FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE ,42 be 3 o d* -a O C3 < FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE PERIOD STYLES IN INTERIOR DECORATION WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO THEIR EMPLOYMENT IN THE HOMES OF TODAY BY LUCY ABBOT THROOP NEW YORK McBRIDE, NAST & COMPANY 1912 lrt\ Copyright, 1910, by The Cbowell Publishing Co. Copyright, 1911, 1912, by McBride, Nast & Co. Published, October, 1912 Contents Preface . .■ •„ ,^ -.i -..i i>i .•! >•: .• i Egypt and Greece . ., . ., . .1 . ., .1 c.i i.i ..j c. .. 1 The Renaissance in Italy . ., . . . . ., . . .1 .1 . 7 The Development of Decoration in France . . ,., ,., i., . 17 Louis XIV ........... . . .: ., ., r., ,., . 29 The Regency and Louis XV ..,.., ., 1.1 .1 .1 .: ,., i.. 37 Louis XVI ......... ., .. -., . ,., :.. ..- :. .., ,., 47 The Empire ........... . .1 .1 . . . 53 English Furniture from Gothic Days to the Period of Queen Anne . ., r.i .1 . . 59 Queen Anne ......,• . ■,< ,., ■.» <.i .: ■.. 73 Chippendale and the 18th Century in England ., i., t.i .. . 79 Robert Adam . . t. . . . . .1 . .1 i.> .1 ;.i ^.i t., 91- HePPLEWHITE .,....., . ., . .! ., .1 I.I .1 r.i 97i Sheraton .■ .. ., ..; >.i .. ■., .■ :.i . .. t.i :.i r.i o >•■ 103 A General Talk ■., ,.• ..• ,., .: -. :., :., .• ■,^ r.i r.i >/ ,.■ llT Georgian Furniture ■..■. ,., . .1 -.i r.i .1 :., :., w r.. t.i . 135 Furnishing with French Furniture ., ., r.i :., ci ..1 i.i t. 149 Craftsman Furniture ., . r.i .1 .1 .1 r.i t.t r.i .1 r.i i.i r.^ 159 Country Houses r., .• 1., ..i i.i -.i 1.1 :.i r- t.i .i w i.i i.^ 165 The Nursery and Play-room . r.i r.i t.i . .1 r.i .1 .1 r.i r.- 175 Curtains . . ,• t.i r.i r.i 1.1 w r.i t.i -..i i.i t.i :.i t.i r.i i. 181' Rugs ...... :., ,., r.. ,., », .., ..1 ■., ,.1 r.i ,., :: •. 191 Making the Porch More Livable . . :.i .' ., r.i . . . 211 A List of Books on Period Styles and Furnishing . ,., . . . 218 The Illustrations A modern dining-room. Period of Italian Renaissance Frontispiece Facing Page Modern Italian Renaissance fireplace and over-mantel ... 8 Doorways and pilaster detail, Italian Renaissance ., . . . 9 Two Louis XIII chairs . ,. ^2 A Gothic chair of the fifteenth century . ,. . . . . . £3 A Louis XIV chair 82 Louis XIV inlaid desk-table 33 Louis XIV chair with underbracing . . . . . > .33 Regency paneling, Metropolitan Museum of Art ,., .. i., . 40 A modern room showing Louis XV console tables . ,. . . 41 A modern room in the white and gold paneling of Louis XV . 44 Louis XV hergere 45 Louis XVI panel from Versailles . . . ,. . . ,. ,. 48 Marie Antoinette's boudoir 49 Louis XVI bench . . ,. . . . .50 Louis XVI chair from Fontainebleau . . . ,. . . • , ^■'• Bed of Josephine . . . :. ,. . . . i. [. ;.i i. . 64 American Empire sofa .., |., i., . . . i. i., i., t.. . 55 English carved oak chest .........;.. 60 Apostles' Bed of the Tudor period .,...,.... 61 Grinling Gibbons' carving . . . i. i. . ;., i., t. i. 64 Original Jacobean settle ....... i. i., i. i. . 65 Reproductions of Jacobean chairs . . ... . i. . .65 Reproductions of the Queen Anne period 72 Reproduction of a William and Mary walnut chair ... 73 Ribbon-back and Gothic type of Chippendale chairs . i. .78 Chippendale mantel mirror showing French influence ... 79 ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page Chippendale fretwork tea-table 79 Chippendale china cabinet 82 Typical chairs of the eighteenth century — Dutch, Chippen- dale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton 83 Chippendale and Hepplewhite sofas 86 Adam mirror, block-front chest of drawers and Hepplewhite chair .., l.. 87 Two Adam mantels ,.,.,.... 92 . ., . 93 I. J t.j I. yo . ., . 97 ,. . . 97 . . . 104 Reproductions of Adam painted furniture ., [., A modern Hepplewhite dining-room . .; . d Old Hepplewhite sideboard . . . ,., . ., Modern Hepplewhite settee A Sheraton bureau , . . .,.,„. Sheraton desk and sewing-table . ., ,., . . . . ,. . 105 Modern dining-room in white 112 A modern staircase hall with rare tapestries and a Boulle clock 113 Beauvais tapestries 124} Tapestry with heraldry design 125 Flemish tapestry of the late fifteenth century ., . .., .. ,. 125 > A group of old mirrors 140 A modem Georgian bedroom 141 Reproductions of Chinese Chippendale table and Hepplewhite desk 144 Reproductions of Sheraton bureau and William and Mary bureau i., . . . 145 A modern room in the French manner . . . ., . . .148 Doorway detail of the above . 149 Doorway detail from the bedroom of the Empress, Compiegne 152 Reproduction of Marie Antoinette's bed 153 Modern Louis XVI bed in enamel and cane 153 A craftsman living-room . 160 A fire-corner showing the craftsman's touch ...... 161 A modern Georgian hall 164 A rare block-front chest of drawers 165 Twin beds with cane head- and foot-boards iWilliam and Mary settee .... ILLUSTRATIONS Faciko Pass A modern Georgian dining-room . . .. ...... 168 Library door showing a modern adaptation of the Renaissance 169 . 172 . 173 . 173 . 184 . 185 . 192 . 193 . 193 . 200 . 200 . 200 . 201 . 212 . 213 Modern Hepplewhite dressing-table ........ The shaped valance for formal curtains .... Informal curtain treatment for a summer home . A rare antique Persian rug, " The Judgment of Solomon Typical modern Bokhara rug Modern Kirmanshah rug Fine silk Persian rug . Antique Anatolian rug . Antique Saraband rug . ..; Antique Chinese rug . A comfortably furnished porch An uncovered terrace . FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE Preface To try to write a history of furniture in a fairly short space is almost as hard as the square peg and round hole problem. No matter how one tries, it will not fit. One has to leave out so much of importance, so much of historic and artistic interest, so much of the life of the people that helps to make the subject vivid, and has to take so much for granted, that the task seems almost impossible. In spite of this I shall try to give in the following pages a general but necessarily short review of the field, hoping that it may help those wishing to furnish their homes in some special period style. The average person cannot study all the sub- ject thoroughly, but it certainly adds interest to the prob- lems of one's own home to know something of how the great periods of decoration grew one from another, how the influence of art in one country made itself felt in the next, molding and changing taste and educating the people to a higher sense of beauty. It is the lack of general knowledge which makes it possi- ble for furniture built on amazingly bad lines to be sold masquerading under the name of some great period. The customer soon becomes bewildered, and, unless he has a de- cided taste of his o^vn, is