YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY . ¦_. . ¦ ¦ ¦¦.¦:.;' MmmMKmMMmMMKm -5 ahel Krady Garvary COLLECTION of AMEMG^NAl FRANCIS PATRICK: GAWAN, 1^,1897 ^t^yaCe "University^-) SCHOOL OF THE FFNE ARTSX This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You may not reproduce this digitized copy of the book for any purpose other than for scholarship, research, educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy (or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes. Handbook of Furniture Styles HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES BY WALTER A. DYER Author of "The Lure op thk An tique," "Early American Crafts men," "Creators of Decorative Styles," btc. Being an abridged guide to the more important historic styles of furniture, espe cially intended for ready reference, including chrono logical tables, bibliography and index. F*=F New York & w Copyright, 1918, by The Century Co. Published, October, 1918 FOREWORD In scanning my library of books on old furniture and period decoration, some of them huge volumes, I have often wondered why no one had ever pub lished a small book of ready reference on the historic furniture styles. Such a volume, I realized, would be necessarily incomplete, its treatment perhaps fragmentary and superficial, and it would possess other obvious defects when viewed either as a stand ard work of reference or as a readable treatise. It would be necessary, of course, to omit many inter esting and important details, and the average author is loath to do this. But it seemed to me that the unavoidable short comings of such a book would be justified by its practical usefulness. A concise, abbreviated survey of the decorative periods would often be most help ful, particularly for those who have not the time or the inclination to study the large books. Something like a concordance of the period styles was what I had in mind. I had reason to believe that there [v] FOREWORD was a need for something in the way of a printed guide which would most effectively assist the average person in answering those universally puzzling ques tions of how to identify any period style or place any piece of furniture, and by what specific means to distinguish one style from another. I have consequently set aside my principles of sci entific accuracy and completeness for the time being, and have made the attempt to produce such a brief survey, vade mecum, manual, syllabus, or whatever you may choose to call it. I have presumed to add another volume to an already extensive literature on the furniture styles because I believed that this par ticular kind of volume would meet a genuine and particular need. Such condensation of a big subject must inevi tably result in sins of omission, if not of commission. I am fully aware of the defects inherent in this sort of treatment; I know just what the critics and re viewers will say; and I am moved to forestall their criticism by certain admissions and disclaimers, and to inform the purchaser of this volume exactly what he is getting for his money. In the first place, there is nothing new in this book. It does not pretend to be the result of orig inal research. There is not a fact or a conclusion in [vi] FOREWORD it that is not to be found in any one of a dozen larger and handsomer volumes. I do not think I have added one jot to the sum of human knowledge on this subject; I have merely sorted out that knowl edge and now present it in a new dress — or undress. This work does not pretend to be exhaustive, com prehensive, complete. Whole blocks of facts are deliberately omitted. My problem has been one of selection and elimination. I have endeavored to reduce a large, diffuse subject to lowest terms, to boil it down, to strip it to its essentials, and the reader need look for little more than a working out line. I do not even claim precise accuracy. Absolute truth in these things demands subtle distinctions and fine discriminations which take up space and are often tedious. I have sought to interpret these things more broadly, satisfied with correctness in its larger sense. If I have strained a point now and then in the effort to accentuate the lines of demarca tion and the bases of classification, I find my justifi cation in the belief that I have thus simplified what is too often made complicated, and that I have ren dered more comprehensible and more easily remem bered a matter that many persons tell me they still find confusing. [vii] FOREWORD I have, in short, sacrificed other ends to the single purpose of compiling a small, handy volume on the principal historic furniture styles, in the hope that it will fill the long-felt want for the essential facts presented in quickly available form, and that it may serve as the primer of a fascinating and useful study. For the convenience of such persons as may be encouraged to delve more deeply into the subject, I shall add at the end of this volume a list of books. It is not a complete list, but it is long enough for all practical purposes, and it includes the works of the leading authorities. To many of these authors I am personally indebted, having consulted their works frequently in the preparation of this handbook. The greater part of this volume first appeared in the form of magazine articles in "The Art World"; I am indebted to its editors for permission to reprint. A portion of Chapter II appeared originally in "Arts & Decoration." The majority of the illustrations are from photographs of authentic examples of an tique furniture in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. W. A. D. [viii] CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Period Furniture in Modern Homes . . 3 II Italian Renaissance 11 III The Renaissance Elsewhere .... 25 IV Louis XIV 45 V Louis XV 54 VI Louis XVI 64 VII The Empire 78 VIII Jacobean and Restoration 89 IX Anglo-Dutch 100 X Georgian no XI American Styles 125 Chronological Tables 140 Bibliography 149 Index 153 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The salon of Marie Antoinette at Fontainebleau, Louis XIV style Frontispiece English Gothic oak livery cabinet. Fifteenth century . . 5 English oak cabinet with linen-fold carving. Fifteenth century 5 Italian carved chest. Sixteenth century 6 Carved marriage chest or cassone. Sixteenth century ... 6 Italian carved walnut bench. Sixteenth century 6 High-backed Italian armchair, upholstered with velvet. Early seventeenth century ... 15 Sixteenth century Italian curule or Savonarola chair with bro cade upholstery !j Typical Italian table of the sixteenth century . .16 Florentine sideboard or credence, sixteenth century . 16 French credence of the late fifteenth century, with fine Gothic tracery and linen-fold carving ... . -29 A Flemish Renaissance cabinet of ebony with bone inlay. About 1600 . . . 29 French Renaissance carved chest. Sixteenth century ... 30 Carved walnut table. French Renaissance, 15 50-1 600 . 30 English oak court cupboard, with carved bulb-form supports. About 1575-1600 . 39 English oak wainscot chair, carved with the Tudor rose. Six teenth century . . • • 39 A Louis XIV armchair with seat and back of cane, which was less common than upholstery 40 [Xi] ILLUSTRATIONS PACK A Louis XIV armchair of the middle period, with curved legs and curved underbraces. Gilded wood and tapestry . . 40 A typical Louis XIV sofa upholstered in tapestry, designed in the manner of Berain 49 A finely carved Louis XIV table of gilded wood with marble top from the Chateau de Vaux ... 49 Late Louis XIV side chairs of oak with upholstery of Genoese velvet . . 50 A Louis XIV table and small cabinet in the style of Boulle, made of ebony with gilt and bronze mounts . ... 50 Late Louis XIV armchair with curved legs, upholstered in tap estry. The details are balanced . . .... 59 Louis XV armchair of carved walnut, upholstered in brocatelle. Note the unbalanced details in the carving 59 Louis XV console of carved and gilded wood, with marble top 60 A Louis XV table of polished oak with carving typical of the period 60 A Louis XV armchair with cane seat and back 65 Louis XV armchair of walnut, upholstered with tapestry . . 65 A Louis XVI armchair with square back and seat of cane and frame of carved walnut 66 A Louis XVI armchair with oval back, of painted and gilded wood upholstered 66 Louis XVI parlor in the Hotel Manhattan, New York. A good example of the modern application of the style . ¦ • 75 Typical Empire console table of mahogany with ormolu decora tions and a mirror at the back 76 Three-legged round table with mosaic top, gryphon supports, and the flaming torch in the center . 76 A typical drop-front desk of the Empire period, showing the round pillars, vertical form, and ormolu mounts ... 85 [Xii] ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A fauteuil gondole. Note the concave back, curved rear legs, and swan-neck arms ... 86 Another, built of mahogany, with brocade upholstery and with metal mounts 86 A typical bed of the Empire period, built of mahogany, en riched with ormolu mounts 86 The Empire style. Napoleon's throne room at Fontainebleau . 91 Typical Jacobean press cupboard of oak. 1 650-1 675 ... 92 Dining table of the plainer Jacobean type. 1650-1675 ... 92 Small table, late Jacobean, of oak and walnut, showing the popular spiral turning . -97 An oak gate-leg table of about 1685, with carved legs and sup ports. Turned legs were more common 97 Oak wainscot chair of about 1650, showing the Jacobean varia tion of the Tudor rose in the carving . . ... 98 A typical Restoration chair with scroll-work carving, cane seat and back, and the Flemish feet 98 Roundabout chair of the late seventeenth century, with rush bottom and with the Spanish foot in front 98 English cabinet, embellished with marketry of the Dutch type. Period of William and Mary . .... 107 Cane-back armchairs of the William and Mary period, showing the French influence of Daniel Marot . . . . 107 High chest of drawers of the William and Mary period with Flemish paneling and bell-turned supports .... 108 Late Queen Anne highboy of walnut veneer, with Dutch legs, broken-arch pediment, and brass fittings 108 A small stand of the Queen Anne period, with two drop leaves supported on swinging cabriole legs of the Dutch type . 113 Early Georgian chair of walnut veneer, showing the ball-and- claw feet of 1715 and after 113 [xiii] ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A cabinet for china designed by Chippendale in modified Chinese style . . 114 Tripod tea-table with lacquered piecrust top and ba]I-and-claw feet .... . 114 Chippendale chair, with pierced splat 119 Chippendale chair, ladder-back type .... ... 119 Hepplewhite shield-back armchair 119 Sheraton chair with rectangular back . ... 119 Hepplewhite mahogany pier table with square legs, inlaid with satinwood . 120 A typical Sheraton table with inlay on the front and with tapering, reeded legs . . 120 American "fancy" chair of the early nineteenth century . 133 A typical lyre-back chair made by Duncan Phyfe . . . .133 Three types of American Windsor armchairs of the late eight eenth century . ....133 Library stand of mahogany, by Phyfe . 134 A good example of the work of Duncan Phyfe, the American cabinet-maker. A drop-leaf table of mahogany . . .134 One of Phyfe's eight-legged sofas. The back panels are beau tifully carved and the slight swing of the arms is most graceful 13 Typical Italian table of the sixteenth century •sCT?5PM«Mwmw^^ Florentine sideboard or credence, sixteenth century ITALIAN RENAISSANCE and handsome chests, cabinets, tables, chairs, and other furniture were made for them. Artists and cabinet-makers from other countries went to learn at the feet of the Italian masters, so that furniture made then or soon after in Spain, France, Flanders, Germany, and to some extent in England, is some times not easily distinguished from that of Italy. The spirit and styles of the Italian Renaissance swept across the continent. In general, the style of this furniture was palatial, rather than domestic, in character. Florence led in a vivacious but dignified treatment of classic de tails. Sense of line and proportion was innate in the Florentine school, and even color was subordi nated to form, though the wealth of ornamental de tail was not to be suppressed. Venetian furniture was, if anything, even more richly elaborate. The cabinet-makers of the Renaissance, with their impulse toward finely wrought carving, partially abandoned the coarse-grained oak, which was the commonest material of the Gothic period, and be gan to use walnut, chestnut, and other woods. In the matter of ornament, carving assumed the first importance, and some of it was masterly. The standard of workmanship was high. The decora tive styles lagged somewhat behind the architecture, [17] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES and Gothic details persisted more or less until the true classic revival of the sixteenth century. The lives of saints came to play a less prominent part in the carving, and the pagan element crept in. Mythological, allegorical, and historical subjects be came popular, and that skilful combination of purely decorative scroll-work and pictorial form which we have come to associate with the Renaissance style. Symmetry and balance were guiding principles. The details included the fret, the arabesque, the an- themion, the acanthus, the scroll, the cartouche or pierced shield, conventionalized fruit and flowers, the dolphin, the human figure, and fanciful, half- human forms. The carving became more and more intricate, in both high and low relief, and finally fantastic, until the baroque tendency became pre dominant and Italy handed the scepter of furniture design to France. Some of this Renaissance furniture was also en riched with inlay. Ivory and bone, sometimes en graved, let into ebony, walnut, and rosewood, had been popular for more than a century in Venice. Toward the end of the fourteenth century, Italian cabinet-makers began to copy marble mosaics by means of inlays of natural or dyed woods, scorched and etched with hot sand or iron, and polished with [18] ITALIAN RENAISSANCE oils. This form of inlay, at first a specialty of the Certosan monks, was called intarsia. All sorts of designs were wrought in this medium, at first geo metrical and floral in type, and later elaborately pic torial. Remarkable skill in workmanship was dis played. Some of the patterns were picked out with ivory and mother-of-pearl and lined with metal threads. Ivory was also carved and applied in bas- relief, or inlaid in elaborate arabesques. Tortoise- shell, brass, mother-of-pearl, and even silver medal lions were used to enrich cabinets and caskets. Painting, gilding, and veneering were all employed, the carving on furniture being sometimes picked out with gold, producing a sumptuous effect. Some pieces were ornamented with stucco or covered with colored and gilded gesso. During the sixteenth century the Italian metal workers were at the height of their powers, and coffers, chests, and other pieces of furniture were mounted with wonderfully wrought steel, iron, brass, and bronze. In the same century pietra dura became the fashion — an inlay of highly polished agates, rare marbles, hard pebbles, lapis-lazuli, and other stones. The interior woodwork of the period was note worthy. Italian walnut was much used — carved, [19] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES paneled, and sometimes ornamented with gilding and gesso. The ceilings were vaulted and coffered. The walls were usually hung with fabrics, above a paneled wainscot. There were rich brocades and Genoese velvets, softer and richer than the glar ing colors of the Gothic period, and also stamped and gilded leather. In the sixteenth century the famous Renaissance tapestries came into use. The cabinet became one of the most important pieces of furniture in the homes of the period, and one of the most imposing. It was always a thing of dignity. Large, sometimes monumental in their proportions, and richly carved or inlaid, these cabi nets often displayed great magnificence and artistic skill. They were decidedly architectural in form, sometimes being designed with the steps and columns of a temple. At first their outlines often followed those of Roman arches and sarcophagi, but later they were modified, and those of the sixteenth century exhibit considerable grace and variety. Toward the end they became over-elaborate and even bizarre. Chairs were, naturally, an important item in the Renaissance household, and during the sixteenth cen tury they became fairly abundant. Those that have come down to us are chiefly of the high-backed and the curule forms. The high-backed chairs were [20] ITALIAN RENAISSANCE huge and stately, richly carved and handsome, with perpendicular backs, flat, square seats, and arms. They could scarcely have been considered comforta ble. They were made of oak, walnut, and other woods, without upholstery, though cushions of leather, silk, and velvet were used with them. The curule chair, or faldstool (faldisterium), sometimes called the Savonarola chair, was smaller and more comfortable. It