Furniture - World Styles From Classical To Contemporary

["CHESTS OF DRAWERS 249 1800\u20131840 ITALIAN COMMODE inlaid sans traverse and centred by a panel SWEDISH COMMODE on short, tapering, fluted legs. The whole This Neoclassical walnut and marquetry inlaid with two maidens and a cupid. The sides This rectangular top of this late Gustavian commode is painted in a typical Gustavian commode has a marble top above a frieze commode has canted forecorners above three drawer inlaid with foliate swags and flaring are decorated to mirror the front, and the case long drawers. The drawers are flanked by fluted pale grey. c.1820. H:85cm (331\u20442in); W:140cm urns. Below are two further drawers, similarly and canted sides, and the commode is raised is raised on square, tapered legs. c.1800 (the \u25cf(45in); D:46cm (18in). EVE 4 \u25cfmarble top is later). W:132.5cm (53in). FRE 4 ITALIAN PARQUETRY DANISH MAHOGANY COMMODE COMMODE This walnut and parquetry This Danish Louis XVI commode inlaid commode has a top with has a rectangular top above a fluted a projecting concave front set frieze drawer and return with roundel above four corresponding long, corners. The three lower drawers are graduated drawers. It stands flanked by fluted quarter pilasters. on bun feet and the case The commode is raised on bracket and drawer fronts are inlaid feet. Late 18th century. H:78.5cm throughout with geometric (31in); W:77.5cm (301\u20442in); D:45.5cm walnut, mahogany, and boxwood panels. Early 19th \u25cf(18in). EVE 4 century. H:92cm (361\u20444in); W:125cm (491\u20444in); D:65cm \u25cf(251\u20442in). L&T 3 BIEDERMEIER COMMODE bowed decoration, and the bottom two are SWEDISH CHEST OF DRAWERS probably veneered in matching mahogany. This southern German commode is veneered in flanked by ebonized columns. The case has This is a late Gustavian chest of drawers, with Early 19th century. H:84cm (33in); W:95cm cherry wood and partly ebonized. The rectangular a shaped top and curved corners. There are top overhangs the case and has an ebonized sabre feet. 1820 \u201330. H:93cm (361\u20448in); three graduated drawers with brass roundels and \u25cf(371\u20442in); D:47cm (181\u20442in). Bk 5 edge. There are three drawers: the top has a the case stands on turned, tapering feet. It is \u25cfW:130cm (541\u20448in); D:65cm (251\u20442in). BMN 3","1800\u20131840250 EARLY 19TH CENTURY drawing room or lady\u2019s bedroom and often had outsplayed legs with brass sofas cappings and casters. M\u00c9RIDIENNE scrolling foliate motifs in a lighter wood. The seat, back, and sides of the piece are SOFAS IN THE EARLY 19th century Typically of French Restauration This m\u00e9ridienne sofa is typical of its kind, in generously padded and upholstered in a reached new levels of comfort. Except design, the m\u00e9ridienne is a type of having one end slightly higher than the other, Neoclassical striped fabric in light green, for the rusbank in the Cape, they were canap\u00e9 with two scroll arms, one and is probably French. It is veneered with cream, and gold. The scrolling supports and nearly always entirely upholstered, higher than the other. In Denmark, rosewood and the plinth, supports, and feet are plinth are supported on volute feet. c.1830. often in silk damask. As a result, the where people still dined on sofas, decoratively inlaid with stylized arabesques and H:88cm (342\u20443in); W:148cm (581\u20444in). BEA antique motifs that were frequently m\u00e9ridiennes usually had cupboards used on the open backs of chairs of on the sides where utensils and glasses this period were confined to the could be stored. Because of the nature uprights and top rails of sofas. of their use and the ease with which Similarly, because of their weight, the they could be chipped, sofas were use of splayed legs was less common more often made from plain wood on sofas than on chairs. At the rather than completely created in gilt. beginning of the period, the sofa sides tended to be straight or were carved As the upholstered surfaces of sofas with Neoclassical motifs such as are particularly susceptible to wear sphinxes. Later, they began to scroll and tear, it is unusual to find pieces outwards; the sides of a William IV from this time with their original sofa, for example, were often S-shaped. fabrics. Authentic textiles included velvets, silks, damasks, and chintzes. During the early 19th century there Sprung seats were introduced in was a revived interest in the day bed this period, bringing a new level and chaise longue. These elegant of comfort to seating furniture. pieces had a scrolling form and were specifically designed for reclining. The moulded top rail They were intended for use in a has carved lions\u2019 The sphinxes have female heads at the corners. heads and wings, which form the armrests of the canap\u00e9. SWEDISH SOFA square-section legs standing on block feet. The seat is upholstered in a striped fabric and is This large, wide, solid sofa has a gently shaped supported on a deep, plain seat rail decorated top rail with simple moulding and applied, at intervals with applied rosettes. The sofa is gilded rosettes at the centre. The form of based on a design by Carl Fredrik Sundvall for the sofa is almost entirely rectilinear, with Skottorp, a manor house in Blekinge, Sweden. rectangular padded armrests and eight wide, \u25cfc.1820. W:284cm (1133\u20444in). Bk 4 The canap\u00e9 has four straight The squab cushion Carved sphinx detail legs at the front and four provides extra comfort. sabre legs at the back. FRENCH EMPIRE CANAP\u00c9 canap\u00e9 seat and back are upholstered in tan ENGLISH REGENCY suede with black and tan piping and braid. CHAISE LONGUE The padded back of this three-seater canap\u00e9 has Attributed to the Jacob brothers, this is part a straight, moulded top rail, which continues of a large suite comprising two canap\u00e9s, six This simulated rosewood and gilt-metal mounted down to form two of the back legs. The front armchairs, and a pair of stools. c.1800. chaise longue has a scrolled three-quarter back legs and arms are carved in the form of Egyptian H:94cm (37in); W:157cm (62in); D:57cm and ends and sabre legs. Early 19th century. sphinxes and terminate in lion\u2019s-paw feet. The (221\u20442in). PAR \u25cfW:200cm (80in). L&T 3","SOFAS 251 1800\u20131840 SWEDISH PAINTED SETTEE The upholstered cushion seat is supported on AMERICAN SHERATON SOFA on the downsloping arms. Each arm rests on This late Gustavian painted and upholstered a carved laurel-leaf frieze and raised on 16 This small, inlaid mahogany and flame birch a reeded baluster support and is supported on settee has a rectangular back with three loose sofa has a sloping top rail with a central raised cushions. The side panels have circular turned slender, circular, turned legs with long leaf tablet. The tablet has a contrasting ellipse tapering, reeded legs. The legs are headed by supports, flanking central cross-form supports within an inlaid outline. The edge of the top above a frieze with Neoclassical decoration. banding. 1800\u201310. H:89cm (35in); rail is capped with reeding, which continues inlaid panels and terminate in spade feet. \u25cfW:195.5cm (75in); D:71cm (28in). EVE 5 \u25cfEarly 19th century. H:94cm (37in). NA 5 AMERICAN NEOCLASSICAL SOFA on lion\u2019s-paw feet, richly carved with foliage AUSTRIAN BIEDERMEIER SOFA has a striped, floral design. It has a notably This carved mahogany sofa, from the Mid- at the knees. The upholstery is not original. This Viennese sofa has a walnut-veneered, lighter effect than the Anglo-French examples. Atlantic States, has a shaped top rail with S- partially ebonized frame, and an upholstered shaped corners, and back-scrolled arms. The \u25cfEarly 19th century. W:212.5cm (85in). FRE 1 seat, arms, and back. It has a high, straight 1820\u201330. H:95cm (371\u20442in); W:192cm (751\u20442in); upholstered back, sides, and seat are raised back and outswept, scrolling arms, and is on a bolection seat rail, which is supported raised on four splayed legs. The upholstery \u25cfD:67.5cm (261\u20442in). BMN 2 ENGLISH REGENCY SOFA whole stands on turned, reeded, tapering feet DANISH DAY BED legs. Unlike a chaise longue, a day bed does The rectangular back of this rosewood-framed with brass caps and casters. 1820\u201330. This Danish Louis XVI elmwood day bed has not have a back. c.1800. H:75cm (291\u20442in); Regency sofa has a leaf-carved cresting above a rectangular, upholstered seat between square, upholstered arms with moulded \u25cfW:213cm (851\u20444in). L&T 3 outscrolled, vertical, slat armrests. With a \u25cfW:198cm (78in); D:66cm (26in). EVE 4 terminals. The sofa has a squab seat and is bolster cushion at either end, the day bed raised on a channel-moulded seat rail. The is raised on six square, tapered, and fluted","252 EARLY 19TH CENTURY 1800\u20131840 desks the top of the desk is rounded and has Egyptian mask pilasters running DESKS GENERALLY TENDED TO BE of two around all sides. AMERICAN SLANT- forms: flat- or slant-topped. Neither FRONT DESK of these types were new in the early Slant-fronted bureaux were still 19th century. Of the former, which produced, particularly in provincial This Federal maple and were generally intended for a library, centres in Britain and the United States. tiger-maple slant-front desk several outstanding examples survive. The cylinder bureau, which had a from New England has a The Jacob brothers of France provided rounded fall that pushed upwards moulded slope front with a Napoleon with a flat-topped desk for into the carcase of the piece remained fitted interior and four long his study at the Tuileries, which is now popular on the Continent, particularly graduated drawers. There at Malmaison. A type of mechanical in the north. The chatol in Denmark is a moulded base and the bureau plat, the box-like top slides was a variation with a cabinet above it. case sits on French feet. back to expose the working surface. Similar bureau-cabinets were produced The secondary wood is white It is supported on side pylons formed in Britain, as was a much smaller desk pine. c.1800. H:112cm from paired lion monopodia painted called the Davenport. In some instances (44in); W:104cm (41in); and gilded to simulate bronze. the slant provided the actual writing surface rather than covering it, while \u25cfD:49cm (191\u20444in). Sl 3 A late Empire \u201cFerdinandino\u201d style others were made with a piano-top desk in mahogany survives in the style. They are thought to be named FRENCH DIRECTOIRE CYLINDER DESK Spanish Royal Palace in Madrid. With after a version made by Gillows for a a leather top, which is typical of flat- Captain Davenport. Other small desks, This roll-top desk has a white marbled galleried top above topped desks of the period, it is such as the bonheur-du-jour, were in three frieze drawers. The panelled fall opens to reveal a fitted supported on gilt swans linked by a vogue on both sides of the channel. interior with small drawers and a leather-inset brushing platform stretcher. Chippendale the The secr\u00e9taire \u00e0 abattant continued slide. The desk is raised on turned, tapered legs, ending Younger\u2019s desk for Sir Richard Colt to be popular, especially in France. Hoare at Stourhead demonstrates a \u25cfin toupie feet. c.1800. W:163cm (64in). FRE 4 British variation of this type. Unusually, Each side panel has a lion\u2019s The frieze has three drawers. The ebony inlay takes head brass ring pull. the form of leaf sprays and geometric motifs. Arched bracket Detail of inlay ITALIAN LIFT-TOP DESK lion\u2019s paw foot. a kneehole, flanked on either side by a door This desk has a lift-top with iron strap hinges ENGLISH REGENCY DESK enclosing three drawers. The reverse of the and lock that folds back to reveal a fitted interior. desk has three conforming frieze drawers and The desk is supported on canted, scrolled ends with This shaped rectangular pedestal desk has a cupboard doors enclosing a shelf. The case carved supports. Early 19th century. H:89cm (35in); black gilt-tooled leather writing surface and is stands on eight arched bracket lion\u2019s-paw feet. decorated around the edges with ebony inlay c.1820. H:80cm (311\u20442in); W:152.5cm (60in); \u25cfW:109cm (43in). BRU 3 depicting sprays of leaves and geometric motifs. D:106.5cm (42in). PAR The frieze has three drawers to the front above","DESKS 253 1800\u20131840 Carved shell motif Reeded drawer detail Interior drawer detail AMERICAN FEDERAL DESK SWEDISH PAINTED DESK plinth with block feet. 1800\u201320. H:78cm The slant front of this Federal cherry-wood This is a late Gustavian painted desk, with a clerk\u2019s desk encloses a fitted interior of wide overhanging rectangular writing surface (303\u20444in); W:131cm (511\u20442in); D:51.5cm (201\u20444in). four drawers and valanced compartments above three reeded frieze drawers. Each on both sides of a central, shell-carved, pedestal has three graduated short drawers, \u25cfEVE 4 prospect door flanked by two document again reeded, and is raised on a narrow drawers. Below is a single long drawer. Early 19th century. H:103cm (411\u20442in). \u25cfS&K 2 Gilt-metal mounts BIEDERMEIER CYLINDER BUREAU FRENCH CLERK\u2019S DESK This German walnut-veneered This mahogany desk has a three- cylinder desk has a frieze quarter gilt-metal gallery and a drawer above the roll-top and leather inset slope. There is a gilt- two long drawers below. The metal mounted frieze with a drawer front opens to reveal a fitted above a grille door and sides with interior with six small drawers folio divisions, flanked by turned and compartments. The case columns. The desk is raised above is supported on square- a platform with square supports section tapering legs. on bun feet. H:122cm (48in); c.1820. H:126cm (491\u20442in); W:121cm (472\u20443in); D:63cm \u25cfW:93cm (361\u20442in). DN 4 \u25cf(243\u20444in). WKA 4 GERMAN PEDESTAL DESK deep, rectilinear pedestals have unusual CANADIAN DROP-FRONT DESK drawers and is supported on a moulded plinth. tapered doors with applied moulding above, This pedestal writing table is covered with which give the piece an architectural feel. This rare Quebec pine desk has a fall front, The exterior of the desk has been stripped, but cherry wood veneer. The rectangular top has The interiors of the pedestals are fitted with which opens to reveal a fitted interior. On a higher, moulded edge to the back and sits shelving. The whole piece is supported on either side of a central cubbyhole are three still bears traces of its original paint finish. above one long and two short frieze drawers a plinth base. c.1825. H:82.5cm (321\u20442in); wide, graduated drawers, and above it is a with locks. Either side of the kneehole, the series of pigeonholes. The case has three long \u25cfc.1820. W:123cm (481\u20442in). PER 4 \u25cfW:185.5cm (727\u20448in); D:72cm (281\u20443in). SLK 6","254 EARLY 19TH CENTURY 1800\u20131840 tables with brass cappings and casters. Console tables traditionally stand THE EARLY PART OF THE 19TH century is AMERICAN LIBRARY TABLE AMERICAN PIER TABLE characterized by the development of against a window pier beneath a high many different types of furniture that mirror that reflects light around the This Neoclassical mahogany table has a hinged The rectangular marble top of this American were designed for specific tasks. The room. Consequently, the back of the rectangular top with drop leaves, a drawer and Empire-style table rests above a moulded frieze sofa table, which was developed around table is usually unfinished as no one an opposing dummy drawer, a pedestal base, with carved scrolls supported on turned columns. 1800, is one example. Intended to stand ever sees it. Consoles are often screwed and outsplayed legs on casters. Early 19th Below the tabletop is a framed mirror. c.1815. directly in front of a sofa, it provided a directly onto the wall so they do not support for reading, writing, sketching, have back legs. If they do, the legs are \u25cfcentury. W:87.5cm (35in). NA 3 \u25cfW:100cm (39in). FRE 5 and similar tasks. Although the sofa purely functional and do not match table was an English invention, it was the more elaborate, decorative forms widely copied on the Continent. of the front legs. Sofa tables were usually veneered in Serving tables and hall tables are mahogany or rosewood and were often often similar in shape to console banded in exotic timbers or outlined in tables, but they are usually longer and brass stringing. Closely related to the were often intended to stand against Pembroke table, the sofa table has a a windowless wall. flap at either end \u2013 unlike the centre, writing, or library table \u2013 although they Although smaller, card and tea all share the same basic function. tables (the former does not have a baize lining) are often similar in style The sofa table also usually has two to sofa tables, and have identical frieze drawers, which are sometimes decoration, veneers, and construction set opposite dummy drawers. It is timbers. Their fold-over tops are supported on end standards linked usually supported on a swing leg, by a stretcher. Alternatively it may be or they are supported on a central supported on a central pedestal, often pedestal so that they can pivot. with splayed legs on later examples, The sofa table is decorated throughout with brass inlay. FRENCH WORKTABLE AMERICAN CLASSICAL TABLE This rosewood worktable has a crossbanded This table has a rectangular top with canted rectangular top above two drawers and opposing corners above a conforming frieze. It is supported dummy drawers. It has lyre-shaped trestle on fluted cylindrical columns on an incurved supports joined by a turned stretcher and sabre rectangular plinth joined to shaped, downswept \u25cflegs. W:57cm (22in). L&T 4 \u25cflegs. W:90cm (36in). NA 3 The lyre-shaped supports The \u201cstrings\u201d of the lyre are a recurrent motif of late are made from brass. Neoclassical design. REGENCY LIBRARY TABLE The table top is raised on elegant twin lyre- EMPIRE CONSOLE TABLE FEDERAL TABLE shaped supports with brass \u201cstrings\u201d in the This fine rosewood writing or library table has centre. The supports terminate in brass-capped This table has a rectangular marble top above a This mahogany table has a rectangular top above a rectangular top with gently rounded corners, paw feet, and are joined by a central, turned frieze drawer. There are front consoles with paw two graduated frieze drawers, and turned legs, the whole of which is surrounded by a pierced stretcher. This typical form of Regency table feet and two rear pilasters on a plinth base. joined by a stretcher and terminating in outswept gallery. There are two short drawers set into the was also produced with two flaps, to be used Early 19th century. H:86cm (337\u20448in); W:79cm feet. c.1810. H:81cm (32in); W:84cm (33in); frieze, both of which have round brass handles. D:51cm (20in). BDL \u25cfas a sofa table. c.1820. H:76cm (30in). FRE. 5 \u25cf(31in); D:47.5cm (183\u20444in). L&T 3","TABLES 255 1800\u20131840 DANISH EMPIRE SOFA TABLE AUSTRIAN TABLE CHINESE EXPORT CENTRE TABLE This fruitwood-inlaid, ebonized, and parcel-gilt mahogany sofa Veneered in cherry wood, this table has a rectangular top above This highly decorative, Regency-style, black lacquer table has a table has a rectangular top and D-shaped drop leaves above a a frieze with a single drawer. The table top is supported on two rectangular top with rounded corners. The frieze has two front frieze with a fruitwood drawer. The end supports are flanked by elaborately-carved lyre supports with upturned ends, joined to drawers and two dummies at the back. The splayed end- supports giltwood and ebonized bird-head supports. 