apt to get something which will i ii PREFACE prove a white elephant on his hands. One must have some standard of comparison, and the best and simplest way is to study the great work of the past. To study its rise and climax rather than the dechne; to know the laws of its per- fection so that one can recognize the exaggeration which leads to degeneracy. This ebb and flow is most interesting : the feeling the way at the beginning, ever growing surer and surer until the high level of perfection is reached; and then the desire to " gild the lily " leading to over-ornamenta- tion, and so to decline. However, the germ of good taste and the sense of truth and beauty is never dead, and asserts itself slowly in a transition period, and then once more one of the great periods of decoration is born. There are several ways to study the subject, one of the pleasantest naturally being travel, as the great museums, palaces, and private collections of Europe offer the widest field. In this country, also, the museums and many private collections are rich in treasures, and there are many proud possessors of beautiful isolated pieces of furniture. If one cannot see originals the libraries will come to the rescue with many books showing research and a thorough knowledge and appreciation of the beauty and importance of the sub- ject in all its branches, I have tried to give an outline (which I hope the reader will care to enlarge for himself) , not from a collector's stand- point, but from the standpoint of the modern home-maker. PREFACE in to help him furnish his house consistently ,s^ to try to spread the good word that period furnishing does not necessitate great wealth, and that it is as easy and far more interesting to furnish a house after good models, as to have it banal and commonplace. The first part of this little book is devoted to a short re- view of the great periods, and the second part is an effort to help adapt them to modern needs, with a few chapters added of general interest to the home-maker. A short bibliography is also added, both to express my thanks and indebtedness to many learned and delightful writers on this subject of house furnishing in all its branches, and also as a help to others who may wish to go more deeply into its different divisions than is possible within the covers of a book. I wish to thank the Editors of House and Garden and The Woman's Home Companion for kindly allowing me to reprint articles and portions of articles which have appeared in their magazines. I wish also to thank the owners of the different houses illustrated, and Messrs. Trowbridge and Livingston, archi- tects, for their kindness in allowing me to use photographs. Thanks are also due Messrs. Bergen & Orsenigo, Nahon & Company, Tiffany Studios, Joseph Wild & Co. and the John Somma Co. for the use of photographs to illustrate the re- production of period furniture and rugs of different types. Egypt and Greece Egypt and Greece THE early liistory of art in all countries is naturally connected more closely with architecture than with decoration, for architecture had to be developed be- fore the demand for decoration could come. But the two have much in common. Noble architecture calls for noble decoration. Decoration is one of the natural instincts of man, and from the earliest records of his existence we find him striving to give expression to it, we see it in the scratched pieces of bone and stone of the cave dwellers, in the designs of savage tribes, and in Druidical and Celtic remains, and in the great ruins of Yucatan. The meaning of these monu- ments may be lost to us, but we understand the spirit of trying to express the sense of beauty in the highest way possible, for it is the spirit which is still moving the world, and is the foundation of all worthy iichievement. Egypt and Assyria stand out against the almost impen- etrable curtain of pre-historic days in all the majesty of their so-called civihzation. Huge, massive, aloof from the world, their temples and tombs and ruins remain. Research has given us the key to their religion, so we understand much of the meaning of their wall-paintings and the build- ings themselves. The belief of the Egyptian that hfe was a short passage and his house a mere stopping-place on the a FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE way to the tomb, which was to be his permanent dwelhng- place, explains the great care and labor spent on the pyra- mids, chapels, and rock sepulchers. They embalmed the dead for all eternity and put statues and images in the tombs to keep the mimimy company. Colossal figures of their gods and goddesses guarded the tombs and temples, and still remain looking out over the desert with their strange, inscrutable Egyptian eyes. The people had tech- nical skill which has never been surpassed, but the great size of the pyramids and temples and sphinxes gives one the feehng of despotism rather than civilization; of mass and permanency and the wonder of man's achievement rather than beauty, but they personify the mystery and power of ancient Egypt. The columns of the temples were massive, those of Kamak being seventy feet high, with capitals of lotus flowers and buds strictly conventionahzed. The walls were covered with hieroglyphics and paintings. Perspective was never used, and figures were painted side view except for the eye and shoulder. In the tombs have been found many household belongings, beautiful gold and silver work, beside the offer- ings put there to appease the gods. Chairs have been found, which, humorous as it may sound, are certainly the ancestors of Empire chairs made thousands of years later. This is explained by the influence of Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, but there is something in common between the EGYPT AND GREECE 3 two times so far apart, of ambition and pride, of grandeur and colossal enterprise. Greece may well be called the Mother of Beauty, for with the Greeks came the dawn of a higher civilization, a striving for harmony of line and proportion, an ideal clear, high and persistent. When the Dorians from the northern part of Greece built their simple, beautiful temples to their gods and goddesses they gave the impetus to the movement which brought forth the highest art the world has known. Traces of Egyptian influence are to be found in the earliest temples, but the Greeks soon rose to their own great heights. The Doric column was thick, about six diameters in height, fluted, growing smaller toward the top, with a simple capi- tal, and supported the entablature. The horizontal lines of the architrave and cornice were more marked than the vertical lines of the columns. The portico with its row of columns supported