Posts Tagged ‘Vienna’

CLOCKS, WATCHES AND BAROMETERS Bracket Clocks
Repeater clock by Edwardus East with signed and engraved
backplatc in cboniscd case 600 0
A three-train musical clock by Moore of Ipswich with eight tunes in ebony case with gilt metal mounts in mid-eightccnth-century style, 2 ft 2 in high 440 0
George III fruitwood clock by Recordon, late Emery, London, with painted dial and frets at side and front of case, 1 ft 2 in high 290 0
George III walnut clock, the dial signed Joseph Smith, Chester,
and of pronounced Continental character, 1 ft 6 in high 210 0
George III ebonised clock, the 7-in dial signed William Smith, with calendar and strike/silent dial. The movement is contained in an inverted bell-topped case, 1 ft 4 in high 190 0
Louis XV contra-boullc clock with enamel dial signed Darmezin, Paris, and movement signed Crepaux, Paris, in cartouche-shaped case, 3 ft 1 in high 190 0
Louis XV Boulle clock by Pcrrache, Paris, with an enamelled dial, the case surmounted by a youthful figure of Jove, richly mounted in ormolu, 2 ft 6 in high 170 0
George III mahogany clock by Massey, Bridge Road, Lambeth, the circular white-painted dial with a central calendar hand, 1 ft 4 in high 140 0
George III mahogany clock, the 7-in circular dial signed Lamb and Webb, London, with calendar and engraved backplate in bell-top case, 1 ft 4 in high 120 0
Mid-eighteenth-century veneered ebony clock signed John Small-wood, Lichfield, with pull quarter repeat, 1 ft 4 in high (later dial) 85 0
George III mahogany clock, the 8-in arched silvered dial signed Gravell and Tolkien, London, with engraved backplate and tic-tac escapement in broken arch-topped case, 1 ft 6 in high 60 0
Regency rosewood clock signed on dial John P. Smith, 1 ft 3 in
high 20 0
Carriage Clocks
Clock in gilt case by James McCabe, London 675 0
Repeating French brass clock with white dial signed Gibson
and Co Ltd, Belfast, 6J in high 68 0
French brass clock with white dial signed Rowel, Oxford, 4Ј in high
Repeating brass clock with white dial and glazed brass case, 5 in high
Gilt metal timepiece, the glazed case with pierced floral frets at the sides and front, 5 in high and with travelling case
Miniature silver-cased repeating clock with white dial. The case stamped J. Keller, 3J in high
Lantern Clocks
Brass clock with engraved copper dial and an alarm disk, 1 ft 1 in high
Late seventeenth-century brass clock, the dial engraved with flowers and with pierced dolphin cresting, 1 ft 3 in high
Longcase Clocks
Late seventeenth-century marquetry clock, the 11-in dial signed Robt. Williamson, London, with calendar aperture in a walnut case inlaid with shaped panels of birds and flowers, with a bullseye in the waist door and with spirally turned columns at the corners, 6 ft 7 in high (frieze of a later date)
Tall mahogany cased clock with chimes. The elaborately foliated brass dial with a silvered chaptered ring. The case inlaid with classic urns in coloured woods, the arched hood has brass spires and the waist has a bevelled glass door
A carved mahogany cased clock with a grotesque satyr mask to the hood over a brass floral scrolled dial. Westminster, Whittington and St Michael chimes, 7 ft 7 in
Mahogany clock made by Manley of Chatham
Eighteenth-century walnut clock with domed canopy and brass face, the movement by William Stapleton, London, 7 ft 4 in high
Walnut clock, the early eighteenth-century movement signed
Andr. Dunlop, London, the 12-in dial with chestnut and
flower spandrels, 7 ft 4 in high Georgian lacquer clock with brass face and striking movement.
The case, with ‘bullseye’ door, decorated with gilt chinoiseries
on a simulated tortoiseshell ground Eighteenth-century small clock by John Lee, Gookham; with
brass dial and foliated spandrels, in a black lacquer case
decorated with chinoiseries in red and gill
Mantel Clocks
An ormolu clock, the painted dial signed F. Linke, Paris, the movement in a glazed case in well chiselled ormolu with drapery, acanthus leaves and groups of fruit and ending in double cloven-hoof feet, 2 ft 11 in high
Bronze and ormolu mounted clock, the movement contained in a drum upon which is seated a Chinaman holding a parasol, the whole on the back of an elephant, 1 ft 4 in high
A French clock, inscribed Bonniere a Clermont, in a rococo porcelain case. The blue and gilt ground painted with musicians, lovers and flowers. On a similar stand
Louis XVI marble and ormolu clock, the striking movement with enamel dial signed Hessen. The arched architectural case with drapery festoon, pineapple finials, an urn and fluted columns, 1 ft 5 in high 110 0
Regency rosewood clock, the movement by Dwerrihouse &
Carter, Davies Street, 2 ft high 70 0
Philippe clock with glass panels in gilt metal case with corinthian columns and surmounted by an urn. Decorated with coloured enamels, 18 in 68 0
An Empire marble clock mounted in ormolu, the movement with outside count-wheel, the dial surmounted by a white marble urn and suspended between fluted columns capped by ormolu pineapples, 1 ft 4 in high 55 0
Watches
Gentleman’s 18-carat gold half-hunter watch 20 0
Early nineteenth-century verge watch by D. Nevern, in a tor-
toiseshell case, the dial enamelled with a wharf-side scene 13 0
Gentlemen’s 18-carat gold pocket watch by George Harvey,
Wellington 13 0
George III verge watch by William Fowler, London, in a silver
case, London 1783 9 0
Nineteenth-century verge watch by Nicoll, Great Portland
Street, in a tortoiscshcll case 7 10
Barometers
Early   Victorian   mahogany  stick   barometer  by  E. Davis,
Shrewsbury, 3 ft 3 in high 70 0
Regency rosewood inlaid with mother-o’-pearl banjo barometer
and thermometer 46 0
George III mahogany banjo barometer and thermometer with engraved scales by A. M. Ortelli, Godalming, the case outlined with fruitwood lines, 3 ft 2 in high 38 0
Georgian mahogany stick barometer and thermometer by Rout-ledge, Carlisle 38 0
Mahogany stick barometer and thermometer by Salmon, Bath 38 0
A Regency rosewood banjo barometer and thermometer by
Aprile Sudbury 34 0
Early nineteenth-century mahogany banjo barometer by Lione and Tarone, London, with a thermometer and the case inlaid with Prince of Wales plumes and a whorl pattern, 3 ft 2 in high 30 0
Early nineteenth-century mahogany banjo barometer by A.