was fashioned on a Ro man model, in the form of a curved X, and was fre quently constructed as a folding chair. It became especially popular in Florence and Venice during the sixteenth century, where it was often made of Italian walnut, carved and sometimes gilded, and frequently furnished with a back and seat of stretched velvet or leather, or with a wooden seat upon which a cushion was placed. Toward the end of the century, chairs were occasionally upholstered in silk, tapestry, brocade, or leather, and there was a stiff, rather ugly, all-wood chair. Carved stools and settees were also common in the homes of the period. The tables of the Renaissance were less stiff and ugly than those which had preceded them. The typical Renaissance table was oblong and supported at the ends by solid carved and shaped supports or consoles, often terminating in large claw or scroll [21] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES feet, and usually connected by a heavy stretcher or a lower shelf, upon which smaller supports some times rested. These tables were often made so high as to seem impractical from the modern point of view. They were frequently richly embellished with inlay and gilding as well as carving. The tops were thick planks, or sometimes slabs of marble or Flor entine mosaic. Coffers and chests were common adjuncts, partic ularly the cassone, or marriage chest, intended for the trousseau and wedding gifts. It was the lineal descendant of the medieval chest, and was made of solid walnut or chestnut, sometimes oak, and occa sionally of cypress or camphor wood. Some ex amples are shaped like sarcophagi; others have per pendicular sides and ends. Some are carved with scrolls and figures; others are painted and gilded or ornamented with intarsia and fine gesso work. Often they are masterpieces of ornament. There was also a higher form of chest, called a bahut. These are the principal pieces of furniture that interest the collector. Elaborately carved buffets and credences are sometimes to be seen. Several new forms were introduced about 1600, adding greater variety to the home furnishings, though less admirable in their workmanship — serving-tables [22] ITALIAN RENAISSANCE and sideboards, chests of drawers and dressers for the bedroom, couches, bookcases, and writing-tables or desks. The beds were heavy, having commonly a roof supported on four columns, and existing ex amples are rare. Mirrors of polished steel, with metal or richly carved and gilded frames are among the extant treasures of the period, and some of them are exquis ite examples of design and craftsmanship. Glass mirrors were not introduced until later, the first ones coming from Venice. Italian Renaissance bellows, wall-brackets, candlesticks, and other small objects, often richly carved, though sometimes too ornate, are also much sought by connoisseurs. Such clocks as were used were small and usually had metal cases, inlaid with ivory, horn, mother-of-pearl, and lapis- lazuli. There were also screens of stamped and painted Spanish leather. Chimneypieces, while they can hardly be classed as furniture, have sometimes been taken from the old palaces, and in many cases represent the flower of Renaissance design and carving. With the exception of the Savonarola chairs and the mirrors, and possibly an occasional table, cabinet, or chest, Italian Renaissance furniture is scarcely suited to actual use in the modern home. Most of [23] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES it should be preserved in museums, where students of art and the development of decorative styles may have access to it. It is not to be assumed that all of it is admirable or worthy of equal praise. There were good and bad workmen in those days, as there are now. Some authentic pieces display unpardonable extravagance or poor workmanship, while the furniture of the later Renaissance shows a tendency toward confusion of ideas, over-ornamentation, and other marks of ap proaching decadence. But no artistic education is complete, in the field of decorative and applied art, without some knowledge of the best work of the carvers and cabinet-makers of the Italian Renais sance. f24] CHAPTER III THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE (1500-1650) 1HAVE begun with the Italian Renaissance because it is of prime importance. Before proceeding, however, it may be well to take a hasty glance at the styles of an even earlier era. The furniture of those ancient times now in exist ence may be considered negligible. It is but re motely related to our modern styles. The student of the history of ornament, however, must take cog nizance of many diverse styles, some of them primi tive in type, in order to round out his subject. Ori ental ornament — Chinese, Persian, etc. — as well as Scandinavian, Celtic, etc., all played a part in the general evolution of decorative styles. Period decoration, however, as exemplified in the furniture styles of Europe, shows a fairly direct de velopment from ancient Egypt to modern America. The antique Egyptian had a recrudescence in both France and England in the time of Napoleon, and it formed the basis of some of the art of Greece. Its [25] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES decorative features included the column and entab lature, the papyrus, lotus, palm, sphinx, and scarab. With classic Greek and Roman architecture we are fairly familiar; we are always harking back to it. The decorative styles of Greece and Rome were adapted by the style creators of the Italian Renais sance and by the promoters of succeeding classic re vivals. Allied to the Greco-Roman was the Pom- peian style, one of the most beautiful of all the classic types. Its origin, in turn, was partly Egyp tian. It employed the pillar, the pilaster, the carved support, the panel, the fluted column, and, on the furniture, modeled bronze. Wonderful use of color in interiors was an outstanding feature. Then came the decadence of the Dark Ages and the gradual emergence therefrom. In southern Europe during the tenth to the fourteenth centuries we have the slow development of the Saracenic and Byzantine styles. The Byzantine, following the Roman, had its center in Constantinople. In the north we find the Romanesque and Gothic. These styles found expression chiefly in architec ture. After the Roman and Pompeian, the Gothic was the first to make itself vitally felt in furniture design. The Gothic school originated in northern France and its influence spread over a large part of [26] THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE Europe, reaching its highest development in the fourteenth century. Gothic furniture was plain in form and architec tural in character. Simple lines predominated, the decorative element being supplied by carving and pierced tracery. Much of it was built into the walls; the rest was cumbersome and heavy. In England, Germany, and the Low Countries oak was the principal wood employed; in France, chestnut; in Italy, walnut; in Spain, cypress. The carving was of a conventional, geometric character, but satisfying in its rendition. There is an undeniable charm about the best of the Gothic carving. The chief motifs were the pointed arch, the trefoil and quatrefoil, the wheel, the rose, and the linen-fold. The furniture was still simple and somewhat crude, but was gradually gaining in variety and mo bility. The chest or coffer was a prominent article from the first, often being elaborately carved. Cup boards, cabinets, armoires, and buffets came into use, and the bedstead became a more important affair. Plain trestle-«tables were followed by those that displayed some attempt at ornament. Chairs were still few, and were only used on state occasions. They were heavy and majestic. A noteworthy ex- [27] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES tant example is the coronation chair at Westminster Abbey, which is of carved oak and was built about 130. For the most part, stools, forms, and benches were used, some plain and some ornamented with carving. The common people continued content with the rudest kind of tables, chests, and stools, of no style at all. In England during the fifteenth century, when the Renaissance movement had already begun in Italy, we find a transition or late Gothic style, character ized by too much ornament. The cinquefoil and tongue of flame were added to the decorative motifs. The furniture was rather extravagant in style — less worthy, in fact, than that of the previous century. Well-constructed presses and cupboards and ornate chairs and bedsteads are among the pieces that have been preserved. At last the spirit of the Renais sance touched England, having already inspired France and Spain, and the era of practical, movable furniture was inaugurated, in which there was mani fest the effort to combine comfort and beauty. The powerful influence of the Italian Renaissance, which affected the applied arts of all Europe sooner or later, made itself felt in France during the reigns of Charles VIII and Louis XII (1453-1515), and [28] s French Renaissance carved chest. Sixteenth century Carved walnut table. French Renaissance, 1550-1600 THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE formed the dominant note in French decorative styles, with some changes, up to the close of the reign of Louis XIII. This was the period of the French Renaissance. It has sometimes been divided into four epochs or sub-periods, as follows: transi tion, Charles VIII to Louis XII, 1453-1515; early Renaissance, Francois I, 1515-1547; decline, Henri II, to Henri IV, 1547-1610; later Renaissance, Louis XIII, 1610-1643. The first of these four epochs witnessed the be ginnings of the new awakening. A freely orna mented Gothic remained the predominant style. The reign of Francois I was a period of great artistic development in France, during which the Renais sance movement came into full flower. Architecture, furniture design, and interior decoration all felt this impulse. The king encouraged the adoption of the Italian styles and sent to Italy for such great artists and craftsmen as Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Seralio, and Benvenuto Cellini. The Gobe lins established their tapestry works about this time. Frangois finished building Fontainebleau and com menced the Louvre, employing the services of da Vinci, del Sarto, and others. The French nobles followed their monarch's lead, building chateaux in [3lJ HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES the Italian style and supplying them with furniture constructed after Italian models — some of it of ex cellent workmanship. In the main, the woodwork of Francois I was pat terned after the Italian, but the ornamentation was lighter, the carving more open and less conservative. The French chairs were somewhat more graceful and lighter than those of Italy, with the same type of carving, but often with spiral or turned rungs, legs, and supports. Still, they were solid and of generous proportions. Oak was first used, then walnut. The use of cushions was followed by upholstery and a tendency toward greater comfort and luxury. The seats of the chairs were broad, the legs straight, and the backs not as high as those of Italy. Other pieces followed Italian models more or less closely. Chests and cabinets became less architectural in character and were sometimes furnished with drawers. The reign of Henri II (1547-1559) was even more productive in the realm of the industrial arts — furniture, textiles, faience, and book-bindings. The furniture was distinguished by wonderful carv ing, the cabinets being especially notable. The strap and band, the pierced shield, arabesque, lozenge, and flat cartouche were introduced as de sign motifs. [32] THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE During the next four reigns (Francois II, Charles IX, Henri III, Henri IV) a sort of decline or weary ing of the art impulse set in. Henri IV (1589- 1610) endeavored to revive it, but for the time being its force seemed to have been spent, and the styles were marked by meaningless and illogical changes. The shell came into prominence as a detail of orna ment, the forerunner of rococo (rocaille et coquille, rock and shell). There followed a rise in the artistic curve during the reign of Louis XIII (1610-1643), when Cardi nal Richelieu was prime minister and Simon Vouet a leader in the art world. Life became more luxuri ous and the demand for fine home furnishings more general. The styles of ornament became more varied, with much scroll and shell carving. Vouet's furniture was of the Italian type, with much florid ornament — the heavily scrolled car touche, fancy pilasters, ponderous garlands and swags of fruit and flowers, and fantastic shells. Other designers followed the Flemish school and displayed greater restraint. An increasing variety of forms appeared; there were more kinds of furniture made for every-day use. Many forms of chairs and sofas became com mon, and the divan and console were products of this [33] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES reign. The chairs, as a rule, were more comfortable, and were more commonly used for ordinary domestic purposes. Sometimes they were made in sets, and were usually upholstered in velvet, brocade, tapestry, and needlework. Bedroom furniture became more luxurious. The walls were commonly decorated with ornamental friezes above paneled wainscots. The styles of the German, Spanish, and Flemish Renaissance were all closely related. The move ment gained strength in Holland and Flanders later than in France. Margaret of Austria became gover nor of the Netherlands in 1507, and introduced the Italian styles and Italian workmen, but the Flemish Renaissance was at its best after 1600. Before that Italian models were copied; afterward the Low Countries established a Renaissance style of their own, which was interpreted by talented designers and wonderful wood-workers. Remarkable carving was done, including figure work of a high order. At first oak was the only medium employed ; later ebony and other woods were introduced. Flemish furniture of the seventeenth century was excellent in design and workmanship, and exerted a powerful influence over England. For example, a chair that was adopted in both France and England, with high back, carved top and underbrace, and cane [34] THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE panels — the typical chair of the English Restora tion period — was of purely Spanish-Flemish origin. Another characteristic article of the Flemish Renais sance was a massive wardrobe with handsomely carved doors. During the seventeenth century Holland contrib uted a taste for fine marquetry. The patterns be came freer, less severe, and the use of colored woods richer and more varied. Mother-of-pearl and ivory were added, after the Italian manner. Exquisite at first, this Dutch marquetry later became florid, gaudy, and fantastic. Meanwhile the rural districts were producing a simple form of painted furniture that was hardly less interesting. Germany, under the leadership of Albrecht Diirer, reluctantly abandoned the Gothic during the six teenth century and followed Flanders in a freer treatment of carving. In Spain the Moorish feeling, based on the Sara cenic, was stronger than the Gothic. During the sixteenth century artists were imported from France and Flanders, but the Moorish elements persisted, dwelling side by side with the Renaissance. Dur ing the seventeenth century, however, the Renais sance styles were predominant in furniture design. The nobles were rich, and the art industries were [35] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES encouraged. Fine needlework and tooled leather were produced. The lustrous Spanish chestnut became the chief furniture material, with some cedar, cypress, and pine. The art of inlaying with ebony, ivory, etc., was introduced from Flanders. Cabinets of chest nut were richly ornamented with repousse plaques of silver and later of tortoise-shell, ebony, and rare woods from the tropics. Elaborate desks and other pieces were manufactured. The Flemish form of high-backed chair was modified. It commonly had hoof feet and a solid back of dark-brown Cordova leather, stamped and studded with brass nails and mounts. This, like the original Flemish form, was imported into England about 1660. The Renaissance movement, strictly speaking, was less marked in England than on the Continent, but there was a gradual development of styles during the Tudor period which parallels it. Roughly, Eng lish furniture may be divided into that of the age of oak, lasting until about 1660; the age of walnut, 1660 till about 1725; and the age of mahogany, to the beginning of the nineteenth century. That is the first broad division. Up to the close of the Cromwellian period oak was the predominant wood in English furniture. The earliest furniture was [36] THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE crude and heavy and included only such articles as were essential to domestic life — chests, tables, benches, beds, and occasionally, chairs. Emerging from the crudities