the pediment. The Parthenon is the most perfect example of the Doric order, and shattered as it is by time and man it is still one of the most beautiful build- ings in the world. It was built in the time of Pericles, from about 460 to 435 B. c, and the work was superintended by Phidias, who did much of the work himself and left the mark of his genius on the whole. The Ionic order of architecture was a, development of the Doric, but was lighter and more graceful. The columns were more slender and had a greater number of flutes and 4 FURNISfflNG THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE the capitals formed of scrolls or volutes were more orna- mental. The Corinthian order was more elaborate than the Ionic as the capitals were foliated (the acanthus being used), the columns higher, and the entablature more richly decorated. This order was copied by the Romans more than the other two as it suited their more florid taste. All the orders have the horizontal feeling in common (as Gothic architecture has the vertical), and the simple plan with its perfect har- mony of proportion leaves no sense of lack of variety. The perfection attained in architecture was also attained in sculpture, and we see the same aspiration toward the ideal, the same wonderful achievement. This purity of taste of the Greeks has formed a standard to which the world has returned again and again and whose influence will continue to be felt as long as the world lasts. The minor arts were carried to the same state of perfec- tion as their greater sisters, for the artists and artisans had the same noble ideal of beauty and the same unerring taste. We have carved gems and coins, and wonderful gold orna- ments, painted and silver vases, and terra-cotta figurines, to show what a high point the household arts reached. No work of the great Grecian painters remains ; Apelles, Zeuxis, are only names to us, but from the wall paintings at Pompeii where late Greek influence was strongly felt we can imagine how charming the decorations must have been. Egypt and Greece were the torch bearers of civilization. T^he Renaissance in Italy The Renaissance in Italy THE Gothic period has been treated in later chapters on France and England, as it is its development in these countries which most affects us, but the Renais- sance in Italy stands alone. So great was its strength that it could supply both inspiration and leaders to other coun- tries, and still remain preeminent. It was in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that this great classical revival in Italy came, this re-birth of a true sense of beauty which is called the Renaissance. It was an age of wonders, of great artistic creations, and was one of the great epochs of the world, one of the turning points of human existence. It covered so large a field and was so many-sided that only careful study can give a full realiza- tion of the giants of intellect and power who made its great- ness, and who left behind them work that shows the very quintessence of genius. Italy, stirring slightly in the fourteenth century, woke and rose to her greatest heights in the fifteenth and six- teenth. The whole people responded to the new joy of life, the love of learning, the expression of beauty in all its forms. All notes were struck, — gay, graceful, beautiful, grave, cruel, dignified, reverential, magnificent, but all with 8 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE an exuberance of life and power that gave to Italian art its great place in human culture. The great names of the pe- riod speak for themselves, — Michelangelo, Raphael, Botti- celli, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Machia- velli, Benvenuto Cellini, and a host of others. The inspiration of the Renaissance came largely from the later Greek schools of art and literature, Alexandria and Rhodes and the colonies in Sicily and Italy, rather than ancient Greece. It was also the influence which came to ancient Rome at its most luxurious period. The impor- tance of the taking of Alexandria and Constantinople in 1453 must not be underestimated, as it drove scholars from the great libraries of the East carrying their manuscripts to the nobles and priests and merchant princes of Italy who thus became enthusiastic patrons of learning and art. This later type of Greek art lacked the austerity of the ancient type, and to the models full of joy and beauty and suffering, the Italians of the Renaissance added the touch of their own temperament and made them theirs in the glowing, rich and astounding way which has never been equaled and probably never will be. Perfection of line and beauty was not suffi- cient, the soul with its capacity for joy and suffering, "the soul with all its maladies " as Pater says, had become a fac- tor. The impression made upon Michelangelo by seeing the Laocoon disinterred is vividly described by Longfel- low — Trowlx i-i'ic C" Livingston, architects An exquisite and true Renaissance feeling is shown in the pilasters THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY 9 " Long, long years ago, Standing one morning near the Baths of Titus, I saw the statue of Laocoon Rise from its grave of centuries like a ghost Writhing in pain; and as it tore away The knotted serpents from its limbs, I heard. Or seemed to hear, the cry of agony From its white parted lips. And still I marvel At the three Rhodian artists, by whose hands This miracle was wrought. Yet he beholds Far nobler works who looks upon the ruins Of temples in the Forum here in Rome. If God should give me power in my old age To build for him a temple half as grand As those were in their glory, I should count My age more excellent than youth itself, And all that I have hitherto accomplished As only vanity." "It was an age productive in personalities, many-sided, centralized, complete. Artists and philosophers and those whom the action of the world had elevated and made keen, breathed a common air and caught light and heat ^rom each other's thoughts. It is this unity of spirit which gives unity to all the various products of the Renaissance, and it is to this intimate alliance with mind, this participation in the best thoughts which that age produced, that the art of Italy in the fifteenth century owes much of its grave dignity and influence." * » * Walter Pater: "Studies in the Renaissance." 