Celti, Reading, the case inlaid with shells, 3 ft 2 in high 22 0
SILVER
(Troy weight: 20 pennyweights [dwt] = 1 ounce [oz])
Baskets for Bread, Cakes, Fruit, Sugar or Sweetmeats George II oval-shaped cake basket on four cherub mask and scroll feet. The sides pierced and engraved with flowers and
scrolls and the base engraved with a coat-of-arms, by Paul
Crespin, 1753, 62 oz 3,600 0
George III oval pedestal cake basket by John Ernes, London,
1804, 24 oz 10 dwt 400 0
George III boat-shaped pedestal sugar basket with engraved border, reeded edge and swivel handle by Peter, Ann and William Bateman, London, 1793, 5 oz 10 dwt 320 0
Victorian oval basket, the pierced panels embossed with beading
and garlands, London, 1895, 19 oz 62 0
Candelabra and Candlesticks
Pair of George I dwarf table candlesticks, the baluster shafts upon square terraced bases by William Darkeratt, 4J in high, London, 1726, 20 oz 1,500 0
Victorian tabic candelabra with two tiers of six scrolled branches issuing from a bold Corinthian column supported on a square terraced foot, with neo-classic rams’ mask and husk swags by R.H. over R.H., London, 1877, 30 in high 355 0
Pair of George III table candlesticks, the tapering baluster shafts upon half-fluted circular bases by John Green & Co, Sheffield, 1800 195 0
George III chamber candlestick and snuffer, the gadrooned edge
witli shell motif by William Cafe, London, 1761, 12 oz 130 0
Casters
Garniture of three George II vase-shaped sugar casters of plain
design by John Delmester, London, 1758, 15 oz 10 dwt 930 0
William IV Scottish baluster caster engraved with a crest above floral decoration on a granulated ground, by Elder & Co, Edinburgh, 1832, 4 oz 7 dwt 90 0
George III baluster caster with pierced cover and wrythen
finial, by Thomas Satchwell, 1780, 2 oz 4 dwt 85 0
George III vase-shaped caster the otherwise plain body engraved with contemporary crest. The mark of George Giles struck over another, 1783, 2 oz 8 dwt 65 0
Coasters—Wine
Set of four partly fluted circular coasters with gadrooned rims and engraved with crests by John & Thomas Settle, Sheffield, 1818 410 0
Pair of George III coasters with pierced waved galleries, London, 1794 270 0
Pair of William IV circular-shaped wine coasters with foliate borders and crested silver bosses to the wood base, by Henry Wilkinson & Co, Sheffield, 1831 150 0
Pair of George III coasters with beaded rims, the pierced sides stamped with arcading, urns and laurel festoons, maker’s mark missing, 1794 100 0
Coffee Pots
George I small plain cylindrical coffee pot with octagonal spout and low domed cover with baluster finial, by Paul De Lamcrie, London, 1725, 11 oz 3 dwt 1,900 0
George II baluster coffee pot, plain with foliate decorated spout, wood handle and hinged domed lid, probable maker Fuller White, London, 1759, 21 oz 1,350 0
Late George III tapering cylindrical coffee pot, the plain body engraved with contemporary armorials and a crest, by Peter, Ann and William Bateman, London, 1802, 35 ox 2 dwt 1,200 0
George IV coffee pot, vase-shaped, with moulded bands at the neck and waist, leaf-capped scroll handle and foliate finial on lid, by Pearce & Burrowes, London, 1826, 22 oz 5 dwt 210 0
Victorian vase-shaped coffee pot engraved with key pattern
decoration, London, 1872, 24 oz 135 0
Cruets
George II five-bottle cruet frame on four shell feet with detachable baluster handle. Five cut-glass silver-mounted bottles. By Jabez Daniel, 1750, 28 oz 7 dwt 105 0
George III cruet frame for six bottles with reeded loop end handles, ring holders, on four feet. Five glass bottles all chipped, one broken. By Henry Chawner, London, 1792 16 0
Cups and Goblets
Elizabeth I secular wine goblet, the bowl decorated with tulips and strapwork motifs, on a slender baluster stem and circular fluted foot, London, 1593, 5 oz 10 dwt 2,000 0
Pair of George III goblets of plain design, probably by William
Sumner, London, 1800, 20 oz 520 0
Pair of George III two-handled pedestal challenge cups and covers with reeded decoration and urn knops, by Samuel Hcnnell, London, 1806, 32 oz 5 dwt 400 0
George III tumbler cup engraved with armorials, gilt interior and the base with contemporary initials. Possibly by John Garter, London, 1766, 2 oz 1 dwt 150 0
Victorian wine cup, the beaker-shaped bowl and pedestal base cast and chased in low relief with grape-laden vine tendrils, by Hunt and Roskell, London, 1875, 10 oz 1 dwt 52 0
Cutlery—Canteens
George III fiddle thread pattern table silver: 24 tablespoons, 36 table forks, 12 dessert spoons, 12 dessert forks, 12 teaspoons, 6 sauce ladles, 2 soup ladles, 1 marrow scoop, majority by Richard Crossley, 1798/1800/1804, 146 oz 9 dwt 750 0
Victorian fiddle pattern table silver: 12 tablespoons, 12 table forks, 12 dessert spoons, 12 dessert forks, 6 teaspoons, 2 salt spoons, by George Angell, London, 1863, 116 oz 14 dwt 260 0
Cutlery—Forks Dessert
Twelve George I  three-pronged  forks with crest, different
makers, 1718, 14 oz 1 dwt 1,500 0
Twelve George IV fiddle pattern forks by James Scott, Dublin,
1822, 15 oz 75 0
Six George III fiddle pattern forks by G.D., London, 1794,
8 oz 14 dwt 65 0
SOME AUCTION ROOM PRICES ! 1968-69
Cutlery—Forks Table
Twelve Queen Anne three-pronged forks engraved with a crest,
by David King, Dublin, 1708/10, 28 oz Four George II three-pronged forks engraved with two crests,
1755, 7 oz 18 dwt Eleven Victorian fiddle shell pattern forks by George Angell,
1857/61, 36 oz 16 dwt
Cutlery—Forks Toasting
George III fork with knopped shaft and scrolled handle, probably by R. Preston, London, circa 1767, 7 oz 10 dwt. 17f in long
George III fork with knopped shaft and scrolled handle by John Deacon, London, circa 1775, 8 oz. 19i in long
Cutlery—Knives
Forty-eight Victorian table knives and twenty-four dessert knives, kings pattern, steel blades by J.A. or T.S., 1884
Twelve eighteenth-century dessert knives, the multi-faceted bloodstone handles with knopped urn finials and mounts engraved, the scimitar blades of steel. Circa 1700, (Some handles cracked)
Cutlery—Ladles
Four George III sauce ladles, crested Old English pattern by
Hester Bateman, 1783, 5 oz 19 dwt Pair of George III sauce ladles with ribbed and punched beaded
bowls, by Michael Keating, Dublin, circa 1780, 2 oz 16 dwt
Cutlery—Spoons Dessert
Nine engraved spoons, seven by William Soame, 1741, two 1748, 12 oz
Ten Hanoverian spoons engraved with crest, 1760, 11 oz 5 dwt Cutlery—Spoons Serving
Pair of George III Old English pattern spoons by Steven Adams,
London, 1772, 5 oz 15 dwt Pair of Victorian spoons by George Angell, 1854, 10 oz 14 dwt
Cutlery—Spoons Table
Six George I Hanoverian pattern spoons with rat-tail bowls
by Charles Jackson, 1723, 11 oz 2 dwt Six George III Old English pattern spoons with contemporary
initials J.G. by Hester Bateman, 1780, 11 oz 17 dwt
Cutlery—Spoons Tea and Coffee
Six William IV ‘bright-cut’ spoons, 1836, 3 oz 7 dwt Eight George IV fiddle shell pattern spoons by J. McKay, Edinburgh, 1827, 4 oz 8 dwt

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Regency style of cutting can be
regarded as the classical standard of
British cut glass. It was not long to survive,
however, for in the new designs of 1825-30
there was a change from mitre-cutting to
flat-cutting or surface slicing in a vertical
pattern, as opposed to the horizontal
patterns of previous years. Horizontal
bands of diamonds were replaced as
decoration by a vertical arrangement of
broad hollow flutes, ‘pillared’ flutes, or flat
vertical facets. The essentials of this new
style can be seen in the pattern drawings
of about 1830 of Samuel Miller, foreman
cutter at the Watcrford glass-works in
Ireland. The style may have started in the
cutting shops of Birmingham. Apsley
Pellatt at the Falcon Glasshouse in South-
wark, London, was producing vessels with
vertical arrangements of fine diamond
panels about 1820. The decanter illus-
trated shows pillar-cutting of about the
toco’s.
The broad-fluted style of cutting was
international, with overtones of the early
18th century, and was especially associated
with the Budermeter glass of Central
Europe. About the same time as this style
of cutting appeared in England, the shape
of glass became more angular and straight-
sided, which was suitable for the new form
of decoration. Decanters, particularly,
changed from the barrel shape to a
cylindrical shape with vertical sides. This
remained the characteristic style of the
1830’s and the early 1840’s. Some elabora-
tion on the style took place on the better
pieces so that flutes would have multiple
profiles and would alternate with panels of
mitre-cutting. Arched patterns became
fashionable around 1840; often complex
in detail, they still retained the strongly
vertical tendency of style. The decanter
illustrated is a good example of the arched
decoration of the 1840’s, with mitre-
cutting enclosed by the arches.
CUT-GLASS DECANTER
By Apsley Pellatl, England, 1851
Ht. 311 mm (12-25 11,1
During the 1830’sand 1840’s glass-makers
in England began to appreciate once more
the curves and rounded shapes one could
attain with glass. Water carafes and
decanters began to have spherical bodies,
and champagne glasses with the new-
hemispherical bowl were introduced.
Wine-glasses now had ogee-shaped and
bill-shaped bowls, and cutting consisted
of plain facets running through from the
bowl to the stem. The spherical carafes and
decanters were often cut with ‘printies’ or
rows of large shallow facets. The decanter
illustrated, made by Apsley Pellatt in
London in 1851, has these rounded
hollows on the body of the vessel. Occas-
ionally heavy mitrc-cutting was used, but
the tendency was to decorate these boldly
curving shapes with engraving as opposed
to cutting. The period of common use for
these shapes in England coincided with the
eclipse of the technique of cutting in the
1860’s and 1870’s.
CUT-GLASS DECANTER
England, about 1850. lit. 381 mm (15 in.)
