George particular interest in the revival. The florid decoration was structural —incorporated into the shape of the furniture rather than added to the surfaces. The heavy use of gilding was
condemned by architects, as it was used by many manufacturers to conceal shoddy construction.
The Greek style, informed by Henry Shaw’s 1836 Specimens of Modern Furniture, was simple and solid, refreshingly free from the extraneous decoration that was a Feature of much early Victorian furniture.
TRIED AND TESTED IDEAS The stagnant state of the industry can be demonstrated by the fact that the same edition of the London cabinetmaker’s; Union Book of Rules a depository of patterns used by the trade, was in print continuously between 1836 and 1866. This situation was exacerbated by a new middle class who did not want to appear uneducated: the majority of people would rather rely on tried-and-tested ideas than risk committing a gaffe. Whereas the wealthy consumer of the 18th century would commission furniture tailored to his exact requirements, the aspiring Victorian gentleman had to make do with whatever stock was available in the showroom of his chosen retailer,which generally consisted of rounded forms, such as the balloon-back chair, a staple of early Victorian design. The gradual mechanization that characterized the Victorian furniture industry led to a separation of the roles of designer and manufacturer, at least in urban centres.
The traditional role of the furniture-maker persisted in the provinces, as did many vernacular forms. In Lancashire, for example, ladder-back chairs were produced in stained ash instead of the mahogany fashionable in London.Pockets of craftsmen throughout Britain created Windsor chairs with idiosyncratic features typical of the region in which they worked.
Niche markets arose in provincial cities as craftsmen in certain areas developed expertise in specific fields. Birmingham was a centre for the
production of metal bedsteads, forged in furnaces fuelled by the coal and iron that were cheap and abundant in that industrial hub. Further east, Nottingham and Leicester were renowned as centres for cane and wicker furniture.
LIBRARY CENTRE TABLE
The octagonal, revolving top of this table is surfaced with green leather outlined by tooled and gilt lilies and centres on a lobed marquetry panel. The shaped border is inset with floral sprays and clusters of fruit, alternating with Oriental scenes framed by Rococo cartouches. The table has four frieze drawers and rests on a concave-sided central support. Four splayed, inward-scrolling feet and the shape of the apron reflect Louis XV influence. Ebony, tulipwood, mahogany, pine, and cedar are all used.
BALLOON-BACK DINING CHAIR
This balloon-back dining chair has a pierced scroll splat and is raised on acute cabriole legs. The upholstered seat is covered in green velvet. This style of dining chair was a popular early Victorian form. GorB
The back rail of this mahogany chair is carved and terminates in carved scrolls, where it meets the upholstered arms. The seat and back are padded. The chair is supported on carved, cabriole legs with brass casters

PAPIER-MACHE TRAY
This painted and gilt papier-mache tray has a curvilinear shaped outline and a deep concave rim decorated with gilt penwork leaves. The main panel is painted with a Himalayan mountain landscape, containing figures crossing a waterfall. c.1840.
BREAKFAST TABLE
This early Victorian mahogany breakfast table has a round, tilt-top with a moulded edge. The table top is supported on a lappet-carved column and collar, which stands on a circular platform supported by paw feet. c.1840.
BONHEUR-DUJOUR
This Louis XVI-style bonheur-du-jour of partebonized thuyawood is ormolu-and-porcelain mounted. The upper section has a tall, central, mirror-backed display cabinet with a three-quarter gallery flanked by similar, but lower,
cabinets, each with a central porcelain plaque. The outset lower section has an entrelac frieze with three drawers above mirror-backed shelves. It is raised on turned, tapered, and fluted legs on casters. The piece is a mix of Victorian and French Court styles. 1860.

Bracket Clocks
The backplate continued to be engraved, usually with such fashionable motifs as foliate scrolls and flowering urns.
In France curvaceous, asymmetrical forms were Popular from the 1690s, typified by the waisted bracket clock with its inward-curving case and matching wall bracket. Extravagant inlay with exotic materials was typical until c.1750, as were tortoiseshell veneer and gilt mounts; ormolu, lacquer, and porcelain were all popular, with ornate asymmetrical scrolls, shells, and flowers. From c.7750 to c.1800 more restrained lines and rustic, sentimental, and Classical motifs prevailed. Dials on most early 18th-century examples have an enamelled centre, with enamel plaques for numerals this is called a 13-piece dial; from the mid-18th century clockmakers used a one-piece, white, enamelled dial.
Early bracket clocks
The invention of the pendulum in the mid-17th century Trade possible the production of spring-driven clocks with a short pendulum, designed to stand on furniture, shelves, or wall brackets. These clocks, often portable, are usually known in Britain as “bracket” clocks, although few few were actually made with matching brackets; they are also known as “mantel” or “table” clocks. The cases and dials of early 17th
and 18th-century examples largely follow those of contemporary longcases.THE 17TH CENTURY
The earliest bracket clocks, made from the 1660s mostly in England, have cases veneered with ebony, walnut, or olivewood, a pediment-shaped or domed top, a brass carrying handle, bun or block feet, and pierced wooden panels or frets at the sides and/or the front, which were backed with fabric so that the striking mechanism could be heard. Damaged delicate wooden frets were often later replaced by glass panes. Some examples have gilded or silver feet, pierced (known as “basket”) brass tops and frets, and tortoiseshell veneer. The square brass dials often feature an applied, silvered chapter ring, spandrels in the form of winged cherubs, and blued-steel hands. Most 17th-century (and 18th-century) bracket clocks are of eight-day duration, strike the hours, and have a verge escapement; some were converted to the more accurate anchor escapement in the 19th century. Backplates were often engraved with Dutch-inspired tulips and leaves.
French 17th-century bracket clocks are usually more ornate than their English counterparts. One of the earliest forms was the pendule religieuse or Louis XIII clock, with tortoiseshell inlaid with silver and brass, gilt finials, and often gilt acanthus leaf swags or scroll mounts. From the 1690s French examples featured white enamel plaques for each numeral on the dial, on a velvet ground. Dutch clocks also featured velvet-covered dial plates, but their cases — typically in ebony — are plainer.
THE 18TH CENTURY
Bracket cases were usually veneered with walnut or ebonized until c.1730, and veneered with mahogany thereafter. Arched brass dials were introduced c.1715, with calendar work or strike/silent dials in the arch,
and an applied, silvered chapter ring. Some 18th-century examples have quarter-hour as well as hour striking and often a repeat mechanism, operated by a cord.