10 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE It is to this unity of the arts we owe the fact that the art of beautifying the home took its proper place. During the Middle Ages the Church had absorbed the greater part of the best man had to give, and home life was rather a hit or miss affair, the house was a fortress, the family posses- sions so few that they could be packed into chests and easily moved. During the Renaissance the home ideal grew, and, although the Church still claimed the best, home life began to have comforts and beauties never dreamed of before. The walls glowed with color, tapestries and velvets added their beauties, and the noble proportions of the marble halls made a rich background for the elaborately carved furniture. The doors of Italian palaces were usually inlaid with woods of light shade, and the soft, golden tone given by the process was in beautiful, but not too strong, contrast with the marble architrave of the doorway, which in the fifteenth century was carved in low relief combined with disks of colored marble, sliced, by the way, from Roman temple pil- lars. Later as the classic taste became stronger the carving gave place to a plain architrave and the over-door took the form of a pediment. Mantels were of marble, large, beautifully carved, with the fireplace sunk into the thickness of the wall. The over- mantel usually had a carved panel, but later, during the sixteenth century, this was sometimes replaced by a picture. ,The windows of the Renaissance were a part of the decora- THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY 11 tion of the room, and curtains were not used in our modern manner, but served only to keep out the d)raughts. In those days the better the house the simpler the curtains. There were many kinds of ceilings used, marble, carved wood, stucco, and painting. They were elaborate and beau- tiful, and always gave the impression of being perfectly sup- ported on the well-proportioned cornice and walls. The floors were usually of marble. Many of the houses kept to the plan of mediaeval exteriors, great expanses of plain walls with few openings on the outsides, but as they were built around open courts, the interiors with their colonnades and open spaces showed the change the Renaissance had brought. The Riccardi Palace in Florence and the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome, are examples of this early type. The second phase was represented by the great Bramante, whose theory of restraining decoration and emphasizing the structure of the building has had such important influence. One of his successors was Andrea Palladio, whose work made such a deep impression on Inigo Jones. The Library of St. Mark's at Venice is a beautiful example of this part. The third phase was entirely dominated by Michelangelo. The furniture, to be in keeping with buildings of this kind, was large and richly carved. Chairs, seats, chests, cabinets, tables, and beds, were the chief pieces used, but they were not plentiful at all in our sense of the word. The chairs and benches had cushions to soften the hard wooden 13 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE seats. The stuffs of the time were most beautiful Genoese velvet, cloth of gold, tapestries, and wonderful embroideries, all lending their color to the gorgeous picture. The carved marriage chest, or cassone, is one of the pieces of Renais- sance furniture which has most often descended to our own day, for such chests formed a very important part of the furnishing in every household, and being large and heavy, were not so easily broken as chairs and tables. Beds were huge, and were architectural in form, a base and roof sup- ported on four columns. The classical orders were used, touched with the spirit of the time, and the fluted columns rose from acanthus leaves set in an urn supported on lion's feet. The tester and cornice gave scope for carving and the panels of the tester usually had the lovely scrolls so characteristic of the period. The headboard was often carved with a coat-of-arms and the curtains hung from in- side the cornice. Grotesques were largely used in ornament. The name is derived from grottoes, as the Roman tombs being ex- cavated at the time were called, and were in imitation of the paintings found on their walls, and while they were fantas- tic, the word then had no unkindly humorous meaning as now. Scrolls, dolphins, birds, beasts, the human figure, flowers, everything was called into use for carving and paint- ing by genius of the artisans of the Renaissance. They loved their work and felt the beauty and meaning of every THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY 18 line they made, and so it came about that when, in the course of years, they traveled to neighboring countries, they spread the influence of this great period, and it is most interesting to see how on the Italian foundation each country built her own distinctive style. Like all great movements the Renaissance had its begin- ning, its splendid climax, and its decline. The Devolopment of Decoration in France T^he Development of Decoration in France WHEN Caesar came to Gaul he did more than see and conquer; he absorbed so thoroughly that we have almost no knowledge of how the Gauls lived, so far as household effects were concerned. The character which descended from this Gallo-Roman race to the later French nation was optimistic and beauty-loving, with a strength which has carried it through many dark days. It might be said to be responsible for the French sense of proportion and their freedom of judgment which has enabled them to hold their important place in the history of art and decoration. They have always assimilated ideas freely but have worked them over until they bore the stamp of their own individuality, often gaining greatly in the process. One of the first authentic pieces of furniture is a hahut or chest dating from sometime in the twelfth century and belonging to the Church of Obazine. It shows how furni- ture followed the lines of architecture, and also shows that there was no carving used on it. Large spaces were prob- ably covered with painted canvas, glued on. Later, when panels became smaller and the furniture designs were modi- 17 18 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE fied, moldings, etc., began to be used. These hahuts or huches, from which the term hucliiers came (meaning the Corporation of Carpenters), were nothing more than chests standing on four feet. From all sources of information on the subject it has been decided that they were probably the chief pieces of furniture the people had. They served as a seat by day and, with cushions spread upon them, as a bed by night. They were also used as tables with large pieces of silver dresse or arranged upon them in the daytime. From this comes our word " dresser " for the kitchen shelves. In those days of brigands and wars and sudden death, the household belongings were as few as possible so that the trouble of speedy transportation would be small, and