The Glass Excise in England was removed,
after much agitation, in 1845. Glass could
now be made to any thickness without fear
of taxation. One result was a revival in
interest in deep mitre-cutting, where the
glass was thicker and the cutting deeper
than ever before. The decanter illustrated
is a good example of this. Large-scale
mitre-cutting was to be a feature of this
mid-ioth century work. Intricate curvi-
linear designs became more common, and
the actual shapes of the vessels were freer
and had more variety. Contemporary
engravings illustrated much of the intri-
cately cut glass on display at the Great
Exhibition of 1851. Objects that have
survived to the present day show that the
glasses were not quite the ‘prickly mon-
strosities’ they appeared to be in 19th-
century engravings. Mention should be
made of the firm of F. & C. Osier of
Birmingham, who produced enormous
cut-glass centrepieces for this and other
exhibitions, and for eastern potentates
CUT-GLASS BOWL.
Decorated by E. Hammond, Stevens & Williams,
England, about 1895. Diam. 419 mm (16-5 in.)
After the 1851 Exhibition, cut glass was
largely disregarded for many years in
England. During the later 1850’s, 1860’s
and 1870’s, spherical vessels with en-
graved decoration were the fashion. Some
cut glass was always made in this period,
but without any great originality of
thought so far as the design was concerned.
Pressed glass imitations of cut glass also
spurred the reaction against real cut glass.
The intellectual set were against it on
aesthetic grounds from the middle of the
century. In John Ruskin’s words ‘all cut
glass is barbaric’ (Stones of Venice Vol. II
(1853)). Glass fashions at this period were
more or less international, so the eclipse of
cut glass also took place in Central Europe,
France and the U.S.A. at the same time.
However, it came internationally to the
fore again in the 1880’s and 1890’s. In the
pattern books of British manufacturers for
that period the new designs show cutting
as elaborate as was technically possible.
CUT-GLASS BASKET
Stevens & Williams, England, about 1880
Ht. 175 mm (688 in.)
Glass-cutters in England in the 1880’s and
1890’s aimed at a mathematical precision
in their work. Technical improvements
helped them to achieve this, so that even
shapes that were difficult to decorate with
cutting, such as the cut-glass basket
illustrated, became a commercial proposi-
tion. Cut-glass objects that aspired to lesser
heights were square-section toilet bottles
and whisky decanters with ball stoppers,
which were decorated all over with dia-
mond mitre-cutting. Cut glass was looked
upon as the ‘old legitimate trade’ by glass-
makers, and tended to a conservatism in
design, yet the variety of new shapes in
these years was in line with the freedom
of the fancy-coloured glassware that was
being produced, This decoration became
once more the symbol of social and
material success, and was much patronised
by the middle and upper classes. Pressed
glass imitations were no longer the threat
they had been.
DECANTER IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH CUT
DECORATION
Bakewell, Page & Bakewell, Piltsburgh, U.S.A., 1825
The earliest known specimens of American
cut glass date from 1824, although evi-
dence does exist to indicate that cutting
may have been practised even earlier than
this date. Motifs that were used exten-
sively were flutes, panels, stars and plain
geometric bands. The cut decoration was
hand-polished on wooden wheels, which
gave it a softer lustre than that given by the
later high-speed wheel polishing or acid
bath. North American glass factories that
produced cut glass in the early 19th
century were the Bakewell (Company of
Pittsburgh, the New England Glass Com-
pany, and the Boston and Sandwich Glass
Company. By 1830, the American glass
factories were producing enough glass to
encourage the government to stop foreign
imports, and in that year a high Federal
tariff was levied against imports from
Europe. The Baldwin Bill severely limited
imports, resulting in a boom in the
American glass industry.
COVERED VASE IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS WITH RED
FLASHING AND CUT DECORATION
Probably the New England Glass Company, U.S.A.,
about 1845. Ht. 756 mm (2975 in.)
The new tariff laws of 1830 made the
manufacture of fine tableware in America
especially profitable, and by 1840 at least
81 glass-houses were in operation. In West
Virginia, in 1864, a new glass metal was
developed. Instead of the expensive and
brilliant lead glass, a less costly soda-lime
glass was developed, which although it did
not have the ring or rich appearance of lead
glass, was admirably suited to the great
variety demanded by the American public.
With the introduction of this new metal,
American cut glass was even more threat-
ened by cheaper pressed glass imitations.
Cut glass manufacturers were driven to
using the pressed techniques, or else to
producing cut-glass items that could not
be duplicated on the pressing machine. In
this middle period of American glass-
making (1830-80) cutting continued the
use of the flute, cross-hatching, fan, and
diamond motifs, though with a greater
profusion than in the earlier period. All the
glass, however, subordinated decoration
to the shape of the glass.
SEGMENT OE PI-ATE IN CLEAR COLOURLESS GLASS
WITH CUT DECORATION
T. G. Hawkes& Co., U.S.A.
The ‘brilliant’ period of American glass-
making (c. 1880-1915) was so called be-
cause of the fashion for brilliant cut glass,
which became a symbol of social prestige,
its opulence admirably suited to the
formality of the age. The deep-cut patterns
favoured motifs such as the mitre, the fan,
the notched prism, the single star and the
‘hob-star’. A very brilliant lead glass was
used which, in conjunction with the deep
cutting, produced an effect of extreme
richness and crackling brightness which
has to be seen to be fully appreciated. From
the beginning the glass-cutters tended to
cover most of the’surface of the piece with
their decoration. After the turn of the
century the embellishment became even
more elaborate, and the many firms vied
with each other in creating complicated
patterns, completely subjugating form to
ornament. Social and economic factors led
to the manufacturers pricing themselves
out of existence after World War I.
VASE WITH CUT DECORATION IN BLUE-GREEN GLASS
CASED WITH COLOURLESS GLASS
Use Schargc-Ncbel, Germany, 1064
Ht. 208 mm (82 in.)
The heavy, clear colourless glass that was
created in the Bohemian-Silesian area in
the late 17th century provided the stimulus
for a spectacular development in the art of
cutting as well as engraving. Glass so
decorated was soon being produced in all
the German-speaking countries, and by
the 18th century was being exported all
over the world. In the 19th century the
Bohemian factories adopted the English
style of heavy cutting with great success,
and even today cut wares form a large part
of their export wares. Bohemia has pro-
vided the finest cutters and engravers for
countries which have a less firm tradition
in glass-making. Modern German glass
shows the same quest for simplicity which
is noticeable in Finland, Sweden and
Denmark, and the glass-makers have
returned to the basic qualities of glass and
glass-blowing. This is reflected in the
simple lines and sensitive cutting of the
vase illustrated. It is in bluish-green glass
with a clear, colourless casing, the cut
decoration forming a window-like pattern.
VASE WITH  DECORATION
By Pavel lllava, Czechoslovakia, 1959
A fresh stylistic impulse reached the glass
factories of Bohemia in the first decade of
the twentieth century, which was to change
their traditional attitudes to decoration.
The impulse came from Vienna, where the
architect and designer Josef Hoffmann
(born 1870) had become a powerful influ-
ence. He was an early pioneer of a Func-
tionalist style in decoration and advocated
the use of basic geometric figures like the
square and circle for designs. Through his
work at the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule
(Viennese School for Applied Arts) where
he taught, he popularised heavy, angular
forms. His style of purely geometric
ornament was transmitted to the Bohemian
glass industry by way of the schools for
glass-making and decoration in Haida and
Steinschonau. After the political revolu-
tion in 1948 the tradition for Bohemian cut
crystal continued, though softer patterns
were favoured over the old rigid cut-glass
designs. Pavel Hlava (born 1924) is best
known for his cut and engraved glass.
The Techniques of Taking Away
DISH WITH FACET-CUTTING AND ‘DIAMOND-POINT-
ENGRAVING
Germany (exported from Egypt ?), 2nd century A.D.
Ht. 6t mm (25 in.)
Dxamnnd-Potnl Engraving: Kngraving
glass with a diamond point was a technique
practised in Italy from before the middle
of the 16th century. Centuries earlier than
this, during the period of the Roman
Empire, engraving in the same style was
being produced. Some sharp instrument
not unlike a diamond point must have been
used; the results arc rather rougher, but
the similarities in technique cannot be
denied. ‘The first instance of this type of
engraved bowl was found in a grave of the
late 1st century A.D. on Siphnos in the
Aegean. However, it is not until the later
2nd century A.D. that a school of such
work can be recognised. The pieces are
colourless, clear glass bowls bearing myth-
ological and genre scenes in facet-cutting
with ‘diamond-point’ engraving for the
details. Many of the bowls have Greek
inscriptions giving the names of the
persons depicted, and all have a curvilinear
engraved band, usually just below the rim.