1810 \u201320. each other by a turned stretcher. c.1830. H:77cm (301\u20443in); rest on a plinth with bun feet. c.1830. H:75cm (291\u20442in); W:122cm (48in); D:61cm (24in). PAR \u25cfH:77.5cm (301\u20442in); W:84cm (33in); D:143.5cm (591\u20442in). EVE 5 \u25cfW:99cm (39in); D:73cm (28 3\u20444in). SLK 4 SCOTTISH REGENCY CONSOLE TABLE GERMAN CARD TABLE BRITISH CONSOLE TABLE The rectangular top of this mahogany console table sits above This mahogany table has a rectangular top with moulded sides This William IV mahogany console table has a rectangular slate an ogee frieze. The table top is supported on palmette-carved, and rests above a frieze flanked by carved scrolls. It is supported top raised on a base with a frieze. The table top is supported on scrolling front console legs, which terminate in bun feet. The on a column with a carved base, four splayed legs carved with a pair of elaborately scrolled and leaf-carved console legs with square-section back legs are panelled and have square, block stylized swans, and scroll feet. c.1820. H:77cm (301\u20443in); paw feet at the front. The back legs take the form of rectangular- feet. c.1820. W:148cm (58in). L&T \u25cfW:110cm (431\u20443in); D:55cm (212\u20443in). SLK 4 \u25cfsection, panelled pilasters. c.1830. W:183cm (72in). L&T 4 GEORGE IV CARD TABLE AMERICAN NEOCLASSICAL CARD TABLE REGENCY SOFA TABLE The rectangular top of this pedestal card table has a narrow brass The rectangular, hinged top of this mahogany table has a bowed This rosewood sofa table has satinwood crossbanding. Below the inlay and rounded corners. It is supported on a sturdy octagonal, centre section above a conforming apron with a brass-outlined rectangular top there is a frieze with two drawers and rounded tapering column with a nulled collar, a round platform, and four panel and central applied brass foliage. It sits on a lyre-form drop leaves. The table sits on rectangular-section supports on outswept legs which end in brass terminals and casters. pedestal with brass strings, on outsplayed legs with brass paw inlaid sabre legs terminating in anthemion-cast brass caps and \u25cfEarly 19th century. W: 91cm (36in). DN 3 \u25cftoes and casters. Early 19th century. W:91.5cm (36in). NA 4 \u25cfcasters. Early 19th century. W:146cm (571\u20442in). L&T 4","256 EARLY 19TH CENTURY 1800\u20131840 occasional tables THE SMALL-SCALE OCCASIONAL table with compartments. Some are even REGENCY WRITING BOX BIEDERMEIER SIDE TABLE truly stands out. Many examples were fitted with a rising screen for use in also portable and could be moved front of the fire. Small and fragile, This bird\u2019s-eye maple and ebony string writing This solid beech and beech-veneered side table around a room to serve a variety of worktables are often made in exotic box has a hinged slope with a leather inset, a has a round frieze with an overhanging circular functions, although often they had a wood, either with marquetry or drawer, and dummy drawer. The ring-turned, top. It is raised on three sabre legs, joined specific use. In this case, a table could painted details. ebonized legs are joined by a C-scroll stretcher. lower down by an additional, circular shelf. be brought out when required and then moved back to the walls or out of Other types include those for gaming \u25cfc.1810. H:86cm (333\u20444in). DN 3 \u25cf1820. H:78cm (302\u20443in). BMN 2 the room. Because occasional tables (often with a marquetry chess and might be seen from all sides, they backgammon board) and reading Brass ring pull were usually veneered on the back, stands. These were known from the unlike side tables. mid 18th century and had a ratcheted slope, sometimes inset with leather if Occasional tables are often the table was also to be used for associated with leisure or with ladies\u2019 drawing. Small, circular gu\u00e9ridons activities. Worktables, for example, in France were often used to hold were given considerable attention candelabra or perfume burners. by Sheraton and were largely an Quartetto, or nests-of-tables, were also invention of this period. an invention of the period. Elaborate examples with cut-brass decoration Intended to hold sewing apparatus, and exotic wood were made by George worktables often have a silk work bag Oakley, and others with ring-turned which slides out from beneath the supports and veneers by Gillows. upper surface. Others have a rising lid The inset table top is made of white marble. Verre \u00e9glomis\u00e9 vignettes INLAID STAND in black and gold depict repeating motifs of flaming This stand is from the southern torches and crossed quivers. states of America and has a rectangular top with rounded corners and a band of double string inlay. It is raised on inlaid, tapered legs below bird\u2019s- eye maple panels. The single drawer has three interior compartments. H:72.5cm (281\u20442in); W:66.5cm (261\u20444in); \u25cfD:46.5cm (181\u20444in). BRU 7 The turned tapering legs are carved with spiral flutes. SWEDISH SIDE TABLE are additional panels above the legs and at CONSOLE TABLE SHERATON GAMES TABLE the centre of the frieze. The turned, tapering This fine-quality, giltwood side table has an legs are carved with low-relief laurel above a Made in Franken, Germany, this console table This mahogany games and worktable has a inset table top made of white marble, which is band of Greek key pattern, and then carved is veneered in mahogany. It has a rectangular rectangular top with chamfered corners and set above a giltwood frieze carved with laurel with spiral flutes below. The legs terminate marble table top above a frieze drawer and a chessboard inlaid in its surface. It stands leaves and with recessed panels incorporating in baluster feet. c.1810. H:81.5cm (32in); stands on square, tapering legs. H:84cm on square, tapering legs. c.1790. H:73.5cm black and gold verre \u00e9glomis\u00e9 vignettes. There W:81.5cm (32in); D:51cm (20in). MAL \u25cf(33in); W:84cm (33in); D:50cm (193\u20444in). SLK 5 \u25cf(29in). DL 4","OCCASIONAL TABLES 257 pattern books THE VOGUE FOR SMALL, OCCASIONAL TABLES WAS ENCOURAGED BY VARIOUS 1800\u20131840 PATTERN BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURIES. SWEDISH SIDE TABLE OCCASIONAL TABLE The use of pattern books by furniture Sheraton\u2019s next book was his Cabinet makers was well-established by the end Dictionary, published 1803, which, This gilt-metal, mounted, mahogany side table Inlaid with brass, this French Empire mahogany of the 18th century, when Thomas possibly influenced by Thomas Hope, by Karl Johan has a circular top above a frieze. table has a circular top featuring an inset Sheraton published The Cabinet-Maker included some Egyptian designs. The The circular stem ends in a tripartite base with marble and pierced-brass gallery. It has a and Upholsterer\u2019s Drawing Book. Hugely influence of French furniture is also scrolled feet. H:79cm (31in); Diam:44.5cm fluted column support ending on a tripod base. significant in disseminating the evident in the inclusion of the small (171\u20442in). EVE Neoclassical Regency style in England writing desk known as a bonheur-du-jour. \u25cfEarly 19th century. H:79cm (311\u20444in). SI 1 and America, this book included many Sheraton never completed his final designs for occasional tables, from pot massive volume, The Cabinet-Maker, cupboards to urn stands. Although this Upholsterer, and General Artist\u2019s was not particularly new \u2013 Chippendale Encyclopaedia, although it was published, and Ince and Mayhew had included such incomplete, in 1805. In this late title, objects in their pattern books of the contemporary developments in France, 1750s and 60s \u2013 the lightness and variety notably the post-revolutionary styles, of Sheraton\u2019s examples was innovative. were particularly evident. SOUTH AFRICAN TEA TABLE ITALIAN BEDSIDE COMMODE Sheraton prototypes These designs are for an urn stand This stinkwood tea table has a rectangular top Made of olive wood and tulipwood, this (left) and pot cupboards with rounded corners, a plain frieze, decorative, crossbanded, bedside commode has a lift-up (centre and right), taken contrasting inlays, and slightly tapering legs. lid above a fall front and fitted interior. It has from The Cabinet-Maker and 1790\u20131810. H:71cm (28in); W:85cm (331\u20442in); square, tapering legs. H:79cm (31in); W:52cm Upholsterer\u2019s Drawing Book D:50cm (192\u20443in). PRA (3rd edition). 1794. \u25cf(201\u20442in); D:35.5cm (14in). Cato 3 BIEDERMEIER SEWING TABLE FEDERAL WORKSTAND ITALIAN TABLE WORKSTAND This sewing table from Weimar is veneered This figured mahogany workstand has a This Neoclassical inlaid fruitwood table en This Massachusetts Sheraton mahogany in cherry wood with ebony stringing. The rectangular-shaped top supported by half-round chiffoni\u00e8re has a three-quarter gallery, two workstand has a rectangular top with cut overhanging table top has rounded corners. colonettes and two drawers. It stands on drawers with chevron banding, and square- corners and two compartmented drawers. The The rounded case has two drawers and sabre rounded, tapering, ring-turned legs ending in section, tapering legs. Early 19th century. ringed pilasters lead into tapering, reeded legs \u25cflegs. c.1830. H:77cm (301\u20443in). BMN 3 \u25cfball feet. c.1820. H:71cm (28in). FRE 1 \u25cfH:65.5cm (27in). SLK 1 \u25cfwith ringed cuffs. H:73cm (283\u20444in). NA 4","258 EARLY 19TH CENTURY 1800\u20131840 painted furniture TWO TYPES OF PAINTED furniture were were decorated with penwork. ITALIAN CORNER CABINET GUSTAVIAN CHAIR evident in the early 19th century. One The second category comprises could be characterized as high style: This corner cabinet has two quarter-circle This white-painted side chair, one of a pair by that is furniture produced in the more provincial pieces, particularly shelves above two cupboard doors and stands Melkior Lundberg, has a simple oval back with fashionable Empire or Regency the rustic furniture produced in on shaped bracket feet. The whole cabinet is a solid, vase-shaped splat. The tapering seat manner which, instead of being Russia, Scandinavia, the Tyrol painted with floral motifs on a yellow ground. has a carved seat rail and is raised on stop- veneered in mahogany, rosewood, or (Austria), or southern Germany, bois clairs, was painted. This was around Bavaria. These na\u00efve case \u25cf1810. H:76cm (30in). SS 3 \u25cffluted legs. Early 19th century. Bk 3 particularly common on seating pieces (often wardrobes or chests) furniture, which might have been are frequently entirely covered in made out of cheaper materials and bright patterns, relieved only by the then painted to simulate rosewood or occasional painting of flowers or calamander. Similarly, pieces might be landscapes. A good collection is painted to look like marble, while preserved in the Skansen, Stockholm. boxes, music stands or small pieces Many of these items of furniture are signed and dated. The later date at the top suggests this cupboard was given as a wedding gift to a child of the original recipients. Painted detail Most of the decorative panels PAINTED PINE CHEST are filled with painted floral displays, while the one in the This central-European painted chest is centre of the door portrays a decorated throughout with flowers in scroll- young couple. edged panels with a cream ground on a pale blue border. The piece has a rectangular top above four scrolling front drawers with red- painted stiles and turned corner pilasters. The chest has a panelled back and stands on red- painted, turned feet. The drawers are graduated in size. Early 19th century. W:103.5cm \u25cf(403\u20444in). WW 3 Detail of floral pattern The raised plinth base is fitted with a drawer. MARRIAGE CUPBOARD and stands on bun feet. All of the surfaces MARBLE-EFFECT STOOL rectangular legs have been designed as tapering, of the cupboard are painted. In some rural fluted columns, headed by detached roundels The arched, moulded cornice of this pine communities, it was traditional to make a This beech stool with a mahogany seat has enclosing florets. After a design by C.H.Tatham. cupboard sits above a case with canted corners wedding gift of this type of cupboard. It been painted all over with purple and grey c.1800. H:46cm (18in); W:62cm (241\u20442in); and a single door with three shaped, decorative could then be re-dated and given as a gift to mottling to simulate yellow Siena marble. D:47cm (181\u20442in). TNH panels flanked by additional painted panels. the next generation. c.1830. H:197cm (771\u20442in); The seat is carved to simulate fringed drapery The base of the cupboard has a single drawer W:117cm (46in); D:52cm (201\u20442in). RY falling over the sides in folds. The massive","PAINTED FURNITURE 259 1800\u20131840 AMERICAN STAND AMERICAN CUPBOARD This elegant painted stand is made of rosewood. It has a This green-painted walnut cupboard has a dovetailed splash rectangular top which sits above an ornately decorated frieze panel with scrolled cut-outs set above two dovetailed drawers with a single drawer. The case is raised on turned and tapering and two framed, panelled doors. The case stands on shaped legs which terminate in turned feet. Early 19th century. bracket feet. Early 19th century. H:137cm (54in); W:112cm \u25cfH:77.5cm (31in). NA 4 \u25cf(44in); D:43cm (17in). BRU 2 fancy furniture PARTICULAR TO THE UNITED STATES, ELABORATELY PAINTED FANCY FURNITURE WAS WIDELY PRODUCED CANADIAN CHINA CABINET DURING THE LATE 18TH CENTURY AND FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY. This china cabinet has a yellow-painted scrolling crest flanked by Fancy Furniture, a particular type of painted furniture, The scrolled finials set above a pair of glass doors, which open onto a blue, was produced in the United States on the eastern backboard and shelved interior. The lower section of the cabinet has three short seaboard from the late 18th century to the second frieze drawer have drawers above a pair of cupboard doors, and stands on bracket half of the 19th century. Although other pieces a similar painted feet. Early 19th century. H:226cm (89in). WAD were made, it was primarily chairs that were floral decoration. decorated in this way. DIRECTOIRE SEMAINIER Dressing table and chair Sometimes called Hitchcock chairs, after This is a New England An elegant piece with its original painted finish, this French Lambert Hitchcock, their most famous yellow-painted and semainier is made from cherry wood and oak with a marble producer, the shapes of these pieces were often decorated dressing table top. The chest has a simple, moulded frieze set above six inspired by the designs of Thomas Sheraton with putty-grained top and drawers and stands on square-section tapering legs. c.1810. (see p.138). With turned legs joined by spindle barber-pole turned legs, H:151cm (591\u20442in); W:104cm (41in); D:44.5cm (171\u20442in). RY stretchers and bar backs, they were essentially together with a companion provincial pieces, similar in style to Windsor chair. Early 19th century. chairs (see p.240). Light, portable, and frequently with rush or caned seats, fancy chairs are \u25cfH:95cm (38in). NA 3 characterized by their elaborate painted surfaces, which were often black with gilt decoration varied from Neoclassical to highlights. The backs were hand-painted and more naturalistic designs, including floral decorated with stencilling. The style of the motifs and even landscapes. From his factory in Connecticut, Hitchcock produced his furniture on an assembly line, and it was often stencilled with the name of the factory. The Irish brothers, John and Hugh Findlay, produced similar painted furniture in Baltimore, including some furniture that they made for the White House in 1809, although these pieces were destroyed by a fire during the War of 1812. Sheraton-style chairs These two fancy-painted and decorated chairs comprise an armchair with faux graining and a fiddle-back side chair with landscape decoration and cane seat. Early 19th \u25cfcentury. NA 1","","Mid 19th century 1840-1900","1840\u20131900262 MID 19TH CENTURY Turmoil and Progress unrest and revolution between 1840 and 1865 gave way to stability, expansion, and industrial progress, which benefited an emerging middle class keen on fashionable furniture. IN 1837, QUEEN VICTORIA ASCENDED the British India Company, forcing the British Crown to Gothic chair The Gothic revival was evident in all styles of furniture. throne, just as the Chartist movement was formally take charge of the administration The arched back of this hall chair, with rosette roundels, and the gaining momentum. Increasingly vehement of the subcontinent. The American Civil War arcaded seat rail are typical features of the style. L&T demands for suffrage were met with similar raged from 1861 to 1865, disrupting the cries from the disaffected working classes across economy and pitting state against state. were adopted almost universally. Neoclassical Europe and even greater tumult further afield revivals flourished at various points in many in the Americas and East and South Asia. In REBUILDING FROM THE ASHES countries. Colonial traders brought fine 1848, revolution erupted across Europe: from The turmoil of these chaotic years eventually hardwoods, including excellent mahoganies, Paris to Vienna huge swathes of the angry gave way to a period of relative stability. The to Europe, and the Industrial Revolution populace vented their dissatisfaction, sending two great European unification movements of introduced new materials, such as cast iron, tremors of panic through the political elite. the 19th century finally succeeded: the Kingdom to the manufacturing base. of Italy was created in 1861 and Germany, The Opium War was fought and won in under the Machiavellian direction of Otto von Industrialization also brought better-equipped China in 1840, and further unrest was to Bismarck, took shape in 1871. In 1869, two factories and, as the production of household follow in East Asia. The Indian Mutiny in 1857 Herculean engineering projects were completed goods became more mechanized, they became brought about the final collapse of the East \u2013 the Suez Canal and the Union Pacific railway. more homogenous. A redistribution of wealth in favour of the middle classes created huge demand The preservation of the Union in the United for fashionable furnishings. From 1860, a new States of America paved the way for a period confidence breathed life into the furniture of unprecedented expansion. In the East, Japan industry, assisted by exhibitions that became was finally encouraged to open her ports to the showcases of 19th-century European aspiration. West for a limited time at the end of the Edo Nations began to assert their individuality, period and, under the leadership of Emperor looking to their own past for inspiration. Meiji from 1868, she slowly emerged from years of isolation and ploughed huge investment into 1852 Queen Victoria officially opens the her infrastructure and businesses. new Palace of Westminster (also known West facade of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Designed by Pierre Cuypers DOMESTIC CONSEQUENCES as the Houses of Parliament). It was to house the national art collection, the building opened to the public Until around 1860, the majority of European designed by Sir Charles Barry and his on 13 July 1885. It is a combination of Romanesque, Gothic, and furniture-designers were content to rehash assistant A.W.N. Pugin, although work Dutch Renaissance styles. historical styles, and relied excessively on surface continues until 1868. decoration in lieu of innovative design. The florid, feminine Rococo revival, which emanated 1853 Japan is compelled to open her from France, and the heavy, masculine Gothic revival, which became the British national style, ports to foreign trade for the first time in generations by Commodore Perry. TIMELINE 1840\u20131900 The Palace of Westminster Sir Charles Barry 1840 In Britain, Victoria marries Bentwood chair This classic piece designed the building along Classical lines and was designed by Michael Thonet it was built between 1836 and 1868. The Albert of Saxe-Coburg. The British in 1859. Gothic details were designed by A.W.N. Pugin. practice of deporting its convicts to Australia ends. 1848 Revolution in France 1841 China cedes Hong Kong to the sparks similar scenes in cities across Europe, marking the British. David Livingstone begins his beginning of the end of explorations of Africa. European absolutism. 