every- thing was packed into the chests. As the idea of comfort grew a little stronger, the number of chests grew, and when a traveling party arrived at a stopping-place, out came the tapestries and hangings and cushions and silver dishes, which were arranged to make the rooms seem as cheerful as possi- ble. The germ of the home ideal was there, at least, but it was hard work for the arras and the " ciel " to keep out the cold and cover the bare walls. When life became a little more secure and people learned something of the beauty of proportion, the rooms showed more harmony in regard to the relation of open spaces and walls, and became a decoration in themselves, with the tapestries and hangings enhancing their beauty of line. It was not until some time in the fif- THE DEVELOPMENT OF DECORATION IN FRANCE 19 teenth century that the habit of traveling with all one's be- longings ceased. The year 1000 was looked forward to with abject terror, for it was firmly believed by all that the world was then com- ing to an end. It cast a gloom over all the people and para- lyzed all ambition. When, however, the fatal year was safely passed, there was a great religious thanksgiving and everyone joined in the praise of a merciful God. The semi-circular arch of the Romanesque style gave way to the pointed arch of the Gothic, and wonderful cathedrals slowly lifted their beautiful spires to the sky. The ideal was to build for the glory of God and not only for the eyes of man, so that exquisite carving was lavished upon all parts of the work. This deeply reverent feeling lasted through the best period of Gothic architecture, and while household furniture was at a standstill church furniture became more and more beautiful, for in the midst of the religious fervor nothing seemed too much to do for the Church. Slowly it died out, and a secular attitude crept into decoration. One finds gro- tesque carvings appearing on the choir stalls and other parts of churches and cathedrals and the standard of excellence was lowered. The chest, table, wooden arm-chair, bed, and bench, were as far as the imagination had gone in domestic furniture, and although we read of wonderful tapestries and leather hang- ings and clothes embroidered in gold and jewels, there was «0 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE no comfort in our sense of the word, and those brave knights and fair ladies had need to be strong to stand the hardships of life. Glitter and show was the ideal and it was many more years before the standard of comfort and refinement gained a firm foothold. Gothic architecture and decoration declined from the per- fection of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to the over- decorated, flamboyant Gothic of the fifteenth century, and it was in the latter period that the transition began between the Gothic and the Renaissance epochs. The Renaissance was at its height in Italy in the fifteenth century, and its influence began to make itself felt a little in France at that time. When the French under Louis XII seized Milan, the magnificence of the court of Ludovico Sforza, the great duke of Milan, made such an impression on them that they could not rest content with the old order, and took home many beautiful things. Italian artisans were also imported, and as France was ready for the change, their lessons were learned and the French Renaissance came slowly into ex- istence. This transition is well shown by the Chateau de Gaillon, built by Cardinal d'Amboise. Gothic and Renais- sance decoration were placed side by side in panels and fur- niture, and we also find some pure Gothic decoration as late as the early part of the sixteenth century, but they were in parts of France where tradition changed slowly. Styles THE DEVELOPMENT OF DECORATION IN FRANCE 21 overlap in every transition period, so it is often difficult to place the exact date on a piece of furniture ; but the old dies out at last and gives way to the new. With the accession of Frances I in 1515 the Renaissance came into its own in France. He was a great patron of art and letters, and under his fostering care the people knew new luxuries, new beauties, and new comforts. He invited Andrea del Sarto and Leonardo da Vinci to come to France. The word Renaissance means simply revival and it is not correctly used when we mean a distinct style led or inspired by one person. It was a great epoch, with individuality as its leading spirit, led by the inspiration of the Italian artists brought from Italy and molded by the genius of France. This renewal of classic feeling came at the psychological mo- ment, for the true spirit of the great Gothic period had died. The Renaissance movements in Italy, France, England and Germany all drew their inspiration from the same source, but in each case the national characteristics entered into the treatment. The Italians and Germans both used the gro- tesque a great deal, but the Germans used it in a coarser and heavier way than the Italians, who used it esthetically. The French used more especially conventional and beauti- ful floral forms, and the inborn French sense of the fitness of things gave the treatment a wonderful charm and beauty. If one studies the French chateaux one will feel the true beauty and spirit of the times ^— Blois with its history of 22 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE many centuries, and then some of the purely Renaissance chateaux, like Chambord. Although great numbers of Italian artists came to France, one must not think they did all the beautiful work of the time. The French learned quickly and adapted what they learned to their own needs, so that the delicate and graceful decorations brought from Italy became more and more individualized until in the reign of Henry II the Renaissance reached its high-water mark. The furniture of the time did not show much change or become more varied or comfortable. It was large and solid and the chairs had the satisfactory effect of good propor- tion, while the general squareness of outline added to the feeling of solidity. Oak was used, and later walnut. The chair legs were straight, and often elaborately turned, and usually had strainers or under framing. Cushions were sim- ply tied on at first, but the knowledge of upholstering was gaining ground, and by the time of Louis XIII was well understood. Cabinets had an architectural effect in their design. The style of the decorative motive changed, but it is chiefly in architecture and the decorative treatment of it that one sees the true spirit of the Renaissance. Two men who had great influence on the style of furniture of the time were Androuet du Cerceau and Hugues Sambin. They published books of