SEGMENT OE PLATE ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND-POINT
Willi GILDED AND FILIGREE DECORATION
Venice, mid-ihthcentury, Diam. 275 mm(10s in.)
Venetian cristallo glass, with its brittle
soda-lime constitution, was particularly
suited to the technique of diamond-point
engraving. When the diamond point was
pressed against the glass, this took the
impress with precision, yet still allowed
much treedom of movement to the en-
graver. However, although the technique
was practised in Italy, it was never as
popular there as on the glass of Venetian
type (Jacon de Vemse) found in other
European countries, notably in Holland
and also Hall-in-the-Tyrol. The diamond-
point engraving was usually used in con-
junction with gilded decoration. Dishes
with fantastic birds and long-tailed mon-
sters, as in the dish illustrated, were
produced, as well as those with coiled
foliage and coats of arms. The dish shown
is in clear, colourless glass with granular
gilding and a filigree network, as well as
diamond-point engraving. Dragons, birds
confronting a mask and crossed Papal
Keys form part of the engraved decoration.
GOBI II WITH DIAMOND-POINT INGKWING
Attributed to Jacopo Verzelini, Km/land, 1581
iii 210 mm (8-ag in.)
A group ol diamond-point-engraved glas-
ses has commonly been attributed to
Jacopo Verzelini (1522-1606), a Venetian
who came to England from Antwerp in
1571. In 1575 he obtained a privilege from
Queen Elizabeth I for a period of twenty-
one years which gave him the sole right to
make glasses after the Venetian style in
England, and forbade the importation of
foreign glass. In 1592, when he was
seventy, he gave up glass-making and
retired to Downe in Kent, where he died
at the age of 84. All the glasses ascribed to
him are large goblets of various proportions
with hollow moulded or gadrooned knops
on the stems. The goblet illustrated is in
clear, colourless glass with a slight greenish
tinge and diamond-point engraving on the
straight-sided bowl. The engraving on
Verzelini glasses has been attributed to
Anthony de Lysle, an engraver of pewter
and glass who is thought to have come
from France.
BOUQUET  IN DARK BLUE GLASS ENGRAVED WITH
11II DIAMOND POINT AND GILDED
Hall-in-the-Tyrol,
Ht. 202 mm (7-95 in.)
Diamond-point engraving was a charac-
teristic form of decoration at an important
glass-house at Hall-in-the-Tyrol. This
was started in 1534 and flourished in the
third quarter of the 16th century. It was
under the direction of Sebastian Hoch-
stetter, an Augsburg merchant, and event-
ually came under the patronage of the
Archduke Ferdinand. The articles pro-
duced by this works were in blue, green,
and clear and colourless glass, with dia-
mond-point engraving and (often dam-
aged) lacquer painting and lacquer gilding.
In the last third of the 16th century most
European glass-making countries were
producing glasses similarly decorated and
diamond-point engraved. Scrolled arab-
esque foliage, borders of chain or guilloche
pattern, hatched ‘ladder-borders’, and
borders of single formal leaves or of crest-
ing are usually found on all these glasses.
Obviously, these could not all be the work
of the same hand, but more probably the
work of a craftsman from Hall and his
pupils.
‘ROYAL OAK GOBLET’, ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND POINT
England, 1663. Ht. 143 mm (5-63 in.)
Few glasses survive from the period when
the Duke of Buckingham (1628-87) to°k
over from Sir Robert Mansell the making
of fine glass in the Venetian style in
England. The most important glass to
survive is this goblet, engraved in diamond
point with a portrait of Charles II
surrounded by engraved oak branches
with the inscription ‘Royal Oak’. There
are also portraits of Charles and his wife,
Catherine of Braganza and the Royal Coat
of Arms on the reverse, with the date 1663.
The metal is greenish-brown and the style
is facon de Venise. The glass was probably
made to commemorate the marriage of
Charles and Catherine in 1663. Another
famous glass of the same period is the
‘Exeter Flute’, probably made for the
coronation of Charles II. It stands 17
inches high, with a portrait of Charles II,
a sprouting oak stump and the inscription
‘God Bless King Charles the Second’ in
diamond point on the fluted bowl.
HOWL, DIAMOND-POINT-ENGRAED
Probably Savoy Glass-house, England, c. 1676
Hi. 98 mm (1-85 in.)
GOBI.r.T ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND POINT, SIGNED
‘WM. VAN HEEMSKERK’
Netherlands, 1686. Ht. 200 mm (788 in.)
(See alio colour photograph 22)
The bowl illustrated is one of a pair found
in 1037 aI Tring. They are known as the
‘Buggins’ Bowls’, since they depict the
arms of Butler Buggin of North Cray,
Kent, and his wife Winifred Burnett of
Leys, Aberdeen. They were married in
1676, the year that George Ravenscroft of
the Savoy Glass-house in London estab-
lished his glass-of-lead. However, it was
not until the following year that the Glass
Sellers’ Company allowed him to seal his
glasses with a raven’s head seal, so the
Buggins’ Bowls must have been made
prior to this. These heavy lead-glass bowls
have an almost modern look to them, due
to the absence of the intricate cutting that
was to become so characteristic of later
English lead glass. The diamond engrav-
ing on the bowls belongs to the tradition of
the past, since the technique is more
suited to the earlier thin-walled vessels of
the soda-lime type of glass.
In 17th-century Holland diamond-point
engraving was especially fashionable as a
pastime amongst amateurs, many of whom
became very skilled. Two famous names
are Anna Roemcrs Visschcr (1583-1651)
who decorated green glass Romers with
(lowers, fruit and insects, calligraphy and
inscriptions in Roman capital and Greek
letters, and Willcm Jacobsz van Hecms-
kerk (1613-92), a cloth merchant, poet and
dramatist of Leiden, who practised calli-
graphy on glass, mainly bottles, usuall\
adding his signature and the date. Exam-
ples of his work date from between 1648
and 1690. It is thought that much of the
diamond-point engraving found on Eng-
lish glasses of this period is probably
Dutch work. Up to this time Holland had
been producing Venetian-type cristallo
glass, but towards the end of the 17th
century she began to make ‘flint glass
ranglaise’. Possibly as a result, by the
1690’s wheel-engraving replaced diamond-
point engraving as the popular form of
decoration.
WINE-GLASS, ENGRAVED IN DIAMOND
POINT
England, mid-i8ih century
The group of vessels engraved in diamond
point known as ‘Amen’ glasses forms a
sub-division of the type called Jacobite
glasses. These were used to toast ‘The
Cause’ by the clubs and societies which
fostered Jacobite sentiments in England in
the 18th century. ‘Amen’ glasses arc
engraved in diamond point with a royal
crown, the cipher IR and RI entwined, and
the figure 8, together with either two or
four verses of the Jacobite anthem, ending
with the word ‘Amen’. They are essentially
private glasses, used for expressions of
loyalty to James and Prince Charles
Edward, and occasionally Prince Henry.
Some arc dated, like the Dunvegan Castle
glass, 1747, and the Mesham and the
Drummond Castle glasses, 1749. In the
1930’s some good forgeries of ‘Amen’
glasses were put on the market. Jacobite
glasses have been in such demand that all
the various types have been reproduced by
forgers.
GOBLET, STIPPLE-ENGRAVED BY FRAN.N GREENWOOD
Glass, English; engraving, Dutch, dated 1728
Ht. 210 mm (8-25 in.)
Stipple Engraving: For the technique of
stippling, grouped and graded dots were
engraved with a diamond point on the
surface of a glass object, the dots repre-
senting the highlights of the design. The
diamond point was set in a handle which
may have been gently struck with a small
hammer to produce a single dot on the
glass. In the better examples of stippling
the decoration can be compared to a deli-
cate film breathed upon the glass. Frans
Greenwood, a native of Rotterdam,
brought the art of stippling to its greatest
heights in the first half of the 18th century.
Born in 1680, he died in 1762, and was
apparently of English descent. He was
actually an amateur glass-engraver, who
from 1726 held an official post in Dor-
drecht. Nevertheless, he produced a quan-
tity of stippled glasses, often signed and
dated, and usually copying prints after
contemporary paintings. A typical example
is the light baluster glass illustrated, which
depicts a man holding a Rotner signed
‘F. Greenwood 1728′.
Glass, Knglish; engraving, Dutch, about 1790
Laurence Whistler, England, H15-;
Olhcr artists contemporary with Green-
wood also practised the art of stippling.
The best-known names are Aert Schou-
man, G. H. Hoolart and J. van den Blijk.
In the last forty years of the 18th century
stipple-engraving was done by numerous
artists, the most famous of them being
David Wolff in Holland, whose name has
become synonymous with the technique.