• CASE designs are similar to contemporary furniture and longcase clocks; British clocks tend to have wooden cases; French cases use a variety of materials
• MOVENIENT early bracket clocks have verge escapements: these were sometimes converted to anchor escapements an d if so the apron over the pendulum rod may be missing or the pendulum bob
will be disc-shaped instead of conical; some clocks were reconverted back to verge, often with a new apron in a style different from the rest of the clock
• ALTERATIONS finials and feet arc often missing or replaced in a different style; delicate wooden frets may have been replaced by glass
• COLLECTING clocks with a matching bracket are fairly rare and so especially collectable; original escapements are desirable; early clocks are highly sought after
Later bracket clocks
Although the longcase clock went into decline in the early 19th century, the bracket clock remained popular. The majority of 19th-century European bracket clocks are typified by elaborate case design in a variety of styles. The clock industry expanded in the USA, and from the 1840s mass-produced, inexpensive American bracket clocks, or “shelf” clocks, were imported into Europe, contributing to increased competition but ultimately to a decline in the European industry, especially in Britain.
REGENCY BRACKET CLOCKS
From the 1790s to the 1820s British bracket clocks were produced in diverse styles, from the satinwood-veneered “balloon” case, similar to the French waisted style, to the chamfer-top case. The chamfer-top style has a flattened pediment top, influenced by the contemporary Greek Revival style in architecture, and is crowned by a cast and gilt finial. Cases were usually veneered in mahogany or rosewood or ebonized, often with brass strip inlay in delicate scrolling designs. From the end of the 18th century bracket clocks were usually kept in one position rather than transported around: for this reason they often no longer had carrying handles at the top, although most chamfer-top clocks have ornamental brass ring handles on the sides, often held by lion masks.
The large, round, convex dials are among the easiest of faces to read: made of silvered brass, painted iron, or white-enamelled copper, they are usually very plain except for the maker’s signature. The simple brass or blued-steel hands are typically pierced or feature ornamental spade or heart tips. The movement is spring-driven with an anchor escapement.
VICTORIAN BRACKET CLOCKS
By the mid-19th century novelty of case design was all-important. The numerous revival styles, especially the Gothic Revival, were particularly influential. Gothic Revival clocks, popular between the 1830s and 1850s, have the same basic form as Regency clocks, but the dial plate is in the shape of a pointed arch, the fretted side panels imitate Gothic tracery, and cluster columns, copied from medieval architecture, ornament the corners. In contrast to the simpler Regency forms Victorian clocks tended to be elaborately decorated with heavy carving and mounts. Some featured complex striking mechanisms, with chimes on bells, and gongs on the quarter hour. Substantial three-train chiming “director’s” or “boardroom” clocks arc typical of the high Victorian period.
Dials were made in a wide range of materials, including plain or silvered brass and painted iron; the use of Arabic numerals was common from c.1870.
It is unusual to find a Regency bracket clock with its original
matching bracket. Many chamfer-top clocks of this type were made in mahogany or rosewood, but this example has an ebonized wood case. Brass strip inlay, bun feet, pineapple finials, and large, round, white-painted dials are typical of early 19th-century British bracket clocks. (c. 1820, ht excluding bracket 4Bcmll9in; value H)
of the retailer, although the best makers also sold their own clocks. The British clockmaking industry gradually declined from the 1840s owing to growing imports of mass-produced American and German clocks, but fine bracket clocks were made in Britain until World War I.
AMERICAN SHELF CLOCKS
Large-scale production of clocks first began in the early 19th century. Although many were exported to Europe, most surviving examples are found in the USA, where they are popular with collectors. Connecticut-based Eli Terry ( 1772-18-52) was the first to produce inexpensive movements, mostly of wood, using slick production methods and standard parts. In the 1830s Chauncey Jerome (1793-1868) invented 30-hour duration movements from rolled brass, which were both easier to make and more reliable than wood.
Although less expensive materials were used for American cases than European ones, designs were just as varied. Most carcasses were softwood veneered with mahogany, with a maker’s label on the interior, and thin, sheet-metal or wooden dials painted white. Clocks were simply designed to meet functional domestic demands, and used little brass so as to keep costs down. Notable designs were the “pillar and scroll” clock (until c.1830), with elegant side pillars, a scrolled pediment with finials, and simple, scalloped feet and skirt; the “three deck” design, with the case divided into three and decorated with half columns at the sides; the “acorn” style, with a wide, curving trunk; and the “steeple” clock, with a pointed gable and pinnacled side pillars. Most clocks are embellished on the front door with verre eglomise (reverse-painted glass) panels. At the end of the 19th century many American makers copied French marble mantel clocks, using imitation marble of enamelled iron or painted wood; some cases were of papier-mache inset with mother-of-pearl and painted with floral designs.
Regency bracket clocks
• HANDLES many examples have brass side handles, commonly with lion mask or cornucopia mounts
• CASES a variety of styles was produced but most were made of mahogany or rosewood with ball or bracket feet; the best examples have brass strip inlay in scrolling or floral designs
• DIALS most arc round and convex, and of silvered brass, white-painted iron, or enamelled copper; hands, plain or pierced, arc of simple, elegant design
Victorian bracket clocks
• CASES designs are varied, since originality of case was sometimes considered more important than the movement or any mechanical refinements; cases for chiming clocks were elaborate and heavily carved
• DIALS Arabic numerals were popular from c.1870; any name is often that of the retailer rather than the maker
American shelf clocks
• CASES most are softwood, veneered with mahogany; styles are varied but the majority of cases arc decorated on the front with verre eglomise panels
• DIALS these are usually of wood or metal, painted white; dials were not usually signed – instead a label with the maker’s name was usually pasted to the case
• MOVEMENTS early clocks have wooden movements with steel pivots; thin rolled brass was used from 1830s
FRENCH BRACKET AND MANTEL CLOCKS
The late 18th to early 19th century was a great period for French clockmaking, and a tremendous range of clocks was produced, some of them highly sophisticated. The work of the casemaker was as important as – and sometimes more important than – the complexity of the movement: cases are typically made of marble or bronze, embellished with rich gilt-bronze (ormolu) mounts, and generally more ornate than those on British examples. Most such clocks were made in Paris and reflect the influence of the Neo-classical style; ornamental motifs include Classical urns, vases, palmettos, festoons, and swags. One notable design – intended to illustrate the technical sophistication of the clock – is the lyre clock, which features a central gridiron pendulum with metal rods like the strings of a lyre. The multiple rods that form the gridiron pendulum expand and contract at different rates and in varying directions with changes in temperature, ensuring that the length of the pendulum remains constant and the clock highly accurate.