plates that were eagerly copied in all parts of France. Sambin's influence can be traced in the later style of Louis XIV. "^ en O 1— * X »Vs 4 Bi Examples of fine reproductions. The lacquer chairs carry out the true feeling of the old with great skill A reproduction of a walnut chair with cane seat and back, of the William and Mary period Queen Anne / / X-^ UEEN ANNE " furniture is a very elastic IB term, for it is often used to cover the reigns of ^^ William and Mary, Queen Anne, George I, and a part of the reign of George II, or, in other words, -all the time of Dutch influence. The more usual method is to leave out William and Mary, but at best the classification of furniture is more or less arbitrary, for in England, as well as other countries, the different styles overlap each other. Chippendale's early work was distinctly influenced by the Dutch. Walnut superseded oak in popularity, and after 1720 ma- hogany gradually became the favorite. There was a good deal of walnut veneering done, and the best logs were saved for the purpose. Marquetry died out and gave place to carv- ing, and the cabriole leg, one of the chief marks of Dutch in- fluence, became a firmly fixed style. The carving was put on the knees and the legs ended in claw and ball and pad feet. Some chairs were simply carved with a shell or leaf or scroll on top rail and knees of the legs. In the more elaborately carved chairs the arms, legs, splat, and top rail were all carved with acanthus leaves, or designs from Gibbons's decoration. Chairs were broad in the seat and high of back with wide 73 74 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE splats, often decorated with inlay, in the early part of the pe- riod. The top rail curved into the side uprights, and the seat was set into a rebate or box-seat. The ehair backs slowly changed in shape, becoming broader and lower, the splat ceased to be inlaid and was pierced and carved, and the whole chair assumed the shape made so familiar to us by Chip- pendale. Tables usually had cabriole legs, although there were some gate- or thousand-legged, tables, and card tables, writing- tables, and flap-tables, were all used. It was in the Queen Anne period that highboys and lowboys made their first ap- pearance. In the short reign of Anne it also became the fashion to have great displays of Chinese porcelain, and over-mantels, cupboards, shelves and tables were covered with wonderful pieces of it. Addison, in Sir Roger de Coverley, humorously describes a lady's library of the time. "... And as it was some time before the lady came to me I had an opportunity of turning over a great many of her books, which were ranged in a very beautiful order. At the end of the folios (which were finely bound and gilt)' were great jars of china placed one above another in a very noble piece of architecture. The quartos were separated from the octavos by a pile of smaller vessels, which rose in a delightful pyramid. The octavos were bounded by tea- dishes of all shapes, colors, and sizes, which were so disposed on a wooden frame that they looked like one continued pillar QUEEN ANNE 75 indented with the finest strokes of sculpture and stained with the greatest variety of dyes. Part of the library was en- closed in a kind of square, consisting of one of the prettiest grotesque works that ever I saw, and made up of scara- mouches, lions, monkeys, mandarins, trees, shells, and a thou- sand other odd figures in china ware. In the midst of the room was a little Japan table." Between 1710 and 1730 lacquer ware became very fashion- able, and many experiments were made to imitate the beau- tiful Oriental articles brought home by Dutch traders. In Holland a fair amount of success was attained and a good deal of lacquered furniture was sent from there to England where the brass and silver mounts were added. English and French were experimenting, the French with the greatest success in their Vernis JNIartin, mentioned elsewhere, which really stood quite in a class by itself, but the imitations of Chinese and Japanese lacquer were inferior to the originals. Pine, oak, lime, and many other woods, were used as a base, and the fashion was so decided that nearly all kinds of furni- ture were covered with it. This lacquer ware of William and Mary's and Queen Anne's time must not be confounded with the Japanned furniture of Hepplewhite's and Shera- ton's time, which was quite different and of much lower grade. It was in the reign of Queen Anne that the sun began to rise on English cabinet work ; it shone gloriously through the eighteenth century, and sank in early Victorian clouds. Chippendale and the Eighteenth Century in England r*. o *-• ^ f J a: ~ d) o 5^ u An elaborately carved and gilded Chippendale mantel mirror, showing French influence One of the most beautiful examples of Chippendale's fretwork tea-tables in existence Chippendale and the Eighteenth Century in England THE classification of furniture in England is on a different basis from that of France, as the rulers of England were not such patrons of art as were the French kings. Flemish, Dutch and French influences all helped to form the taste of the people. The Jacobean period lasted from the time of James I to the time of Wil- liam and Mary. William brought with him from Holland the strong Dutch feeling that had a tremendous influence on the history of English furniture, and during Anne's short reign the Dutch feeling still lasted. It was not until the early years of the reign of George II that the Georgian period came into its own with Chippen- dale at its head. Some authorities include William and Mary and Queen Anne in the Georgian period, but the more usual idea is to divide it into several parts, better known as the times of Chippendale, Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. French influence is marked throughout and is divided into parts. The period of Chippendale was contemporaneous with that of Louis XV, and the second part included the other three men and corresponded with the last years of 79 80 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE Louis XV, when the transition to Louis XVI was begin- ning, and the time of Louis XVI. It was not until the latter part of Chippendale's life that he gave up his love of rococo curves and scrolls, dripping water effects, and his Chinese and Gothic styles. His early chairs had a Dutch feeling, and it is often only by ornamen- tation that one can date them. The top of the Dutch chair had a flowing curve, the splat was first solid and plain, then carved, and later pierced in geometrical designs ; then came the curves that were used so much by Chippendale. The carving consisted of swags and pendants of fruit and