He was born in 1732 at ’s-Hcrtogcnbosch
and married in 1762 at The Hague, living
there until his death in 1708. The glass
illustrated shows the portraits of William
V of Orange and his wife, Fredcrica
Wilhelmina Sophia of Prussia. In the 19th
century Andries Melort of Holland (1779-
1849) copied in stipple on to Hat sheets of
glass the work of Dutch painters. D. H. de
Castro (d.1863), a chemist of Amsterdam,
revived the technique of stippling in the
Wolff manner in the mid-19th century,
and more recently E. Voet and others in
I lolland have used the technique.
Since the last World War Laurence Whist-
ler (b.1912) of England has concentrated
upon the art of stippling glass. His designs
are highly personal and imaginative. I le
started his engraving in an unusual way,
for during the 1930’s he used to amuse his
friends and himself by scratching lines of
poetry on windows in the Elizabethan
manner. Later he developed his skill to
engrave wine-glasses, each design being
specially made for a rich and aristocratic
person. At this stage he was employing
diamond-point engraving, frequently us-
ing genuine eighteenth-century wine-
glasses on which to practise his art. His
designs were of the Baroque tradition,
with emblems and allegorical allusions as
favourite themes. In his later work Whis-
tler has also designed the glasses them-
selves, which he decorates so that form and
decor become as one. Most of these glasses
are made for him at Whitefriars.

Art Nouveau Austrian Furniture: DISPLAY CABINET, DISPLAY CABINET, VIENNESE SERVING TABLE, CIRCULAR TABLE, BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD, LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS, BENTWOOD CHAIR, FOOTSTAND

ART NOUVEAU AUSTRIA
VIENNA WAS PARTICULARLY receptive
to the desire for innovation that swept across Europe in the last 25 years of the 19th century. This recognition of the need for change signalled the approaching demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed at the end of World War 1. Austria founded her own distinctive version of Art Nouveau, and established a new set of stylistic ideals.
The Vienna art establishment was challenged by a group of artists, architects, and designers, who, in 1897, founded the “Secession” under
the chairmanship of Gustav Klimt. This movement protested against the conservative teachings of its masters and campaigned for modernity,
heralding the beginning of one of Austria’s most creative periods.
BOLD DESIGNS
Sculptors and artists were active in the Secession, as were the architects and interior designers Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and Josef Maria Olbrich, and furniture designers Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. This enterprising group created bold furniture designs
for the new century. The Secessionists rejected the flamboyant naturalism of French Art Nouveau, preferring the linear furniture designs created by
the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (see pp..364-65), who was widely admired in Vienna. Austrian designers were more influenced by the British Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century than by French or Belgian Art Nouveau.
NATURAL INSPIRATION
The Secessionists were inspired by the geometry of nature. The curving,
sinuous plant forms popular with the French and Belgian Schools were rejected in favour of rectangles and squares. The Secessionists based their designs on a spare, geometric style, using simple shapes and linear patterns and new materials such as plywood, aluminium, and bent beechwood. Their furniture was designed for uncluttered interiors.
KEY FIGURES
The most distinguished Secessionists were Josef Hoffmann and Koloman
Moser, co-founders of the Wiener Werkstatte in 1903. Hoffmann created a purer, more linear version of the Art Nouveau style producing furniture in a simple, geometric form that was elegant and restrained, thereby forging a link between Art Nouveau and Modernism. Hoffmann was a designer for the firm established by the German,
Michael Thonet (see below).
More colourful than most Viennese furniture of the time, Kolomon Moser’s tables, cabinets, and chairs were linear but lavishly embellished. In fact,
decoration often took precedence over form, with luxurious woods, such as rosewood, used for veneers and decorative inlays.
ADOLF LOOS
The architect Adolf Loos was a key member of the Secessionist movement. Better known for his philosophical writings than his buildings, Loos wrote an essay, “Ornament and Crime”, in which he opposed the highly decorative style of Art Nouveau. Instead, he advocated that reason, not passion, should determine the way that people designed.
The Secessionist’s linear, geometric interpretation of Art Nouveau paved the way for the geometric shapes and spare style later favoured by the
Bauhaus and the Modern movement of the 1930s.
The embossed panels with
harpist and knight moths
were inspired by Klimt.
The case is oak, furnished and polished. with maple inlays.
The panels of the glazed door forma geometric pattern with the low shelf.
DISPLAY CABINET
This mahogany display cabinet is part of a dining-room set designed by Otto Wytrlik of Vienna. Note the straight lines of the design and the simple veneered walnut finish and brass fittings. c.1901.
DISPLAY CABINET
This oak cabinet was made in Vienna. It is almost square in shape and rests on a framed plinth. The glazed central door is flanked by flat-panel doors with geometric-pattern oak figuring and maple inlays. The open shelf in
the centre is flanked by brass panels embossed with a scene depicting a harpist and a knight. The design of these panels was influenced by Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. The embossed panels were probably created for this piece by Klimt’s brother, Georg. c.1905-10.
VIENNESE SERVING TABLE
This serving table is made of stained oak with brass handles. It has a removable top with glass inlay, and hinged sides with facetted glass panels to allow access to the shelves. c.1905.
CIRCULAR TABLE
This small, circular topped, beech bentwood table is of a very simple design with no additional decoration. It has two circular undertiers, and the piece stands on slightly splayed supports.
BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD
Designed by Adolf Loos, this functional cupboard is made from softwood, painted black and then varnished. It has distinctive twin two-over-three glazed doors and brass hardware. c.1908.
Wall mirror This piece is made from carved bentwood to create a simple, elegant effect. The wood has been steamed and then bent into shape, and this technique is a hallmark of Thonet’s furniture.
LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS
This round table and chairs were designed
and made by the company of Portois & Fix in
Vienna. The chairs are made of larch wood and the backs are carved in an elaborate floral pattern. The seats are upholstered in a floral
fabric. The table is made of nut wood, with a red-brown leather skiver on the top. The profiled legs are decorated with floral carving, and there is a shelf about halfway down the legs. All of the pieces bear the manufacturer’s stamp. c.1900-05.
BENTWOOD CHAIR
Armchair “No.25″, made by Mundus of Vienna, is made of dark-brown stained beech, with an open backsplat decorated with stylized, scrolling plant stems and a canework seat. c.1910.
FOOTSTAND
This three-legged footstand was designed by Adolf Loos. It has a mahogany-stained, beach top, which is carved into a bowl shape. The piece stands on splayed mahogany legs. c.1905.
In his small furniture workshop, Michael Thonet perfected the bentwood technique – marrying forward-looking, elegant design with industrial production – that ultimately exploded on the international stage. In 1849, Thonet established the Gebruder Thonet company, setting up a host of factories across Eastern Europe. In the following decades the company achieved tremendous growth and success as it paved the way for the industrial mass production of functional, inexpensive and robust furniture that contributed to the fashion for minimal ornamentation.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Thonet’s signature bentwood furniture
with its sinuous, elegant curves inspired a number of celebrated Art Nouveau architects and designers, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Henry van de Veldc. The reputation of the Thonet Brothers attracted a collection of visionary talents who designed furniture for the firm, among them one of the pioneering founders of the Wiener Werkstatte Josef Hoffmann, along with Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Koloman Moser, and Otto Prutscher.
GEBRUDER THONET
IN AUSTRIA, THE EVOLUTION OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE OWES MUCH
TO THE TRAILBLAZING DESIGNS OF CRAFTSMAN MICHAEL THONET.
Gebruder Thonet catalogue The catalogue for L`industrie Thonet bears the subtitle “From handcraftsmanship to mass production: bentwood furniture.”
Gueridon This small table is made of beech wood and consists of a plain top above an ornate bentwood base, decorated with oval motifs.

GERMANY TOOK LONGER to embrace
the changes in decorative arts seen elsewhere in Europe. This was largely because it was still preoccupied with the prevailing Historismus style,
where design was centred on an interpretation of historic elements.
However, through the influence of the Belgian designer Henry van de Velde – who worked on a number of high-profile projects in Germany –and the innovative work of gifted German artists such as Richard Riemerschmid, Peter Behrens, and Franz von Stuck, the Art Nouveau style became popular. This style was known in Germany as Jugendstil
(Youth Style) – a name associated with the popular review Die Jugend (Youth) – and it subsequently flourished throughout Germany during the last decades of the 19th century.
Jugendstil embraced both Symbolism and a preoccupation with nature and natural shapes. It was applied to everything from architecture to furniture and simple household objects. Each element had to work as part of a whole in terms of form and design: a concept called Gesamtkunstwerk. The aim was to make the home a unified, total work of art: practical, simple, dignified, and beautiful.