Most late 18th-century French mantel clocks feature round, convex dials, usually enamelled in white with black numerals. A few rare and highly collectable clocks produced in the 1790s have Revolutionary dials: in 1793 the Revolutionary government decreed that clocks and watches should show decimal time, with ten hours in a day and one hundred minutes for each hour. This system was, however, very short-lived.
Classical influences continued into the Empire period, but case designs became ever more ornamental and elaborate. Some were miniature replicas of the furnishings of the period, with figures in Grecian dress stated at tables or with musical instruments.
As industrial production was encouraged by the French government, mechanisms were increasingly standardized – most were fitted with an anchor escapement.
A huge variety of clocks was made in the mid- to late 19th century. A distinctive French design of the second half of the 19th century was the mass-produced, black marble mantel clock, assembled from pre-shaped marble or marble-faced cement. Polished black slate was often used for facings to reduce costs. Only the better-quality pieces, embellished with bronze relief decoration or such mechanical refinements as a perpetual calendar or moon phase dials, are of interest to collectors today. Other designs included the four-glass clock (from c.1850), featuring four panes of glass, and 18th-century revival styles, most of which were produced in gilt metal in the later 19th century. Most 19th-century examples arc of eight-day duration. After c.1870 many cheaper versions of ormolu clocks were made of inferior gilt speller.
• CASES most have ornate cases made of bronze or marble, decorated with rich ormolu mounts; mass-produced marble- or black-slate-faced mantel clocks were common from the late 19th century and are generally inexpensive
• DIALS most arc round and convex, with ormolu surrounds; gilt-metal hands were used c.1800;
later examples have blued-steel hands
• COLLECTING some clocks were produced with matching pairs of candelabra or vases, designed to stand either side of the clock on the mantelpiece; a complete set is desirable and enhances value

19th Century Victorian English Busts and Statues
Parian, or “statuary porcelain”, was possibly the most significant ceramics development in Britain during the Victorian period. Named after the Greek island of Paros for its resemblance to the white marble quarried there, parian was a bone china that contained a high degree of feldspar, which meant that it did not need a separate glaze. Decorative wares could therefore be displayed without becoming dirty, unlike earlier biscuit, or unglazed, white porcelain, which was coarse and difficult to clean. First made in the 1840s, parian was capable of being moulded without losing any detail, with the result that contemporary sculptors could have their works successfully reproduced for the mass market. Parian was also made in the USA at the United States Pottery in Bennington, Vermont.
IMPORTANT MAKERS
There remains Uncertainty as to which factory invented parian. The firms of Minton & Co. (est. 1793) and Copeland (1833-1933), both in Stoke-on-Trent, claimed to have discovered the secret; both were making parianlike porcelain by the mid-1840x, and at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London they displayed an extensive range of parian subjects. Other famous makers included Royal Worcester (est. 1862), Coalport (est. c.1796), and Wedgwood (est. 1759), all of whom made a range of wares, figures, and busts, while Wedgwood also made impressive, large figure groups. Smaller portrait busts were the speciality of Robinson & Leadbeater (est. early 1860s), in Hanley, and others were made by the firm of Goss ( 1858-1940), in Stoke-on-Trent. Parian dominated English porcelain production for display objects for about 40 years, and a great deal survives.
PORCELAIN BUSTS AND STATUES
Models for parian were provided by eminent Victorian sculptors, whose full-sized statues could be reduced in size and reproduced in quantity for commercial sale without losing quality. The work of contemporary sculptors such as John Bell (1812-95), Raphaelle Monti (1818-81), and Sir Thomas Brock (1847-1922), together with famous Classical statues housed in museums, could be reproduced and sold to a wide public. A device known as “Cheverton’s
Reducing Machine”, patented by Benjamin Cheverton in 1844, was developed to allow subjects to be scaled down and cast in moulds for the ceramics factories. Busts were made of various subjects, including royalty, politicians, philanthropists, poets, composers, and
characters from antiquity. Figures ranged from meaningful allegories to barely disguised eroticism; for example, The Greek Slave, a controversial sculpture by the American sculptor Hiram Powers (1805-73), was displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and copied by Minton & Co. Many parian figures were made either for the Art Union of London or for the Ceramic and Crystal Palace Art Union, which were lotteries set up by philanthropic Victorians to raise funds for the arts; parian works were frequently offered as prizes. The manufacture of artistic parian gradually diminished in favour of the large-scale mass production of portrait busts, and little of any consequence was nude after c.1880.
• BODY fine, highly vitrified, generally pure white
• FINISH matt, semi-matt, or with a slight surface sheen
• PRODUCTION usually slip-cast, therefore quite light
• FORMS sentimental figures; figures Of politicians, royalty, and composers; literary, religious, and allegorical subjects; copies of famous Classical statues housed in museums; works by Victorian sculptors
• IMPORTANT MANUFACTURERS Minton & CO.,
Copeland, and Robinson & Leadbeater

Dress Accessories
Style and fashion were an important part of the Deco era. Styles changed drastically for women, reflecting a more practical and carefree or casual attitude toward life. The clothing from the Deco years chronicles that transition. The long, corseted gowns of the late Victorian period changed to the knee length skirt and flat chested “boyish” look of the 1920’s. Padded shoulders, tight skirts and baggy trousers followed in the late 1930’s and 1940’s. Although there were changes in men’s clothing, styles remained conservative compared to the trends which came about with women’s apparel.
Although time has been unkind to old garments, vintage Deco clothing is collectible, and there are dealers who specialize in fine examples salvaged from the period. Markets for this type of clothing are usually commercial or public, sold for store displays, museum exhibits or theatrical production rather than for individual use. But dresses, suits and coats made from the 1920’s through the 1940’s currently attract some of the teen and college age generations who enjoy actually wearing the outfits. Estate sales and thrift shops may yield some amusing examples at nominal prices.