1842 The Austrian designer, Michael 1851 The Great Thonet, receives a patent for his steam- Exhibition of the bending process. His bentwood Industries of all Nations furniture proves a phenomenal is held in Hyde Park success in the ensuing years. in London.","Drawing Room of Osborne House, Isle of Wight With its mixture of Neoclassical, Rococo, and Empire elements, this drawing room is typical of the Victorian era. Bought in 1845 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the original house was demolished and by 1848 a new three-storey pavilion with flagtower and wings was built in its place. 1861 Abraham Lincoln 1861 Italy is unified and the former The Palais Garnier Located at the Place de 1886 The Statue of Liberty l\u2019Op\u00e9ra in Paris, the Palais Garnier was designed becomes president of King of Sardinia becomes King of Italy. in traditional Italian style, inspired by Italian and is unveiled in New York the United States. The Venice and Rome become part of the French villas of the 17th and 18th centuries. secession from the Union new kingdom in 1866 and 1871. harbour, ten years later of 11 southern states sparks the American 1871 Bismarck steers the German than planned. Civil War, which leaves 300,000 dead. states to a union dominated by Prussia, 1899 The Boer War following successful wars with both Bismarck statue This France and Austria. begins in South Africa. monument to the first German chancellor, Otto 1874 The Paris Opera House, designed The Statue of Liberty Designed von Bismarck, stands in by French sculptor Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric- Berlin. It was designed in by Charles Garnier, is completed, Auguste Bartholdi, the 1896 by Reinhold Begas. representing one of the centrepieces of statue stands on a pedestal Hausmann\u2019s newly reconstructed Paris. designed by the American architect Richard Morris Hunt, and funded by the United States.","264 MID 19TH CENTURY REVIVAL STYLES 1840\u20131900 THE AGE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION wrought a great style, rooted in the spectacular church architecture of deal of change on the furniture industry. Factories the Middle Ages, and the aspirational Rococo, which and division of labour made furniture more accessible had developed in 18th-century France. Despite being than ever before, while aggressive colonization and polar opposites in terms of the philosophies that feverish trade with Asia introduced new materials to lay behind them, these two styles would frequently the West and changed the attitude of countries such feature in the same room \u2013 even, sometimes, in as India and Japan to cabinet-making. the same piece of furniture. AN ECLECTIC AGE This plethora of styles was augmented by Despite these powerful influences, the mid-19th the addition of various Classical trophies to the century failed to produce a distinctive and recognizable decorative canon. The grand Neoclassical designs idiom of its own. Instead, the period was dominated of the previous century enjoyed periodic revivals, by the revival of styles that had previously been and Grecian, Roman, and Egyptian themes were fashionable. Foremost among these were the Gothic never far from the public consciousness, thanks to frequent and well-publicized archaeological discoveries. Even the most visionary designers of Louis XVI-style mirror In this carved and gessoed giltwood mirror, the period \u2013 men such as A.W.N. Pugin and Michael the oval bevelled mirror plate sits within a mirror surround, Thonet \u2013 worked within these derivative constraints. separated by a beaded frame. The outer frame has egg-and-dart moulding, foliage, and a pierced crest. c.1880. S&K International exhibitions, beginning with the Great Exhibition of 1851 held in the Crystal Palace, originally used to make tables, trays, and small London, did much to promote this wide range of boxes, became a fashionable material for chairs styles to the world during the second half of the and even beds, and cast-iron was manipulated to 19th century. Not only did they attract thousands produce pieces of interior and garden furniture. of visitors, but their lavishly illustrated catalogues reached many more potential patrons and furniture- COST OF INDUSTRIALIZATION makers, ready and able to copy them. Fine furniture had never before been available to so many people. Machines cut veneers far thinner than Oak chair Designed by MATERIALS AND FORMS were ever achieved by hand and made short work A.W.N. Pugin, this is a version Revival styles took different manifestations from of intricate dovetails and dowels. Even the carving of the Glastonbury chair, a country to country, but certain staple forms process was automated, and many craftsmen found medieval folding chair owned by themselves downgraded to simple finishers. As costs the Bishop of Wells. It retains the were common to all. The balloon-back chair dropped and productivity soared, the middle classes Gothic shape and construction of was a standard design between 1830 and 1860, were able to fill their homes with fashionable the original chair, but does not when the cheaper bentwood chair finally forced furnishings that would have been prohibitively fold. 1839\u2013 41. H:85cm (331\u20442in); it out of favour. Display cabinets grew in popularity, expensive to the previous generation. W:53.5cm (21in); D:62cm (241\u20442in). as many people cultivated arcane and extensive collections of trinkets. Plush, velour tapestry and Unfortunately, the quality of the furniture suffered. braid seat covers added a feminine touch and fulfilled With the exception of the finest craftsmen, there was the general desire for comfort within the home. a noticeable degeneration of artistry. In Victorian Mahogany and walnut were the most prevalent Britain, a liking for pattern and ornament resulted timbers used in furniture-making, although the in cluttered rooms, which, together with the decline revival styles often made use of oak and ebony. in quality, led to a backlash at the end of the century Mahogany, rosewood, and teak were imported with the Arts and Crafts Movement (see pp.320\u201345). by powerful Western nations from their colonial interests around the world, creating plentiful supplies of exotic timbers for craftsmen to work with. Novel materials replaced wood altogether in some furniture \u2013 papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9, Antler furniture chandeliers. Antler furniture is a rare example of a rustic, vernacular form of An interest in the woodsy outdoors combined with a furniture becoming widespread and popular love of excess conspired to create a demand for antler at a time when the industry was dominated by furniture in 19th-century America. Members of the deer historical revival styles. It is also typical of the family, such as moose and elk \u2013 all abundant in the kitsch furniture of the period, in which making a northern states \u2013 naturally shed their antlers every year, decorative statement sometimes seemed to override and these became prized as table legs, chair backs, lamp considerations of comfort, harmony, or good taste. stands, and all manner of decorative objects. Antler lamp stands were invariably combined with shades Dining chairs Each of this set of four oak and antler-horn chairs fashioned from deer hide. has an oval upholstered back, supported by an antler frame. The stuffover seat of each chair is raised on antler supports. L&T This type of furniture was also popular in Austrian and German hunting lodges for its obvious associations. Tables with antler legs were favoured as were antler","REVIVAL STYLES 265 Walnut and marquetry 1840\u20131900 Walnut had fallen out of favour as a material for cabinet-making after about 1740, owing to a walnut shortage in Europe following the frost of 1709. Mahogany became more widespread, but walnut enjoyed a renewed surge of popularity in the Victorian period. A light brown colour, walnut can have a very dark grain and has long been prized for its handsome figuring. It is also easy to carve. These qualities made walnut an ideal ground on which to practise the Dutch art of marquetry \u2013 a very popular surface decoration in the mid 19th century. Colonial interests in the tropics, especially in the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific regions, provided European countries with numerous exotic and attractive specimen woods. Talented craftsmen were quick to exploit the decorative potential of these woods and incorporated them into complex intarsia designs, such as those incorporated in this walnut side cabinet (right). Boxwood and ebony were combined with less well-known timbers, such as snakewood, jelutong, and Burmese teak, lending those pieces a sumptuous decadence that set such furniture apart from the rest. Each cantered corner has a scrolled, shell-cast mount. The curved frieze is centred by a mount cast with putti. The pierced, chamfered, tapering corner buttress mount has shell-, flower-, and leaf-cast decoration. The oval marquetry medallion The shaped apron is centred by a A ribbon-cast and reeded cartouche mount depicts birds perched on flowering pierced and scroll-cast foliate mount. surrounds each bordered medallion. sprigs on an ebony ground. The spandrels contain foliate, scrolled marquetry. Side cabinet This walnut, marquetry, and gilt- brass mounted cabinet is serpentine in outline. The glazed upper part has foliate-, scrolled-, shell-, and flower-cast mounts with glazed, arched, panelled side doors enclosing a mirrored back and shelf. The projecting lower part has a frieze centred by a mount with putti and flanked by floral marquetry. Below this is a pair of cupboard doors centred by oval marquetry medallions within foliate-cast border mounts. The sides have conforming decoration, flanked by pierced, chamfered, tapering corner buttresses with gilt- brass cast mounts. c.1870. H:155cm (61in); W:100cm (391\u20444in); D:52cm (201\u20442in).","266 MID 19TH CENTURY ELEMENTS OF STYLE 1840\u20131900 Decorative features in the 19th century were drawn from the same historical sources that pervaded architecture and Corner of Louis XV-style writing table Decorative inlay from a bedside cabinet the fine arts \u2013 Gothic, Rococo, and Neoclassical styles all enjoyed a global revival at this time. Increased mechanization Louis XV style Neoclassical urns meant that furniture could be produced from previously The delicate colours of the marquetry An archetypal Classical motif, the urn unused materials, such as coal and glass. It also work and the restrained gilt metal was a consistent decorative feature allowed elaborately inlaid or carved mounts on this table hark back to the used during the Neoclassical revivals furniture to be made more easily French Louis XV style. The mid 19th- that punctuated the 19th century. This and cheaply. Improved transport century interpretation was softer and example is inlaid into the body of the and communication enabled more delicate than the original opulent furniture, although carved urns were many more people to Louis XV style. The mounts on the just as prevalent, especially in chair adopt new ideas, corners of this Louis XV-style writing backs. The lightweight proportions of production methods, table are machine-made, helping to the handles are typical of 19th-century and materials. reduce the cost of the piece. design style. Inlaid table top with kingwood veneer Mahogany and marquetry centre table Decorative ivory inlay work on rosewood Eclecticism Dutch marquetry Engraved ivory inlays This Fortner table features brass, The Dutch were among the first to The profusely engraved ivory inlay mother-of-pearl, and rosewood inlaid develop the technique of marquetry in that covers this Collinson and Lock into a kingwood veneer. The German- Europe during the 18th century. During centre table is similar to the work made table carries influences from a the 19th century, Dutch craftsmen of Italian craftsmen of the same variety of historical periods: the central continued to produce some of the best period, and is essentially Renaissance medallion is inspired by Gothic motifs; examples of wooden intarsia design, revival in style. The putti, figures, urns, the scrolling designs are pure Rococo; typically with floral themes and using and formal leaf border are Classical and the symmetry of the overall design different coloured woods. Sometimes decorative forms. The use of rosewood of the table top is more Neoclassical bone or shell were used, stained bright as a foil for the ivory detail is also in style. colours to contrast with the wood. typical of the Renaissance revival style.","ELEMENTS OF STYLE 267 1840\u20131900 Painted lyre back of Regency-style chair Ceramic plaque on a jasper ware panel Fine engraved mounts on red tortoiseshell Needlepoint garden scene Painted chair backs Wedgwood plaques Boullework Needlepoint upholstery The practice of painting furniture had The Bacchanal figure on this This Napoleon III serpentine, marble- The Medieval tradition of covering dwindled by around 1825 but was Wedgwood jasper ware panel on a top cabinet features premi\u00e8re-partie chairs with needlepoint upholstery resurrected, along with the lyre back, cabinet by Lamb of Manchester is boullework on a red tortoiseshell was revived by the Victorians. Such as part of a Regency revival in about taken directly from the ancient Greek ground. These intricate patterns and tapestries were generally rich in detail, 1850. During the late Victorian period, tradition, although her long flowing the fine engraved mounts stem directly like this formal scene depicting lovers some considered Regency furniture robes are probably a Victorian from the work of Andr\u00e9-Charles Boulle, in a garden. The red, gold, and blue superior to contemporary styles, and addition. The architectural Greek cabinet-maker and sculptor to Louis palate used in the design is inspired cabinet-makers such as Gillows catered revival style was spurred by the XIV, whose work was much imitated by Italian Renaissance decoration. to this taste, producing furniture that archaeological discoveries of Mycenae by furniture-makers during the 19th Upholstery was worked in gros and equalled the original pieces in quality. and Troy by Heinrich Schliemann. century in France. petit point needlework. Panel of screen decorated with scraps Glazed bookcase doors divided by astragals Italian black slate table top with pietra dura Louis XVI-style romantic ormolu mount Scrapwork Astragal moulding Pietra dura Ormolu mounts The Victorians used scraps \u2013 embossed The panes of glass in these bookcase Pietra dura is an Italian mosaic Ormolu mounts were cast in bronze, and printed paper images \u2013 in the doors are divided by graceful, technique that uses semi-precious then gilded with mercury to make them creation of Christmas and Valentine\u2019s interlacing, semi-circular, convex stones and marbles to create multi- resemble gold. This mount is set on Day cards. Once used, it was the moulding, known as astragal moulding. coloured inlaid designs, most frequently ebonized wood, providing a decorative custom to collate these pieces of Their curving lines represent a more depicting flowers, birds, and fruit. contrast. The romantic theme recalls printed ephemera in scrapbooks. rounded version of the Neoclassical Originating in 16th-century Florence, the Rococo and Neoclassical styles Sometimes the scraps were used to style, providing an illustration of how it was a popular, if expensive, prevalent during the reign of Louis decorate folding screens as shown contemporary fashions influenced the embellishment to 19th-century XVI. Faces were a popular motif on here. This was a leisure activity revival styles that were popular during furniture. Here, the mosaic is thrown mounts, and this girl\u2019s hairstyle is primarily for middle-class ladies. this period. into relief by the black slate ground. typical of the 19th century.","1840\u20131900268 MID 19TH CENTURY GRAND EXHIBITIONS the great industrial nations of the world hosted impressive exhibitions, providing impetus to their manufacturers and excitement for their subjects. EUROPEAN CRAFTSMEN had appreciated the value of trade exhibitions for many years. The medieval B\u00fccherme\u00df, held in Frankfurt to celebrate and stimulate the embryonic book trade, and the Imperial Trade Fairs held in 16th-century Leipzig are two early examples. The RSA (The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce) was established in Britain in 1754 and provided platforms for the exhibition of industrial and artistic artefacts. However, the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, held in London\u2019s Hyde Park in 1851, was a far more ambitious project. A NEW KIND OF FESTIVAL The brainchild of Albert, the Prince Consort, the Great Exhibition was the first truly international exhibition and a grandiose expression of the confidence of Victorian Britain. Prince Albert\u2019s plan was for a great collection of works in art and industry, \u201cfor the purposes of exhibition, of competition, and of encouragement\u201d. The imposing Crystal Palace housed the event, which featured in excess of 13,000 articles, ETRUSCAN-STYLE SIDE CABINET This amboyna, ebony, Wedgwood, and ivory side cabinet, designed by Lamb of Manchester, has a carved, shaped pediment, above a red marble slab. The lower part has a glazed door enclosing shelves, with a further door on either side. The cabinet stands on a plinth base. Below the carved pediment is a jasperware panel with a bacchanal in relief. The central, glazed door is flanked by fluted rods intertwined with ivy leaves.The jasperware plaque on each of the lower cabinet doors is centred by a naked nymph with a shaped border. 