flowers, shells, acanthus leaves, scrolls, eagle's heads, carved in relief on the surface. Dutch chairs were usually of walnut and some of the late ones were of mahogany. Mahogany was not used to any extent before 1720, but at that time it began to be imported in large quantities, and its lightness and the ease with which it could be worked made it appropriate for the lighter style of furniture then coming into vogue. Chippendale began to make chairs with the curved top that is so characteristic of his work. The splat back was always used, in spite of the French, and its treatment is one of the most interesting things in the history of English fur- niture. It gave scope for great originality. Although, as I have said before, foreign influence was strong, the ideas were adapted and worked out by the great cabinet-makers i CHIPPENDALE AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 81 of the Georgian period with a vigor and beauty that made a distinct English style, and often went far, far ahead of the originals. There were, so far as we know, three Thomas Chippen- dales: the second was the great one. He Avas born in Wor- cester, England, about 1710, and died in 1779. He and his father, who was also a carver, came to London before 1727. Very little is known about his life, but we may feel sure he was that rare combination: a man of genius with decided business ability. He not only designed the furniture which was made in his shop, but executed a large part of it also, and superintended all the work done there by others. That he was a man of originality shows distinctly through his work, for although he adapted and copied freely and was strongly influenced by the Dutch, French, and " Chinese taste," there is always his own distinctive touch. The furniture of his best period, and those belonging to his school, has great beauty of line and proportion, and the exquisite carving shows a true feeling for ornament in relation to plain sur- faces. There are a few examples in existence of carving in almost as high relief as that of Grinling Gibbons, swags, etc., and in his most rococo period his carving was very elabo- rate. It always had great clearness of edge and cut, and a wonderful feeling for light and shade. In what is called " Irish Chippendale," which was furniture made in Ireland after the style of Chippendale, the carving was in low relief 8a FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE and the edges fairly smoothed off, which made it much less interesting. Chippendale looked upon his work as one of the arts and placed his ideal of achievement very high, and that he re- ceived the recognition of the best people of the time as an artist of merit is proved by his election to the Society of Arts with such men as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Horace Wal- pole, Samuel Johnson, David Garrick, and others. Tke genius of Chippendale justly puts him in the front rank of cabinet-makers and his influence was the foundation of much of the fine work done by many others during the eighteenth century. He is often criticized for his excessive rococo taste as displayed in the plates of the " Gentleman's and Cabinet-maker's Director," and in some of his finished work. Many of the designs in the " Director " were prob- ably never carried out, and some of them were probably added to by the soaring imaginations of the engraver. This is true of all the books published by the great cabinet-makers, and it always seems more fair to have their reputations rest on their finished work which has come down to us. Chippendale, of course, must bear the chief part of the charge of over-elaboration, and he frankly says that he thinks " much enrichment is necessary." He copied Meissonier's designs and had a great love for gilding, but the display of rococo taste is not in all his work by any means, nor was it so excessive as that of the French. The more self -restrained The dripping-water effect, of which Chippendale was so fond at one time, is plainly shown on the doors of this particularly fine example of his work A chair from early in the 18th century of the Dutch type One of the Chippendale pat- terns, datinar from about 1750 Hepplewhite's characteristic shield-shaped back J'homas Sheraton's rectangular type of chair-back CHIPPENDALE AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 83 temperament of the Anglo-Saxon race makes a deal of diiFerence. He early used the ogee curve and cabriole leg, the knees of wliich he carved with cartouches and leaves or other designs. The front rail of the chair also was often carved. There were several styles of curved leg, the cabriole leg of Dutch influence, and the curved style of Louis XV. There were also several variations on the claw and ball foot. Many Chippendale chairs were without stretchers, but the straight legged style usually had four. The seats were some- times in a box frame or rebate, and sometimes the covering was drawn over the frame and fastened with brass headed nails. Chippendale in the " Director " speaks of red morocco, Spanish leather, damask, tapestry and other needlework as being appropriate for the covering of his chairs. In about 1760 or 1765 he began to use the straight leg for his chairs. The different shapes of splats will often help in deciding the dates of their making, and its development is of great interest. The curves shown in the diagram on page 84 are the merest suggestions of the outline of the splat, and they were carved most beautifully in many differ- ent designs. Ribbon-back chairs are dated about 1755 and show the adapted French influence. His Gothic and Chinese designs were made about 1760-1770. Ladder-back chairs nearly always had straight legs, either plain or with double ogee curve and bead moldings, but there are a few examples of ladder-back and cabriole legs combined, although these 84, FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE are very rare. The chair settees of the Dutch time, with backs having the appearance of chairs side by side, were also made by Chippendale. *' Love seats " were small settees. It was naively said that " they were too large for one and too small for two." A large armchair that shows a decided difference in the manners of the early eighteenth 1740-1750 1750-1760 1755-1770 h 1750-1760 1755-1/^5 1760-1770 1760-1770 ^ 1750-1770 1770 1760-1770 DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHAIR SPLATS USED BY, CHIPPENDALE century and the present day was called the " drunkard's chair." When the craze for " Indian work " was at its height, there were many pieces of old oak and walnut furniture cov- ered with lacquer to bring it up to the fashionable standard, but their forms were not