and limitations of the Gothic period, English furniture yet retained the Gothic traditions of sturdiness and virility for many years, until Continental influences, which at first re fined it, led it at length into the extravagance of the French rococo. First, to summarize the dates : The Norman and Gothic periods covered, roughly, the years 1066 to 1485. The Tudor period included the reigns of Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII, contempor ary with the Renaissance movement (1509-1547), Edward VI ( 1547-1553). Mai7 ( 1553-1558), and Elizabeth (1558-1603). This last half century is sometimes referred to as the Elizabethan period. Henry VIII, who was an anti-Papist, desired a change from the Gothic styles which he associated with Catholic ecclesiastical architecure. He brought John of Padua from Italy and installed him as court architect. John was doubtless full of the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, but the king's attitude was negative, rather than positive — anti-Gothic, rather than pro-Renaissance — and the Renaissance move ment was of slow growth in England. Holbein, [37] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES who lived in England from 1526 to 1543, was re sponsible for the introduction of Flemish Renais sance ideas, such as florid and graceful carving and inlay of scroll-work with elegant leafage and figures. The styles of the early Tudor period (1509-1558) show a mixture of Gothic survivals, with Italian, Flemish, and French importations, all more or less modified. It was a less plastic, less imaginative style than that of Italy. It was a sort of emascu lated Renaissance. Henry VIII and his followers appear to have caught something of the decorative idea, but not the idea of comfort, and England was only half-awake to the art impulse of the Renais sance. The familiar linen-fold motif, a substitute for per pendicular Gothic lines, was introduced into Eng land, probably from France or Flanders, as early as the fifteenth century, and is found on Gothic work. It now appeared with Tudor details on chests, choir- stalls, footboards of beds, etc. The acanthus was introduced from Italy, and also the cartouche and the guillouche, a strap ornament forming a succes sion of circles. There were also Italian furniture forms and terminal shapes. After 1536 the coarser German and Flemish fea tures became more common than the Italian. There [38] £ 5 THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE was a greater variety of formal strap-work, more turned work, diamond shapes superimposed on square panels, and panel work made up of mouldings. Other details were the Tudor rose, the dolphin, the lion's head, round portrait medallions, series of round-headed arches, and a semi-circular or fan pat tern. These details were employed largely in church interiors, as well as on wall panels and movable furniture. The cabinet was a prominent piece of furniture. There is a remarkable example in the South Kensington Museum in the form of a Roman triumphal arch, like some of the Italian cabinets. It is chiefly of pear wood, enriched with carving and inlay of the German type in a profusion of detail. The tables were plain trestle affairs, often covered with an embroidered cloth or carpet. Chairs were rare, and were used only by the master and mistress of the house, other persons using more or less crude settles, benches, forms, and stools, usually of oak, occasionally of ebony. The chairs were heavy and solid, with straight backs and flat, wooden seats, sometimes furnished with cushions of embroidered velvet or other stuffs. There were also huge, elabor ate beds and wonderfully carved oaken chests. The main room of the private house was usually furnished [41] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES with a dressoir, or service-cupboard for drinking- vessels, etc., a chair or two, some stools and benches, and a board on trestles. It was during the prosperous reign of Elizabeth that something like a Renaissance movement devel oped. It was an era marked by a revival of interest in learning and the arts, by literary production, and by social, political, and commercial progress. The furniture styles took on a more distinctive character. There was less of the Gothic feeling, more attempt at originality. Occasionally pure Italian or French Renaissance work give evidence of the presence of imported craftsmen, but there was actually less of the Italian feeling than formerly; the style was be coming more distinctly British. Both Flemish and English carvers were widely employed; the material was chiefly oak, the carving being in rather high re lief. Among the decorative details introduced during this period were heraldic motifs in the carving, the diamond or lozenge on the backs of chairs and the panels of chests and cupboards, and designs embody ing fruit, foliage, and flowers. There were occa sionally Renaissance pedestals or terminals in the form of human busts, tapering down to a foot. The bulb, drum, or melon form, often carved with gad- [42] THE RENAISSANCE ELSEWHERE roon ornaments, frequently appeared on table-legs, bed-posts, and cupboard-supports. The linen-fold motif gave place generally to scroll- and strap-work, sometimes elaborately interlaced and carved in low relief. Turned work also became somewhat popu lar. Interior decoration received increasing attention. The oak paneling of the walls was often elaborate and handsome, and there were highly ornamental and often massive chimneypieces. Tapestries were used more and more. Chairs were not yet common, but there were some curule-shaped chairs of Italian derivation, wooden-seated armchairs with much turned work, and heavy, straight-backed, carved wainscot-chairs. Joint stools and forms continued in use, bearing an increasing amount of turned and carved ornament. The Tudor board-and-trestle table was followed in Elizabeth's time by a longer, narrower, more ornate style, with four heavy legs of an exaggerated baluster form, often with a bulbous carving half way down. The legs were joined by heavy rails, or struts, near the floor. Cupboards became more common, the styles verg ing upon the court and press cupboards of the Jaco bean period. There were many forms of chests, and [43] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES great, canopied, four-post bedsteads. Mirrors were introduced about this time. The styles that followed were so much an out growth of these that some knowledge of the Renais sance period is necessary for a clear understanding of the rest. The later styles, however, are the ones which chiefly concern us, for it is upon them that our modern styles are based. Beginning, then, with the style of Louis XIV in France and the Jacobean period in England, we will proceed with a somewhat more detailed study. [44] CHAPTER IV LOUIS XIV (1643-1715) IT is not an easy matter to epitomize briefly the salient characteristics of the French decorative periods, but we shall render our task a little less difficult if we omit the earlier periods which were sketchily touched upon in Chapter III. There is justification for this, for Americans have been mainly interested in four of the French periods — Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, and the Empire — and these are the only ones that exert an influence on the furniture design of to-day. It would be well, however, for the student to know something of that source of great inspiration in the arts, the Renais sance, for the later styles are best understood when that background is kept in view. The art impulse was reawakened during the reign of Louis XIII, and this paved the way for a sort of second French Renaissance that held sway during the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI, [45] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES and exerted a powerful influence over the contem porary arts of England and the Low Countries. During these three periods furniture was pro duced that was more readily adaptable to modern needs than any that had gone before and that reached a higher plane of artistic excellence. They are rep resented by three distinct styles marking a definite development. The Louis XIV style is marked by dignity, grandeur, bold effects, lavish but not ex cessive ornament, and faultless workmanship. In the decoration the conventionalized anthemion and acanthus were prominent, and the ornamental details were symmetrical and balanced. The Louis XV period marked the culmination of the rococo period of design, with the influence of Madame Pompadour paramount. Less attention was paid to proportion and form than to elaboration of detail. The anthe mion and acanthus continued to be employed in ornament, but the details were generally unbal anced. Pastoral scenes by Watteau were used in decoration, and rococo details, natural flowers, fes toons, baskets, and ribbon and lace effects. The Louis XVI style shows a return to simpler lines and more restrained and delicate ornament, under the influence of Marie Antoinette. Fine marquetry and painting were employed, and a lavish use of dainty [46] LOUIS XIV florals. The legs of chairs and tables, generally curved in Louis XV's time, became slender, straight, and tapering. So much for a general survey of this interesting and productive period. Many historical changes took place during the seventy-two-years' reign of Louis XIV which had a direct effect on the art industries. The influence of the Queen Regent and Cardinal Mazarin, during the years of Louis's minority was toward greater luxury, which always means ornateness in decoration. More powerful still was the constructive influence of Jean Baptiste Colbert, Minister of Finance, who became Prime Minister in 1661. Colbert fostered the grow ing art impulse among the French people and en couraged the art industries. He founded the Acad emy of Painters and Sculptors, organized the lace industry, and was instrumental in the government purchase of the Gobelin Tapestry Works, at the head of which he placed Charles Le Brun. As royal works, the Gobelin factory became a pow erful influence in the development of style. Le Brun became manager in 1660 and a dictator of style. In 1690 he was succeeded by Mignard. The Beauvais Tapestry Works were also established dur ing this reign, with Louis Hyvart as manager. The [47] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES tapestries produced by these two factories were typi cal of the tastes of the times, and were characterized by pomp and grandeur, with a preference for serious classic and martial subjects. These things, culminating about 1667, gave direc tion to the popular impulse and resulted in the crys tallization of the Louis XIV style. In 1660 Louis adopted his title of Le Grand Monarque and became a powerful king. He aided Colbert in encouraging the art industries, and gave every opportunity for development to such artists and designers as Daniel Marot, De Espouy, Hardouin Mansart, Noel Coy- pel, and Le Pautre. Great furniture designers and cabinet-makers were encouraged and thrived, includ ing J. Charles Berain and Andre Charles Boulle. Boulle was the chief of this group, and his work is stamped on the Louis XIV style in furniture. Le Brun is said to have drawn some of his designs, and Marot worked for him. His furniture is distin guished by wonderful workmanship and lavish orna ment. He made use of ormolu and introduced an elaborate marquetry of tortoise-shell and brass which came to be known as Boulle or Buhl work. Shells, scrolls, the acanthus, and the ram's head were among his ornamental details. Under royal patronage the palace was built at [48] fK ^^^^teV^^^^sOgfe^^^^^r5 A typical Louis XIV sofa upholstered in tapestry, designed in the manner of Berain A finely carved Louis XIV table of gilded wood with marble top, from the Chateau de Vaux Late Louis XIV side chairs of oak with upholstery of Genoese velvet A Louis XIV table and small cabinet in the style of Boulle, made of ebony with gilt and bronze mounts LOUIS XIV Versailles and gardens were laid out by Andre Le Notre. Great artists and designers were employed in the interior decorations and furnishings, and mag nificence was the keynote. In some respects, how ever, the work done at Fontainebleau and the Tri anon, and in certain chateaux and private mansions, where a simpler phase of the Louis XIV style is illustrated, forms a safer guide for modern students. Louis XIV chairs were large and comfortable, being usually upholstered, back and seat, with tapes try, brocade of large pattern, or with ruby velvet en riched with gold galloon. During the first half of the reign the legs of chairs were straight, and turned or carved in a squarish effect, like pedestals. They were furnished with decorative underframing, and were sometimes ornamented with acanthus carving. In general, these chairs were similar to those intro duced into England by Daniel Marot, and known to us as William and Mary chairs. Later the chair- legs became curved, similar to the cabriole, still somewhat massive but more graceful. Chair backs departed from the rectilinear and swept upward in a curve. After 1700 the legs became more slender, approaching those of the Louis XV period in style. The tables had similar turned or pedestal feet, and later had curved legs. Small, round and oblong [51] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES tables and consoles became common. Beds were designed chiefly with a view to supporting elaborate draperies. A couch, called Ut a la duckesse, gilded, painted, and varnished, made its appearance. Carved and inlaid panels were much used on chests and wardrobes, and there were many forms of chests and cabinets in vogue. One chest was shaped like a sarcophagus, after the Italian Renaissance man ner, and was set on carved scroll legs, like a table, with drawers beneath. A common form of cabinet had a serpentine front and carved feet and panels, and was decorated with Buhl work. These are but a few of the numerous forms that appeared during the Louis XIV period. The chief woods used in cabinet-making were oak, walnut, chestnut, and ebony, with ornamental por tions frequently done in rosewood, sandal-wood, tulip-wood, and various exotic woods. There was much gilding, marquetry and carving, with mounts and inlay of onyx, porphyry, lapis-lazuli, ormolu, brass, and colored woods. Gobelin tapestry and Lyons velvet were the principal upholstery materials. Toward the end of the reign the styles changed, developing toward that of the Louis XV period. The pedestal legs gave place to more slender, curved legs. Elaborate carving became an even more [52] LOUIS XIV prominent feature, with a more graceful rococo and more scroll-work. In other respects very similar to the Louis XV style, however, this late Louis XIV work continued to show balanced details, while one of the distinguishing features of the succeeding reign is a balance of harmony, but not of detail. Throughout the Louis XIV period the great de signers continued in their effort to perpetuate the spirit of the Renaissance. It was a distinguished period in the development of French applied art and one worth studying for its own sake, as well as for the sake of a better understanding of the styles that followed. The Louis XIV style has been somewhat neglected in the past by modern manufacturers of period furni ture, who have found the styles of Louis XV and Louis XVI more to their liking. Of late, however, Louis XIV reproductions and adaptations have been placed on the market in increasing numbers, and to day the style is enjoying something of a popular vogue, in common with the William and Mary style of England. Its dignity and distinction render it suitable to the more formal rooms in the modern home. [531 CHAPTER V LOUIS XV (1715-1774) DURING the Louis XV period in France., extending over three score years, there was developed a decorative style that was dis tinctive. The first eight years are often referred to as the Regency period; they were the years of the king's minority, when Philippe de Bourbon, or Philip of Orleans, acted as regent. Philip became the leader in matters of French decorative art, and it was he who laid the founda tions for the Louis XV style. He took pleasure in upsetting traditions, and established an era of luxury and extravagance. In art, as in life, formality was thrown overboard, and gaiety took the place of the martial pomp of the previous reign. Under the regent, Louis was brought up to a life of indulgence and ease in the midst of a pleasure- loving court, and it was only natural that his should be a gay and extravagant reign. Among his favor ites were the Comtesse du Barry and Madame Pom- [54] LOUIS XV padour, who helped to encourage the gaiety and luxury that affected all the styles of the period, with which their names have always been closely con nected. In many respects it was not an effete period, how ever; it was far from barren of artistic results. In deed, it was the most exuberant of the French dec orative periods. The state ateliers continued to en joy royal support and were the centers of artistic production. The list of clever and talented