1867. H:184cm (721\u20442in); W:208cm (82in); D:51cm (20in). BARBER OF SEVILLE PIANO NEW YORK\u2019S CRYSTAL PALACE This French gilt-bronze and tulipwood New Yorkers crowd the street outside the New York bomb\u00e9 piano is in the Louis XV style. Crystal Palace during the 1853 World\u2019s Fair. The The sides and top of the piano are quarter- building was modelled on the original Crystal Palace veneered and crossbanded, and divided by finely inlaid, foliate marquetry. The lid is in London. It burned down just five years later. outlined with a gilt-bronze moulded border. The piano stands on cabriole legs, richly ornamented with asymmetric acanthus and caryatid mounts. c.1890. H:103cm (401\u20442in); W:140cm (55in); D:200cm (783\u20444in).","the Crystal Palace GRAND EXHIBITIONS 269 1840\u20131900 DUBBED \u201cTHE CRYSTAL PALACE\u201d BY PUNCH MAGAZINE, THE VENUE FOR THE GREAT EXHIBITION made by 14,000 companies from nations across the OF 1851 WAS ESSENTIALLY A COLOSSAL GREENHOUSE BUILT OUT OF GLASS, WOOD, AND IRON. world. The exhibits included every kind of art, as well as those from industry and the natural world. The panoply of fantastic wares on display at the Great withstand the vibrations of a large crowd walking inside Each of the participating countries mounted their Exhibition demanded an equally spectacular setting. it. The finished structure occupied a site covering almost own series of courts, exhibiting their best pieces. The Commissioners for the Exhibition raised a total 8 hectares (20 acres) and towered to more than 30 fund of \u00a3230,000 of which \u00a3120,000 was to cover the metres (100 feet) at its transepts, which were extended The Great Exhibition was an enormous popular cost of the building. Joseph Paxton (1801\u201365), head to accommodate a cluster of Hyde Park\u2019s elm trees. success. More than 6,000,000 people visited the gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, won the commission Crystal Palace in the six months from May 1851 to design the venue with his plans for an audacious After the Great Exhibition had run its course, the during which its doors were open. The prestige it glasshouse. The Crystal Palace represented a pinnacle structure was dismantled and rebuilt on Sydenham Hill lent to Britain\u2019s designers and manufacturers inspired of Victorian engineering expertise \u2013 from conception to in south London, where it housed a large number of a rash of similar fairs across the world, beginning completion the entire project took only nine months. successful exhibitions. In 1911, the site played host to in Dublin the very next year. However, with the Tests were carried out while it was being built to prove the Festival of Empire, and John Logie Baird established exception of Pugin\u2019s display in the Medieval Court, to doubters that the structure was stable enough to his television studios there in 1933. The Crystal Palace the British furniture on display at the Crystal Palace was lost forever when it was destroyed by fire in 1936. in 1851 won but scant critical praise. It was the French entries that received most of the prizes. Sideboard This totara knot and boxwood sideboard is by Johann Many of the entries at the Great Exhibition of Martin Levien. The crest is flanked 1851 went on to form the basis of the collections by dragons. It has a boxwood at the South Kensington Museum. A.W.N. Pugin\u2019s panel which is carved with foliage, Gothic cabinet and Angiolo Barbetti\u2019s Renaissance nymphs, and satyrs and flanked cabinet were both bought by the museum, which by medallion portraits of Queen itself was financed by the profits made from the Victoria and Prince Albert, one Great Exhibition. Later renamed the Victoria and signed by Lovati. The lower Albert Museum, these pieces can still be seen today section consists of a drawer and alongside pieces from subsequent world\u2019s fairs. pedestals resting on a plinth base. 1851. THE INTERNATIONAL WORLD STAGE Two years later, in 1853, New York hosted an French centre table This kingwood international exhibition based on the British model, table was made by Fran\u00e7ois Linke even down to the construction of a \u201cNew York with bronzes by Leon Messag\u00e9. Crystal Palace\u201d off Fifth Avenue. Despite serious The Louis XV-style table has a problems \u2013 a leaking roof damaged the attractions parquetry top above a serpentine and doused visitors with rainwater \u2013 the event was frieze with female masks. The a boon for the American manufacturing base. stretcher is decorated with two putti sitting by a water vessel. In France, 1855 brought the Exposition Universelle. H:79cm (311\u20442in); W:175cm Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought an ebony display cabinet by Groh\u00e9 Fr\u00e8res, and a table (70in); D:95cm (38in). and cabinet by Edouard Kreisser in Louis XVI style. There were three more exhibitions in Paris, and Fire at the Crystal Palace Fire broke out on the evening of 30 November three more in London before the end of the century. 1936. Although the structure was mostly glass and iron, the dry In the 1867 Paris Exhibition, the Thonet Brothers floorboards and flammable exhibits meant that 500 firemen could not won a gold medal for their Number 14 bentwood contain the fire. By the morning, all that remained of Paxton\u2019s amazing chair (see p.277). The most memorable part of the glass construction was a mass of twisted steelwork and smouldering 1889 Paris Exhibition was the Eiffel Tower, which ruins. Sir Winston Churchill commented: \u201cThis is the end of an age.\u201d was built as the fair\u2019s grand entrance. Large-scale trade fairs were also organized in Vienna, Sydney, Kyoto, Philadelphia, Cape Town, and Melbourne. As an indication of what the general public were buying at any one time, these grand exhibitions are not particularly useful tools. Many of the companies that submitted pieces for display seized the opportunity to showcase their most flamboyant and technically complicated achievements, rather than items that were in general production. These events were, after all, competitive, with esteemed judges awarding prizes for the best entries in various classes. However, the exhibitions did help to communicate ideas and styles to the world. Many of the designs exhibited spawned cheaper imitations, and some, such as Thonet\u2019s bentwood furniture, was, in fact, mass produced and transported all over the world.","270 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 france: Louis-Philippe LOUIS-PHILIPPE WAS THE LAST monarch deep divisions that troubled his nation, and his love of architecture can be seen style and their living rooms with to be recognized by the people of Louis-Philippe strove to restore unity today in the buildings he commissioned pieces imitating Louis-XIV taste. An France. Descended from the House during his 18-year reign (1830\u201348). at Versailles. altogether different tenor was struck of Orl\u00e9ans, he faced opposition from He adopted the populist title \u201cKing of by exponents of the Cathedral style, the Legitimists who wished to see a the French\u201d and founded the Museum A HAPPY DISARRAY OF STYLES or gothique troubadour, which harked Bourbon regain the French throne, as of French History, which he dedicated Furniture of the period reflected back to the Gothic era. Characterized well as from Republicans and those in to \u201cAll of France\u2019s glories\u201d. The king Louis-Philippe\u2019s reconciliatory agenda. by deep carving and moulding, the Napoleonist camp. Aware of the was also a significant patron of the arts Revivals of various historical styles frequently incorporating devotional remained popular, despite often having motifs, the Cathedral style was close associations with the Bourbon architectural, and its heavy aspect monarchy. Fashionable citizens and suited to darker woods such as oak. those wishing to show off their new- There was a move away from the lighter woods that were popular found wealth would furnish their during Charles X\u2019s reign (1824\u201330), dining rooms in the Renaissance Swan-carved uprights, each incorporating a scroll, support a rectangular mirror. Only two of the five small platform drawers are real. The frieze drawer is WALNUT TABLE inlaid with stylized Neoclassical anthemia. This walnut drop-leaf dining table features additional leaves (totalling five when fully extended). The table top is supported on six turned legs, which terminate in casters. c.1840. W:300cm (118in) (max). DC Carved lotus leaves Stylized anthemion inlays flank the The mirror back reflects Each pilaster is carved mirror back and echo the inlaywork two of the pilasters. with lotus leaves. of the frieze drawer above. above a frieze drawer, which is raised on lotus leaf-carved GU\u00c9RIDON DRESSING TABLE pilasters supported on a shaped platform base and raised on turned feet. The back of this section is covered with mirror This gu\u00e9ridon (French candlestand) has a marble top with a This elegant ebony-inlaid dressing table is made of satinwood glass. This piece is more reminiscent of the style of furniture recessed centre. This top is supported on a baluster-shaped and decorated with foliate scrolls. The upper section has a prevalent during the reign of the last Bourbon king, Charles X column, which terminates in a tripod base. The lion\u2019s paw feet rectangular mirror flanked by carved upright supports in the (reigned 1824\u201330), with its light wood veneers. c.1840. at the ends of the base rest on casters. c.1840. H:78cm form of swans. Below the mirror are two real and three dummy H:147cm (58in). SI (30 3\u20444in); D:80cm (311\u20442in). BEA drawers. The lower section of the dressing table has a dish top","FRANCE: LOUIS-PHILIPPE 271 and manufacturers favoured walnut bold forms with simple lines. Where reduced the amount of labour required 1840\u20131900 and more exotic hardwoods such as materials other than wood were in the manufacture of furniture. This mahogany and rosewood, which were incorporated into the body of a piece, resulted in a greater availability imported from France\u2019s colonies. they were designed to blend into and of pieces. New forms included the complement the whole. Gilt-metal canap\u00e9 borne, or \u201csociable sofa\u201d, which REFRESHING AND MODEST mounts depicting mythological or consisted of an upholstered seat with Simple and sturdy, the Louis-Philippe grotesque figures and marble table central cushions, allowing users to sit style displayed a confidence that tops were employed to bring out the facing opposite directions, and a whole did not require excessive surface colours and textures of the woods, range of pieces made from wood and decoration. Instead, cabinet-makers sometimes accentuated with flame wrought and cast iron for furnishing asserted their assurance through large, veneer. Industrial cutting techniques the jardins d\u2019hiver, or conservatories. The Apartment of the Count de Mornay Painted by Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix, this scene depicts a room decorated and furnished in typical Louis-Philippe style. Furniture became slightly heavier and plainer in form during this period of France\u2019s history. Central to the Count de Mornay\u2019s room is a sofa, which later became known as the canap\u00e9 borne. MAHOGANY COMMODE three long drawers all featuring matching flame mahogany veneers. The case stands on This Louis-Philippe mahogany commode has a plinth supported on four square, bun feet. a rectangular, grey, fossilized marble top with c.1840. W:132cm (523\u20444in). L&T rounded corners, which rests on top of a concave frieze drawer. Below this drawer are Cast ram\u2019s head bracket BREAKFRONT BOOKCASE with octagonal turrets and finials. The lower Tablet frieze section of the bookcase follows the style of the The upper section of this walnut breakfront upper section: the central door has an applied LOUIS-PHILIPPE VITRINE bookcase has a raised central door with applied circular cusp panel and is flanked on either side cusped mouldings, flanked by corresponding by a door with arched panelling. The whole This walnut and gilt-brass vitrine has doors with lower panels. The three doors of the stands on a plinth base. c.1840. H:277cm mahogany banding, and boxwood and upper section are divided by ring-turned columns (109in); W:206cm (81in); D:64cm (251\u20444in). L&T ebony stringing. It is raised on a plinth with flattened, bun feet. The rectangular top has canted angles. The single glazed door has a frame inlaid with specimen woods and applied rosettes. c.1840. W:94cm (37in). L&T","272 MID 19TH CENTURY France: 1848\u20131900 1840\u20131900 \u201cBOULLE\u201d CABINET IN CONTRAST TO THE reconciliatory The Salon de Musique This music room at the stance adopted by Louis-Philippe, Chateau de Compi\u00e8gne has an eclectic mix of This Louis XIV-inspired Napoleon III sought to align himself 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century furniture that cabinet is decorated with firmly with the Classical past as part is typical of interiors of the Second Empire. premi\u00e8re-partie boullework of his consolidation of power. Designs on a red tortoiseshell from the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun coiled spring. Tapissier chairs, named ground. The black, shaped, King, were appropriated along with for the richly embroidered upholsteries rectangular marble top has forms and decorative motifs from the with which they were covered, became moulded serpentine edges. reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. staples of fashionable salons. The The conforming front has a Napoleon III had promised France 1850s saw the introduction of new frieze above a door, centred glory, and he hoped to provide this forms to the canon of French cabinet- with an oval panel and at least in part by reminding it of a making, including the round, flanked by outset rounded golden age. There was also a pan- upholstered ottoman known as the stiles with figural chutes. European revival of interest in the pouffe, which is still in use today. The shaped skirt is centred Classical and Renaissance periods. The dos-\u00e0-dos and the boudeuse, or with an espagnolette and courting chair, also date from this raised on disc feet. LUXURY AND COMFORT period. In such seating, the occupants c.1850. H:108cm (421\u20442in); Dark woods, especially mahogany and sat beside each other but facing away W:108.5cm (423\u20444in); ebony, were used in abundance by the from each other, divided by an \u201cS\u201d- D:108.5cm (171\u20442in). SI cabinet-makers of the time. Newer shaped seat rail. materials such as cast iron, turned LOUIS XVI TABLE out by foundries all over newly ANTIQUARIAN NATIONAL STYLE industrialized France, and papier- Architectural elements, such as Almost an exact copy of m\u00e2ch\u00e9, provided a contemporary twist. columns and pediments drawn from an 18th-century piece, this Precious materials such as gilt bronze Greco-Roman buildings, provided the rosewood, marquetry-inlaid, heralded the wealth and status of the Classical and Renaissance look that gilt-metal mounted side owner and loaned visual interest to pandered to the Emperor\u2019s desire to table has a fitted frieze a piece, as did inlays of ivory and root his regime firmly in the glorious drawer. The table top is mother-of-pearl, which provided a past. Egyptian motifs provided a similar raised on gilt-metal caryatid dramatic contrast to the dark wood. link but were the consequence of legs. The legs are joined by A revival of the intricate veneering French archaeologist Marcel Dieulafoy\u2019s a pierced platform stretcher and marquetry work as practised keen interest in architecture. Many with a bowl at its centre, by Andr\u00e9-Charles Boulle in the 19th-century designers were heavily and stand on spiral, tapered time of Louis XIV further added to influenced by his studies of excavated feet. 1880. W:86.5cm the sumptuous decadence that is a Egyptian and Middle-Eastern buildings. (34in). GorB hallmark of Second Empire furniture. All these ingredients combined to produce a national style that became TRANSITIONAL-STYLE COMMODE Comfort was a high priority. more extreme towards the end of the Upholstery became far more prevalent century, as shown by the kingwood This kingwood, satinwood, and gilt-metal mounted serpentine due to the widespread availability of the vitrine opposite. commode has a marble top with outset corners. The three long drawers have inlaid panels, each centred by a grotesque mask motif. The capped, splayed legs are joined by a shaped apron and have hoof feet. c.1900. W:113cm (441\u20442in). SI","CONVERSATION SEAT FRANCE: 1848\u20131900 273 1840\u20131900 This Louis XV-style giltwood and upholstered conversation seat Serpentine crest rail is covered in a red and gold striped fabric. The piece has a There are upholstered serpentine back with a shell surmount and stands on moulded, armrests at each seat cabriole legs. c.1890. division. W:317.5cm (125in). SI The centre section of The serpentine seat rail Each end section seats the conversation seat mirrors the design of an additional person. is for three people. the top rail. Gabriel Viardot THE FRENCH TASTE FOR JAPONISME WAS ALREADY ENTRENCHED WHEN DESIGNER GABRIEL VIARDOT BEGAN WORKING IN THE ORIENTAL STYLE. Gabriel Viardot was an expert wood-carver and was The carved dragon already operating his own business when he took motif is inspired by over the reins of the family furniture business in Oriental mythology. 