Many of the exponents of Jugendstil
were painters who turned to the decorative arts as part of a reaction against the stifling historicism of the fine arts. Munich was home to some of these designers, and came to be the city at the heart of the movement.
INNOVATIVE DESIGNERS
Early advocates of Jugendstil included Hermann Obrist, who was inspired by the Symbolists’ emotions and the plant world, and architect August Endell, who played a pivotal role throughout the development of Munich’s Secessionist movement
by seeking to echo the
spirit of his Austrian
contemporaries. Endell designed boldly proportioned, clean-lined furniture in materials such as elm or forged steel, and paid considerable attention to decorative detail.
Among the furniture designers in the Munich group were Richard Riemerschmid, Bruno Paul, and the architect, Peter Behrens.
Behrens was also one of the founding members of the Vereinigte Werkstatten fur Kunst im Handwerk (United Workshops for Applied Art). His furniture combined traditional
rectilinear shapes with restrained
curves. Richard Riemerschmid,
a talented designer, painter, and architect, was also linked to the workshops. His furniture followed Behrens’ example but was also influenced by Celtic origins, which played a role in Germanys decorative traditions. His simply shaped furniture used wood in its natural state and colour, with the grain its most distinctive decorative feature. Bruno Paul, another protagonist of Jugendstil, developed comfortable, rectilinear designs called Typenmobel which he was able to mass produce. They were a forerunner of the industrial furniture production of Ithe I Q Ws and 40s.
Germany also spawned a host of artists’ guilds, established in an effort to realise the ideals of the British Arts and Crafts movement.
THE DARMSTADT COLONY
The most notable of these guilds was founded in 1899 by Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse, and was based at Darmstadt. Largely the vision of the Austrian architect and designer, Josef Maria Olbrich, the Darmstadt colony included public buildings and residences that were designed, built, and furnished by various artists.
art” could be found at Darmstadt in the house that Peter Behrens designed for himself. The interior, furniture, and decoration created a unified whole.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Germany had embraced industrial production and increasingly turned its attention to improving the quality of mass-produced, industrial products. This signalled the death knoll for Art Nouveau, with its ideals of hand-craftsmanship, freedom of artistic creation, and refined decoration.

CIRCULAR DINING TABLE
This oak pedestal dining table was designed by Peter Behrens and made by the Vereingte Werkstatten far Kunst im Handwerk, Munich. It has a panelled top above an urn-shaped pedestal. The six C-scroll supports underneath the table repeat the symmetry of the six-panel circular top. The circular foot plate also
repeats the shape of the circular table top. With Richard Riemerschmid, Behrens was the first industrial designer, designing specifically for mass production. With this piece, Behrens moved away from his earlier elaborate and curvilinear Art Nouveau style towards a simpler style that depended on the quality of the wood, and simple shapes and proportions. c.1900.
SIDE CHAIR
This chair by Peter Behrens was designed for the poet Richard Dehmel’s house in Hamburg. Made of white painted wood, the chair is geometric in design, with bold cut-out shapes on the back and has straight legs.
YELLOW LACQUERED CUPBOARD
This pinewood cupboard was designed by Gertrud Kleinhempel and made by Dresdner Werlkstatten. Two of its four doors are pierced with heart motifs, and it is divided horizontally with three rows of rectangular, black and white scenic panels.
c.1900.

This stained pine commode, designed by Richard Riemerschmid, has a rectangular top with a three-sided splashback. The six drawers have nickel-plated pulls. c.1905.
This Patriz Huber cupboard is polished and partly carved. It has inlays of different exotic woods and copper mountings. The top has facetted glazing and shelves on either side. c.1900.
This mahogany table, designed by Richard Riemerschmid and made by Dresdner Werlkstatten, has a hexagonal top, a round second tier, and curved legs. 1905.
This oak chair by Otto Eckmann has square-section arms, rails, legs, supports, and stretchers, with the latter two bowed. It has a brass-riveted, leather-upholstered back and seat pads. c.1900.
SIX-DRAWER COMMODE
LEMON MAHOGANY CUPBOARD
COUCH TABLE
OAK FRAME ARMCHAIR
DINING CHAIR
This is a poplar dining chair which comes from a set of nine, designed by Peter Behrens. It is lacquered and has a
leather seat. c.1901.
BEECH FRAME ARMCHAIR
This beech chair was designed by Marcel Kammerer and made by Thonet of Vienna (see p.375). The bentwood frame is stained mahogany, and the stuffed seat and buttoned back are covered in brown leather. c.1910.

THE GLASGOW SCHOOL
AT THE HEART of the Art Nouveau
movement in Scotland, the Glasgow School of Art sowed the seeds of an artistic revolution.
The enterprising director, Francis Newberg, and his wife Jessie, were instrumental in taking the Glasgow School of Art beyond its traditional role as an institution for formal
instruction in painting. A great admirer and champion of the teachings of William Morris, Newberg urged his students to learn as much as they could from the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. He set up art studios where artist-craftsmen provided
broad range of commercial crafts, including bookbinding, woodcarving, ceramics, stained glass, and metalwork.
KEY DESIGNERS
An influential team of designers and architects closely associated with the Glasgow School included Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert MacNair, and the sisters Margaret and Frances MacDonald. Known as “The Glasgow Four” or “Four Macs”, they created furniture and interior decoration inspired by Arts and Crafts ideology, but which developed as a movement in its own right and was
“Glasgow Style”. This style incorporated natural imagery together with a strong, psychological identification with the city – then booming economically and culturally – powered by its engineering and industrial skills.
It was a decidedly Scottish and occasionally modest interpretation of the Art Nouveau. Simple, geometric furniture designs were decorated with stylized patterns of flowers, plants, animals, figural patterns, and Celtic-style decoration. These
were shown in unusual colours drawn from local scenery, such as heathery purple, misty greys, and soft green. The Glasgow style won international acclaim, especially at the 8th Secessionist Exhibition in 1900 in Vienna, and exercised a
potent influence on the architects of industrial design in Germany and Austria. The rooms furnished by the group for the 1902 Turin International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts focused on controlled line, eschewing serpentine curves, and favouring symmetrical flowers,
elongated figures, and intricate linear designs in glass, metal, and enamel.
THE ROSE EMBLEM
Nature always inspired the Glasgow Four and was occasionally approached from a scientific perspective. Even the group’s emblem – the two-dimensional rose, which was designed by
Mackintosh and featured frequently on its architecture and furniture – was
inspired by a cabbage cut in half. Other talents associated with the Glasgow School were Ernest Archibald Taylor, lauded for his clean, elegant, and highly refined designs in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh; George Walton, with his delicate and subtle designs for furniture, textiles, and glass; and Talwin Morris, who worked in a variety of media, from furniture to textiles, metalwork, and glass.
The Glasgow School of Art This building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1896 and is regarded as one of his most notable architectural achievements.

A Glasgow School hammered brass mirror This piece has a repousse, stylized, floral motif design with long, flowing tendrils ending in a swirl, and a circular bud design with striking blue, enamel.

MAHOGANY CUPBOARD
This inlaid cupboard is made from mahogany and consists of elegant, vertical lines embellished with a projecting and moulded cornice. It is raised on a plinth. In contrast to the simple lines of the piece, the fielded, panelled door is inlaid with florid, geometric, stylized flowers, plant forms, foliage, and stems, and is flanked by similarly inlaid panels.
The moulded hinges and handles are elaborately decorated with foliate motifs. The plinth is pierced at the front and sides with a repeating heart-shaped pattern that echoes the inlaid design. The cupboard was possibly designed by J.S. Henry, a Glasgow wholesale company that often supplied furniture to Liberty and Co. and worked with leading
designers such as George Walton.
HALLSTAND
This hallstand is made of stained oak. It was designed by Wylie and Lochhead and shows the influence of Mackintosh. The moulded cornice above a central bevelled plate is flanked by repouss6 copper panels showing stylized briar roses. Decorative supports in the form of flower stems add to the overall design.

Clockmakers were continually searching for new ways of making their clocks more accurate. In 1-15 George Graham (c.1673-1751) invented the deadbeat anchor escapement, which eliminated all elements of recoil when the pallets engaged the escape %% heel, and in 1726 he created a pendulum with a glass, mercury-filled bob that compensated for temperature changes. Such mechanisms were used in precision clocks that in turn were used to regulate other timekeepers and became known as regulators. John Harrison (1693-1776) invented the marine chronometer, which enabled mariners to establish exact longitude at sea.