masters of applied art who flourished during this reign is too long to give in full. Interior decorators, designers, paint ers, potters, tapestry-weavers, cabinet-makers, and metal-workers cooperated in an extraordinary man ner to make this a most productive period. The designers of decorative sculpture exerted a domi nating influence. Oudry and then Boucher became director of the Gobelin Tapestry Works, producing wonderful reproductions of paintings in which syl van and amatory scenes took the place of the mar tial and classical subjects of the previous reign. Un fortunately for us, many of the delicate colors they used proved not to be permanent. Charles Cres- sent, who rose to prominence as a decorative sculptor during the Regency, was one of the best designers [55] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES and cabinet-makers of the century. Jean Riesener was another Louis XV cabinet-maker of prominence. Jacques Caffieri and Pierre Gouthiere, skilful metal workers and cabinet-makers, added their part to the development of the styles. Lancret and Watteau, painters, embellished the walls and furniture of the period. Meissonnier, a designer, was a leader in the dominant rococo school. He defied the laws of bal ance, often making one side of a console or cabinet quite different from the other without disturbing the sense of harmony. His work is said to have greatly influenced the English Chippendale. And there were many other masters, including a host of interior decorators. In 1753 Louis made a royal institution of the Sevres porcelain factory, adding a new impetus in this field of applied art. Under Madame Pompa dour Sevres porcelain plaques were much used to en rich cabinets, writing-desks, etc. It was during this reign, too, that the Martin family flourished, and Vernis-Martin lacquer be came popular. The Martins were carriage-painters who invented a lacquer finish in imitation of the popular Oriental lacquer, and then developed the more distinctly French Vernis-Martin. Simon Etienne Martin established the Vernis-Martin works [56] LOUIS XV in 1744. This lacquer was made in red, brown, gold, speckled bronze, and even black, and was used on many kinds of furniture, such as tables, cabinets, and elaborate sedan chairs. Watteau and Boucher painted pictures for these Vernis-Martin pieces and also for Vernis-Martin panels, overmantels, and doors. The later styles of the Louis XIV period gradually merged into those of Louis XV through the medium of the Regency. The taste for curves and rococo details had already made itself felt. The styles of the Louis XV period are marked, in general, by a greater suppleness in the lines of furniture, a more constant use of ornamental metal sculptures, rococo details, and the irregular harmony of related parts. The Regency style was a medley of mythological, classic, and modern, expressed with much parade and ostentation. The austere and heroic gave place to abandon, frivolity, and extravagance in decorative art. About 1720-25 a strong Chinese influence was felt, both in the increased use of lacquer and in some of the design details. The Louis XV style proper, however, was a purely French development, built upon the Louis XIV, with very little foreign influence. It was a capri cious, whimsical style, exaggerating the late Louis [57] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES XIV forms, with a freer use of curves and rococo details. It was a less restrained style than that of Louis XIV, more elegant, and in some ways more graceful. Often, however, it lacked the merit of the previous style, when it carried its extravagance too far. The dominant decorative motif was the rococo or rocaille, used in irregular symmetry with skilful audacity. It was used in combination with ribbon and lace effects, natural flowers and hanging baskets, the broken shell, the twisted acanthus, the curled en dive, and the flowing scroll. It was the master metal-worker, Caffieri, who introduced the endive or celery motif to supplant the classic acanthus. As has been stated, the lack of precise balance in the use of ornament is a distinguishing mark of the Louis XV style. Unbalanced details were in troduced during the Regency, and later, under the leadership of Meissonnier, all attempts to have the design alike on both sides of a given center were abandoned. Nevertheless, though the details were different, the effect of balance was retained by skil ful arrangement of unlike sections. These ornamental details were used lavishly in interior woodwork — on cornice, wainscot, mantel, door- and window-casing, and panel- and picture- [58] t^^^^—^T 3-d to u o1- I- L. 1J > a l-H cd W B Louis XV console of carved and gilded wood, with marble top A Louis XV table of polished oak with carving typical of the period LOUIS XV frame. Furniture was designed to conform with them. Plain surfaces were avoided, everything being profusely ornamented, chiefly with elaborate mounts of bronze and ormolu, as well as carving. Toward the end of Louis XV's reign there was a slight reaction toward greater symmetry and simplic ity, foreshadowing the style of Louis XVI. The furniture of the Louis XV period reflected the spirit of the times in form and in decoration. Many kinds of woods were used, including mahogany to some extent, as well as cherry and cheaper woods painted and gilded. Marquetry was not employed extensively, though we sometimes find inlay of tulip, rosewood, maple, and amaranth on some of the larger pieces. The doors and panels of commodes, cabinets, etc., were often veneered, with the grain of the wood running diagonally. All the larger pieces were em bellished with metal mounts and carved applique, most of it exhibiting superb workmanship. Indeed, good workmanship was a characteristic of Louis XV furniture. While the chairs of the period were perhaps its most interesting product, there were many other noteworthy pieces in the typical style — tables and elaborately carved con soles, and wonderfully decorated cabinets and com modes. The boudoir was highly developed as a [61] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES sort of informal reception-room, and much care and skill were exercised in the development of its dec oration and furnishing. There were screens with carved and gilded frames, surrounding specially woven floral and pictorial tapestries; also screens painted by Watteau and Boucher. Clocks, candelabra, mirrors, etc., were all designed in the extravagant style of the times. Mirrors were introduced over mantels, in place of the heavy carvings of the previous reign. Panels were much in evidence on walls and ceil ings, sometimes painted, sometimes framed tapes tries from the Gobelin or Beauvais factories, lovely in design and coloring, depicting pastoral scenes and love-making, contemporary life and Arcadian affec tations. Over-elaborate draperies were a feature of the interiors. The Louis XV chair suggests comfort, ease, and luxury. Curved shapes were in vogue, hardly an angle appearing in the chair-frames. Sometimes these shapes bordered on the fantastic, but they were always luxurious and the workmanship was excel lent. The back was shaped to fit the body and was usually softly upholstered, though cane was some times used for seats and backs. Indeed, the wood work of the back was merely a decorative frame for [62] LOUIS XV m> upholstered cushion. At the top was often a central shell or flower from which floral carving fell gracefully over the rounded corners of the back. Legs and arm supports of Louis XV chairs were gracefully curved, the legs being slender, with no underbracing, and usually decorated with carving at the knee and foot. Upholstery was one of the prominent features of these chairs. The large patterns in fabrics that had been popular in Louis XIV's day were replaced by smaller ones. Lyons velvets and silks in floral pat terns were much used. Stripes were introduced, but were used less than during the succeeding period. Beauvais tapestries, beautiful in pattern and color, were designed and woven to fit the chairs, in which they were framed by the woodwork, like pictures. Such are the outstanding features of the furniture styles of the Louis XV period. A prolific and note worthy period it was, but somewhat too florid, and from an artistic point of view it was surpassed by that which followed. [63] CHAPTER VI LOUIS XVI (1774-1793) BETWEEN two decorative periods there is always a period of transition. Signs of change are to be noticed in the styles of the late Louis XV period. Nevertheless, the transition at this time, though leading to a style radically dif ferent, was comparatively brief, and we find the ele ments of the new style in full swing early in the reign of Louis XVI. It was, indeed, a more or less arbitrary change, carried out by some of the same artists who had worked under Louis XV. Though some of the features of the Louis XVI style doubt less owe much to the dainty taste of Marie Antoi nette, perhaps she has received more credit than was her due, for when she came from Vienna as the bride of the young dauphin, she found the new style already under way. As a matter of fact, the marked changes in the French decorative styles which developed during the brief reign of Louis XVI were due to a more or less [64] >X > -1< O 3 >X ¦ti o & OJ LOUIS XVI logical swing of the pendulum to a taste for simpler forms after an overabundance of the elaborate. Moreover, the artists of the period had become stu diously interested in the antiquities recently un earthed at Herculaneum and Pompeii and also in the work of the Italian Renaissance. A classical re vival resulted, corresponding to that represented by the work of Adam, Wedgwood, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton in England. The return to simpler forms, more graceful lines, and greater restraint in orna mentation appealed to the volatile French taste. The ponderously or elaborately dignified gave place to a playful and dainty character which we have come to associate with the name of Marie Antoinette. There are critics who profess to see in the Louis XVI style, as in that of Robert Adam, only a feeble reflection of the classic, lacking comfort, elegance, and stability. Such critics are persons — and there are always some — who are constitutionally incapable of appreciating the unadorned beauty of simplicity and perfect proportion. My own faculty of appre ciation reacts more promptly to this more chaste form of art than to the more ornate expressions of Chippendale and the artists of the Louis XV period. Despite severity of line, Louis XVI furniture com bines beauty and comfort with exquisite proportions. [67] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES Though shorn of ornateness, it does not lack ele gance. Though quiet, it is never vulgar. It sug gests, indeed, aristocracy. It is a refined style, re moved as far as possible from the monstrous, ugly, and grotesque, and characterized by delicacy of out line and fineness of detail. There is a certain purity about the style and a quality which indicates that its simplicity was not the result of poverty of imag ination, but of self-imposed restraint. Finally, the style was executed with the best of workmanship and painstaking finish. As to details of the Louis XVI style, it may be said to be rectangular in principle. Straight lines and the simplest curves replaced the reversed curves and flowing scrolls and give the keynote to the style. Ornamental details, which were used with restraint, were largely classic in type and derivation and were used with great skill. They were often copies of Pompeian and Italian Renaissance carvings. Ro coco ornament was abandoned, the horizontal Greek band taking the place of the shell in mouldings. The overdone acanthus and the endive made way for the laurel and the oak-leaf, the latter appearing especially on large pieces of furniture, such as cabi nets, bureaus, and consoles, and also on clocks, mir- [68] LOUIS XVI ros, and sconces, though less commonly on chairs and tables. The fluted column became an important feature of construction and ornament, both in woodwork and metal-work. On cabinets and such pieces this column appears in the form of a fluted pilaster, sometimes tapering to the floor, sometimes resting on claw-feet. Frequently the flutings were filled at intervals with quills or husks, often gilded. On chairs and tables the column takes the form of straight, round, vertical legs, fluted and slightly tapering. Flat surfaces of walls and furniture, always deco rated during the previous period, were now often left in the form of plain, rectangular panels,, surrounded by mouldings, in place of irregular panels encrusted with ornament. The corners of the rectangles were usually broken, and often there was a medallion or painting inside, somewhat in the Pompeian manner. In place of arms, armor, weapons, and the victor's palm of Louis XIV, or the Watteau and Boucher pastorals of Louis XV, these medallions were classic in subject, or musical instruments, Cupid's quiver, baskets and garlands of flowers, wreaths and bay- leaves. [69] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES Many artists and cabinet-makers contributed to the development of this style, including men of great talent and ability. Probably the greatest cabinet maker of the period was Riesener, who had gained fame and experience during the previous reign. He was a master of marquetry, using woods like pig ments. A younger man, equally noteworthy, was David Rontgen, more often referred to as " David," who was patronized by Marie Antoinette, and who is not to be confused with Jacques Louis David, the painter. He also was a producer of wonderfully minute marquetry. The greatest metal-worker of the period was Gouthiere, who often cooperated with Riesener. And there were other artists, craftsmen, and decorators whose work should be discussed if space permitted. Many woods were employed by the cabinet makers of this period, chiefly oak, walnut, and ma hogany. Mahogany became more popular than walnut, but the latter was much used for the frames of upholstered furniture, either natural or enameled in soft colors. Ormolu mounts continued in use on the larger furniture, and also inlay of tulip, rose, pear, amboyna, holly, mahogany, ebony, etc. Lac quered furniture was also in demand to some extent. Light tints prevailed in woodwork and upholstery, [7o] LOUIS XVI the wood often being stained or finished with white enamel and gilding. The metal-work of the period was, as a rule, superbly executed, some of it appearing like jewelry. Chinese porcelains were much used, mounted in bronze, and Sevres plaques were inserted in furni ture. Interior decoration and woodwork partook of the same general character as the furniture. Door- and window-frames became more strictly rectangular, with the carved ornament much smaller and finer. Walls were frequently divided by fluted pilasters into panels which were decorated after the Pompeian or Italian Renaissance manner. Furniture, when not gilded or enameled, was highly polished, much more of the wood showing than on Louis XV furniture. Bronze mounts were still used, particularly on the dark wood pieces, but Boulle's inlay of tortoise-shell had gone out of fash ion. Large pieces, such as vitrines, cabinets, com modes, desks, etc., were commonly made of this dark, polished wood, with metal mounts and occasionally inlay. Sometimes they were furnished with marble tops. Tables were often made in this style, too, of dark polished wood, frequently mahogany, with metal mounts or inlay, and with marble tops, but [71] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES they are not so pleasing as the lighter stands and tables in white or tinted enamel or gilt. The marble tops sometimes look a bit too heavy for the slender legs. The legs of chairs, sofas, tables, commodes, desks, etc., command particular attention because they were distinctive and differed radically from those of the previous reign. These pieces of furni ture stood squarely and honestly straight, but not un gracefully so. The curved and cabriole leg was gone, and in its place appeared a straight, compara tively slender, somewhat tapering shaft with no underframing. The typical Louis XVI leg has never seemed as graceful to me as the more slender, reeded leg designed by Sheraton, but, as I say, it was distinctive. It was classic in detail and generally fluted, the fluting being varied with lines of threaded beads, husks, shorter reedings or flutings, or with linings of brass and metal headings. The feet were often shod with bronze ferrules or finely finished with a ring, an acanthus cup, or a vase-like terminal adapted from the Pompeian. The top of the leg was often carved in a tiny wreath, a row of beading, or a torch-like ornament, or it was topped with a bronze cap. Table-legs often had female heads in ormolu at the top. [72] LOUIS XVI As is often the case, the chairs were among the most interesting products of the period. Walnut was the wood most commonly used for chairs, either finished natural or enameled and gilded. Oak and other woods, frequently