suitable, and oak especially, with its CHIPrENDALE AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 85 coarse grain did not lend itself to the process. The stands for lacquer cabinets vary in style, but were often gilded in late Louis XIV and Louis XV style. The difference be- tween true lacquer and its imitations is hard to explain. The true was made by repeated coats of a special varnish, each rubbed down and allowed to become hard before the next w^as put on. This gave a hard, cool, smooth surface with no stickiness. Modern work, done with paint and French var- nish, has not this delightful feeling, but is nearly always clammy to the touch, and the colors are hurt by the process of polishing. Chippendale did not use much lacquer, but in the " Director " he often says such and such designs would be suitable for it. Much of the furniture that Chippendale made was heavy, but the best of it had much beauty. His delicate fretwork tea-tables are a delight, with their fretwork cupboards and carving. He seemed to combine many sides in his artistic temperament, a fact that many people lay to his power of assimilating the work of others. He did not make side- boards in our sense of the word. His were large side-tables, sometimes with a drawer for silver and sometimes not. Pier- tables were very much like them in shape, but smaller, and were often gilded to match the mirrors which were placed above them. The larger pieces of Chippendale furniture have the same characteristic of perfect workmanship and detail which the 86 FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE chairs possess. Dining-tables were made in sections consist- ing of two semi-circular ends and two center pieces with flaps which could all be joined together and make a very large table. The beds he made had four posts and cornice tops elaborately carved and often gilded, with a strong Louis XV feeling. The curtains hung from the inside of the cor- nice. He also made many other styles of beds, such as can- opy beds, tent beds, flat tester beds, Chinese beds, Gothic beds : there was almost nothing he did not make for the house from wall brackets to the largest wardrobes. To many people used to the simple Chippendale furniture which is commonly seen, the idea of rich and beautiful carving and gilding comes as a surprise, and even in the " Director " there are no plates which show his most beautiful work. His elaborate furniture was naturally chiefly order work, and so was not pictured, and much of it that is left is still in the possession of the descendants of the original owners. The small number of authentic pieces which have reached public sales have been eagerly snapped up by private collectors and museums at large prices. In America much of the furniture called Chippendale was not made by Chippendale himself, but was made after his designs and copied from imported pieces by clever cabinet- makers here in the, then, colonies. The average American of the eighteenth century was a simple and not over rich per- son of good breeding and refined taste who appreciated the It is interesting to compare the generous curves of the Chippen- dale sofa with the greater severity of Hepplewhite's taste A valuable collection of an Adam mirror, a block-front, knee-hole chest of drawers, and a Hepplewhite chair CHIPPENDALE AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 87 fact that the elaborate furniture of England and France would not be in keeping with life in America, and so either imported the simpler kinds, or demanded that the home cabi- net-maker choose good models for his work. This partly explains why we have so much really good Colonial furniture, and not so much of the elaborately carved and gilded va- riety. 1 Robert Adam Robert Adam ROBERT ADAM was the second of the four sons of William Adam, and was born in 1728. The Adam family was Scotch of good social position. Robert early showed a talent for drawing. He was ambi- tious, and, as old Roman architecture interested him above all other subjects, he decided that he could attain his ideals only by study and travel in Italy. He returned to Eng- land in 1758 after four years of hard work with the results of his labors, the chief treasure being his careful drawings of Diocletian's villa. His classical taste was firmly established, and was to be one of the important influences of the eight- eenth century. Robert and James Adam went into partnership and be- came the most noted architects of their day in England. The list of their buildings is long and interesting, and much of their architectural and decorative work is still in existence. To many people it will seem like putting the cart before the horse to say that Robert Adam had in any way influ- enced the style we call Louis XVI, but it is a plausible theory and certainly an interesting one. Mr. G. Owen Wheeler in his interesting book on " Old English Furniture " makes a strong case in favor of the Adam Brothers. Classical taste 91 9a FURNISHING THE HOME OF GOOD TASTE was well established in England by 1765, before the transition from Louis XV to Louis XVI began, and Robert Adam published his book in parallel columns of French and Eng- lish, which shows it must have been in some demand in France. The great indfluence of the excavations at Pompeii must naturally not be underestimated, as it was far reaching, but with the beautiful Adam style well developed, just across the Channel, it seems probable that it may have had its share in forming French taste. The foundation being there, the French put their characteristic touch to it and developed a much richer style than that of the Adam Brothers, but the two have so much in common that Louis XVI furniture may be put into an Adam room with perfect fitness, and vice versa. As the Adams cared only to design furniture some one else had to carry out the designs, and Chippendale was master carver and cabinet-maker under them at Harewood House, Yorkshire, and probably was also in many other in- stances. The early furniture of Adam was plain, and the walls were treated with much decoration that was classic in feeling. He possessed the secret of a composition of which his ex- quisite decorations on walls and ceilings were made. After 1770 he simplified his walls and elaborated his furniture de- signs until they met in a beautiful and graceful harmony. He designed furniture to suit the room it was in, and with the dainty and charming coloring, the beauty of proportion A mantel of marble and steel in the drawing-room, Rushton Hall, Northamptonshire — the work of tlie brothers Adam Another Adam mantel. It is interesting lo note how cleariy these mantels are the inspiration of our own Colonial work ^,iiti_-';w*t<<<