1861. Records show that in 1885 Viardot employed around 100 men at his premises on Rue Amelot in The fret decoration is Paris. His renown was such that he was invited to in the Chinese style. adjudicate at the Expositions Universelles held in Paris. KINGWOOD VITRINE He also submitted his own pieces for exhibition and was the recipient of a series of awards, including a The tapering ogee top of this serpentine vitrine has a central gold medal in 1889. The Viardot name is most closely cartouche above a pair of glazed doors and sides, enclosing a associated with furniture in the Japanese style, but mirrored interior. Below is a single central door inspired by he also produced Vietnamese-style work \u2013 Vietnam Louis XV style with a vernis martin bomb\u00e9 panel of lovers. was one of Napoleon III\u2019s most prized colonies. H:203cm (80in); W:135cm (53in); D:52cm (201\u20442in). L&T The furniture created by Viardot was solidly constructed, typically from beech or walnut, with decorative motifs drawn from the East. Grotesque masks, very much a feature of mainstream French furniture, were adapted so that they took on an Eastern countenance. Carvings depicting dragons and demons were inspired by Oriental mythology and tradition, and the frequent use of lacquer coating was a direct influence of Chinese style. Viardot\u2019s juxtaposition of European and Eastern forms resulted in the creation of very distinctive pieces that bridged the gap between exotic imports and more prosaic homespun furniture. Dressing table This piece is made of stained beechwood with The surface is The drawers are inlaid mother-of-pearl inlays. It has an asymmetrical appearance that inset with velvet. with mother-of-pearl. is Asian-inspired, but it is of European construction. c.1890.","1840\u20131900274 MID 19TH CENTURY content to continue using simpler, prominence of the Rococo and Empire therefore, one of the most prominent vernacular forms of furniture. styles in Italy is a direct consequence in mid-19th-century Italy. Fussy forms, italy of this relationship and, despite a wave such as the canap\u00e9 en cabriolet, a PERSISTENT FRENCH INFLUENCE of anti-French feeling following padded sofa, were richly carved DESPITE A NEW NATIONALISTIC fervour Until the Risorgimento movement Napoleonic occupation during the early and enveloped in gilt. Side tables that eventually resulted in the creation gathered pace, climaxing in the 19th century, this influence persisted. with pierced and scrolled detail were of the modern Italian state in 1861, revolutions of 1848, Italy lived in the The growing importance of Piedmont covered with marble tops in a typically furniture production in mid-19th- cultural shadow of France, her more as the cultural and political apex Italian twist. The grotto or fantasy century Italy was a fragmented affair, powerful neighbour to the north. The around which the emerging Italian style, originating in medieval France, concentrated around the cities of state revolved, only served to protract was one that Italian craftsmen had Rome, Milan, Venice, and Florence, adopted with relish. Meticulously in the north. The poorer states and this lingering Francophilia. The detailed representations of timber and kingdoms of the south of Italy, with Rococo- revival style was, the exception of Naples, seemed CANAP\u00c9 EN CABRIOLET end have padded elbow rests to provide additional comfort. CONSOLE TABLE The serpentine-fronted stuffover seat with similarly pierced Executed in the Rococo style, the frame of this elaborate rails continues into cabriole legs with scroll toes. The whole This Rococo-style console table has a serpentine marble top, raised sofa is made of gilded wood. The backrest is composed piece is decorated with carved flower-heads and foliage. The on a fluted, carved scrolling frame made of gilded wood. The frame is of three cartouche-form padded backs set in conforming canap\u00e9 would have been part of a salon suite with chairs, decorated with foliate designs, and the heavy cabriole legs are joined by frames with pierced C-scroll crests, giving the appearance of armchairs, and stools all designed to match one another. a pierced strapwork stretcher. Mid 19th century. H:89cm (35in); three fauteuils joined together. The out-curved arms at each c.1860. W:196cm (77in). S&K W:122cm (48in); D:60cm (24in). L&T Micromosaic BEAUTIFUL \u201cETERNAL PAINTINGS\u201d OF INTRICATE ENAMEL MOSAIC WERE MADE BY ITALIAN CRAFTSMEN TO DECORATE TABLE TOPS AND TRINKET BOXES. Micromosaic was developed within involved in their creation are remarkable \u2013 St Peter\u2019s Square Round table Designed by the Vatican in the 17th century as an the finest examples include 775 tesserae Four epochs of Rome Michaelangelo Barberi, the alternative means of decorating altars per cm2 (5,000 per in2). micromosaic table top features a with devotional tableaux. The paintings medallion design on a red, square- in the vast basilica of St Peter\u2019s had been European gentlemen on the Grand Tour shaped cartouche and a black damaged by damp, and the enamel tesserae would purchase trinkets, such as boxes and marble ground. In the centre is a used in micromosaic overcame this jewellery, decorated with micromosaic as view of St Peter\u2019s Square, which is problem. They became known in Rome mementoes of their time in Rome. The surrounded by ovals, representing as la vera pittura per eternita, meaning wealthiest tourists brought home table \u201ceternal paintings\u201d. tops made by craftsmen operating in the four epochs of Rome. The work-shops in the Vatican. Typically, these ebony base has ornate The technique is an evolution of the table tops depicted scenes from antiquity ormolu mounts. c.1850. ancient architectural mosaics developed or famous Roman vistas. They were highly Diam:102cm (401\u20444in). DN in the Greco-Roman period. An image is prized throughout Western Europe as fine- built up using tiny components, or tesserae, art objects. Other tables might have plain of different-coloured enamel or glass. Each marble tops with panels of micromosaic tessera is a thread about 3mm (1\u20448in) long incorporated within them. with a diameter slightly wider than a hair. The thread is pushed into the putty of the There is a collection of micromosaic mosaic base, leaving the end visible. The artefacts in the Gilbert Collection Museum attention to detail and level of expertise in London and another in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia.","ITALY 275 shell forms characterized this look, the quality of furniture made in this Blackamoors, an 18th-century speak of the greatness of the 1840\u20131900 which was particularly indebted to style by Italian craftsmen demonstrates Venetian invention, remained popular glass-masters of Murano. Elaborate the work of French designer Bernard the high esteem in which it was held. well into the 19th century, either as decorative techniques, such as Palissy (1509\u201390). Although examples The Florentine cabinet-maker Andrea bases for torch\u00e8res or as decorative micromosaic, provided a forum of fantasy furniture from the mid-19th Baccetti and the Sienese wood-carver objets in their own right. Venetian for the most accomplished artisans century are generally considered Angelo Barbetti both produced glass-makers continued to produce to demonstrate their proficiency. inferior to earlier pieces, it was particularly fine pieces in the mirrors of the highest quality. nevertheless a popular revival style. Renaissance style. Archaic forms, Particularly fine examples of mirrors In the later 19th century, the such as the settle and architectural with intricately etched glass frames regional Italian furniture industry ITALIAN TRADITIONS wall mirrors, were made in walnut, began to flourish, and regions such The Renaissance revival was more with deep carving depicting representative of Italian history, and Classical and grotesque forms. as Brianza and Pesaro, which are famous today for their fine work, started to develop the infrastructures and traditions that would ensure their future success. The stiles are inlaid Gilt-bronze finial with arabesques. Bronze figure The drawers have Slender, turned baluster moulded surrounds. legs support the stand. WALL MIRROR This Renaissance-style walnut wall mirror has a broken pediment carved with cherub heads and a female head. The oval mirror plate is flanked by carved caryatids with further cherub heads below. Mid 19th century. H:148cm (591\u20444in). L&T Frieze drawers feature Turned, gilt-metal stiff, dull, mechanical supports support the inlay work. upper case MAHOGANY ARMCHAIR CABINET-ON-STAND other \u2013 and has a further three drawers, A pierced, flattened arranged side by side, below. The upper case cross-stretcher connects This elaborately carved grotto-style armchair is This ebony and black-lacquered cabinet-on-stand has a gilt-bronze carrying handle on either side. the legs of the stand. made of mahogany. The seat and back combine is inlaid all over with ivory in a fine foliage pattern It is supported on a similarly decorated stand to form a huge, hinged scallop shell, linked by in imitation of the Baroque style of the 17th with turned legs, joined by a carved, flat cross- ornate, arms and splayed legs. c.1890. H:94cm century. A narrow central door is flanked on stretcher. Mid 19th century. H:165cm (65in); (37in). B&I either side by three drawers \u2013 one above the W:112cm (44in); D:37cm (141\u20442in). BEA","276 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 early victorian Britain BRITISH FURNITURE DESIGN during the GOTHIC, ROCOCO, AND GREEK introduce a range entitled \u201cNew Palace early Victorian period was confused. Victorian Gothic was a masculine style Westminster\u201d, which was distinguished The prevalent styles were overlapping based on idealized notions of Tudor by the use of roundels incorporating a attempts at recreating looks from furniture. New cupboards, chests, Tudor rose or thistle at the conjunction three key historical eras \u2013 the Greek, tables, and chairs were created by of the legs and stretchers. the Gothic, and the Rococo. piecing together fragments of older furniture from grand houses. The feminine Rococo taste was In reality, the actual forms of the widespread throughout fashionable furniture created at this time were A.W.N.Pugin (see box below right) drawing rooms because of George IV\u2019s largely standard and had little basis led a move towards a more authentic particular interest in the revival. The in the eras they purported to emulate. interpretation of the Gothic style. This florid decoration was structural \u2013 Rather, the \u201cdesign\u201d of a piece of was at least partially successful: his incorporated into the shape of the furniture was all about the surface work on the interiors of the Houses furniture rather than added to the and the applied decoration it carried. of Parliament prompted Gillows to surfaces. The heavy use of gilding was The library at Tyntesfield House, near Bristol Many of the rooms in this house were rebuilt in Gothic- revival style by businessman William Gibbs, who bought the original Regency-Gothic house in 1843. Each oval porcelain plaque is painted with a French courtly lady. The canted stiles are BREAKFAST TABLE mounted with free- standing ormolu This early Victorian mahogany breakfast table has a round, figures of Shakespeare tilt-top with a moulded edge. The table top is supported on and Milton. a lappet-carved column and collar, which stands on a circular platform supported by paw feet. c.1840. Diam:131cm (511\u20442in); Thuyawood panels H:74cm (293\u20444in). DN are inlaid into an ebonized ground. The legs are mounted with gilt-bronze mouldings and S\u00e8vres floral plaques. The mirrored back serves to The centre drawer has a Casters made from brass reflect ornaments placed on hinged, leather-lined are fixed to turned feet. the shelves. adjustable writing slope. BONHEUR-DU-JOUR cabinets, each with a central porcelain plaque. S\u00e8vres floral plaque PAPIER-M\u00c2CH\u00c9 TRAY The outset lower section has an entrelac frieze This Louis XVI-style bonheur-du-jour of part- with three drawers above mirror-backed shelves. This painted and gilt papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 tray has a curvilinear-shaped ebonized thuyawood is ormolu-and-porcelain- It is raised on turned, tapered, and fluted legs outline and a deep concave rim decorated with gilt penwork mounted. The upper section has a tall, central, on casters. The piece is a mix of Victorian and leaves. The main panel is painted with a Himalayan mountain mirror-backed display cabinet with a three- French Court styles. 1860. H:149cm (583\u20444in); landscape, containing figures crossing a waterfall. c.1840. quarter gallery flanked by similar, but lower, 120.5cm (471\u20442in); D:56.5cm (221\u20444in). SI H:81.5cm (31in); W:62cm (241\u20442in). L&T","EARLY VICTORIAN BRITAIN 277 condemned by architects, as it a depository of patterns used by which generally consisted of rounded Pockets of craftsmen throughout 1840\u20131900 was used by many manufacturers the trade, was in print continuously forms, such as the balloon-back chair, Britain created Windsor chairs with to conceal shoddy construction. between 1836 and 1866. This situation a staple of early Victorian design. idiosyncratic features typical of the was exacerbated by a new middle The gradual mechanization that region in which they worked. The Greek style, informed by Henry class who did not want to appear characterized the Victorian furniture Shaw\u2019s 1836 Specimens of Modern uneducated: the majority of people industry led to a separation of the Niche markets arose in provincial Furniture, was simple and solid, would rather rely on tried-and-tested roles of designer and manufacturer, cities as craftsmen in certain areas refreshingly free from the extraneous ideas than risk committing a gaffe. at least in urban centres. developed expertise in specific fields. decoration that was a feature of much Whereas the wealthy consumer of Birmingham was a centre for the early Victorian furniture. the 18th century would commission The traditional role of the furniture- production of metal bedsteads, forged furniture tailored to his exact maker persisted in the provinces, in furnaces fuelled by the coal and TRIED AND TESTED IDEAS requirements, the aspiring Victorian as did many vernacular forms. In iron that were cheap and abundant The stagnant state of the industry gentleman had to make do with Lancashire, for example, ladder-back in that industrial hub. Further east, can be demonstrated by the fact whatever stock was available in the chairs were produced in stained ash Nottingham and Leicester were that the same edition of the London showroom of his chosen retailer, instead of the mahogany fashionable renowned as centres for cane and Cabinet-Maker\u2019s Union Book of Rules, in London. wicker furniture. LIBRARY CENTRE TABLE Oriental scenes framed by Rococo cartouches. BALLOON-BACK DINING CHAIR SHOW-FRAME ARMCHAIR The table has four frieze drawers and rests on The octagonal, revolving top of this table is a concave-sided central support. Four splayed, This balloon-back dining chair has a pierced The back rail of this mahogany chair is carved surfaced with green leather outlined by tooled inward-scrolling feet and the shape of the apron scroll splat and is raised on acute cabriole legs. and terminates in carved scrolls, where it and gilt lilies and centres on a lobed marquetry reflect Louis XV influence. Ebony, tulipwood, The upholstered seat is covered in green velvet. meets the upholstered arms. The seat and back panel. The shaped border is inset with floral mahogany, pine, and cedar are all used. This style of dining chair was a popular early are padded. The chair is supported on carved, sprays and clusters of fruit, alternating with 1840. H:76cm (30in); D:152cm (60in). LOT Victorian form. GorB cabriole legs with brass casters. DN A.W.N. Pugin (1812\u201352) PUGIN\u2019S DEDICATION TO AUTHENTIC GOTHIC DESIGN WAS INFORMED BY HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND HAD A PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON OTHER DESIGNERS. Pugin\u2019s relationship and 1340, when great cathedrals were built Oak table, made for Horsted Place, Sussex This table is with his father, a and the faithful expressed their devotion an example of the simpler Gothic-style furniture designed French aristocrat who through the decorative arts. From the late by Pugin especially for more modest houses. The carved fled Paris during the 1830s, Pugin published works extolling the decoration and use of chamfered, or bevelled, edges is Revolution, was virtues of this \u201cpure\u201d Gothic style as drawn from church woodwork. 1852\u201353. H:76cm (30in); instrumental in the distinguished from the bastardized attempts W:114cm (45in); D:75cm (291\u20442in). Engraving of Pugin future direction of his created by so many of his contemporaries. career. Pugin senior worked for John Nash as chief draughtsman, and instilled in his In contrast to prevailing mid-Victorian son a respect for architectural style and taste, Pugin was concerned with coherence in decoration. Father and son drafted two his interiors. This philosophy is evident at the volumes on Gothic design, which fuelled the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), Victorian penchant for works in this style. for which Pugin provided furnishings as Conversion to Catholicism in 1834 well as assisting with the building\u2019s design. galvanized Pugin\u2019s admiration for what Pugin\u2019s work for the Medieval Court at the Victorians knew as the \u201cmiddle-pointed\u201d Great Exhibition in 1851 was one of his last style, dating from the period between 1280 commissions. The following year he became mentally ill and died at home.","278 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 late victorian Britain THE LATER VICTORIAN PERIOD saw a the adoption of a gallery of turned furniture industry. Trade furnishers his furniture designs, as evident in his growing distinction between general spindles, from the French style. Art responded by churning out \u201cAnglo- striking juxtapositions of horizontal and \u201ctrade\u201d furniture and what came to be Furniture, in whatever guise it took, Japanese\u201d pieces, adding fake Japanese vertical pieces. Bamboo became very known as \u201cArt Furniture\u201d \u2013 that is, tended to adhere to certain structural decoration to existing Victorian forms. popular because it was very sturdy furniture made by firms that retained or philosophical principles, leaving the Exponents of Art Furniture, meanwhile, yet cheaper than exotic hardwoods. architects and specialist designers. manufacturers who ploughed the trade took a more studious and disciplined furrow to concentrate on such lesser approach. The influential designer NEW STYLE FROM THE PAST PARALLEL INDUSTRIES concerns as comfort, practicality, and \u2013 Christopher Dresser visited Japan A perennial favourite of historically Cabinet-makers in London\u2019s West End, most of all \u2013 affordability. in 1876 and became a champion of minded furniture-designers, the Gothic and their downmarket counterparts authentic Japanese style. Similarly, the style was as widespread as ever during in the East End, continued to employ That British furnishers were operating designer Edward Godwin made close the late Victorian period. Among its the cabriole legs and rounded backs on a two-tier basis can be demonstrated studies of Japanese art and carefully principal exponents was Bruce Talbert, that had already been made for by the way they reacted to overseas incorporated what he learned into a practitioner of the \u201cEarly English\u201d many years. Newer developments influences. The gradual emergence in furniture included a proliferation of Japan from its isolationist shell led of corner and mantelshelves for in a great deal of interest in Japanese displaying decorative objects, and culture and aesthetic traditions in all spheres of the arts, including the Renaissance-revival A mirror backs the A moulded architectural panels are fitted into upper display section cornice frieze overhangs each side cupboard door. of the cabinet. the two cupboards. Brass corner clasp LATE VICTORIAN WRITING TABLE This top of this writing table is lined with green leather and framed by a brass edge moulding. The serpentine frieze, containing two narrow drawers, is faced with panels of floral marquetry, crossbanded in tulipwood and set into a zebrawood ground. H:76cm (30in); W:101cm (40in); D:56cm (22in). LOT A glazed cupboard door allows ornaments to be seen. SIDE CABINET cupboards on either side, each with a grotesque-inlaid CHAMBER CUPBOARD DINING CHAIR door in the Renaissance style. The deeper, lower This inlaid Adam-style side cabinet is made of section of the cabinet has three drawers in the This Gothic-revival pedestal cupboard One of a set of 21, this walnut chair mahogany with satinwood banding, and was designed frieze, above a central glazed door; on either side has a galleried top and stands on a has a curved back rail, solid splat, and by Gillows. The upper section of the cabinet has a of the glazed door is an open shelf. The whole stands chamfered plinth. The door has a central upholstered bow-fronted seat. The consoled reverse-breakfront cornice with a central on bracket feet. Late 19th century. H:177cm (693\u20444in); harewood panel with stylized flowers and Greek-revival chair is supported on bevelled mirror below. The mirror is flanked by W:152cm (60in). L&T circular rosettes. 