BRITISH, FRENCH, AND AMERICAN REGULATORS
Regulators were made in Britain and France in the
18th and 19th centuries and in the USA from the end
of the 18th century. British longcase and wall regulators had plain mahogany cases and silvered-brass dials. Minutes were indicated on the chapter ring, hours and
seconds on subsidiary dials. Early longcase regulators
had solid trunk doors and pediment tops; from c.1750 dazed doors and rounded tops were usual. French regulators were elaborate, with ornate finials, a square Top, and ormolu mounts. Dials were usually in enamel
ith a brass bezel. Most regulators were timepieces, so the vibrations of a striking mechanism did not affect accuracy; many had a system of springs for maintaining power to ensure that time was not lost during winding. Graham’s mercurial pendulum was used in some regulators; others had gridiron or wood-rod pendulums.
VIENNA REGULATORS
Vienna regulators of exceptional quality were produced during the first quarter of the 19th century. These weight-driven clocks, usually wall-hung, are of two main types: the Laterndlubr (”lantern clock”) and the more common Dachlubr (”rooftop clock”). A few longcase designs were also produced. Cases were relatively plain but well made, with a pediment top. Dials were enamelled or of silvered brass, with hours around the chapter ring. Some cases also have a beat scale – a small plaque with equal divisions – to indicate whether the pendulum is swinging equally. From the 1840s cases were more ornate, often with decorative carving. Imitations of varying quality were made in the late 19th and the early 20th century in Silesia and the Black Forest (and also in the USA), with striking mechanisms and enamel dials. The movements of later examples arc often of poorer quality.
CHRONOMETERS
Mariners relied on accurate, spring-driven chronometers to calculate longitude so as to work out their position at sea. Chronometers were made from the late 18th century, but most common today are 19th-century examples. The best were made in Britain and France. Most feature a spring detent escapement – more accurate than an ordinary regulator’s escapement. Most chronometers were mounted in brass gimbals (pivoted rings) to offset motion at sea, and held in a glazed wooden box with a lid. The case was often mahogany with brass side handles. Most examples arc of one-, two-, or eight-day duration, with an engraved, silvered dial. A subsidiary up/down dial shows how long the clock has left to run before rewinding. Dials were usually signed by the maker or retailer and have a serial number.
British, French, and American regulators
• CASES most British cases are of mahogany and very plain; French cases are more ornate, typically with ormolu mounts
• DIALS British dials have minutes around the chapter
ring, with subsidiary dials for seconds and hours
• MOVEMENTS most have a precision deadbeat escapement, often ten with jewelled anchor pallets to reduce friction; wooden rod, mercurial, or gridiron pendulums were used to balance temperature changes
Vienna regulators
• CASES these are usually in a very fine Classical style,
with a pediment top and six or nine glazed sections
• DIALS most are of enamel or silvered brass, with hours around the chapter ring
• MOVEMENTS these are very similar to those on other European regulators and extremely finely made
Chronometers
• CASES most are mahogany, but those made for private yachts may have more expensive veneers such as rosewood; lids are often missing or replaced
• DIALS subsidiary up/down dials showing time left
before rewinding were typical; Arabic numerals were common on American 1940s chronometers
• MOVEMENTS escapements are sophisticated and need regular overhauling to keep accurate time

The period of Eclecticism,
The Biedermeier style is regarded as the last creative style of the nineteenth century. Furniture makers had started casting their eyes back to examples in classical antiquity during the period of
It became fashionable to decorate and furnish in oriental style at the end of the nineteenth century. Furnishings such as carpets and rugs, vases, mother-of-pearl decorated furniture, and divans were widely found at this time.
The heroic style of the first Napoleon was overwhelmed beneath a welter of large upholstered pieces and drapes in the France of Napoleon III.
This excess and ostentation covered up a lack of creativity on the part of the citoyens who now held the leading positions in industry and commerce. This also brought about an increase in mass production. The flood of cheap and indiscriminate furniture led to a marked reduction in fine hand-made furniture by craftsmen. This process was also hastened by the attitude of the schools for the applies arts.
Eclecticism manifested itself in virtually every branch of the arts. Only Michael Thonnet contributed new creativity at this time. He discovered in about 1830 that it was possible to make thin lightweight sheets of oak veneer which could be bent and laminated in order to make furniture. He bent laminated sheets of oak veneer with the help of steam.
Another raw material which was also popular in the past for making lightweight chairs is rattan.
Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco
Opposition to Eclecticism arose in the late nineteenth century. The imitations of old styles and tasteless mass produced items were detested. Artists formed themselves into groups in many countries and strove for pure craftmanship and simple art. Above all objects were to be functional, original, and logically constructed.
Munich became an important centre in this movement. A publication entitled Die Jugend was established there and this gave its name to style which arose: Jugendstil.
This was more of a movement and trend than a style in itself with many different approaches in different countries.
An important group formed around John Ruskin in England for which the social aspect was also important. The emphasis was placed on craft traditions that still existed and had done so since the Middle Ages. The Arts and Crafts movement, as it was known, placed its main emphasis on craftmanship in the making of pieces. Another group of artists in Scotland, led by the architect Charles Rennie Macintosh, went its own way. Another important centre was Vienna where Sezession was formed, under leadership of the artists J.M. Olbricht and Gustav Klimt.
France had been pushed into the background during the previous period of furniture making and Art Nouveau arose as an innovative movement which tied in with activities elsewhere at that time. The main centres of French Art Nouveau were Paris and Nancy.
The British Arts and Crafts movement had hardly any effect on France and certainly none on its furniture designs. Hence the French developed a style of their own. French artists produced many delightful decorations with elegant and original designs, using expensive materials. Generally these new styles started from a standpoint that the eclectic character of nineteenth century furniture was pompous. The new designs were therefore lighter, more transparent in their construction, more fluid, and more `honest’. The silhouettes used were still of classical origin. Decorative elements were drawn from nature and the extent to which these were then stylised depend on the individual movement. This can be seen in the difference between Jugendstil and French Art Nouveau. Jugendstil’s decorations are more naturalistic than the stylised forms of Art Nouveau.
Major names of furniture designers of the time are Van der Velde and Horta in Belgium, Bugatti in Italy, and Louis Majorelle and Emile GaIIe in France. The German makers included names such as tioners in Britain. In addition to Macintosh, another great name from around the turn of the century is C.F.A. Voysey.
A further detail tends more towards Art Nouveau.
The Viennese Werkstatte was led by Josef Hoffmann who found himself drawn to the work of the Scot Macintosh. In common with other centres, the artists of the Werkstdtte did not fully subscribe to the ruling ideas of either Jugendstil or Art Nouveau. They did not consider that only traditional hand-crafting was valid and they also used machinery. Reproductions of the popular main great styles continued to be made up to the outbreak of World War I.
The styles of the French Kings Louis, Sheraton, and Chippendale continued to be very popular and not everyone admired the modern art approach of Jugendstil and Art Nouveau. After World War I a new style was discerned — Art Deco. Art Deco absorbed much of Art Nouveau but rejected its adherence to hand craftmanship and expressly chose to machine make objects. It was not furniture of the mid eighteenth century that inspired Art Deco designers, rather than that of Louis XVI and the Directoire at the end of the century.
The influence of Cubism can be readily seen in the modern designs of this time.

The eighteenth century
The somewhat oppressive style of Louis XIV died with him. After his death life at court was characterised by elegance and a lighter touch. The effect was also felt in art with the salons of Paris being at the heart of the cultural life. The luxury of city life worked through to the country homes of the aristocracy which set an example to all Europe. The houses were extended with libraries, boudoirs, dining rooms, ballrooms, dressing rooms, bedrooms, workrooms and quarters for the servants being added. To give each room
its distinctive function, the range of furniture also became extended.
France — Regency and Rococo
During the Duke of Orleans’ regency rooms were still furnished with robust furniture but in the second half of the eighteenth century this altered radically. The fashion switched to lighter, more elegant designs that were also somewhat decadent in their decorative style. This made itself apparent in furniture with flowing lines, S-forms, and scrolls. Rococo was a fairly radical style period that endured for a shorter period in France than in other European countries. Customers made ever increasing demands on the furniture makers and furniture was required that was larger in size.
This caused a demarcation among the furniture makers with them specialising for instance in a particular type of expensive wood which they then made into furniture of the very highest standards. This was equally true of the bronze founders who engraved their adornments as if it were jewellery.
Increased demand brought about a certain amount of standardisation. The ebenistes started to buy in timber, drawers, mouldings, marquetry, and handles and catches. All the ebenistes were required to sign their work from 1743, except for those working in the service of the King and yet it can be extremely difficult to identify a maker. This is because all the ebenistes also sold furniture made by others and it was their custom to sign all the furniture that they sold.