painted in soft colors or white, were also used for chairs. Sinuous curves disappeared from the chair-backs, which were usually rectangular, round, or oval in shape. They still produced the effect of exquisitely carved frames for upholstery. Often a bow of rib bon was carved at the top. Square or round seats predominated. The arms were rather high at the juncture with the back and were straight or gently curving, resting on straight or slightly curved sup ports, which, in turn, rested squarely on the front legs. The new type of leg has already been mentioned — a straight, slender, vertical shaft, usually round, fluted, and more or less tapering. This was used with both the round-back and the square-back chairs. The effect was saved from stiffness by the propor tions and the decoration. A great variety appears in the fluting, and the foot was always given a neat finish. There was seldom any underbrac- ing. The use of cane increased for the backs and seats [73] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES of chairs, and is frequently to be found with painted, gilded, and natural walnut frames. Dining-room chairs of the period very often had cane seats and backs, or were covered with material to match the walls and hangings. The majority of the chairs, however, were up holstered in fine materials, including brocades and Gobelin, Beauvais, and Aubusson tapestries. Deli cate colors prevailed in the upholstery goods, suited to the gilt and white or light-tinted enamels used on the wood. The stuffs were rich, but the designs were smaller than those of the Louis XV upholstery, to match the finer detail of the woodwork. The popular patterns included stripes of fine lines and small florals, as well as larger flowers and foliage, baskets, ribbons, etc. The effect was nearly always light and dainty. Loose cushions of eiderdown were much used with chairs and sofas. Sofas were upholstered in the same materials, were usually gilded or enameled, and followed, in general, the lines of the chairs. The Louis XVI sofa was longer than that of the previous period and had more legs. Briefly, these details represent the style developed during the score of years of Louis XVI's reign. In [74] fc.S .6 LOUIS XVI some respects this period marks the climax of French decorative art. Then came the Revolution, the ruin of the state ateliers, and the abrupt termination of the Louis XVI period. [77] CHAPTER VII THE EMPIRE (1799-1814) THE period of the French Empire was the last of the great historic decorative periods. The styles of the period were, unlike most others, not the result of a gradual development, but of a rather abrupt change. After Louis XVI came the Revolution, and for a time the arts in France languished. Indeed, the Revolution may be said to have destroyed art. The aristocracy, the patrons of art, were ruined, and there was a general dislocation of the art industries. The Revolution began in 1792, the Directory was established in 1794, the Consulate under Napoleon in 1799, and the Empire in 1802. The decorative period of the Empire is usually given as extending from 1799 to 1814. For the first few years chaos reigned in the French art world. During the Directory there was an at tempt at reconstruction. An art commission was [78] THE EMPIRE appointed, of which Riesener and David Rontgen were members. A treatment of the classic came into vogue, sometimes rather dainty, based on the Roman and Pompeian ; but it was an artificial style, not that of a period of natural transition. As a rule, bad taste reigned and art tradition was largely annihi lated. Then came Napoleon to dominate the art world as he dominated everything else in France. He pro ceeded to refit the royal palaces in accordance with his own ideas, and the people followed his lead in decorative matters. The style of the Directory was an attempted return to the antique, but Napoleon diverted the trend of taste into somewhat different channels, though he also found his inspiration in Rome. Under Napoleon the French artists and designers were given a new chance, so long as they conformed to the emperor's ideas and sought to interpret his desires. The result was a period of noteworthy if somewhat restricted production. David and Rie sener, who had worked under Louis XVI, were the leaders at first. They were followed by the archi tect-decorators Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine and others. A book of designs published by Percier and Fontaine in 1812 offers a good record of the [79] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES Empire style. Their work at least combined mod ern comfort and Greek beauty. The furniture of the period expressed not a court, not an epoch of French life; it expressed the over whelming personality of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was a period of heroics, of ceremony, of novelty. Napoleon aped the grandeur of the Csesars, and the design details of the period were suggested by the idea of imperialism and conquest. The decorative styles, which were based largely on the imperial Roman, became cold, formal, heavy, with little of the light or fanciful about them. They were not lavishly magnificent, like the styles of Louis XIV, yet, though somewhat stiff and constrained, they were not without a certain dignity and grandeur and were never effetely luxurious. Empire furniture was characterized by good cabi net work, finely executed metal mounts, beautiful mahogany, and rich upholstery. Construction was for the most part simple, but it was a heavy, formal simplicity, not the graceful simplicity of Louis XVI. Mahogany was the wood most used by the cabinet makers, both solid and veneered, enriched with ap plique. Marquetry was discarded- and there was only a moderate amount of carved wood, but much plain surface embellished with finely modeled brass, [80] THE EMPIRE bronze, gilt, and ormolu mounts. The framework of Empire chairs was generally mahogany, or painted, enameled, bronzed, and gilded woods. For the most part, the mahogany was finished natural, with but little gilding. The popular upholstery stuffs included loud brocades and silks or velvets in plain, strong colors, frequently rich green or ruby red, figured or sprinkled with formal, classic motifs. Tapestries, so popular during the preceding periods, were little used. The decorative details of the Empire style were significant and symbolic, reflecting the glory of the emperor. There was nothing approaching rococo, and the dainty forms of the Louis XVI period were wholly abandoned. The classic anthemion came back in Roman form, together with the wreath of bay, the torch, the Roman eagle, the Roman fasces, the Phrygian cap of liberty, the Athenian bee, the laurel branch, the Greek fret and honeysuckle, the winged Victory, other winged figures, including cherubs, the helmeted heads of warriors, trophies and weapons, the letter N in a victor's wreath, and, after the Egyptian campaign, the sphinx. These de tails are to be found especially in the metal mounts, which well repay special study. Among the con structive features of Empire furniture are to be [8l] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES found the fluted column upholding a torch, the plain, round, supporting column, and various forms of the lion's foot. The chairs of the period ranged from fairly simple side-chairs to elaborate throne-like affairs. In gen eral, they may be divided into two types. The larger chairs were massive, pretentious, and lavishly enriched with metal mounts and structural carving. Sometimes a sweeping horn of plenty curves down into the arm, or the arms are terminated with the heads of rams, lions, etc. Sometimes strange gry phons form the front supports, the heads supporting the arms of the chair and the bodies drawn out into the single shaft of the leg, with a lion's foot resting on the floor. Flaming torches and gryphons appear where there is no logical need for them. There were also armchairs fashioned on the model of the ancient curule seat, heavier than those of the Italian Renaissance, often with swans' necks for arms, supported by cupids. The typical Empire armchair, with its wide, concave back, was at least comfortable. Often these forms verged upon the grotesque, but there was, happily, a simpler type of Empire chair that was full of dignity and not without grace. These chairs, severely simple in form, had square [82] THE EMPIRE frames and straight, round legs, the back legs often curving slightly outward. They were made of plain mahogany or of some other wood enameled white. Little carving was used on them, but they were usually ornamented with well-modeled ormolu mounts and were elegantly upholstered. Among the tables, the medium-sized round ones were commonest, though there were also square ones, while the consoles and pier-tables were usually stiffly rectangular. A common form of table had short claw feet upon which rested a low shelf; this supported straight, round, vertical pillars which, in turn, supported the top. Sometimes such tables were supported by carved gryphons resting on a shaped base, while some of the heavier ones were supported by sphinxes. Often the round tables had a central column, with a broad base resting on three lion's feet, a form which served as a model for many of our American "Colonial" tables; or a three- cornered plinth on three carved feet supported three round columns. Most of the tables were of mahogany, either solid or veneered, though there were also enameled tables. The table-tops were often of marble, usually white or nearly black. Metal mounts were much in evi dence, and metal feet and pillar-caps. A common [83] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES feature of secretaries and tables was a round column of mahogany, with an ornamental cap of bronze in the form of a sphinx's head, and a bronze foot at the base. Often the caps were modeled in the anthe mion form. Often the supports of consoles, cabinets, book cases, etc., showed little style in the rear, being some times merely flat boards, but the front legs were usually more elegant, often tapering, crowned with the female bust, and with feet of ormolu. Mirrors were often set into the under parts of consoles, be neath the top and against the walls. Gryphons and sphinxes sometimes took the place of the round columns as the front supports of console tables. In the form of the bed a great change took place. The overdraped forms of the preceding periods gave place to plain but stately couches or to heavy, box like affairs, with head- and foot-boards of the same height, either straight or rolling, and with no posts or canopy. Interior decoration followed the same general scheme as furniture design. The walls were largely plain, strongly colored panels, rather Pompeian in type, sometimes relieved by the gold N in a wreath or one of the other Napoleonic symbols. Hangings were often rich velvets. Candelabra and sconces [84] A typical drop-front desk of the Empire period, showing the round pillars, vertical form, and ormolu mounts A fauleuil gondole. Note the concave back, curved rear legs, and swan-neck arms Another, built of mahogany, with bro cade upholstery and with metal mounts A typical bed of the Empire period, built of mahogany enriched with ormolu mounts THE EMPIRE were frequently winged figures, stiff in modeling but good in material and finish. Such are the salient features of the style which was predominant in France during the first decade of the last century. Americans were pro-French in those days, and after the Sheraton influence had passed we began borrowing more freely from France than from England. The styles of the French Em pire, therefore, have a peculiar interest for us be cause, though we wrought many changes in the proc ess of adaptation, they formed the basis of American decorative styles during the first quarter of the nine teenth century. Mahogany was plentiful here, the cabinet-making trade was flourishing, and we turned out a large quantity of so-called American-Empire furniture, constructed largely with posts and col umns, often carved in coarse pineapple and acanthus- leaf designs, but in general following the Empire spirit. And not all of it was bad. A few years ago one occasionally heard of a draw ing-room, music-room, dining-room, hall, or other formal apartment, being furnished and decorated in the Empire style, and when it was well done the re sult was not without beauty and distinction. Amer icans, however, have apparently found the style too cold for their liking, especially for use in the home, [87] ' HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES and it seems to have fallen into general disfavor. Manufacturers inform me that they are making prac tically no reproductions or adaptations of Empire furniture; there is no call for them. It seemed to me, however, that this style should receive as much attention as the styles of more popular periods, in order to round out logically the subject of the French decorative styles. [88] CHAPTER VIII JACOBEAN AND RESTORATION (1603-1689) TURNING now from France to England, and going back two centuries, I will attempt a consideration of the more important Eng lish styles. Although some effort has recently been made to revive the styles of the Tudor or Elizabethan period, Jacobean furniture is the earliest that has succeeded in awakening modern interest to any ap preciable extent. Then, for the first time, furniture was made that is really well suited to modern needs, and modern reproductions of Jacobean furniture are beginning to find a ready market. I shall try to cover the entire subject of English furniture design from 1600 to 1800 in three short chapters, which, of course, means little more than a working outline. I shall divide the subject into the periods of the Jacobean and the Restoration, the Anglo-Dutch period of William and Mary and Queen Anne, and the Georgian period. [89] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES The term Jacobean, or Stuart, is often given to the entire period from 1603 to 1689, but a distinct change in styles took place in the middle of it, and it is much more logical to divide it into two periods. The Jacobean period proper included the reigns of James I (1603-1625) and Charles I (1625-1649). There intervened the Commonwealth, or so-called Cromwellian period (1653-1659), followed by the period of the Restoration, including the reigns of Charles II (1660-1685) and James II (1685- 1689). After that came William and Mary and the period to be discussed in the next chapter. Up to the close of the Cromwellian period oak was the predominant wood in English furniture. About 1660 began the age of walnut. The furniture of the reign of James I was that a transition stage. Elizabethan features, briefly described in Chapter III, generally predominated. The true Jacobean style reached the height of its development during the reign of Charles I. During the period under dis cussion we find the native sturdiness of the Jacobean oak followed by the more ornate and graceful forms of the Restoration. During the Jacobean period proper the general form of the furniture remained severely rectangular. The legs of tables and chairs were perpendicular, the [9°] The Empire style. Napoleon's throne room at Fontainebleau flNi" riaB&i Typical Jacobean press cupboard of oak. 1650-1675 Dining table of the plainer Jacobean type. 1650-1675 JACOBEAN AND RESTORATION chair-backs straight, and the seats flat. Such articles as stood on legs were heavily underbraced. It was in decorative carving that Jacobean furni ture excelled. The typical designs include, first of all, the running pattern of figure eights and contigu ous circles. Other hall-marks of the period are the semicircle filled with petals, geometric and lozenge paneling, the rounded arch, and more or less elabo rate double scrolls. More and more intricate strap- work was introduced, and a spiral form is frequently to be found in chair-legs and on cupboards and chests of drawers. Chairs were still uncommon, but appeared in greater variety. The wainscot-chair persisted, but became gradually lighter in form, with the back sometimes pierced. There were also various forms of turned chairs, with three or four legs. During the reign of Charles I a French chair was introduced, a much lighter form, with turned legs and with the back and seat covered with leather or embroidery. The use of stools and forms continued. Toward the close of the period couches and day-beds were in troduced. The typical table of the period was of oak, similar to the Elizabethan, with bulb-turned legs giving place later to simpler baluster forms, and often with [93] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES rails carved in arabesque or lunette patterns. Occa sionally smaller tables were made with a single leaf and a swinging leg to support it — the forerunner of the gate-leg table. Chests and cupboards, often richly carved, were common. The cupboard, indeed, was one of the most interesting products of the period. One form, called the press-cupboard, was closed in front; an other, the court-cupboard, was open