While it may be difficult to find a piece of Deco clothing which one would care to wear, a number of items used to accessorize such clothing can be worn with enjoyment. Purses, compacts, belt buckles, dress clips and all types of jewelry are quite compatible with today’s fashion. Dress accessories offer the collector an intriguing and almost unending source of Deco designs. It is apparent from the items shown, as is true for most surveys of the era, that dress accessories were primarily confined to women’s articles. But cuff links, stickpins and watches, for example, were made in Deco styles for men.
Compacts are a product of the Deco age. These neat items made for checking or repairing one’s make up, slipped easily into a purse or evening bag. While most contained a bit of mirror and a cake of powder, some were made with lipstick cases, change holders and money clips as well. The most expensive are made of gold and silver, but lower priced varieties made of plated or enamelled metals and celluloid or plastic are also available. Although small in size, compacts exhibit striking Deco traits. Notice the Egyptian influence on two examples, one with hierglyphics and one with Egyptian figures.
Mesh evening bags made from enamelled metals by American manufacturers such as Whiting and Davis were in demand during the 1920’s. Small beaded and fringed bags were also popular accessories for the jazz age costume. Evening bags have become a special topic of collector interest and there are few bargains to be found. It is difficult to find one for less than $50. Large beaded
purses, like the one illustrated, made during the latter part of the era do not cost nearly as much.
Collections of compacts and evening bags can be framed or housed in glass cases to add attractive touches to a room. The same can also be done for much less money with buttons or belt and shoe buckles. These little adornments are sometimes overlooked, but they often created the Deco accent for a garment. Such pieces usually outlived the clothing and many have been saved. Rummage through a box of old buttons and buckles, a Deco souvenir may be found—even a pair of fancy garters!
Jewelry is undoubtedly the most fascinating of all dress accessories. Although gold, silver and precious stones were fashioned into Deco designs, costume jewelry was born and thrived during those years. Many pieces were made from glass, enamelled metals, bakelite, celluloid and plastic. Rhinestones, like other good pieces of Deco costume jewelry, are attracting wide interest today. It is obvious that Deco designs have had a great influence on contemporary costume pieces. Reproductions also are surfacing on antique and collectible markets. Buyers should inspectjewelry carefully to determine if an item is new. Prices for authentic “period” period” pieces are often comparable with those of good quality modern costume jewelry.

Trays, knife-boxes, cutlery-urns, wine coolers, cellarets, and buckets
TRAYS
Known as “voyders” in the Middle Ages, and conceived not only for clearing away but also for the presentation of delicacies and sweetmeats, the earliest utilitarian trays were probably made of pewter and wood. During the late 17th century lacquered trays imported by the East India companies and European japanned versions revolutionized tray designs. The fashion for tea in the early 18th century was directly reflected upon all of the component parts of the tea ceremony.
Modest trays in oak and elm also survive from the early 18th century, and from the 1750s mahogany trays first appeared in pattern-hooks. Thomas Chippendale (1718-79), in the first edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1754), included four designs for trays in the Chinese style with carved fret borders. However, this type is very rare, and Chippendale also supplied designs for plain rectangular trays. From the 1780s trays became increasingly decorative; they were made in mahogany, and other exotic timbers, were sometimes richly inlaid with shells, fan-parquetry, and foliate arabesques of stained fruitwood, or were painted. Late 18th- and early 19th-century trays were dominated by the fashion for japanning, particularly in papier-mache. A process long practised in Persia (now Iran), it was patented in 1772 by the firm of Henry Clay, in Birmingham, and later by Jennens &, Bettridge (active 1816-64) in London. Although papier-mache trays were often of scalloped form, rectangular trays with similar decoration were also fashionable, particularly those of tole peinte or polychrome-painted metal.
KNIFE-BOXES AND CUTLERY-URNS
Supplied in pairs as ornamental containers for silver and enamel-handled cutlery and designed to stand prominently on the serving table, knife-boxes came into fashion during the reign of George II ( 1727-60). Although the basic form, with a serpentine front, remained remarkably unchanged until the 1780s, George 11 knife-boxes were often ten covered with silk-velvet or shagreen, rather than veneered. From the 1760s knife-boxes in mahogany were made and are characterized by their bow-fronted form, hinged slope with drop-handles, and shaped bracket or claw-and-ball feet; they are unembellished apart from the cockbeaded or chequerbanded edges. The interiors, with slopes pierced with holes to display the cutlery in tiers, were also often silk lined but otherwise restrained. During the 1770s their decoration became increasingly lavish, with crossbanding and featherbanding, ebony-inlaid star parquetry to the slopes, and even stylized green-stained shell inlay – a motif particularly identified with North Country workshops – while the feet were discarded altogether in favour of Classical plinths. With the age of satinwood ( 1780-1800), elaborate Neo-classical embellishments became commonplace, and these were often complemented by richly engraved Sheffield plate Mounts. During the 1780s the vase-form knife-box, published by George Hepplewhite (d.1786) in The Cabinet-Maker and upholsterer’s Guide ( 1788-94), was designed to stand either set at each end of the sideboard or on pedestals. Made of satinwood or other light woods, the most refined examples were painted or inlaid with Neo-classical marquetry, arabesques, and simulated flutes, while the spring-loaded lids opened to reveal a chequerbanded interior with concentric tiers for the display of cutlery. During the early 19th century, knife-boxes and cutlery-urns became increasingly redundant both by sideboards with fitted drawers for storage, and by cutlery-urns being affixed to pedestals.
WINE COOLERS AND CELLARETS
As wine was an expensive luxury, receptacles for cooling and storing wine – whether of open-topped cistern (wine cooler) or lidded cellaret form, fitted with a lock, with divisions for bottles –were often lavishly decorated. Although metal and marble cellarets were first recorded in Britain in the late 17th century, it was not until the mid-18th century that lead-lined mahogany examples carved in the Rococo taste were made. Perhaps the most celebrated wine cooler is the Georgian form with a hexagonal or oval body, made of vertical sections of mahogany held together with two or three brass bands.
Neo-classical wine coolers and cellarets were usually conceived en suite with sideboards and pedestals, and were still predominantly of mahogany, although exotic timbers such as satinwood, padouk, and rosewood were also used. Although wine coolers with serpentine-channelled flutes to the body, which were directly inspired by Roman sarcophagi, and those with elaborate marquetry in a lighter style, continued to be made in the 1780s and 1790s, the most common examples were plainer mahogany- hooped with brass, with the lead-lined inside divided with partitions for the bottles. It is from this date that the majority of canted rectangular, circular, dome-lidded, and octagonal examples survive. Increasingly restrained in form and decoration, cellarets were rendered somewhat redundant by the inclusion of cellaret-drawers within designs for dining-room pedestals and sideboards.
