Antiques Furniture, Porcelain, Silver, Clocks Recently Featured at Antcollectors (2)
Antiques Furniture, Porcelain, Silver, Clocks Recently Featured at Antcollectors (2)
United States Late Federal Furniture
FOLLOWING THE WAR of Independence,
the victorious Americans embraced the Neoclassical movement and made it their own Federal style. This new style was initially inspired by the work of Robert Adam and the pattern books of Sheraton and Hepplewhite, and slender, delicate furniture was produced.
However, in the later stages of the Federal style, cabinet-makers took fresh influences from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and used them directly in their work. For example, after 1800, chair designs became heavier and were based closely on the ancient Greek klismos model, with a thick, curved top rail and usually
a carved horizontal slat at the back. Designs also showed the influence of the latest French styles, or English interpretations of them, and the
English Regency style.
NEW YORK CRAFTSMEN
At this time, New York became a centre of fine craftsmanship and home to the largest group of cabinet-makers in the country, who started exporting their work to the other states.
One of its best craftsmen was Duncan Phyfe (see p.233), whose name is synonymous with furniture that combines Greek-cross or sabre legs, paw feet, harp and lyre backs,
and caned top rails, with Neoclassical decoration of swags, cornucopia, wheat sheaves, and thunderbolts.
Another of New York’s great cabinetmakers was Frenchman Charles-Honore Lannuier, who worked there from 1803 to 1819. He worked in the French
Directoire and Consular styles until 1912, when he switched to the new Empire style, often using decorative motifs base on the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. Lannuier’s furniture was marked with his stamp and carried a label written in French and English, which promoted his European training and knowledge of Parisian styles. These labels offer a very
useful tool for identifying Lannuier’s pieces today, in contrast with Phyfe’s furniture, which is very rarely labelled.
SOFAS AND CHAIRS
Late Federal sofas became more delicate and simple in style than previously, and had straight- topped or curved backs and tapered legs. Greek-style couches were designed to serve as day beds. Painted fancy chairs became highly fashionable and Baltimore was renowned for its very elaborate examples of these. Chairs and sofas were often covered with silk or satin decorated with Neoclassical patterns, such as feathers, baskets of flowers, animals, or Classical figures.
TABLES
Drop-leaf, tilt-top, and Pembroke tables continued to be made, as were consoles, side and tea tables, work, card, and centre tables, and stands of Varying sizes.
Early Federal sideboards were too long for most American houses – some were up to 21 Ocin (7ft) long – but by 1820, many smaller, simpler versions had been devised.
DESKS AND DRESSING TABLES Tambour desks, an early version of the roll-top desk, first appeared in America at the beginning of the 19th century. The tambour was made up of a series of wooden rods glued to a length of fabric and sometimes had an inlaid motif.
As glass became more widely available, sonic secretaires and small desks were made with an upper section with glazed doors. The panes were separated by thin wooden strips, often arranged in complex patterns.
By the late Federal era, dressing tables had become small and rectangular in shape, often with a knee hole. The plain top could be left flat or mounted with a small case of drawers. Urban examples were often painted and gilded or decorated with fabric swags. Rural tables were simpler in design and made from inexpensive wood, which was painted to imitate woods such as mahogany.
STORAGE FURNITURE
Storage furniture ranged from linen presses – some of the finest of which were made at this time – to chests of drawers, chests-on-chests, and chestson-frames. These last three tended to be flat-topped with bracket feet or turned Sberaton-style legs. They were often decorated with veneers or inlays. Most chests of drawers were made with straight fronts and the drawers were set with oval or rectangular mounts and bail handles. However, pieces were made also with serpentine fronts and these examples are often said to represent a high point in American furniture-production.
Lyre-base card table This hinged-top mahogany table is decorated with brass-outlined panels and brass foliage. The pedestal has ormolu details and the legs are faced with ebony.
FEDERAL INTERIOR
FOLLOWING AMERICAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN 1776, THERE WAS A BOOM IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOTH GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS AND GRAND PRIVATE HOUSES.
Maple and ebony armchair This chair has a curved, flat top rail above a pierced back rest and scrolled arms. The cane seat is covered with a fixed cushion. The chair rests on ebonized, ring-turned legs.
c.1820. H:Blcm (321m). FRE
THE NEWLY FORGED American state saw itself as the scion of the Classical world, heir to the traditions and prestige of Republican Rome. The Neoclassical interior style of Robert Adam was enthusiastically adopted by American architects and designers, in spite of its English provenance.
Wealthy merchants and planters in Charleston, South Carolina built impressive harbour-front houses. One such figure was Nathaniel Russell, whose residence at 51 Meeting Street, completed in 1808, was one of the most elegant in the town. The scheme included shades of grey and a rich oxblood red,
lightened with gilt embellishments. The architraves, mantles, and wainscoting boards were painter’ in bold monochrome, and the wall hangings included a plain, salmon paper with a lambs-tongue border firs used in ancient Greece. The most striking features are the wide, unsupported staircase that sweeps up in a
graceful curve to the second and third floors, and the oval drawing room, shown here. This room was the scene of Alicia Russell’s grand wedding ball in 1809.
grand wedding Demonstrations of wealth and confidence are as much
hallmark of the Federal style as the American eagle. Homemakers employed a variety of colour schemes, although the walls were generally decorated in light colours, especially pastel shades.
NEOCLASSICAL STYLE
The basic structure of the Federal room closely- follows the Neoclassical Georgian model; the overriding impression is one of pleasing symmetry, with the doorways placed centrally
and flanked by equal numbers of
windows. Public, showcase rooms
Often occupied unorthodox floor
spaces, including hexagonal and
circular chambers.
Dentil mouldings or balustrades tempered the sparse Classical lines. Banisters and rails were often constructed from iron, as wood did not perform well when cut to the requisite lean proportions.
Neoclassical swags, urns, and medallions were applied to cornices and friezes on interior walls. Rather than being carved out of stone, these decorative motifs were hewn from wood or, more commonly, were moulded from composition ornament, or “compo”. Compo was a mixture of animal glue, resin and chalk that was malleable when warm but hardened to
the consistency of plaster when cool. It
was most famously used to create the
central ceiling rosette in the dining
room at Mount Vernon, George
Washington’s Virginia home.