1865. H:84cm (33in); turned, tapering legs. c.1880. W:36cm (141\u20442in); D:39cm (151\u20444in). LOT H:87cm (331\u20444in). DN","LATE VICTORIAN BRITAIN 279 style, who arrived in to veneering and veneering to polish.\u201d prestigious of which were the Royal 1840\u20131900 London in 1865. His Rather than commit the sin of Yacht Victoria and Albert and Livadia, predilection was for veneering, he offset the dark wood constructed for Tsar Alexander II. honestly constructed bodies of his work with decorative furniture of the Gothic panels of contrasting colours. Wylie and Lochhead of Glasgow school. He celebrated employed craftsmen to make furniture mortise-and-tenon REGIONAL FURNITURE-MAKERS for their department store as well as joining and despised A number of provincial furniture for the grand liners that were built the use of glue for, as centres flourished. Gillows of on the Clyde. Established in 1829, he stated: \u201cGlue leads Lancaster built on an established by 1870 Wylie and Lochhead made, reputation for quality furniture and upholstered, and sold furniture for the The Drawing Room of Cragside continued to expand during the mid- middle classes of Glasgow and beyond. House, Northumberland 19th century. Lancaster port provided The marble chimneypiece Gillows with steady supplies of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire is a spectacular example Caribbean mahogany. Shipyards also was one of many centres of Windsor of Renaissance-revival style. provided Gillows with commissions chair production. Chair bodging \u2013 the Added to Cragside by architect to furnish luxury yachts, the most rural practice of making various parts Richard Shaw in 1883\u201384, the of chairs, eventually spawned a number carving includes putti, swags, of chair factories. arabesques, and strapwork. Adam-style gilt wall mirror The bevelled georgian revivals rectangular plate is flanked by panels with ribbon-tied husk pendants, and surmounted HIGH-QUALITY REPRODUCTIONS OF 18TH-CENTURY, NEOCLASSICAL-STYLE by an urn, anthemion, and floral swag design. FURNITURE WAS PARTICULARLY POPULAR DURING THE 1870S. Late 19th century. H:124cm (491\u20442in). L&T Many Victorians turned their backs second half of the 19th century. Many of Chippendale mahongany open armchair This chair on contemporary furniture design and them were of very high quality and, now has a splat with pierced, interlaced strapwork imitated the 18th-century Neoclassical that they have aged, can be difficult to headed by acanthus sprays. It stands on cabriole style instead. Many of the great cabinet- distinguish from the originals. front legs with carved acanthus knees and claw- makers of that period had bequeathed the and-ball feet. c.1900. D:12cm (30in). Bon industry detailed pattern books, making it The look was characterized by profuse easy to recreate their products. In 1867, use of inlay and banding. Satinwood was Wright and Mansfield made a cabinet highly prized for its pleasing colour, useful designed by Crosse, which is credited with for contrasting banding, and gilt lacquer sparking the interest in Neoclassical provided an alternative to the dark colours decoration and style. It has a satinwood of the Gothic style. Cameo carving carcase, and incorporates marquetry in featured Classical motifs, such as urns, various woods, with giltwood mounts and shell, and acanthus. The style was such Wedgwood plaques. The cabinet is now at a success, that unscrupulous salerooms the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. would apply fake Neoclassical ornaments to plain 18th-century furniture. Popular at Reproductions of 18th-century pieces various times throughout the 19th century, by Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, the Neoclassical revival-style was especially and Adam were pervasive during the fashionable during the 1870s. Sheraton-revival satinwood, George III-style partner\u2019s desk The rectangular desktop semi-elliptical commode has rounded corners and is inset with a leather writing This commode is painted surface. Below are four opposing frieze drawers. The with swags of flowers and whole stands on acanthus-carved cabriole legs, which female figures within ovals terminate in claw-and-ball feet. Late 19th century. in Neoclassical style. The W:152.5cm (60in). SL commode has a frieze drawer above a central panelled door and stands on square-section feet. Late 19th century. H:93cm (371\u20444in); W:98.5cm (391\u20442in). DN","280 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 CAMPAIGN FURNITURE specially designed to be erected and disassembled in a few moments, the furniture produced for officers to take on campaign was as fashionable as that made for the home. AS STARTLINGLY INCONGRUOUS as WILLIAM IV CAMPAIGN CHAIR the idea seems today, the military This dining chair, one of a set of four, has hinges at gentleman of the Victorian period the front and back rail, which allow it to be folded would not countenance the idea of neatly once the upholstered seat and two long bolts a foreign posting without taking his have been removed. c.1835. H:87.6cm (341\u20442in); drawing room suite. Indeed, it appears that the 19th-century mindset detected W:45.7cm (18in); D:40.6cm (16in). CCA nothing even faintly risible when Thomas Sheraton boasted in his 1803 Cabinet CAMPAIGN SECR\u00c9TAIRE CHEST Directory that the addition of his stylish, Two drawers side-by-side sit below a carved, collapsible furniture to one\u2019s kit bag three-quarter gallery and above the secr\u00e9taire drawer of this \u201cshould not retard rapid movement, either camphorwood chest, which features brass-bound corners and after or from the enemy\u201d. Among the contains a further four short drawers and three long drawers, \u201cabsolutely necessary\u201d articles he produced all with sunk handles. 1835\u201340. H:148cm (581\u20444in); W:106cm for use on campaign were elegant dining tables that would seat as many as 20 guests. (413\u20444in); D:48cm (183\u20444in). L&T A LONG TRADITION OF COMFORT The iron supports can Campaign furniture, or \u201cknockdown\u201d furniture be dismantled. as it was often called, has its roots in the campaigns of the Napoleonic wars (1800\u201315). Among the most The cotton canopy is white popular examples from this initial period of production to reflect the sunlight. was the Wellington chest, named after the legendary Duke. Available in a variety of sizes, it featured a The column supports are hinged, lockable bar that extended from the frame reeded and baluster-turned. to secure the drawers. The slatted base During the reign of King George III (1760\u20131820), is lightweight and campaign furniture was commissioned almost exclusively by the wealthiest officers from the upper can be folded. classes and was luxurious. Fine upholstery, leather lining, and intricate hidden compartments combined The turned legs are on casters so Brass hinges connect the to make this furniture just as comfortable and that the bed is easy to move. sections of the slatted base. elaborate as that produced for use in the home. Soon it was not just merchant officials and military officers who bought such furniture but also seafarers and families emigrating to start a new life abroad. GOOD BUSINESS SENSE By the mid-Victorian period, campaign furniture was a well-established and sophisticated feature of the best cabinet-makers\u2019 repertoires. Of course, the most important feature of campaign furniture was that it should be easily transportable. Whereas most ordinary furniture was held together with dovetail or mortise-and-tenon joints, it was crucial that knockdown furniture could be quickly erected and taken apart with the minimum of fuss. REGENCY CAMPAIGN BED This mahogany campaign bed, made by John Durham of London, has a rectangular headboard, downswept half-sides, reeded baluster-turned posts, an arched tester, slatted base, and six ring-turned legs. c.1810. W:193cm (76in). S&K","CAMPAIGN FURNITURE 281 1840\u20131900 COLONIAL FOLDING CHAIR Most examples used screws, which did away with This teak folding armchair is strengthened with brass strapping. Brass-capped the need for specialist tools. Brass mounts, placed bolts hold the sections together, to allow it to fold, and the stretchers and back rails strategically in areas that were subject to bumps and are pegged. General Philip Henry Sheridan (1831\u201388) used such a chair during the knocks, especially the corners, helped to protect the Plains Indian wars (above). 1875\u20131900. H:73.6cm (29in). CCA furniture while it was in transit. A Victorian brass- bound chest of drawers succeeded the Wellington CAMPAIGN SOFA chest as a campaign furniture staple. Composed of This early Victorian hardwood sofa has a gadroon-carved top rail, scroll two parts, it was a simple matter to separate the top arms, and turned, tapering legs. The whole piece can be dismantled: the and bottom sections, which could then easily be legs, arms, and seat can all be detached. c.1840. CCA carried with the aid of brass handles sunk into the body of the wood. Much campaign furniture was THE BRAMAH LOCK meant for use in the tropics and cabinet- JOSEPH BRAMAH\u2019S PATENT CYLINDER LOCK LED THE FIELD IN SECURITY AND WAS FITTED TO MUCH makers used materials that were suited to OF THE KNOCKDOWN FURNITURE TAKEN ABROAD BY BRITISH OFFICERS AND MERCHANTS. extremes of heat and humidity. Canvas seats were more comfortable in these conditions Locksmiths competed strenuously to come up with than wooden or upholstered examples, and the most secure devices. In 1784, Joseph Bramah, an cane furniture was far lighter and better ingenious Yorkshireman whose curiosity took him into suited to tropical climates than solid wood. the realms of hydraulics and printing, patented a lock that still bears his name today. After a professional FASHION ON THE FRONT locksmith managed to crack Bramah\u2019s first design, he Although campaign furniture was generally improved the mechanism and defiantly offered a 200- less fussy than that used in the home, expats and guinea prize to the first person that could successfully those on overseas assignments strove to keep up defeat it. The improved Bramah lock had 494 million with the latest London fashions. The insular and possible permutations, and included dummy notches competitive nature of life on camp was such that cut into the mechanism to foil the unscrupulous, not people would attempt to trump the efforts of the to mention persistent, lock-picker. The substantial next man by acquiring the most extensive suite of prize went unclaimed for more than 50 years until a furniture in the most up-to-date design. Furthermore, flamboyant American locksmith called Alfred Charles it was important for the colonialists to establish their Hobbs caused a sensation by defeating both Bramah\u2019s perceived superiority over their charges. By displaying patent lock and the Chubb Detector in 1851. the wealth and sophisticated fashions of the seat of empire, an unspoken message might be conveyed to the \u201cbarbarous\u201d natives. As a result, a typical officer\u2019s domicile might be furnished with a sofa, a dining table complete with six chairs, and two library or armchairs, all specifically designed for an itinerant lifestyle. Styles tended to lag slightly behind fashions at home, and pieces were often made in the country in which they were intended for use. TRAVELLING GAMES TABLE This early Victorian mahogany table has a top formed from its storage box. The top is marked with rosewood and boxwood veneers for chess and is supported by a telescopic column on tripod legs. c.1840. H:72.3cm (281\u20442in); W:39.4cm; (151\u20442in); D:33cm (13in). CCA Campaign chest This chest has The Bramah lock a hinged lid and metal carrying handles. The chest has the typical Bramah lock, which remained unchanged for over 100 years. CCA","282 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 Germany and Austria THE GERMAN-SPEAKING world developed Germany and Austria embraced the style. New processes and technologies which made a lasting impression its own style years before the modern same eclectic historicism that was ushered in by the Industrial Revolution on public taste. Michael Thonet German state took shape. Although popular throughout Europe during made it possible to recreate Rococo (see pp.284\u201385), who assisted Peter the Biedermeier style had evolved the mid 19th century. forms from published patterns at a Hubert Desvignes in this mammoth from the Neoclassical movement, fraction of the original cost and in task between 1837 and 1849, went particularly the Empire look that ROCOCO REVIVAL less time, making them accessible to on to revolutionize the furniture emerged from Napoleonic France, it The Rococo revival was met with a wider market. Machines cut much industry in his adopted Austria with was distinctly Germanic. Its popularity particular favour in Vienna, a city finer veneers and carved Rococo his mass-produced bentwood furniture. was such that Biedermeier furniture whose conservative nature was such ornament for application to carcases never quite disappeared in the 19th that the court had never relinquished constructed from local woods. Other accomplished masters century and a number of popular the original Germanic Rokoko of the included Anton P\u00f6ssenbacher, whose revivals occurred, particularly in 18th century, and so there was a One of the pinnacles of the Rococo- lavish carved and embroidered chairs the 1860s. At the same time, seamless progression to the revival revival style was the refurbishment of for King Ludwig II represent the zenith the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, of Bavarian Rococo. SIDE CHAIRS These two chairs are from a set of six Biedermeier-style, walnut- veneered and polished side chairs made in Austria. The curved crest rail is supported on flat supports above a rounded, upholstered seat with lightly sweeping legs. c.1900. H:91cm (357\u20448in). GK The base contains The handles and escutcheons Carved details resemble four drawers. are intricately carved. Classical columns. PRESS CUPBOARD to resemble those found in Classical architecture. Below GAMES TABLE this are four narrow drawers. The lower section of the cabinet This massive cupboard is made of oak, and is decorated consists of two small cupboards with heavily inlaid and carved This Louis-Philippe-style mahogany games table has a moulded with architectural-style motifs. The design is completely doors, also flanked by fluted pilasters. The whole piece is table top above a serpentine apron with carved finials at the symmetrical, in keeping with the Neoclassical style. The supported on a base that contains a further four drawers. corners. The rectangular table top opens up to reveal a playing upper section of the cupboard consists of a moulded cornice, Such an impressive piece would have belonged to a wealthy surface, supported on a baluster column and four cabriole legs which projects above a carved frieze. Pilaster supports are household. Late 19th century. H:251cm (1001\u20442in); W:223cm with floral carving. 