During the early 19th century the lidded cellarets of Roman sarcophagus form, which were often of much larger size than its 18th-century predecessors, dominated Regency
pattern-books, and generally do not have stands. While firms such as Dillow (est. c.1730) of
Lancaster, Continued to supply cellarets in superbly figured
mahogany, from 1810 cabinet-makers under the
influence of George Bullock (c.1777-1818) increasingly promoted the use of indigenous English woods such as pollard oak and elm, frequently enriched with foliate marquetry arabesques in the “Buhl” style. However, from the 1830s this decoration became increasingly lavish, often combined with carving, and later Victorian cellarets arc often betrayed by their squatter, heavier proportions.
PLATE-BUCKETS AND PEAT-BUCKETS Plate-buckets are distinguished by their one-dished side that enabled servants to remove plates easily and straight-sided, or even polygonal form. Inspired by the need to ferry- plates the long distances from the kitchen to the dining-room, and usually made in pairs, plate-buckets were initially intended to be placed near the fire to keep the plates warm. The plate-bucket lent itself easily to embellishment and carving with pierced Gothick arcades, Chinese blind fretwork, and even marquetry inlay in the Neo-classical style; plain types were also made. The role of the plate-bucket was superseded in the late 18th century by the warmers enclosed within dining-room pedestals, and thus plate-buckets became increasingly plain, purely for use by servants for carrying china to the dining-room. The “peat-bucket” is an Irish term for a container traditionally thought to have been used for carrying peat to the fireplace. However, this is now thought to be unlikely as the bucket and peat together would have been very heavy indeed. It is now thought that they were used for carrying any number of items, including oysters. Although buckets are usually considered an English form, 18th- and 19th-century ones from The Netherlands arc among the most common found today, and can be distinguished from their English counterparts by their slightly smaller proportions, ribbed tapering bodies and, most characteristically, by the alternating use of light fruitwood and mahogany to give a streaked effect to the bodies.
• TRAYS 18th-century mahogany trays are rare; those that exist are often made from the leaves of old dining-tables; papier-mache trays may suffer from craquelure and
flaking; the best papier-mache examples have mother-of-pearl inlay.
• KNIFE-BOXES many have had the insides removed so that they could be converted to other uses – often as writing-cases in the 19th century; a premium is attached to those that retain their original fitments; examples with shell inlay sire usually from the North Country and Scotland; pairs of cutlery urns are very desirable.
• WINE COOLERS rare examples are those from the 18th century of carved mahogany or walnut.
• PLATE- AND PEAT-BUCKETS these are faked in huge numbers, often from old timber; look out for indications of consistent old damage, shrinkage, and seams to the brass bands, and beware of suspicious stains.

Screens
The earliest known screens were made in China, but they are recorded in Europe from at least the Middle Ages and regularly mentioned in 15th-century inventories. It wa
until the coming of electricity that their role in the household changed dramatically, from temperature regulator to decorative art form.
TYPES OF SCREEN
Screens developed from sheer need; until recently, draughts and the excesses of heat from open fires were a way of life in every region where the chills of winter were felt. A number of pieces of furniture were developed to combat these problems — the wing armchair enclosed the sitter and helped him or her to keep warm, and settles, Often curved and with solid backs,
draughts and contained the heat.
However, the most versatile piece of
furniture was the folding screen. It could
be large with hinged leaves, sometimes up
to 12 in number and occasionally even
more. It was practical because, however
large, it could easily be folded and stored
away. Alternatively, a small screen with
an adjustable panel could protect a localized area from the heat of the fire. The screen’s place was at the heart of the household, so its quality openly reflected the status of the owner. Screens were therefore made of a variety of materials, from wood to leather and the most
expensive and decorative cloths. They could also be made of wicker: one featured in the painting The Virgin Child before a Firescreen (c.1440; National Gallery, London) by a follower of the Flemish artist Robert Campin. It shows the Virgin sitting on a low settle, with her head framed halo-like against a circular wicker screen placed before a fireplace.
LACQUERED AND JAPANNED SCREENS
The voyages of discovery opened up the trade routes with the East, and the East India companies were set up to foster this business. By the mid-17th century trade in Oriental curiosities with China and japan established a taste for the East, which spread and had an enduring impact on furniture ornament and design.
China and Japan had long enjoyed a tradition of sophisticated workmanship. In the West there was a fascination with their blue-and-white porcelain, but furniture was also imported into Europe. The screen Was an important feature of the Oriental interior.
There the room settings were highly formalized, and in Japan, particularly, solid pieces of furniture were few. Screens were used as room dividers, gave privacy when required, and protected against draughts. They were also designed to be easily movable and, therefore, were ideal for export. The flow to Europe rapidly increased, as Oriental screens translated well to the European interior. More importantly, they gave broad displays of sought-after Oriental lacquer and ornamentation. Chinese lacquer screens were known as “Coromandel” or “bantamwork” screens in the West. However, the demand for lacquer soon outstripped supply; Oriental screens are mentioned in the inventories of every great house between 1700 and 1750. True Oriental lacquer could not be produced in Europe because its main ingredient was the sap of the Rhus vernicifera tree,
China and later introduced to Japan and to C South-East Asia, but not grown in Europe. Once the sap had been dried, it could be applied in coats, forming a crust so hard that it could be carved in relief. Colour, traditionally black, red, and aubergine, could also be added to the sap. In Europe an imitation based on shellac (made from insect secretions) was developed, known as japanning.
The drawing-room was not the only part of the house heated by open fires and so requiring screens. In the dining-room, people often made strenuous efforts to avoid being the ones who sat at table with their backs to the fire. To relieve scorching backs and protect the sitter, a screen of woven cane was introduced, which Could be hooked to the back of a chair and extend from the head to the seat. Such small, easily movable screens were also used as splashbacks on washstands to protect the walls.
The increasing introduction of enclosed fires,
and particularly of electricity and central heating, has made the screen almost redundant. Some fine-quality examples are works of art in their own right and survive as a result, but vast numbers have been put away and damaged through neglect. Some, for example scrapwork and leather screens, are rarely in complete and undamaged condition. A screen that is in its original state and not in need of repair is a real find.