below, being merely an elevated chest resting on spiral, turned, or carved supports. These were the outstanding features of the furni ture of the Jacobean period. The so-called Crom wellian period was characterized merely by an added stiffness and severity among the Puritans, and by very little of artistic significance. The Cromwellian chair was a descendant of the wainscot, with a half back of padded leather in place on the solid panel, and usually a seat of the same material fastened with brass-headed nails. Legs, stiles, and stretchers were of turned oak. Toward the end of the Common wealth walnut began to come into vogue, and a tendency toward greater lightness. Spiral or simply turned legs and the use of cane seats and backs be gan to appear in chairs. Chests became less popular, [94] JACOBEAN AND RESTORATION giving place to cupboards with drawers, or chests of drawers. With the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England in 1660 there came greater luxury and comfort into the better English homes. The king brought with him from the Continent the spirit of the late Flemish Renaissance and the French styles of Louis XIV. Imported Dutch and Flemish work men introduced a more elaborate scroll-work, pierced carving, and inlay of ebony, ivory, and mother-of- pearl. The tulip and other design motifs appeared in the carving. Oaken furniture of a late Jacobean type continued to be made to some extent, but gradually the lighter forms and the use of walnut superseded it. The architectural note in furniture almost entirely dis appeared. It was a somewhat mixed, exotic style, that of the Restoration period, but one not lacking in beauty and distinction. Marquetry became more and more popular, and the use of expensive tapes tries and embroideries for upholstered chairs. Perhaps the most noteworthy products of this period were the Charles II chair and the gate-leg table. These chairs were made in oak and maple sometimes, but usually in walnut or beech. The [95] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES backs were tall and narrow, with carved cresting, sides, and underbraces. They were often sur mounted by a Tudor rose or a crown. Slender, twisted columns and rich scrolls carved in high re lief became a feature. Cane and upholstery were used for backs and seats, the backs frequently con sisting of narrow cane panels within an elaborately carved frame. These chairs were of two general types — Flemish and Spanish. In the Flemish type the back con- sited of turned stiles, within which was a cane panel bordered by scroll-work carving. The legs were usually S-shaped, with scroll feet and a broad scroll work underbrace in front. In the Spanish type the legs were turned and the backs were of solid cane, upholstery, or tooled leather. The feet were square, channeled, and flaring — the typical Spanish foot. Toward the end of the period the day-bed or cane sofa became fashionable, with ornamental details closely following those of the chairs. Long, oak dining-tables, showing more refinement than formerly in the turning of legs and struts, and with carved aprons, belong to this period, but these gave place to tables with two swinging leaves. The most noteworthy table of this type, and one of the most interesting introductions of the period, was the [96] Small table, late Jacobean, of oak and walnut, showing the popular spiral turning An oak gate-leg table of about 1685, with carved legs and supports. Turned legs were more common is .3 -a •a -5 o 3 O .at} E S » dog •a .a GEORGIAN no such sharp divisions as these. He began to de sign furniture in the Louis XV manner somewhere about 1745, and he continued to produce French designs till the day of his death. It is true, how ever, that his best work is found in the fairly un mixed French designs of 1750-60. After that the combination of rococo and Chinese, with a dash of Gothic, proved too much for him. Chippendale's typical chair-back consisted of a moderately carved frame, rectangular in its general outlines, and a pierced splat, developed from the solid splat of the Queen Anne period. This splat appeared in the earlier chairs of the Dutch type and in those of the Louis XV type, including the famous ribbon-back chairs. He also made a roundabout chair with these splats. Almost as familiar is the ladder-back chair, with its four or five bow-shaped cross-pieces. The Chinese and Gothic designs were made up of various forms of fretwork in the chair- backs. The Chinese element appeared in a more elaborate form in the pagoda and waterfall carving of mirror-frames, bookcase-tops, etc. Chippendale did not always use the cabriole leg with his French chairs, but sometimes the straight, square legs that also appear on his other types. His seats were usually wide, square cornered, and up- [H5] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES holstered. Some of his chairs were made with un derbraces; some without them. He also made a wide variety of card-tables, sofas, settees, desks, bureaus, secretaries, bookcases, etc., in French and Chinese-Gothic styles, and he pub lished designs for clock-cases, mirror-frames, and numerous other pieces. Toward the end of his career his work showed a decided deterioration, having a leaning toward gro tesque mixtures of style. Chippendale was a master-carver, and seldom if ever used inlay for decoration. Mahogany was his favorite wood, but he also employed walnut, maple, cherry, and birch. Robert and James Adam must be mentioned in any consideration of the Georgian period, for though they were not cabinet-makers, but architects and decorators, they designed furniture and exerted a strong influence on style. To them is due the credit for the classic revival, which had already been in spired in architecture by Sir Christopher Wren, and which in the realm of furniture design was in full swing as early as 1760 and persisted throughout the rest of the century. Both Hepplewhite and Shera ton owed much to the pioneer work of the Adam brothers. [116] GEORGIAN Robert Adam returned from a tour of Italy in 1754, embued with the spirit of Roman and classic Italian art, and adopted a style which had already found expression in the French school of Louis XVI. In 1764 the two brothers published a folio of Roman designs, and in 1788 their "Works in Architec ture." They designed furniture to suit their houses, and these designs marked the emergence from the bad styles of the late Chippendale period and set the cur rent of popular taste running toward a preference for the simplicity and grace of the classic. Rococo, Dutch, and Chinese elements were utterly aban doned. The cabriole leg was superseded by the straight, tapering leg before 1785, and lighter con struction became the rule. The Adam style is char acterized by simplicity and delicacy, elegant slender- ness, and fine proportions. Carving, when used, was in low relief. The later work was rich in inlay of tulip-wood, satinwood, and ebony, and some of it was painted. Carving and inlay were in classic de tails — the urn, the laurel wreath, the oval sunburst, the acanthus leaf, arabesques, ribbon-bands, festoons, and. garlands. Furniture made from Adam designs is rare. The chairs were small and delicate, the backs low andl [H7] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES narrow and often oval in shape, the legs straight and slender, but never cabriole. It was not until George Hepplewhite's work be came popular, however, somewhere between 1765 and 1775, that the new taste became crystallized, though Hepplewhite was never as thorough a clas sicist as Adam or Sheraton. Hepplewhite built, as well as designed, a large amount of furniture, though his output was not as great as that of Chippendale. It marked, in a way, the transition from the Chip pendale to the classic influence. His book of de signs, "The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide," appeared in 1789, two years after his death, and was published by A. Hepplewhite & Co., the business having been carried on by his widow. Hepplewhite is best known for his shield-back chairs, his square, tapering legs, often ending in the spade foot, and for his splendid sideboards. The sideboard was being gradually developed dur ing Chippendale's later years, and was brought to perfection by Hepplewhite and Shearer. Hepple white also made wardrobes that supplanted the old highboy, dressing-tables with heart-shaped mirrors, and cabinets with long, tapering legs. His chairs were mostly made with shield-shaped or oval backs, and were distinguished by their beauty of curve and [118] Chippendale chair, with pierced splat Chippendale chair, ladder-back type Hepplewhite shield-back armchair Sheraton chair with rectangular back GEORGIAN proportion. The seats were usually upholstered. Hepplewhite preferred mahogany for most of his work, using satinwood and rosewood moderately to meet special demands. Hepplewhite was not a great carver like Chippen dale, nor so finished an artist in inlay as was Shera ton, but he employed both carving and inlay with restraint and success. His sideboards, especially, were often embellished with fine, delicate inlay of satinwood, tulip-wood, sycamore, rosewood, maple, yew, holly, and ebony, with little or no carving. He was fond of delicate vertical patterns on the legs of tables and sideboards ; straight parallel lines, the husk or wheat-ear, the meander pattern, and the Greek fret were favorite motifs. His carving was well executed and in low relief, and included the wheat-ear, the draped urn, and, on his oval chair- backs, the three feathers of the Prince of Wales. Thomas Shearer's name has usually been over shadowed by that of his contemporary, Hepple white, though Shearer was Hepplewhite's equal, if not his superior, in the matter of sideboards. To him should be given the credit for originating the serpentine front. He probably made few chairs, but specialized in sideboards and bookcases, and desks with secret drawers, like Sheraton's. His [121] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES "Designs of Household Furniture," published in 1791, shows a style similar to that of Hepplewhite, but a trifle heavier. During the Georgian period there were a number of pieces of furniture made by other cabinet-makers that are worthy of attention, notably desks and secretaries and clockcases. Tall clocks were made with both square and broken-arch tops, and often veneered or inlaid. Secretaries and escritoires de veloped in similar fashion, first having ball feet, then short cabriole legs with ball-and-claw feet, then ogee or bracket feet, and finally short, turned legs of the Adam and Sheraton school. Four-poster beds became lighter and more graceful, those of Hepplewhite being particularly graceful. Thomas Sheraton, the last of the great Georgians, and in many respects the most artistic, published his "Drawing-Book" in 1793 and produced his de signs well into the nineteenth century. His later work was degenerate, but in his best period it was unsurpassed for delicacy, grace of proportion, and restraint. Though less versatile than either Chip pendale or Hepplewhite, he was artistically more correct. His style, leaning toward the Louis XVI, shows strongly the Adam influence. Sheraton loved straight lines and rectangular [122] GEORGIAN treatments, and handled them masterfully. His furniture is fragile-looking, but is well made. A distinguishing feature is the tapering leg, usually round, often reeded, and exquisitely shaped. Sheraton was not only an artist in design, but a master in the use of woods. He employed satinwood almost as much as mahogany, and also other exotic and native woods. Not a little of his furniture was beautifully decorated with gilding and painting. Carving was always a secondary matter with Sheraton; form and color were what he sought. He was a master at inlay. Some of his finest work shows classic ornaments and borders in marquetry of sycamore, kingwood, satinwood, and green-stained whitewood set into both light and dark mahogany. His carving was always in low relief, and included such classic motifs as the urn, vase, lyre, cornucopia, wreath, and musical instruments. Sheraton used an oval chair-back borrowed from Adam, but his typical chair-back was rectangular, with the top line broken. Within the frame were various forms of straight-line work, or such carv ing as the vase or urn. He seldom used the shield- shaped back of Hepplewhite and never the pierced splat of Chippendale. Sheraton designed a wide variety of furniture, in- [123] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES eluding tables, sideboards, bureaus, ingeniously ar ranged desks and writing-tables, sofas, slender four- poster bedsteads, exquisite bijou pieces, etc. With Sheraton the development of English style in furniture properly ends, for after him came con fusion, followed by the heavy, graceless forms of the nineteenth century. [124J CHAPTER XI AMERICAN STYLES (1600-1840) ALTHOUGH there are some interesting things to be recorded in reference to Amer ican-made furniture, so far as the student of styles is concerned, the whole may be covered in a single chapter. Not that American furniture was unworthy, but the styles followed those of the mother-country so closely that there is no separate process of development to be noted. With a few noteworthy exceptions — the Windsor chair, the fur niture of Duncan Phyfe, and the styles of the so- called American Empire period — an understanding of the English styles, as already outlined, would fur nish a working knowledge of American furniture styles. Before proceeding, it may be well to come to an understanding on the definition of a much-abused word — Colonial. As often as not, any furniture of the Georgian period, English or American, is called Colonial, which is, of course, a misuse of the word. [125] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES More often the name is given to all old American furniture up to 1840. One finds it particularly ap plied to nineteenth century or American Empire furniture, to describe something that is not Chippen dale, Hepplewhite, or Sheraton. All of which is careless, erroneous, and misleading. Obviously, the only proper use for the word Colonial is to distin guish the products of the colonies before they became states. For post-Revolutionary furniture and other objects we must find a more accurate nomenclature. Beginning, then, with the furniture of the colo nies, we find that the homes of the seventeenth cen tury were furnished partly with things brought over from the old country and partly with things made here after imported patterns. Not a little variety is to be discovered when the various colonies are con sidered. The English, the Dutch, and the Hugue nots all contributed their national elements. In New England there was chiefly English and home made furniture, the plainer forms predominating. In the South the furniture was nearly all imported, and more carved oak and upholstery was to be found. In New York the pure Dutch prevailed, including such prominent pieces as the has, a large wardrobe or cupboard which was usually gaily painted or in laid. [126] AMERICAN STYLES The furniture of New England is typical of most of that which was brought to this country or made here. During the seventeenth century there were many American cabinet-makers at work, of greater or less skill. They produced the current English styles, as well as local variations, employing not only oak and walnut, but such native woods as came easily to hand — hickory, ash, elm, maple, pine, cedar, cherry, birch, etc. During the first half of the eighteenth century we find the English styles of the Anglo-Dutch period, though always lagging a few years behind the con temporary English fashions. The Queen Anne fid dle-back chair, for example, became popular here about 1730. Much cottage furniture was used dur ing this period — rush-bottomed roundabout, slat- back and banister-back chairs, etc. — as well as com fortable, upholstered easy chairs with wings. Mahogany became common about 1740, and be tween 1750 and 1775 American furniture-mak ers produced work that compared favorably with that of England. Early Georgian styles were fol lowed, shortly before the Revolution, by the Chip pendale vogue. The Hepplewhite wave reached us so soon after the war that it never gained the foot hold that the Sheraton style did. Still, we find a [127] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES good many Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton pieces, particularly chairs, some of them made di rectly from English designs, others displaying more or less striking modifications. Before taking up American furniture of the nine teenth century, there is one interesting and rather important American contribution to be considered — the Windsor chair. There was an English Wind sor chair, and ours was based upon it, but the Amer ican chair-makers carried its development much far ther and produced something much more varied and graceful. The Windsor chair flourished from 1740 to 1820 and appeared in many forms — side-chairs and armchairs, loop-backs, hoop-backs, fan-backs, comb-backs, and