1850\u201360. H:78cm (303\u20444in); W:84cm (33in); positioned either side of two framed doors, which are designed (89in); D:67cm (27in). VH D:42cm (161\u20442in). BMN","GERMANY AND AUSTRIA 283 UNIFICATION AND RENAISSANCE of German culture, creating a fusion more radical Jugendstil. New wealth, The German version of the Gothic 1840\u20131900 Reworking of historical styles was of traditional vernacular design with industrialization, overseas trade, and style was more elaborate, making characteristic of German and Austrian these wider European trends. colonial acquisitions all contributed use of multiple colours where the furniture design at this time. The same to a burgeoning confidence in the original French version had been Gothic, Rococo, and Renaissance Just as the United States embraced new German state. predominantly monochrome. A carved revivals that informed furniture design the Neo-Renaissance style after oak bookcase designed in Gothic style in Paris and London diffused through winning their independence from GOTHIC STYLE by Austrian cabinet-makers Bernardo the continent far more quickly after Britain, German designers developed a The German Gothic revival, a lighter de Bernardis (1808\u201368) and Joseph the development of an integrated rail particular affinity for the style following and fussier aesthetic than its British Cremer (1808\u201371) was displayed at network in the mid 19th century. After the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. counterpart, often featured boullework the Crystal Palace exhibition in 1851, the eventual unification of the German Known as the Gr\u00fcnderzeit, this style \u2013 a product of Louis XIV\u2019s France and afterwards it was presented to states under Bismarck in 1871, there continued to be popular into the rather than of the was a general reappraisal of the roots 20th century, remaining fashionable medieval period. Queen Victoria by Emperor in some circles in parallel with the Franz Josef. DINING TABLE Xavier Fortner (1798\u20131877). The table top design brings together influences from three The round surface of this exquisite intarsia dining different historical styles. The overall symmetry table is richly decorated with rosewood, brass, of the design is Neoclassical, the scrolling motifs and mother-of-pearl inlaid into a kingwood veneer. resemble those popular in the Rococo period, The table top is supported on a solid oak-carved and the central medallion of the table takes the frame with three cabriole legs, which terminate Gothic style as its inspiration. c.1840. H:77cm in brass casters. The table is the work of Franz (301\u20444in); D:133cm (52 1\u20444in). BMN Porcelain mounts GERMANY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF EUROPEAN FURNITURE DESIGN IN THE MID 19TH CENTURY, BUT THE PORCELAIN MOUNTS PRODUCED WON INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM. Ever since Meissen produced the were a far cry from the elaborate models produced in Germany. In France, S\u00e8vres plaques had been used to adorn first European porcelain, Germany cabinets on occasion, but it was in Germany that the most celebrated examples were made. has been a market leader in the The carcases of these cabinets were roughly constructed ceramics industry. During the mid from pine in Renaissance forms. An ebony veneer or, more usually, a coat of black paint provided a suitably dark 19th century, enterprising cabinet- ground on which to mount elaborate porcelain plaques, pillars, and feet: the dark wood acted as a foil to the richly makers undertook to harness this decorated white ceramic. The best examples, many of which came from the Meissen factory, were hand-painted with Porcelain plaque resource and combine it with their scenes taken from 17th-century paintings with antiquarian or folk themes. The public appetite for these cabinets was own stock-in-trade. Cabinets decorated with porcelain vast, and William Oppenheim won widespread acclaim for an example he exhibited in Paris in 1878 for the Royal mounts were not an entirely new concept \u2013 Oriental Dresden factory. craftsmen had been making furniture with applied ceramic plaques for centuries, although their minimalist designs Ebonized cupboard This piece is richly decorated with Meissen porcelain mounts, the most prominent being the oval panel on the cupboard door. They have chased gilt-metal borders and depict courting couples. The cupboard has a rectangular top with conforming gallery and is flanked by four polychrome, floral-decorated detached columns above turned, bulbous feet. c.1880. H:133.5cm (521\u20442in). FRE","284 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 THONET\u2019S BENTWOOD Thonet\u2019s development of the bentwood chair \u2013 one of the most successful products ever conceived \u2013 had an enormous influence on the course of furniture design. MICHAEL THONET (1796\u20131871) WAS BORN in Boppard- TORTUOUS CURVES am-Rhein, a picturesque town that was then part of To prevent the beech from splitting when Prussia, now part of Germany. He trained as a it was bent violently into shape, a metal cabinet-maker and set up a workshop in his home strip was attached to each end of the town as soon as he finished his apprenticeship. piece of wood before it was steamed. However, it was not until he was in his thirties that he began to experiment with steaming laminated Michael Thonet (centre), surrounded by his five sons wood veneers in order to create bentwood furniture. At first, he was only able to use this process to produce component parts, such as chair backs, which he incorporated into pieces constructed from more orthodox, straight, wooden elements. Still, his work was innovative, and Thonet\u2019s exhibit at an 1841 Koblenz trade show attracted the attention of Chancellor Metternich, who invited him to Austria to make some furniture for the Palais Liechtenstein. ROCKING CHAIR BENTWOOD CHAISE LONGUE The frame of this beech Inspired by Arts and Crafts styling, the sinuous Thonet rocking chair lines of the frame and arms of Thonet\u2019s chaise exemplifies the Thonet technique longue are created from long pieces of bent, solid, of using single pieces of wood to laminated beech. The seat is made of woven cane. create elaborate, elegant, curved Suitable for the conservatory or the garden, this structures. The seat and back of the recliner appealed to the taste for more rustic styles chair are each made from a simple of furniture in the late 19th century, although it green fabric sling. c.1880. H:88.5cm was, in fact, industrially produced. It is the precursor of Le Corbusier\u2019s chaise longue, designed (331\u20442in). QU in 1928, which used tubular steel instead of bent wood for the frame (see pp.432-33). 1883\u201384.","THONET\u2019S BENTWOOD 285 gebr\u00fcder thonet VERSATILITY AND SIMPLICITY 1840\u20131900 By 1842, Thonet had perfected his steam-bending FROM FAMILY BUSINESS TO GLOBAL CORPORATION, GEBR\u00dcDER process, and in July of that year he was granted an THONET BECAME PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL. international patent that protected his \u201cchemical mechanical methods\u201d from imitation. The Gebr\u00fcder Thonet was established in 1853. The runaway success of The bending process Steamed until pliable, the extravagant curlicues of the bentwood furniture the company\u2019s bentwood furniture led to rapid growth, and within solid wood is bent into shape. The men have to he produced for the interiors of the grand Rococo 20 years it had offices in London and New York. Expansion within work in perfect unison with each other as they staterooms at the Palais Liechtenstein are testament continental Europe continued apace and, by the end of the 19th manipulate the wood, opening and closing a to the versatility of his invention. series of clamps to keep control. century, Gebr\u00fcder Thonet was operating more than 50 Once softened through immersion in steam or factories. Collaborations with eminent designers and boiling water, the wood (beech was particularly architects, such as Josef Hoffmann, Otto Prutscher, suitable) could be moulded into almost any shape and Emile Guyot, kept the firm at the forefront of with the aid of a press. A single piece of timber could new trends. In 1922, Gebr\u00fcder Thonet became be manipulated to form the back legs, uprights, and part of the Thonet-Mindus holding company, top rail of a chair. Thonet\u2019s process meant that employing 10,000 staff under the direction of furniture could be constructed from far fewer Leopold Pilzer, who established Thonet Industries members and did away with the need for dovetails, Inc. in New York. Throughout the latter half of the tenons, or any kind of joint; simple screws and 20th century, a steady focus on nuts would suffice to hold the parts together. innovation and contemporary design has sustained the company\u2019s identity, In 1853, Thonet set up his own furniture company and Thonet remains a world leader in \u2013 Gebr\u00fcder Thonet \u2013 with his five sons (Franz, industrial furniture design. Michael, August, Josef, and Jacob), and designed a factory in Vienna to produce furniture that could be Chair No.14 This classic bentwood chair packed flat for shipping and assembled at its is perfectly shaped, elegant, and light. destination. Before long, Thonet\u2019s bentwood Designed by Thonet in 1859, 50 million furniture was being exported all over the world. were sold by 1930. The currently available No.214 is its direct descendant. H:64cm WORLD-BEATING DESIGN Mid-19th-century Vienna was famous for the lively (251\u20444in); W:43cm (17in); D:52cm (201\u20442in). political and cultural debate that found its focus in the city\u2019s caf\u00e9s, and these establishments proved the The component parts Only six pieces of ideal testing ground for Thonet\u2019s new bentwood wood make up the backrest, seat, and chairs. Light yet durable, their distinctive but legs of chair No.14. understated style and modest cost made them a hit with the hospitality industry. Thonet\u2019s first large-scale SETTEE NO.2 commission was to supply chairs to Vienna\u2019s Daum A single length of bent wood forms both the back rail and the back legs of this coffeehouse in the late 1850s, and the world-beating settee. The back is constructed from just three lengths of bent wood, curled and \u201cNo.14\u201d chair was developed for this purpose. It was intertwining to form a symmetrical pattern. The wickerwork seat is supported so successful that before the turn of the century within a beech wood frame and stands on tapering legs. This Thonet settee more than 15 million No.14 chairs had been made bears the company\u2019s stamp. c.1888. W:117cm (463\u20444in). DOR and sold throughout Europe. This was functional furniture for the masses rather than furniture as a signifier of wealth, and the industrial production lines in Thonet\u2019s factories across central Europe were turning it out in huge quantities. THE CONTRIBUTION LIVES ON When compared to the convoluted decoration of so much mid-19th-century furniture, the bentwood designs of Thonet and his sons are positively spartan. Le Corbusier commemorated this refreshing aspect of Thonet\u2019s oeuvre in 1925 when he used the No.14 chair as part of his hugely influential l\u2019Espirit Nouveau exhibit, espousing his rejection of decoration in favour of function. It is unlikely that John Henry Belter (1804\u201363) would have had so much success with his carved laminate furniture in New York had Thonet not laid the foundations before him. Thonet\u2019s legacy has endured well into the modern age \u2013 he precipitated Charles and Ray Eames\u2019s mass-produced office chairs (see pp.456-57), and, of course, the modern flat-pack domestic furniture industry.","286 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 Low Countries THE NEOCLASSICAL REVIVAL persisted in INFLUENCES FROM THE EAST CORNER CABINET of scrolling roses issuing from a basket of fruit, the Netherlands under the auspices of The Dutch enjoyed their privileged below which is a single door centred by a putti the Waterstaat ministry, who presided position as the only Western people to This satinwood corner cabinet is painted to mask in a panel. The case is raised on pyramidal over church construction until 1875. trade with the Japanese until the 1850s. simulate marquetry decoration and has leaf- legs with small, brass bun feet. Predominantly This \u201cWaterstaatstjil\u201d was primarily They imported lacquer furniture inlaid cast, gilt-brass mounts. The shaped triangular Neoclassical in style, the central mount is inspired by Grecian temple forms with fine pieces of shell, and restrained, top is centred by an oval panel of oak leaves distinctly Rococo in design. Late 19th century. and became firmly entrenched in plain versions of Western forms such and has padouk banding. It sits above a frieze W:89cm (351\u20442in). L&T the Dutch consciousness, informing as chairs, tables, and high cabinets furniture design throughout the finished in the finest lacquer. All the surfaces of the chest are richly decorated mid-19th century. with a marquetry design of baskets, flowers, Other colonial interests in the and birds. The moulded frieze drawer is typical HISTORICISM BY NUMBERS region, particularly in Indonesia, of 19th-century designs. The marquetry on the The interiors of many Catholic churches provided the Netherlands with fine doors is a little awkward but still identifiably constructed at this time were decorated exotic hardwoods. These were often Neoclassical in style. Mid 19th century. in an approximation of the Baroque quite different from the woods used W:97cm (381\u20444in). L&T style, although many of the features elsewhere in Europe, where they were false: plaster vaulting and walls were imported predominantly from painted to look like marble were the Caribbean and Africa. Dutch common. This falsification was also cabinet-makers used satinwood from a feature of Willem II Gothicism, an the East Indies to create copies of 18th- early Dutch Gothic-revival style that century Neoclassical furniture, with was championed by Pierre Cuyper slim, tapering legs, metal mounts and among others. fine inlays, and stringing made from contrasting timbers. Despite having studied under Viollet-le-Duc, the architect of so A PASSION FOR MARQUETRY many sympathetic restorations, The main centres of furniture Cuyper\u2019s work was more of a pastiche production in Belgium were Antwerp than a genuine representation of the and Malines. Many of the craftsmen Gothic era. Native oak was used to active in these areas were very adept construct Gothic-revival furniture, in marquetry techniques, a perennially often with a similarly scant regard popular form of surface decoration in for the fundamental principles of the the Low Countries. Apart from the Gothic style. appearance of Neoclassical elements in the late 18th century, the distinctive style of Dutch marquetry did not change much from the early 18th century to the end of the 19th century. Ebony, kingwood, satinwood, and other fine and exotic timbers were used to create intricate and arresting floral designs, often in a variety of colours. This practice was not limited to new furniture \u2013 demand was such that these same craftsmen adapted older pieces of plain walnut furniture and made them more saleable through the application of their art. Table tops, drawer fronts, back splats, friezes, and skirts were all considered appropriate places for marquetry design. However, with the advent of mass production in the late 19th century, the quality of the marquetry work deteriorated. Brass, ebonized, and tortoiseshell mirror This wall MARQUETRY CABINET mirror has raised foliate brass decoration centred and surmounted by a mask motif. The bevelled The rectangular top of this mahogany and rectangular plate sits within a brass and ebonized marquetry cabinet sits above a single, long frame, which in turn is surrounded with a further ogee frieze drawer, below which is a pair of panelled and moulded tortoiseshell frame. The doors, flanked on each side by a pilaster. The piece is Baroque in its overall appearance. case is supported on a plinth and turned feet. Late 19th century. SL","LOW COUNTRIES 287 The cartouche crest is carved The moulded cornice is 1840\u20131900 with scrolls and acanthus. in the Baroque style. SIDE CHAIR The arched door and shaped edge are a mixture of This early 18th-century-style Baroque and Rococo styles. floral marquetry side chair has a solid vase-shaped back The glazed front door opens splat and drop-in seat. The on to a shelved interior. shaped seat rail is supported on cabriole legs, which The velvet-lined interior is terminate in claw-and-ball intended for the display feet. Mid 19th century. DN of porcelain artefacts. The top of the lower cabinet has a serpentine edge. RECTANGULAR SIDE TABLE The lower cabinet is bomb\u00e9 in form, This ebony and floral marquetry side table takes inspiration from the which is typical of late 18th century. The table top is centred with marquetry birds on an urn and has a moulded edge above a frieze drawer of similar decoration. Dutch furniture. The table top is supported on spiral-turned legs, joined by a flat cross- stretcher, and terminating in bun feet. H:73cm (283\u20444in). DN The gilt-bronze handles are in 18th-century style. Satinwood floral marquetry decorates the drawers in typical Dutch style. OVAL CENTRE TABLE MARQUETRY DISPLAY CABINET The sides of the lower cabinet are inlaid with This Neoclassical-style oval centre table is made of mahogany and This mahogany and marquetry display cabinet is profusely inlaid with floral urns on stands issuing decorated with marquetry. It is inlaid throughout with scrolling foliate marquetry. The upper section has an arched cornice centred by a green man, flowers in Rococo and designs and the table top is centred by a flowering urn design. The piece above a corresponding glazed door and sides. The lower section of the cabinet Neoclassical style. is raised on slender, square, tapering legs, with tiny, brass bun feet. has a shaped top and four long, graduated bomb\u00e9 drawers. The case of the c.1880. W:96.5cm (38in). FRE lower section has canted angles and stands on claw-and-ball feet. The piece contains elements of both Baroque and Rococo, and has the symmetry of late 18th-century marquetry. Mid 19th century. H:197cm (771\u20442in). L&T","288 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 Spain and Portugal ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA, styles from Europe. Pieces made for the court of Islamic twist to the Spanish countries that had close relationships Isabella II (1833\u201368) were the most decorative arts for centuries. with Spain and Portugal, in particular, sumptuous of all and set the agenda Moorish forms and Morocco, were fused with a dominant for the aspiring merchant classes. decoration, such as woven French aesthetic. This resulted in upholstery and turned distinctive, solid furniture peppered The use of mother-of-pearl inlays, spindles, were widespread with lighter touches. frequently in geometric patterns, was throughout Spain during very widespread. Other fashionable this period. In fact, Moroccan SPANISH FUSION decorative elements included mounts influence was by now so well \u201cIsabellino\u201d furniture was the Spanish of bronze or gilded wood, and painted established that it broadened interpretation of the French Second decoration applied directly to the to include elements from Empire style. Richly decorated with timber. Classical motifs, including other Islamic cultures. contrasting colours, it was more carved putti and acanthus leaves, exuberant than its French counterpart, were also commonly used. Isabella II\u2019s bedroom at the Palacio Real, and its symmetry allies it more closely Aranjuez The solidity of the dark wood with the Baroque than with the Rococo Openwork carving often made furniture and fittings is offset by the revival that swept across the rest of use of themes drawn from Morocco, sumptuous gilded carving that adorns Spain\u2019s closest neighbour to the south, the bed. and one that has lent a distinctive PORTUGUESE CENTRE TABLE PORTUGUESE SIDE TABLE This centre table is made of rosewood and is in the style of those This side table is made of stained walnut. Beneath the popular in the late 17th century. The