• CONDITION leather and scrapwork screens are vulnerable – check that they arc complete, as repair is costly; if the panels on a screen display an incomplete picture, the value will be lowered; scrapwork screens in good condition are generally collectable
• ALTECATIONS some polescreens have been converted into tripod tables or music stands; check for strange proportions of the top to the stand; check that polescreen insets are contemporary to the frame
• COLLECTING fire- and polescreens are the least commercial – other types are more popular, and value is based on scarcity of material, rarity of maker, and quality; when wallpaper and paints replaced 17th-century wall panels of embossed Icatherwork, sections of the leather were often made into screens; on 19th screens, surrounds of giltwood are more desirable than gilt gesso, and less likely to be damaged

Antique Mirrors
Although German glassmakers produced convex mirrors from the 15th century, it was not until c.1500 that flat mirror plates were made using the broad-glass technique. This was invented in Venice, and revolutionized mirror production during the 16th and 17th centuries. The technique was later replaced by the plate-glass process first used at the Saint Gobain Glasshouse (est. 1693), in Paris, which allowed the production of larger and more even mirror plates. The Parisian makers enjoyed unchallenged prosperity until the late 18th century when the British Plate Glass Manufactory in London succeeded in manufacturing the large plates, which were so admired.
BAROQUE MIRRORS
Late 17th-century southern European mirrors are usually of rectangular form, with the central plates invariably “bevelled” or chamfered at the edges and contained within mirrored borders; the plates are often engraved or etched with mythological or pastoral scenes. The carved frames, either giltwood or silvered, usually display a Baroque exuberance, with acanthus, putti, masks, and cornucopias. Late 17th-century northern European mirrors were often conceived of as dressing mirrors, designed en suite with matching dressing tables and torcheres (candle stands). Of rectangular form, frequently with convex or cushion-moulded frames and usually crowned by shaped crestings, which was often similarly carved, these late 17th-century mirrors display remarkable inventiveness in their use of materials. The production of larger plates led to the introduction of pier glasses, placed between the window piers, the culmination of which are the mirrors in the Galerie des Glaces at the palace of Versailles. Although Paris’s lead was followed throughout Europe, particularly in Italy, Britain, and Germany, with mirrored borders often enriched with coloured or engraved glass, the plates were almost always divided.
EARLY 18TH-CENTURY MIRRORS
Although French mirror-frames during the Louis XIV (1643-1715) and Regence (1715-23) periods are usually of carved and gilded lime, pine, or oak, enriched with masks, dragons, and serpents, Charles Crescent (1685-1768), the cabinet-maker to the Duc d’Orleans, supplied his patron with vast pier glasses with gilt-bronze frames. These important mirrors, so widely copied in the 19th century, were also produced in Germany and Sweden. However, in the main, German, Swedish, and Danish mirrors made in the first half of the 18th century tended to follow the lead of Paris, although in execution the carving is often slightly flatter.
During the Queen Anne and early Georgian periods a distinctive national style emerged in Britain. Thus, although tall pier glasses with bevelled, divided plates, and mirrored borders, enriched the window-piers of the great aristocratic houses, their frames began to be decorated in gilt-gesso, with finely etched and pounced decoration. This gave way between
c.1725 and 1750 to the fashion for more architectural mirrors in the Palladian style advocated by Lord Burlington (1694-1753) and William Kent (c.1685-1748). These mirrors often display triangular or scrolled, swan-neck pediments, centred by the mask of a Roman god, an acanthus spray, or an armorial cartouche. Although often gilded or painted cream, these mirrors are most frequently of walnut, with gilding usually reserved for the carved architectural mouldings and cresting. In North America mirrors with simple frames topped with arched crests were popular from the 1730s. Carved and gilded openwork shells were often inserted in the crests.
CHIPPENDALE AND ROCOCO MIRRORS
In the 1740s Palladianism gave way to the Rococo style. Inspired by the designs of Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754) in France, Johann Christian Hoppenhaupt (b.1719), in Germany, and Matthias Lock (c.1710-65) in England, the new vocabulary incorporated flowers, acanthus, C-scrolls, and even chinoiserie figures from the 1750s. Even the mirror-plate was decorated, and rare examples survive where the surface was painted in oils with putti and floral garlands. But it was the Chinese who perfected this art with their reverse-painted mirror pictures, which were exported to England from the mid-18thcentury.
The name of Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) is synonymous with the carved giltwood mirrors of the 1750s and 1760s. His designs were influential throughout Europe, particularly in Portugal, and North America, and indeed served as the inspiration for several 19th-century revivals, most importantly those of the 1830s, 1840s, and c.1900.
Rococo “Chippendale” mirrors of the 1750s, as well as those in the early Neo-classical style of the 1760s, are usually of carved and gilded lime or pine, with filigree applied decoration, often of gesso or plaster applied onto wire;
papier-mache examples also survive. This technique, which enables great depth and quality in the detailing but is much more vulnerable, was superseded by gilt-composition, a plaster that is heavier, solid, and cold to the touch, but which could be cast in moulds. Early North American Neo-classical mirrors had narrow mouldings enclosing rectilinear or oval glass, while later examples became heavier. Often the frame was round, with a convex mirror based on patterns by Thomas Sheraton 1851-1806) and George Smith (active c.1786-1828).
DRESSING AND CHEVAL MIRRORS
It was not until the 17th century that dressing mirrors became free-standing. Initially they were made of silver or silver-gilt with trestle supports to the reverse, and designed en suite with lady’s dressing-sets. During the latter half of he 17th century Venetian and Parisian craftsmen supplied exquisitely decorated toilet mirrors of this design to the ladies of the court. By the early 18th century toilet mirrors had become sturdier, often standing on plinth bases, which contained drawers, the most sophisticated being serpentine wonted; numerous examples, particularly from Britain, survive – either of walnut and parcel-gilt or of plain or carved mahogany, and even with painted or japanned decoration. The mirrors were, however, principally rectangular, and it was not until the 1770s that oval dressing mirrors, later popularized by Sheraton, appeared. Regency and American Federal examples tend to be more rectangular, the plates often positioned horizontally, the decoration restrained in the extreme and often found only in the baluster-turning of the upright supports.