low-backs. These variations offer an interesting opportunity for special study which it will be necessary for us to forego. All forms were made of hickory, ash, etc., and were painted. The back was a graceful outline filled with parallel spin dles. The legs were turned and raked; the wooden seats were pleasingly shaped. Between 1790 and 1810 the Sheraton influence predominated, and it was a refining influence. Furniture was made here after the Sheraton patterns, and there was also a not unsuccessful attempt to originate designs here, based on Sheraton lines and [128] AMERICAN STYLES principles. There were Sheraton chairs and near- Sheraton chairs, Sheraton and Hepplewhite bed steads, excellent Sheraton sofas and Sheraton side boards, both pure and modified, which marked these two decades as among the most refined in the decora tive history of America. A number of purely American variations of this period are worth a glance. There was the so-called fancy chair, for example, which was popular about 1800-1830. It was made of light, soft wood, painted and decorated with gilt, with rush or cane seat, straight turned legs, and a fairly low back which usually had horizontal slats or rungs. It was made with and without arms. The Empire influence followed that of Sheraton. It had already invaded England, affecting the work of Sheraton himself. Some of the English adapta tions of the Empire possessed merit, but most of them did not. They showed a tendency to go to grotesque extremes of style. The English design ers seem to have lost their ability to absorb foreign elements. The metal-work was poor and the carv ing coarse. Taste was at a low ebb, and the English public accepted fantastic novelty as a substitute for originality, and the lavish massing of material in place of good lines and finely wrought details. [129] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES But America had broken away from England and did not at once follow her into the artistic quagmire. We, too, fell under the spell of the Empire, but we did not take it over, lock, stock, and barrel. Actually, the Empire influence was merely an active ingredient of a truly American style, which existed nowhere else and which was not without distinction, character, and artistic merit. This is the style sometimes referred to as late Colonial, or American Empire. Neither term is ac curately descriptive. Some one has suggested Jef- fersonian, and I am not sure that it might not suffice. Jefferson was an amateur architect and something of a leader in artistic thought, a devotee of the classic and a friend of France. How much he had to do with the furniture styles I do not know, but it was probably as much as Queen Anne had to do with those which bear her name. It was, quite markedly, a Jeffersonian period. The furniture of this time showed Empire influ ence strongly, but it differed materially from the French Empire furniture or the English imitation of it. There is actually little in common, for example, between a French Empire chair and an American Jeffersonian chair. Roughly speaking, the furniture of 1810 to 1820 [13°] AMERICAN STYLES was more elegant than that of the next decade. It was a prolific period, and mahogany was plentiful. The demand was for an abundance of carving. Carved columns, claw-feet, pineapple finials, and ornamental brasses were features. They were all a bit coarse, but at least our forefathers had the good sense not to import the exotic Egyptian extravagances which debased the styles of France and England. Massive furniture was the rule, with posts and sup ports often carved in pineapple and acanthus-leaf patterns. The plainer type of Jeffersonian furniture belongs properly in the decade 1820-30, though there was an overlapping of the two types. It lacked the ele gance and distinction of the carved mahogany, and the sense of grace and proportion seems to have been weakening. Quantity of material appears to have been a requirement, with wide, veneered surfaces and frank, rudimentary curves. But with all its faults, we love it. It was native American ; it was our own. And not infrequently we discover a justification for our prejudice in the wonderfully grained crotch ma hogany that was used on much of this furniture. Following the chairs of Sheraton type came a sort of transition or mixed style, and then a type of chair in which the Empire influence may be traced. Roll- [131] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES ing back, continuous curves in sides, stiles, and legs, lyre-shaped splats, and occasionally brass feet, were among the distinguishing features. Some of these chairs were made of solid mahogany, some of maple and birch, and some were painted, but for the most part they were of veneered mahogany. A popular chair of the 1830-40 period had a rather heavy, curved back, a vase-shaped splat, and flat legs. The type is said to have been based upon an original in the library of Napoleon at Malmaison. The sofas were, on the whole, more noteworthy than the chairs. The best of them were distin guished by good proportions and good workmanship. Apart from the Sheraton types, and generally fol lowing them, there were rather elaborate sofas, with carved or paneled top rails, dolphins or cornucopias on the fronts of the arms, and carved feet in the form of large lions' paws, surmounted with wings or with fruit and flowers. The curved lines of legs and arms were pleasing, and the proportions were gen erally good. After 1810 the sweeping swan's-neck arm became popular, and a touch of the Egyptian sometimes appeared in the feet, in the form of winged claws. Later came plainer, heavier forms, with less carving or none at all, plain surfaces of veneer, and rolling arms and backs. [132] American "fancy "chair of the early nineteenth A typical lyre-back chair made by Duncan century Fnyte Three types 0£ American Windsor armchairs of the late eighteenth century Library stand of mahogany, by Phyfe A good example of the work of Duncan Phyfe, the American cabinet-maker. A drop- leaf table of mahogany One of Phyfe's eight-legged sofas. The back panels are beautifully carved and the slight swing of the arms is most graceful. Owned by R. T. Haines Halsey, Esq. AMERICAN STYLES The tables of delicate Sheraton character gave place to sewing-tables and Pembrokes with four vertical legs, often spiral, and frequently drawers with glass knobs. Another form had a central sup port, turned or gadrooned, and concave, tripod legs. The acanthus and pineapple carving appeared on central supports which rested on plinths supported by claw or ball feet — an elegant and symmetrical form, if not delicate. Then came heavier ones, with veneered surfaces, round, octagonal, square, and lyre- shaped supports, and plinths resting on four scroll feet. With the passing of the Sheraton designs, the side board became less graceful. The body was brought down nearer to the floor. The slender legs gave place to massive, round, twisted, or rope-shaped pil lars, extending to the floor, often finished with a bear's or lion's foot of carved wood or brass. This sideboard was usually long, and had three drawers beneath the top. Below these were usually three cupboards, the middle one being wider than the other two and fitted with double doors. The cupboard doors were generally paneled with selected mahog any veneering. The fronts were straight, or simply curved. The drawer-pulls and door-handles were brass or glass knobs, or brass rings set in rosettes or [135] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES lions' heads. Sometimes there was a paneled upright piece at the back of the top. Only a moderate amount of carving was employed, as a rule. After 1820 the sideboard became plainer. It usually had four legs, turned feet, turned pillars at the front corners, deeper drawers, and a single cup board below. A butler's desk occasionally took the place of the middle drawer. Low chests of drawers and bureaus followed, in general, the styles of the sideboards. They were, for the most part, heavy and massive. The earlier ones had reeded or acanthus-carved columns, plain veneered drawer-fronts, and turned or claw feet. The carving was rather coarse, but effective. The plainer types followed, without carving, the side supports sometimes swelling out in flat-surfaced curves, and the upper drawers sometimes having a vertically curved front. Writing-desks, escritoires, and secretaries followed a similar style development. Secretaries, or book case-desks, became more common, the broken-arch pediment, block front, and carved feet disappearing and giving place to the horizontal cornice, turned feet, and sometimes swelling curves at the sides. Though the most pleasing four-post bedsteads were of the Hepplewhite and Sheraton types, there were [136] AMERICAN STYLES some in the Jeffersonian period that were rich, digni fied, and interesting. The carving was often well executed, if somewhat coarse and overpowering. Heavy, mahogany posts were carved in forms which included the anthemion, the acanthus, laurel-leaf, horn of plenty, pineapple, and feathers, with reed ing, gardrooning, and rosettes. The pineapples be came especially popular after 1810. Sometimes these posts present the effect of a somewhat meaning less piling up of pineapples, acanthus leaves, fruit, flowers, and twists, like totem poles. Head-boards and foot-boards took various forms. Sometimes the posts were surmounted by a tester; sometimes not. Later forms of the four-poster are rather lacking in merit, some of them having enormous round or oc tagonal pillars, displaying no taste at all. Low-post bedsteads were made at the same time, some of them with posts carved in the acanthus and pineapple patterns, and some of them in plainer de sign. The bedsteads of the less well-to-do were usually of maple or cherry, though mahogany, oak, walnut, and other woods were used for this type. Simple, turned posts and plain head-boards and foot boards were commonest. After 1820 a bedstead without posts, called the sleigh-bed, came into vogue. It suggests an Empire derivation. It had a rolling [137] HANDBOOK OF FURNITURE STYLES head-board and foot-board and broad, flat-surfaced legs, and was usually made of mahogany veneer. During this period there was one cabinet-maker who was turning out a superior quality of furniture that belongs in a class by itself, and that in many ways equals the best work of Hepplewhite and Sher aton. Duncan Phyfe of New York based his de signs on the Adam and Sheraton styles, later modified by the Empire influence, but he worked out a style all his own. He was a Scotchman who came to America about 1784. He later started in business in New York, and was well established by 1795. His work varied with the changing fashions and may be divided into three periods: From 1795 to 1818 the Adam-Sheraton influence was pronounced; from 1818 to 1830 Empire features are to be observed; from 1830 to 1847 Phyfe's work degenerated with the rest of American furniture and he produced the over-decorated mahogany and rosewood which he called "butcher furniture." Phyfe's earlier furniture was fine in every way. His mahogany chairs, sofas, and tables showed re markable design, workmanship, and finish. He had a splendid feeling for line and proportion; he was a master of the curve; he showed rare taste, restraint, and skill in carving. He employed the lyre, the [138] AMERICAN STYLES acanthus, various Adam and Sheraton forms, parallel rows of reeding, the concave leg, and other details with a masterful touch. He used no inlay, except tastefully arranged panels of the same wood. In short, Phyfe's furniture is as worthy of study as that of the great Georgian cabinet-makers of England. After 1830 American furniture styles degenerated, and after 1840 there was no style worthy of the name. Heavy machine-made things followed. There came the fashion for rosewood and for black walnut, a Japanese and a Gothic craze, both poorly carried out, and the styles promoted by Eastlake. Within our time we have had the vogue of L'Art Nouveau and Mission. At last we seem to have arrived happily at the point of realization that nov elty does not necessarily mean advance, and we' have begun to hark back to the best elements of the past, just as the masters of the Renaissance and the pro ponents of every classic revival have done. The twentieth century is witnessing a marked improve ment in popular taste and an encouraging awakening of appreciation of the beautiful, which may, after the war, result in something like a new Renaissance. THE END [139] TABULATED DETAILS OF THE ENGLISH Period English Gothic Henry I to i ioo to 1509 Henry VII Reigning Sovereigns Early Tudor 1509 to 1558 Elizabethan 1558 to 1603 Jacobean 1603 to 1649 Cromwellian 1649 to 1660 Restoration 1660 to 1689 Henry VIII (1509-1547) Edward VI (1547^1553) Mary (1553-1558) Elizabeth (1558-1603) James I (1603-1625) Charles I (1625-1649) Commonwealth (1649-1660) Charles II (1660-1684) James II (1684-1689) Leading Craftsmen Woods and Materials John of Padua, ar chitect to Henry VIII Inigo Jones, architect. Chiefly oak, with out varnish. Also elm, beech, and chestnut. After Edward IV, deal and cypress. Chiefly oak. Also beech, elm, chest nut, cherry, ash, yew, walnut, cy press, pear, etc. Same as the early Tudor. Same as Tudor. Same as Jacobean, with walnut added. Walnut following oak. Some cedar, beech, ebony, and tropical woods. Cane work and upholstery. [140] PERIOD STYLES IN FURNITURE Structural and Decorative Details Significant Pieces Architectural form. Carved and pierced tra cery. Geometric patterns ; pointed arch, tre foil and quatrefoil, wheel, rose, linen-fold. Gothic survivals, including the linen-fold, with the Tudor rose and Italian Renaissance de tails added, also the cinquefoil and tongue of flame. Freer carving with more Italian and Flemish Renaissance details. Portrait medallions, he raldic motifs, diamond and lozenge panels, fruit and foliage. Bulb or melon form on supports. More movable character; forms still rectangu lar. Perpendicular legs and chair backs. Carving and paneling. Turned legs, includ ing spiral. Strap-work and scroll-work. Rounded arch, concentric circles and running figure eights. Arabesques and lunettes, semi circles filled with petals. Heavy forms, lacking grace. Turned work, split balusters. Architectural note gone. Italian, French, and Flemish influence. Furniture lighter and more graceful. Elaborate pierced carving; some inlay. Scroll-work, cresting ; crown and tulip. Chests and coffers ; cup boards, cabinets, ar- moires, credences, buf fets, trestle tables, joint stools. Cupboards, presses, chests, ornate bedsteads, turned chairs, stools. Long refectory tables, wainscot chairs, curule chairs, cupboards, mas sive four-post bed steads. Turned and wainscot chairs, refectory tables, small tables including early gate-leg. Court and press cupboards. Solid chairs with padded leather seats and backs. Plain tables. Drawers added to cupboards and chests. Carved high backed chairs, with cane or up holstery. Refectory ta bles, gate-leg tables. Cupboards, chests of drawers, day beds, tall clock cases. [Hi] TABULATED DETAILS OF THE ENGLISH Period Reigning Sovereigns Leading Craftsmen Woods and Materials Anglo-Dutch 1689 to 1714 Early Georgian 1714 to 1750 Georgian 1750 to 1800 William and Mary, ( 1 689-1702) Anne (1702-1714) George I (1714-1727) George II (1727- 1 760) George II (1727-1760) George III (1760- 1 820) Daniel Marot, designer. Sir Christopher Wren, architect. Grinling Gibbons, carver. Jean Tijou, iron work. Sir William Cham bers, architect. Thomas Chippen dale, cabinet-maker. Thomas Chippen dale, cabinet-maker. R. & J. Adam, archi tects and designers. Josiah Wedgwood, potter. George Hepple white,cabinet-maker. Thomas Sheraton, cabinet-maker, de signer. Chiefly walnut; also oak, cedar, chest nut, beech. Lac quer and veneer. Inlay of beech, holly, birch, yew, pear, box, ebony, etc. Carved pear, lime, and pine. Rush seats and up holstery. Walnut, followed by mahogany. Some oak and other woods. Chippendale : chief ly mahogany ; also walnut, maple, cher ry, beech. Adam : mahogany, satin- wood, painted soft woods, inlay of ex otic woods. Hep plewhite : mahog any chiefly, inlay of rosewood and exotics. Sheraton : mahogany and sat inwood, some rose wood ; painted and gilded beech and birch ; fine inlay and veneering. [142] PERIOD STYLES IN FURNITURE— Continued Structural and Decorative Details Significant Pieces Domestic character. French and Dutch influ ence. William and Mary: Louis XIV de tails, turned legs, often with inverted cup or bell, shaped underbracing, square cornices. Queen Anne: more curves, cabriole leg and Dutch foot, curved chair backs, fiddle-shaped splat, double-arch pediments on cabinets, etc. Less marquetry. Less carving; shell, car touche, etc. Transition from Queen Anne to Chippendale. Broken-arch pediment, urn, cabriole leg with ball-and-claw foot. Pierced splat. Great variety, fine cabinet work. Chippen dale : French, Gothic, and Chinese details ; ribbon-back and ladder-back chairs; bow top and pierced splat ; cabriole and square