Daily life for the upper echelons of French society was extremely lively. Lots of callers were received and many visits also made, and in the evening they either attended or gave dinner parties. Lots of different types of seating were therefore needed which had to be comfortable.
Only curved forms would do for these. Among the new types of seating there was a short upholstered sofa of which one type was known as a berg&e.
This had a closed back.
There was also the bergere a joue, which somewhat resembled a modern wing chair, and a number of versions of the chaise longue for lounging on. A chaise longue that was open at the front was known as a turquoise, while the variety with upholstered armrests was known as a vieilleuse.
A canape has open armrests at the side, while a sofa has S-form closed side arms. The dressing table was accompanied by a fauteuil de toilette and a desk or bureau by a fauteuil de bureau. Rococo furniture was decorated with brocade, damask, velvet, or satin. Damask came from Genoa, Lyon, or Peking. Gobelin tapestry and cloth with petit-point embroidery from the state factory at Aubusson were used to upholster furniture. Woven reed was also used to make seats and chairs backs.
The gilt carved cartouches and shells of Italy disappeared from decorations to be replaced with unrestricted compositions with ribbons and flower stems.
The rocaille from which some say Rococo got its name came into vogue around 1750. There was a movement, up to the middle of the century, away from structure-led form towards ornamental design and was expressed also in the bronze embellishments. These were applied to table legs for example where stringers and legs met. A piece of furniture with a purely decorative function is the Rococo console which eventually replaced the console table.
Cabinets disappeared from interiors during the Rococo period except for in country homes and those of the citizenry, although there were half-height cabinets with two doors serving as wash-stand chiffoniers known as meuble d’entre deux and small bookcases with two doors. There would be a games table in
the salon, sometimes with a chessboard inlaid into its top and the round gueridon or pedestal table was made for all manner of small items. There would be a large table in the dining room together with a whole series of smaller tables and for when they wished to talk without being overheard by the servants, there would be a ‘dumb waiter’ on which the staff would leave the food before retiring. In a ladies’ room there would certainly be a dressing table or table de toilette which later became known as a poudreuse. The lady would also have a writing table or bonheur du jour in one of her rooms. Men’s desks were much heavier in appearance, usually made from palisander but other words were also used for bureaux. Flat-fronted bureaux were popular until 1750 after which the cylindrical bureaux became more fashionable.
There would be several night tables in the sleeping quarters: the tables de nuit and tables de lit. During the Rococo period beds became more elegant and graceful but often with whimsical valances from which their names were derived of lit a la Chinoise, l’Anglaise, l’Allemagne, or l`Italienne. No chests or coffers were to be seen anywhere in the salons, these had been replaced by a commode with two attendant corner cabinets.
The form of the commode had also changed. The curves of the front had now disappeared and the bronze handles and catches were geometrically arranged. The bottom of the commode was bowed. As the years passed, Rococo became increasingly more complex. Bronze ornamentation and intarsia inlays now covered the entire fronts of pieces, without regard for the drawers.
Subsequently the decoration moved more to the sides of pieces. Bronze ornamentation became more simple with cleaner lines after 1740. Whatever their specialisation, virtually every furniture maker produced commodes during the Rococo era. Some of the famous names are J.P.
Latz, J.F. Leleu, Nicolas Pineau, F. Oeben, J.H. Riesener, Bernard van Risen-burgh, and Abraham Roentgen.
There was strongly exotic side to Rococo so that lacquered furniture was extremely popular at this time. Rococo flourished most during the first half of the eighteenth century and at this time French lacquer-work production overtook even that of the Dutch who had been the biggest producers of reproduction chi-
noiserie and the largest importers of Chinese and Japanese lacquer items. The Dutch Martin brothers were the major producers of reproduction chinoiserie.
Germany and Austria
The political situation had as great an influence on the furniture industry during the Rococo period as during the preceding era.
The artistic and cultural leanings of the individual courts depended both on their geographical position and political realities. Hence the main cities of Berlin, Dresden, Munich, and Vienna took their lead from the French court.
The German/Dutch Rhineland and the area between Liege and Achen differed markedly from the German/French Rhineland. There was a clear preference for Dutch and English style furniture in northern Germany.
The biggest variation in types of furniture and their styles resulted from the personalities of the persons commissioning them. When German makers did follow French inspiration they did not do so closely. This resulted in the Bandestil or `banded style’ which got its name from the banding motif popularly used until the mid eighteenth century on much furniture, but specially on bureaux.
A German Rococo secretaire had a style of its own, with a curved form which gave a far from restful appearance. The legs and corners were also slightly bowed and slanted. These secretaires were mainly made of ebony and fitted with drawers. Colourful marquetry was very popular for decoration. Frankfurt cabinets had a similar appearance and were therefore also extremely popular.
Northern makers who followed French ideas for commodes fitted them with three, four, or five drawers but they used no veneer. Further south, in contrast, a commode was deemed to be a tall cabinet finished in walnut veneer. This was finished unpretentiously with iron handles and fittings and had straight sides. The only decorated examples were those for aristocratic houses of the princes. The commode was a piece of furniture for the common folk. These were finished with refined carving in unvarnished oak and walnut in both Achen and Liege. These cities also made corner cabinets for tableware, wardrobes,
small and tall dressers, and display cabinets.
The bureau was adopted from France too but German versions were both lower and less deep.The glazed fronted Dutch cabinet was further developed in north-west Germany and there was also clearly a Dutch influence in their lacquered furniture. Some chairs were both lacquered and decorated with inlays. The most common furniture though is made of stained walnut and oak.
The most precious pieces were gilded. Furniture made of beech or lime was usually painted yellow or white. Luxury items of furniture were also made in some places in Austria and Switzerland, often with the help of important artists. There are also delightful country pieces from this era. Rocaille motifs continued to be used in painted decoration until the middle of the nineteenth century.
France - Louis XVI
A desire for the classical world returned in the middle of the eighteenth century resulted in a number of artists making journeys to Greece and Italy. Classicism became more widely known through their books, lectures, and works of art. Excavation of Herculaneum and Pompeii produced a great array of artistic treasures which inspired many contemporary artists.
This also coincided with a movement in art towards simplicity and naturalism. This trend manifested itself first in furniture, before the other arts. Furniture makers once more used motifs such as plaited garlands, egg and tongue mouldings, Hermes, nymphs, lion’s heads, vines, rosettes, bull’s heads, and Doric friezes. Rococo had shown a preference for gilding, white paint, and light colours. The mouldings and bronze ornamentation now faded into the background. Muted coloured veneers
Louis XVI dining chair.
From the 1880’s, at the end of Rococo, inlays of Sevres porcelain had been used together with glass painting and lacquer from Asia. Floral motifs were popular for upholstery fabrics. Chairs were not just required to look fine but also to be comfortable. The backs of chairs became rounded or oval in the 1870’s. These were crested with carved decoration. Legs resembling fluted columns were popular. The types of seating did not change though.
A newcomer was the three-seat sofa known as a confidente. The sides of both sofas and bergeres were now generally straight. Console tables stood on a fluted column. Beds were no longer placed in an alcove and the side not against the wall was decorated.The common folk’s furniture remained conservative. Items made for the citizenry
included two-door cabinets, ladies’ and medium height two-door dressers. Commodes were rectangular, smooth, and mainly set on conical legs.
A newcomer to less exalted homes was the cylinder bureau.One of the best furniture makers of the time was undoubtedly J.H. Riesener.
His pieces are decorated with marquetry flowers, urns, and fruits. Furniture was decorated with many allegorical figures and bronze embellishments. Riesener partially changed his approach towards the end of the eighteenth century with the introduction of straight legs and more geometrical marquetry. He undoubtedly gave his closest attention to his rectangular secretaires and commodes with rounded corners Most of the ebenistes working for the French court were actually German.
Great names among suppliers to the court include J.F. Schwerdtfeger and Adam Weisweller. The greatest of all were Abraham and David Roentgen, who also sold to the courts of other European rulers.
A provincial Louis XVI cabinet with basin for rinsing glasses.
David Roentgen’s speciality was furniture with secret mechanisms. His marquetry decorations were based on designs by the fresco artist Januarius Zick.
David Roentgen lived in Paris between 1775 and 1780 and it was at this time that his finest pieces were made. Most of them were light in colour with bronze decoration.
The first to incorporate English ideas in furniture in France was G. Jacob, a woodcarver, who made armchairs of mahogany. The backs of his chairs were in the form of an oval medallion and they had console legs.
The fan-like fretwork form of his chair backs was very fine. The German maker J.G. Bennemann specialised after 1779 in large horizontally arranged dressers that were decorated with bronze adornments specially made by P.P. Thomire.