Cheval or standing dressing mirrors were first recorded in Paris at the court of Louis WE and the design was quickly adopted in Britain. Under Napoleon I cheval mirrors reached a new height of extravagance and luxury, being mounted in gilt-bronze with mythological deities, stars, and Classical reliefs, the plates often arched and supported by Classical columns. This style was copied throughout Europe, particularly in Britain, Austria, Germany, and in North America, and it was also revived in the later 19th century under Napoleon III (1852-70).
19TH-CENTURY MIRRORS
In North America mirrors with arched crests in the 18th-century style continued to be made in the early 19th century and had simple ornament, were narrower, and had less top-heavy proportions. The Empire style, which was associated with Napoleon then spread throughout Europe and then to North America. The pier mirrors of the early 19th century are characterized by the use of ebonized and giltwood decoration, often enriched with Classical reliefs and architectural motifs in gilt-composition (gilt-lead in Sweden), or perhaps framing a verre eglomise panel. The mirrors of the later 19th century were almost all inspired by precedents of earlier centuries. However, they usually betray their age by a slight misinterpretation or embellishment of earlier ornament. The Rococo Revival was superseded by the “Jacobethan” or 16th- and 17th-century Mannerist designs in the mid-19th 9th century; toward the end of the century both Neo-classical and Rococo styles prevailed and the revival mirrors of this period are frequently directly copied from published designs.
• MIRROR GLASS 18th-century glass tends to be fairly thin, with the bevelling soft and shallow, and the cutting uneven; 19th-century glass is thicker, the bevelling cut at an acute angle, and the cutting even; original glass is desirable, and if the glass is cloudy it may be possible to have it re-silvered; replacing glass should generally be avoided.
• FRAMES composition frames are vulnerable to damage and are less expensive than giltwood or silvered frames.
• COLLECTING “Chippendale” mirrors are notoriously difficult to date, particularly if they have been re-gilded and a discolouring wash has been painted on the reverse of the frame; 19th-century copies do, however, often betray themselves through a misunderstanding of motifs and ornament; Rococo Revival mirrors tend to have over-fussy decoration and heavier carving.

Bedside tables and washstands
Bedside tables and commodes, known as “night tables” in British 18th-century pattern-books, were first made in France during the second quarter of the 18th century. By the latter part of the century they were frequently supplied in pairs, one designed to conceal the chamber-pot, perhaps behind a tambour-fronted slide
or simulated drawer, the other to accommodate the basin for shaving and washing. These modest conveniences replaced the early 18th-century commode chairs – so frequently copied in the late 19th century, and betrayed so readily by their exaggeratedly deep friezes.
MID-18TH-CENTURY BEDSIDE TABLES
Known as tables de chevet, French mid-18th-century bedside tables were usually veneered in kingwood, tulipwood, and amaranth; provincial examples were made of fruitwood. Often decorated with floral marquetry, sometimes end cut across the grain – a technique particularly associated with Bernard van Risenburgh (c.1700-1765) and Pierre Migeon (1701-58) – Louis XV tables de chevet are distinguished by their waved galleried tops, pierced carrying handles to the sides, and cabriole legs, often with richly chased ormolu mounts. Extensively copied in Russia, Germany, and northern Italy, particularly in Genoa, they either supported two open tiers with marble tops or, on the most sophisticated examples, had lower tambour-fronted tiers, sometimes with simulated book spines, behind which the chamber-pots were concealed. Although this shaped rectagular form prevailed, Rococo tables de nuit of both kidney shape (a rognon) and oval form are also recorded, and these were inspirational to Swedish and Russian cabinet-makers in the second half of the 18th century.
ENGLISH NIGHT TABLES
The French fashion for night tables was adopted in Britain, and the basic form of the British commode had emerged by c.1760. Usually of mahogany, with waved or pierced galleried tops, they incorporate carrying handles above pairs of doors and shaped aprons. From the 1770s Neo-classical tables were restrained and firms such as Gillow (est. c.1730) of Lancaster, manufactured tambour-fronted night tables with only crossbanding, ebony, and boxwood lines or raised panels to enrich the flamed mahogany veneer. Usually fitted with leather or wooden casters, bedside commodes usually display galleried, plain tray-tops and tambour-fronted slides,
simulated drawers, which pull out to reveal the lidded pots, often set within oak frames. An improvement of the 1780s was the refinement of having “split” front legs, cut diagonally, which, when closed, appeared to be one, the front sections of these pulling out with the pot-cupboard drawer to provide support, as opposed to the more ungainly use of six legs that appears on less sophisticated pot-cupboards.
From the 1770s, as a result of the influence of Louis XVI taste, night tables became increasingly light in both form and colour. As a result, bow-fronted commodes, often with slender, turned, tapering legs, veneered in exotic timbers and inlaid with Neo-classical marquetry, emerged. Gradually the rather cumbersome and heavy pattern of the 1760s was also superseded by the growth in popularity of pot-cupboards. Far narrower than their earlier counterparts, late George III pot-cupboards usually have plain three-quarter galleried tops above a single doors or tambour-slides and stand upon elegant turned legs; this form was also widely manufactured in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
EARLY 19TH-CENTURY POT-CUPBOARDS
The early 19th century saw a renewed and vigorous revival of the designs of Classical antiquity. Napoleon I’s succesful campaigns in Egypt, poularized by Baron Vivant Denon (1747-1825) in his Aventures daps la base et la haute Egypte ( 1802), led to an explosion of Egyptomania, and this was further expressed by v Thomas Hope (1769-1831), Who simultaneously embraced ancient Greece in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration Executed from Designs by Thomas Hope (1807). Inevitably this renewed Neo-classical fashion was reflected in the design of pot-cupboards in the early 19th century. In France, therefore, firms of cabinet-makers such as Jacob Desmalter & Cie (est. 1767) in Paris manufactured mahogany pot-cupboards standing on plinths rather than on legs; these were sometimes battered or splayed, and mounted with Egyptian berms and crocodiles in ormolu.
In Germany, Austria, and northern Europe, the Empire style was interpreted in the designs of the Biedermeier movement from c.1815, and Biedermeier pot-cupboards are simlarly Classical in inspiration. Usually of mahogany, or indigenous woods, such as birch, Karelian birch, ash, or elm, they are enriched with ebonized and parcel-gilt decoration, perhaps with Egyptian-berm caryatids or lion’s-paw feet. Regency pot-cupboards in England also saw a return to the simple, clean lines and richly figured veneers of early Neo-classicism. The were made of mahogany,
often with only subtle, raised panel decoration. Perhaps the most famous design introduced at this time was the multi-purpose bedside steps; made by Gillow, and Usually of exceptionally good quality, they concealed the chamber-pot within the sliding first tread of the steps.