legs ; rococo and Chinese carving. Adam : classic details, slenderness, fine proportions; urn, carved wreath, oval sunburst, acanthus, fes toon. Hepplewhite : classic details ; husk in lay; shield-shaped, heart-shaped, and oval chair backs; square legs and spade feet; draped urn. Sheraton : classic detals ; straight lines ; delicate proportions ; rectangular and round chair backs; tapering, round, reeded legs, urn, vase, lyre, cornucopia, wreath, etc. Variety of chairs, includ ing roundabout. High chest of drawers fol lowed by highboy. Low boys, tea and card ta bles, escritoirs, dining- tables, bureaus, cabinets, clock cases, mirrors. Largely the same as Queen Anne. Nearly all modern forms. Chairs, desks, tables, cabinets, sideboards, dressing-tables, four- post bedsteads, sofas, bureaus, secretaries, book-cases, mirrors, clock cases, bijou pieces, etc. [H3l TABULATED DETAILS OF THE FRENCH Period Reigning Leading Woods and Sovereigns Craftsmen Materials French Gothic Including Chestnut, oak, and i ioo to 1500 Charles V (1364-1380) other woods. French Renais Louis XII to Italian craftsmen, Oak, walnut, chest sance Louis XIII including da Vinci, nut, etc. Some eb 1500 to 1643 (1502-1643) del Sarto, Cellini, ony. Cushions fol and Seralio. lowed by uphol Simon Vouet, de stery. signer. Louis XIV Louis XIV Charles le Brun, Oak, walnut, chest 1643 to 1715 (1643-1715) designer. nut, and ebony. J. Charles Berain, Also cherry, etc., cabinet-maker. gilded. Inlay of Andre Charles rosewood and ex Boulle, otic woods. Boulle cabinet-maker. inlay and marquet ry. Upholstery, chiefly tapestry. [144] PERIOD STYLES IN FURNITURE Decorative and Structural Details Significant Pieces Similar to the English Gothic, but somewhat more florid. Frangois I : Italian Renaissance adaptations. Fine carving, good workmanship. Carving more open than the Italian. Style becoming less architectural. Turned legs and supports. Henri II : Added details in carving, includ ing strap and band, pierced shield, arabesque, lozenge, cartouche. Later, shell and scroll carving, swags and garlands. More domestic type. Stately grandeur. Re naissance survivals, anthemion, acanthus, shell, scroll, arms, victor's palm. Pedestal legs followed by curved legs. Balanced de tails and symmetry. Similar to the English Gothic, but with greater variety. Chests, cabinets, chairs, tables, followed by sofas, divans, consoles, and other forms. Chests, cabinets, tables, consoles, chairs, sofas. [145] TABULATED DETAILS OF THE FRENCH Period Reigning Leading Woods and Sovereigns Craftsmen Materials Louis XV Louis XV Jean Henri Ries The same as Louis 1715 to 1774 (I7I5-I774) ener, XIV, with mahog cabinet-maker. any added. Chi Juste Aurele Meis- nese lacquer fol sonnier, designer. lowed by vernis- Jean Francis Oeben, Martin. Ormolu cabinet-maker. mounts. Upholstery Charles Cressent, of silk, velvet, and designer. tapestry. Some Jean Antoine Wat- cane. teau, painter. Francis Boucher, painter. Jacques Caffieri, metal worker. Simon Etienne and Robert Martin, lac quer. Louis XVI Louis XVI Jean Henri Ries Chiefly oak, walnut, 1774 to 1793 (1774-1793) ener, and mahogany. cabinet-maker. Other woods gild David Rontgen, ed and enameled. cabinet-maker. Ormolu and bronze Jacques Louis mounts. Tapestry David, painter. upholstery. Cane ; Gouthiere, Pierre, inlay. metal worker. Empire Napoleon I Jacques Louis Mahogany, solid and 1799 to 1814 (Consul, 1799; David, painter. veneered, with met Emperor, Percier and Fon al mounts. Also 1802) taine, designers. painted, bronzed, gilded, and enam eled woods. Uphol stery of brocades, silks, and velvets in strong colors. [146] PERIOD STYLES IN FURNITURE— Continued Structural and Decorative Details Significant Pieces Luxurious and ornate. Rococo predominating. Paintings of pastoral, Arcadian, and amatory subjects. Curved legs without underbracing. Unbalanced details. Ribbon and lace effects, natural flowers and hanging baskets, the broken shell, the twisted acanthus, the curled endive, the flowing scroll. Simpler forms; more grace; restraint, dainti ness and refinement. Excellent workman ship. Straight lines and simple curves. Straight legs, usually round and fluted; round or rectangular chair backs; fluted col umns. Classic revival ; rococo dropped ; laurel and oak leaf, Greek band, medallions, musical instruments, Cupid's quiver, baskets and gar lands of flowers. Imperial formality. Straight lines and pri mary curves. Anthemion, bay wreath, torch, eagle, fasces, bee, liberty cap, laurel branch, Greek fret and honeysuckle, winged figures, helmeted heads, trophies and weapons, lion's foot, letter N, sphinx. Same as Louis XIV, with a greater variety of small cabinets and boudoir pieces. Chairs, tables, com modes, cabinets, bu reaus, sofas, consoles, clocks, mirrors, sconces. Curule chairs, square tables, cases, steads and gondole round and tables, console cabinets, book- low-post bed- [147] PARALLEL CHRONOLOGY OF THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH PERIODS English French Gothic, 1 100-1509. Gothic, 1100-1500. Early Tudor, 1509-1558. French Renaissance, 1500-1643. Elizabethan, 1558-1603. Jacobean, 1603-1649. Cromwellian, 1649-1660. Louis XIV, 1643-1715. Restoration, 1660-1689. Anglo-Dutch, 1689-1714. Early Georgian, 1714-1750. Louis XV, 1715-1774. Georgian, 1750-1800. Louis XVI, 1774-1793. Empire, 1799-1814. French influence on English styles is especially to be noted as follows: Louis XIV influence on the style of William and Mary in the Anglo-Dutch period; Louis XV (rococo) influence on the styles of Chippendale in the Georgian period; Louis XVI influence on the styles of Hepplewhite, Adam, and Sheraton in the Georgian period. [l48] BIBLIOGRAPHY The following list of books has been compiled for the benefit of student and collector. It includes the more important works on the historic styles in furni ture and the decorative periods. Bajot, Ed. Encyclopedic du Meuble. Benn, H. P., and W. C. Baldock. Characteristics of Old Furniture. Benn, R. Davis. Style in Furniture. Binstead, Herbert E. The Furniture Styles. Blake, J. P., and A. E. Reveirs-Hopkins. Little Books about Old Furniture. Burgess, Fred W. Antique Furniture. Candee, Helen Churchill. Decorative Styles and Periods. Candee, Helen Churchill. Jacobean Furniture. Cescinsky, Herbert. English Furniture of the Eighteenth Century. Clifford, C. R. Period Furnishings. Clouston, K. Warren. The Chippendale Period in Eng lish Furniture. Clouston, R. S. English Furniture and Furniture Makers of the Eighteenth Century. de Ricci, Seymour. Louis XVI Furniture. Dilke, Lady. French Furniture and Decoration in the Eighteenth Century. [149] BIBLIOGRAPHY Dyer, Walter A. The Lure of the Antique. Dyer, Walter A. Early American Craftsmen. Dyer, Walter A. Creators of Decorative Styles. Eberlein, Harold Donaldson, and Abbot McClure. The Practical Book of Period Furniture. Eberlein, Harold Donaldson. Interiors, Fireplaces, and Furniture of the Italian Renaissance. Fenn, Frederick, and B. Wyllie. Old English Furniture. Foley, Edwin. The Book of Decorative Furniture. Gregory, E. W. The Furniture Collector. Hayden, Arthur. Chats on Old Furniture. Hayden, Arthur. Chats on Cottage and Farmhouse Fur niture. Jacquemart, Albert. A History of Furniture. Lenygon, Francis. Decoration in England from 1660 to 1770. Lenygon, Francis. Furniture in England from 1660 to 1760. Litchfield, Frederick. Illustrated History of Furniture. Litchfield, Frederick. How to Collect Old Furniture. Lockwood, Luke Vincent. Colonial Furniture in America. Lockwood, Luke Vincent. A Collection of English Furni ture of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Lyon, Irving Whitall. The Colonial Furniture of New- England. MacQuoid, Percy. History of English Furniture. Mallet, W. E., and H. M. Brock. An Introduction to Old English Furniture. Moore, N. Hudson. The Old Furniture Book. Morse, Frances Clary. Furniture of the Olden Time. Northend, Mary H. Colonial Homes and Their Furnish ings. [150] BIBLIOGRAPHY Parsons, Frank Alvah. Interior Decoration; Its Princi ples and Practice. Pollen, John Hungerford. Ancient and Modern Furniture and Woodwork. Robie, Virginia. Historic Styles in Furniture. Robinson, Frederick S. English Furniture. Robinson, Vincent J. Ancient Furniture. Roe, Fred. Old Oak Furniture. Saglio, Andre. French Furniture. Shackleton, Robert and Elizabeth. The Quest of the Co lonial. Simon, Constance. English Furniture Designs of the Eighteenth Century. Singleton, Esther. Furniture. Singleton, Esther. Dutch and Flemish Furniture. Singleton, Esther. French and English Furniture. Singleton, Esther. The Furniture of Our Forefathers. Strange, Thomas Arthur. English Furniture, Decoration, Woodwork, and Allied Arts. Strange, Thomas Arthur. An Historical Guide to French Interiors, Furniture, Decoration, etc. Throop, Lucy Abbot. Furnishing the Home of Good Taste. Wheeler, G. Owen. Old English Furniture. [151] INDEX Adam, R. and J., 116-118 American Empire, 87, 125, 126, 130 et seq. American styles, 125 et seq. Angelo, Michael, 13 Anglo-Dutch, 100 et seq. Anne, Queen, 100, 104 et seq. Antoinette, Marie, 46, 64, 65, 70 Bedsteads: Gothic, 27, 28 Tudor, 44 Louis XIV, 52 Empire, 84 Restoration, 99 Georgian, 122 American Empire, 136-138 Berain, J. Charles, 48 Bookcases, 121 Boucher, Francois, 57, 62 Boulle, Andre Charles, 48 Brunelleschi, Filippo, 13 Cabinets : Italian Renaissance, 14, 20 Gothic, 27 French Renaissance, 32 Spanish Renaissance, 36 Tudor, 41 Louis XIV, 52 Caffieri, Jacques, 56, 58 Cassone, 22 Cellini, Benvenuto, 14, 31 Chairs: Italian Renaissance, 20-21 Gothic, 27-28 French Renaissance, 32, 34 Flemish Renaissance, 34-35 Spanish Renaissance, 36 Tudor, 41, 43 Louis XIV, 51 Louis XV, 62-63 Louis XVI, 73-74 Empire, 82-83 Jacobean, 93 Cromwellian, 94 Restoration, 95-96 William and Mary, 102-103 Roundabout, 106 Queen Anne, 105-106 Chippendale, 112, 115-116 Adam, 117-118 Hepplewhite, 118 Sheraton, 123 Windsor, 105, 125, 128 Early American, 127 Fancy, 129 American Empire, 131-132 Chests : Italian Renaissance, 22 Gothic, 27 French Renaissance, 32, 33 Tudor, 43 Louis XIV, 52 Jacobean, 94 Chests of drawers, 104, 135-136 [153] INDEX Chinese, 57, 102, in, 112, 113 Chippendale, Thomas, ni-116, 127 Colbert, Jean Baptiste, 47 Colonial, 125-126 Consoles, 33, 52 Correggio, 13 Cressent, Charles, 55-56 Cromwellian period, 94-95 Cupboards: Gothic, 27, 28 Elizabethan, 43 Jacobean, 94 da Vinci, Leonardo, 13, 31 della Robia, Luca, 13 del Sarto, Andrea, 13, 31 Desks, 36, 122, 136 Details of ornament, 18, 27, 28, 32, 33, 38. 4*i 42. 43, 46, 47, 52-53, 57, 58, 63, <58, 69, 7*> 72, 81, 90, 93, 95, 102, 104- 105, III, 117, Il8, 121, 122- 123, 131, 137, 138-139 du Barry, Countess, 54 Diirer, Albrecht, 35 Elizabethan period, 42 et seq. Empire, 78 et seq. Empire, American, 87, 125, 126, 130 et seq. Fontaine, Pierre, 79 Georgian period, no et seq. Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 14 Gothic, 26 et seq. Gouthiere, Pierre, 56, 70 Hepplewhite, George, 116, 118- 122, 127-128 Highboys, 109 Holbein, 37 Inlay and marquetry, 18-19, 35> 36, 52, 61, 70, 95, 102, 109, 117, 121, 123 Intarsia, 19 Italian Renaissance, 1 1 et seq. Jacobean period, 89 et seq. Jefferson, Thomas, 130 John of Padua, 37 Lacquer and japanning, 57, 102 Le Brun, Charles, 47, 48 Louis XIV, 45 et seq. Louis XV, 46, 54 et seq. Louis XVI, 46, 64 et seq. Lowboys, 109 Marot, Daniel, 48, 51, 100, 103 Meissonnier, Juste Aurele, 56, 58 Mirrors, 23, 44 Mounts, metal, 51, 52, 70, 71, 80- 81 Ornamental details, see Details of ornament Palladio, Andrea, 13, 14 Percier, Charles, 79 Philip of Orleans, 54 Phyfe, Duncan, 125, 138-139 Pietra dura, 19 Pompadour, Madame, 46, 54-55, 5«, 57 [154] INDEX Queen Anne, ice, 104 et seq. Renaissance : Italian, n et seq. French, 28 et seq. Spanish, 34, 35-36 German, 34, 35 Flemish, 34, 35 Reproductions, 3 et seq. Restoration period, 95 et seq. Riesener, Jean, 56, 70, 79 Rococo, 33, 46, 52-53, 56, 57, 58, 68, 8i, in, 112, 113, 117 Rontgen, David, 70, 79 Sanzio, Raphael, 13 Seralio, 31 Shearer, Thomas, 118, 121-122 Sheraton, Thomas, 116, 122-124, 127-129 Sideboards, 118, 121, 135-136 Sofas, 33, 74, 132 Stools, 41, 43, 93 Tables: Italian Renaissance, 21-22 Tables (Continued): Tudor, 41, 43 Louis XIV, 51-52 Louis XVI, 71 Empire, 83-84 Jacobean, 93-94 Restoration, 96 William and Mary, 102-103 Queen Anne, 106-107 American Empire, 135 Tapestries, etc., 20, 31, 3. 43, 47-48, 52, 55, 62, 63, 81 Titian, 13 Tudor period, 37 et seq. Vernis-Martin, 56-57 Vouet, Simon, 33 Watteau, Jean Antoine, 46, 56, 57, 62 William and Mary, too et seq. Woods, use of, 17, 18, 27, 32, 34, 36, 42, 52, 61, 70, 80, 95, 99, 104, 105, 109, no, 116, 121, 123, 127, 131, 138 Wren, Sir Christopher, n6 [155] Early American Craftsmen By Walter A. Dyer In "Early American Craftsmen" Mr. Dyer devotes his atten tion exclusively to Americana, presenting a work of ready refer ence for the collector of the furniture, silverware, pottery, pewter, clocks, glassware and other household goods produced and used by our American forefathers, with abundant information for determining their age, style, makers, genuineness, and value. In the present work, however, he goes a step farther and gives us a vivid picture of the interesting personalities — the craftsmen who conceived and fashioned these things. "There is something distinctly human," says the author in his introductory chapter, "about the development of the industrial arts ; they touch life at so many points and so intimately ; and the students and collectors of Americana have been, unconsciously perhaps, reconstructing for us a more living picture of the men and manners of a former time, and history is made thereby a more vital thing. The collector has ceased to be absorbed entirely by the quest for a bargain and has become a delver after human facts." The book is written with the same charm and sympathy that distinguished "The Lure of the Antique," producing that back ground and atmosphere which lends significance and charm to the collector's quest. Svo, 350 pages, over 100 illustrations Price. $4.00 At all Bookstores '-pTjT? /~,T?XTT,TTT>'V r^r^ 353 Fourth Avenue Published by 1 rl li Lj-tLiN 1 U K I L>U. New York City THE LURE OF THE ANTIQUE By Walter A. Dyer A book of ready reference for collectors of old furniture, china, mirrors, candlesticks, silverware, pewter, glassware, copper uten sils, clocks, and other household furnishings of our forefathers, both imported and domestic. "The charm that rests in a rare old piece of mahogany, and the pitfalls that lie everywhere in the path of the seeker for real antiques — these are my text." Would you feel this charm? Would you know these pitfalls, and how to avoid them ? Then read Walter Dyer's book. A complete, satisfactory and very delightful guide to the intelli gent buying and appreciation of Old Furniture, China, Mirrors, Candlesticks, Silverware, Glassware, Pewter and Copper Utensils ; and a Handy Guide for the determination of Age, Style, Maker, Genuineness, and Value. All, through it runs the fine spirit of one who knows "how heart warming and heart-softening a thing it is to associate, day by day, with the household belongings of a past generation." "Sufficiently explicit for beginners and also sufficiently compre hensive." — Chicago Continent. "A charming book on an inexhaustible topic." — North Amer ican Review. "In contents and in make-up this is a book of exceptional merit." — Lauriat's Book Notes. 8vo, 4-88 pages, 159 illustrations Price $4.00 At all Bookstores '"putt? /~,T?XTrT,TT~D\/ /"*/"* "3 Fourth Avenue Published by 1 rl JC, t^LLIN lUKl K^\J. New York City Helping to Make Houses into Homes THE HONEST HOUSE By Ruby Ross Goodnow and Rayne Adams This is the book of books for everyone who wishes to create a house which is expressive of the owner and at the same time consistent in all its parts, true to a chosen style, and containing throughout the elements of good design. It deals, practically and constructively, with the problems of the average American home- builder. A choice gift book, with decorative chapter headings, an un usually large number of illustrations from photographs, and dia grams showing floor plans, elevations, etc. A quarto of 225 pages. Price, in a box, $4.60. THE HOUSE IN GOOD TASTE By Elsie de Wolfe A unique and delightful discussion of the problems of house- furnishing which come to every woman, whatever her environ ment or her income. Very charming, too, is the friendly auto biographical flavor which runs through all the pages. Four insets in color and forty-eight in black and white, showing interiors designed and carried out by Miss de Wolfe. Price $4.00. BY-PATHS IN COLLECTING By Virginia Robie Every enthusiast over rare and unique things which have passed the century mark will want this book, with its wealth of reliable information. Charmingly made and illustrated. Price $4.00. THE QUEST OF THE COLONIAL By Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton "Whoever likes old times, old fireplaces, and old furniture will succumb to the fascination of this genial book with its many pic tures." A book to love for its beauty. Price $4.00. wffl&S^THE CENTURY CO. "'$£$£%£