VICTORIAN COMMODES
During the 19th century bedside commodes and pot-cupboards became more utilitarian, and the discomfort of the early commodes, with their pull-out bases, was replaced by a comfortable and permanent, but still
disguised, seat. These metamorphic chests-of-drawers, first recorded c.1830 to 1840, were a huge improvement. Appearing on the outside to be plain chests, usually of walnut or mahogany, and standing on turned tapering feet, these chests of simulated drawers opened to reveal a fitted commode-chair. This design refinement was reflected in the quality of the interior, the commode no longer cheaply set within a carcase wood, such as pine or oak, but within a frame veneered with richly figured timbers such as satin-birch, amboyna, arid bird’s-eye maple. However, these luxurious Victorian bedside commodes, elaborate as they were, did not last; they were superseded by the widespread introduction of the water closet.
WASHSTANDS
Although basin-stands are recorded in the Middle Ages, it was not until the mid-18th century that washstands became pieces of furniture. Inspired by French prototypes and popularized by Thomas Chippendale ( 1718-79) in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1754-62), mid-18th-century washstands, often of mahogany, tend to have twin-flap square tops, the flaps opening from the centre to reveal a fitted interior with sunken bowl, dressing compartments, and a rising mirror that lifts up from the back. Although the earliest examples are plain, more elaborate examples, carved with Gothic ornament, or pierced fretwork angles in the Chinese manner, were made in the 1750s and 1760s, and these were gradually superseded by Neo-classical marquetry in the 1770s. In the 1790s corner-washstands, as featured in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book (1791-1802) by Thomas Sheraton (1751 1806), also appeared, and this pattern enjoyed great popularity in North America. This period also saw the emergence of multi-purpose washstands, such as that designed by Thomas Shearer, which contained a bidet below the dressing-drawer.
In the 19th century, washstands became larger; often they had rectangular tops hinged to the backs and fitted with mirrors on the inside, above central basins and further compartments. From the 1830s they became more practical in design, and are distinguished by wash-boards or splash-backs, which with the basin frame, was often made of white marble. Often conceived as part of a bedroom suite in the late 19th century, the washstand became very elaborate, with cupboards, drawers, and shelves that sometimes framed a toilet-glass. Frequently of satinwood, perhaps painted with flowers and Classical figures, Edwardian and late Victorian washstands were occasionally enriched with Arts and Crafts tiles.
• POT-CUPBOARDS mid-18th-century pot-cupboards arc extremely rare; pairs of pot-cupboards are among the most commercially desirable objects, and can command a huge premium; however, beware, as they have often been either matched together by later carving or embellished at a later date with elaborate marquetry.
• CHAMBER-POTS it is increasingly rare to find the original porcelain or earthenware pot, but this should not affect value.
• CONVERSIONS numerous commode sections or commodes have been converted later into drawers or chests-of-drawers; this should be reasonably obvious when examining the carcase and does not dramatically affect the value
WASHSTANDS many Victorian and Edwardian examples exist; originally washstands were fitted
with marble tops with holes cut through for the bowls to sit in – most of these have now been replaced with solid marble tops.

Pedestal and kneehole desks
Conceived as both dressing tables and bureaux, kneehole desks first appeared in France and The Netherlands in the second half of the 17th century. Since the 19th century, at least, they have been known as bureaux Mazarins after Louis XIV’s First Minister, Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-61). Early examples were commissioned by members of the French court as luxury items. Usually mounted with moulded brass borders and elaborate escutcheons or ormolu keyhole mounts, bureaux Mazarins of the late 17th century are most frequently made of brass-inlaid red tortoiseshell in the style associated with Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732).
WALNUT KNEEHOLE DESKS
At the end of the 17th century the bureau Mazarin kneehole desk was adapted and simplified into the kneehole “burry” or desk. Until c.1740 these were usually made of walnut or red walnut, although
provincial examples in oak and fruitwood also survive. The most sophisticated examples include those made of burr woods or of stained woods, simulating mulberry, and also “japanned” kneeholes, usually black or red. The most elaborate George I and George II kneeholes (1714-60) have both crossbanded and featherbanded decoration; the tops and sides are often quarter-veneered. The ever-larger kneeholes made under George III (1760-1820) were constructed in mahogany, often in the solid, with mahogany drawer-linings; they are often exotically decorated, and stand on shaped bracket feet, which replaced the earlier bun feet.
PEDESTAL DESKS
The introduction of pedestal desks – a predominantly British form – reflected the demand for large, freestanding desks, which were more comfortable to sit at than the kneehole desk. First made in walnut c.1720 to 1730, they became widespread in mahogany during the reign of George II. Late 18th-century desks usually have three drawers in the friezes; the pedestals are fitted with either drawers or folio cupboards, and stand on moulded plinths, often with hidden casters. Pine or oak examples tend to be painted underneath with a reddish wash, and Regency pedestal desks are also blackened. During the early I 9th century, exotic timbers, particularly rosewood, salamander, amboyna, and ebony, were used, and firms such as Marsh & Tatham of London enriched Regency pedestal desks with brass inlay. Reacting to this trend, the cabinet-maker George Bullock (c.1777-1818) championed the use of indigenous woods, particularly pollard oak and holly. This return to natural woods and utilitarian designs influenced the Victorian cabinet-makers, whose desks are distinguished by their squatter, slightly heavier form and plain wooden knob handles. More elaborate examples were produced in the late 19th century in satinwood and marquetry, or with painted decoration, by firms including Edwards & Roberts.

• BUREAUX MAZARINS late 19th-century copies often have inset leather tops instead of marquetry ones.
• KNEEHOLE DESKS crossbanding and featherbanding to the sides, brushing-slides, or fitted drawers add to their desirability; lacquered-brass handles (often replaced) arc a good indication of quality – the finest examples often have either engraved metalwork or elaborately pierced backplates; most examples have thin dovetailed drawer-linings in oak, but provincial kneeholes are Often made of pine; early provincial examples have different and cheaper stained timber on the sides.