rectangular table top has plain top is a single frieze drawer. The overall form, with brass mounts at the corners and the frieze is fitted with drawers its H-stretcher and central uprights, is 17th-century French, and dummy drawers. It stands on bulbous, twist-carved legs joined but the style of carving gives it a Portuguese provenance. by twisted stretchers. c.1880. Late 19th century. SPANISH MOORISH DRESSING TABLE SPANISH CABINET PORTUGUESE COMMODE This walnut and ebony dressing table is inlaid with intarsia. The The parquetry top of this tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and walnut This is one of a pair of carved Rosewood petite cabinet is surmounted by an arched mirror, at the base of which cabinet has projecting corners. The case has seven drawers, flanked commodes. The exaggerated waisted shape is a very are two small drawers. A frieze drawer sits above a pair of panelled by free-standing columns, and arranged around a central door and two common Portuguese form during this period. The doors, which enclose a fitted interior. The case stands on block drawers below. The Moorish influence is apparent in the Arab-style ball-and-claw feet on cabriole legs are taken from feet with casters. Mid 19th century. H:195cm (763\u20444in). L&T design. Mid 19th century. W:114cm (451\u20442in). L&T mid 18th-century English designs. Late 19th century.","SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 289 Cyrillic script betrays the central began to seek inspiration in traditional of British cabinet-makers more LATIN AMERICAN NEOCLASSICISM 1840\u20131900 Asian provenance of some Moorish Spanish furniture from the 16th and closely. As a result, features such as The thriving Latin colonies in Central furniture constructed in Spain at this 17th centuries. the cabriole leg and paw foot became and South America had never been time. Carpets used as upholstery were widespread in Portuguese furniture. exposed to the French Empire style sourced from the Tekke of Turkestan, PORTUGUESE ASSIMILATIONS Another important outside influence that had pervaded Europe and from for example. Heavy silver adornments The Portuguese had suffered greatly came from Germany. The Portuguese which the bulk of European mid- were another decorative element at the hands of Napoleon\u2019s forces but embraced the fading Biedermeier style 19th-century furniture had developed. borrowed from this part of the world. had been impressed by a system of through Maria II, who had a number The widespread diaspora of patterns government that freed them from of German consorts. originally drawn by 18th-century The drawing-room suite, usually the yoke of a repressive monarchy. masters, such as Chippendale and comprising a sofa and a pair of Rebellion and civil war plagued the Towards the end of the century, Spain Hepplewhite, did reach these distant armchairs, became extremely popular reigns of Maria II, Pedro V, and Luis I, began to embrace styles based on the western outposts and were the basis in Spanish homes during this period. the rulers of Portugal during the more distant past of their own peoples, for a Latin American Neoclassical The occasional table continued to enjoy mid 19th century. while Portugal embarked on an revival. Latin American furniture in the popularity it had won in the earlier enduring affair with designs from the the mid 19th century was, therefore, \u201cFernandino\u201d period. Around 1870, French influence had declined Jo\u00e3o V period (1706\u201350). Rosewood far closer to British forms than that after a period of civil war that followed after liberation from Napoleon, and continued to be the favoured wood produced on the Iberian mainland. the end of Isabella\u2019s reign, designers designers began to follow the work because of Portugal\u2019s colonial interests. Islamic motifs are carved into the European-style back. Mother-of-pearl inlay in Islamic style decorates the settee. Arabic inscriptions are carved into the backboard. Blind fret carving adorns the rail at the top of the backboard. The turned column stiles are European in form. The padded European arches delineating each seat are covered with Tekke carpet. The seat is upholstered The turning of the The Moorish settee SPANISH SETTEE in Tekke carpet. wood is very Islamic in stands on European style, reminiscent of Although the overall form of this The carved arches in Muslim screens. bun feet. Spanish settee is European, it the apron are Islamic betrays Moorish influences. The in shape and style. walnut frame has been carved with Cyrillic characters and is richly inlaid with ivory and mother-of- pearl. The padded seat and chair back have been upholstered in traditional Tekke carpet, although the three arches in the backboard are distinctly European in shape. c.1860. H:132cm (52in); W:135cm (53in); D:60cm (23 1\u20442in). JK","290 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 scandinavia THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES a rigid Classicism through applied watchful eyes of these arbiters of court chair-maker, was among the ornament carved with urns, acanthus taste, who included the physicist H.C. first of these newly successful emerged from a period of economic leaves, and similar motifs. Some of this \u00d8rsted, the Danish furniture industry furniture-makers. strife in the 19th century, eventually decoration was not carved but instead managed to avoid some of the creeping finding the confidence to channel the was made from sawdust pressed into vulgarization that afflicted so many SWEDEN AND NORWAY historical revivals of the period into a moulds, an economical innovation that other European nations. Although Swedish furniture in the mid 19th distinctive regional style. illustrates how the profession embraced there was a certain lowering of century was still dominated by the new technologies. standards among the mass-market Gustavian style, which had emerged DANISH TASTE trade, the best practitioners more than half a century earlier. In Denmark it was the Late Empire, or The improvement of the Danish maintained very high standards. Imitations and reproductions of the Christian VIII style, first popularized economy in the 1830s was spurred on Rococo and Neoclassical forms by the architect Gustav Friedrich by a series of four national trade and Cabinet-makers in Copenhagen produced during that time also Hetsch (1788\u20131864), that held sway industry exhibitions. The displays at actually enjoyed a boom that echoed remained extremely important. in the mid 19th century. It expressed these exhibitions were reviewed by a that of 18th-century London, with consortium of the cultural, scientific, master craftsmen beginning to combine The very light, off-white stains and workshops with grand exhibition spaces painted finishes that are hallmarks of and artistic elite put in which they could both display and Gustavian furniture were ideally suited together by Hetsch sell their wares. C.B. Hansen, the to Swedish interiors, as maximizing himself. Under the SWEDISH ARMCHAIRS cross-form splat, and downswept SWEDISH CENTRE TABLE armrests raised on curved supports. Each one of this pair of Swedish The upholstered seat is raised on This Gustavian-style painted table has a Empire-style, beech or fruitwood, circular, tapered legs, which are rectangular top above a bead and leaf-tip frieze painted open armchairs has a decorated with leaf banding. 1880. with swags. Acanthus leaves adorn the tapering, rectangular, padded, and leaf-tip- H:92.75cm (361\u20442in); W:57cm (221\u20442in); fluted legs. Mid 19th century. H:78.8cm (31in); bordered backrest, a spool-turned D:52cm (201\u20442in). W:88.25cm (343\u20444in); D:62.8cm (243\u20444in). DANISH SAFE DANISH ARMCHAIRS carving between rows of bead carving. DANISH WORKTABLE The drop-in upholstered seats with a This steel, two-door safe has a stepped top with two reeded These armchairs are part of a suite leaf-and-vine frieze and rosette corners, This Empire-revival walnut worktable has an finials and an overhanging cornice moulding with leaf-tip borders. of Danish painted furniture, which are raised on turned and fluted legs oval top above a frieze drawer. Supported on The two cabinet doors have Neoclassical and foliate decoration includes a settee and four side chairs. headed with fish-scale carving. two tapering legs, it is headed by gilt wings and are flanked by circular pilasters raised on paw feet. Mid 19th Each armchair has an upholstered Late 19th century. H:101.5cm (40in); and has outswept feet. c.1870. H:75cm century. H:165cm (65in); W:68.5cm (27in); D:56cm (22in). EVE rectangular backrest with laurel-leaf W:68.5cm (27in); D:63cm (25in). (291\u20442in); W:60.5cm (233\u20444in); D:38cm (15in).","SCANDINAVIA 291 the available light was a boon in employing a much lighter touch than A SCANDINAVIAN AESTHETIC Biedermeier revival began, and lighter 1840\u20131900 Scandinavian countries. The bois-clair his British counterparts, to correspond The Neoclassical, Gothic, and Rococo birch wood was used. Forms remained look, a remnant of the Gustavian style, to the pale Scandinavian palette. revivals dominated Scandinavian simple and veneers became thinner and remained a firm favourite, at least for interiors as they did throughout plainer in design. case furniture and chairs. Woods that Norway enjoyed a growing economy Europe. Denmark and Sweden could not be stained to achieve a light during the mid 19th century, and the produced a great many salon suites in Towards the end of the 19th century, finish were often painted white or pale laying of the first railways and a these revival styles, consisting of a sofa the Scandinavian furniture industry grey, or sometimes parcel gilt. growing merchant shipping fleet and four side chairs, sometimes also began to assert a distinct regional helped to increase internal and including a pair of armchairs. The identity with the enthusiastic uptake A version of the Danish style external trade. Despite a growing popularity of these suites was such of a starker, Modernist aesthetic. Lilla pioneered by Hetsch was adopted nationalistic feeling, Norwegian that they could be found in most Hyttn\u00e4s, the cottage inhabited by the in Sweden for a time, but failed to furniture of the period was largely fashionable middle-class homes. great Swedish artist Carl Larrson from survive the first half of the 19th based on Swedish and British models. 1888, became the archetype for austere century. Instead, the Swedish were However, some of the vernacular Much of the furniture of this period but homely interiors throughout quicker to embrace the Gothic-revival furniture produced did carry a was made from painted soft woods, Sweden. The textile and furniture style that had been so successful in recognizably Norwegian aesthetic such as pine or beech, and drew designs of his wife Karin helped to Britain. Hansen was one of the pioneers in the form of brightly painted folk inspiration from French, Russian, and introduce an abstract aesthetic to the of the Swedish Gothic revival, art roses and other traditional details. German designs. From about 1870, a wider Scandinavian consciousness. The upholstery is covered with Walnut and parcel-gilt griffins a silk damask material in an decorate each arm. early 19th-century design. The downswept arms are moulded. Eight turned, tapering The sprung seat is fully legs support the sofa. stuffed over the frame. Paterae are applied to the faces of the side rails. DANISH PEDESTAL CUPBOARD SWEDISH SOFA in the shape of griffins and give the piece a very Neoclassical appearance. The pale blue silk This tall, oval, pedestal cupboard is made of This Swedish sofa is made of walnut highlighted damask upholstery is similar in style to patterns walnut with inlaid ebonydecoration. The curved with parcel-gilt, and is based on a late 18th- popular at the beginning of the 19th century. door encloses three shelves, which are intended century design. The straight, rectangular top rail The piece stands on eight turned, tapered legs to store hats. c.1860. H:142cm (56in); and the faces of the side rails are decorated with decorated with gilt banding. Late 19th century. W:62cm (241\u20442in). paterae and beading. The arm supports are carved W:182cm (713\u20444in).","292 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 Russia WHILE RUSSIA\u2019S SERFS scraped a meagre strong. Many of these journeymen aspect of polite Russian furniture, handful of superb items of furniture existence tied to the land, the affluent were masters of their professions \u2013 Leo designed for use in large spaces, was that exerted an enormous influence society centred around the Imperial von Klenze, for example, was Court complemented by grand mounts of on the fashionable elite. These high- court in St Petersburg enjoyed an architect to Ludwig I of Bavaria before gilded wood or brass, featuring fashion pieces were the exception, extremely high standard of living that he designed interiors for the New Classical motifs drawn from the however, as a general decline took was reflected in the grand furniture Hermitage. He continued to champion European tradition. place in the Russian furniture industry they commissioned. the Russian Empire style well into the during the late 19th century. Increased mid 19th century with his malachite Among the peculiarly Russian mechanization was the death knell EUROPE\u2019S MELTING POT and marble furniture. Russian rule specialities of the period was metal for many craftsmen who could not St Petersburg was a cosmopolitan city in over Finland meant that there was a furniture, which was used more compete with the new factories in the mid 19th century, with strong ties free exchange of information between frequently here than elsewhere in with France, the Low Countries, and the the two countries, and many Finnish Europe. The Tula Imperial Armoury, German and Italian states. Craftsmen craftsmen plied their trades in an important weapons foundry, from each of these areas flowed into the St Petersburg. As a result, the became famous for its iron furniture, Russian capital, bringing with them dominant Russian style of the period such as the dressing room suite on ideas and designs from across Europe. was an amalgam of fashions from display at the Pavlovsky Palace French influence, in particular, was very many different places. The heavy Museum. Carl Faberg\u00e9, jeweller to the Imperial Court from 1884, designed a Four scroll and foliate ormolu cartouche Tiny pieces of malachite are fixed to mounts decorate the malachite table top. a base to create a mosaic pattern. The oval top of the malachite ROUND-BACKED ARMCHAIR table is shaped and stepped. Carved out of mahogany and upholstered in The central malachite velvet, this armchair with a rounded back was column is vase-shaped. made at the Melzer factory for the Alexandria Palace in Peterhof. Late 19th century. H:81cm (32in); W:55cm (211\u20442in); D:45cm (173\u20444in). Gold scrolls decorate the baluster stem. Gold foliate sabots decorate A foliate motif carving The glass bun feet were added the scroll legs of the table. completes the base in the late-19th century. of the baluster. MALACHITE TABLE was mined at Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. Malachite from the SILVER-MOUNTED TABLE same source was also used to create the Malachite Room at the Winter The shaped, stepped oval top of this Alexandre II malachite low table is Palace in St Petersburg (see above right). Russian craftsmen from the The top of this Louis XVI-style Faberg\u00e9 table has mounted with four scroll and foliate ormolu cartouches. Beneath the table Peterhof and Yekaterinburg works used the Russian mosaic technique to a beaded silver border. The drawer is applied top, a baluster stem, ending in a foliate motif carving, is flanked by four cover large surfaces; they cut pieces of malachite into 3mm (1\u20448in) thick with a silver laurel wreath with ribbon cresting. scroll legs on scroll and foliate sabots. The table stands on glass bun feet, slices and attached them to a base to produce an attractive overall pattern. The fluted legs are joined by a silver-mounted which were added at a later date. The malachite used to create this table c.1860. H:66cm (26in); W:100.5cm (391\u20443in); D:75.5cm (293\u20444in). stretcher. Late 19th century. H:70.2cm (275\u20448in).","RUSSIA 293 terms of output or cost. In these Winter Palace interior Designed by Alexander 1840\u20131900 factories, machine-cut pine carcasses Bryullov, the Malachite Room was rebuilt in 1837 were covered with very thin machine- as a drawing room for Alexandra Fyodorovna, the cut hardwood veneers before finally wife of Tsar Nicolas I. The richly gilded furniture being finished by hand. In this way, was produced by the workshop of Peter Gambs furniture that appeared to equal the from sketches by Auguste de Montferrand. quality of that created by the artisan was produced far more cheaply. UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR GOTHIC CHAIR From a suite of furniture made for the Winter This Gothic-style, high-backed chair carved Palace in St Petersburg, this carved and gilded out of walnut was designed by E. Gambs for armchair is upholstered in crimson silk. It was the Gothic Study of the Golitsyn-Stroganov created in Louis XV style. 1853. H:92cm estate in Maryino. Mid 19th century. (36in); W:50cm (193\u20444in); D:48cm (183\u20444in). H:123cm (48 1\u20442in); W:64cm (251\u20444in). Roll-top curved lid Carved, gilded swans CYLINDER BUREAU desk has a fitted interior, containing shelves MAHOGANY BOOKCASE brass astragals. The doors have canted corners and compartments for letters and writing with brass flutes, surmounted and supported by The drum-shaped case of this mahogany desk equipment, and a leather writing slide. A series This two-door glazed bookcase has a broken brass square paterae. The sides are inset with is supported by two shaped legs with carved of wooden slats attached to a single piece of pediment with a brass moulded edge and brass panels, bordered by brass lines. The whole and gilded swans at the top and partly gilded cloth composes the roll-top lid, which retracts fluted decoration to the central frieze. The stands on a plinth, supported on square, claw-and-ball feet at the bottom. The legs are to the back. Late 19th century. H:95cm doors have well-figured mahogany frames with tapering legs, terminating in brass sabots. joined by a flat, carved cross-stretcher. The (371\u20443in); W:87cm (341\u20444in); D:45cm (173\u20444in). GK central glazed panels and boldly modelled c.1840. H:208cm (82in); W:143cm (56in).","294 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 united states A RENEWED RUSH of immigration from The Gothic style also remained CHIPPENDALE-STYLE CHAIR GOTHIC-REVIVAL ARMCHAIR northern Europe swelled America\u2019s popular during the second half of the population in the mid-19th century. 19th century. Examples of solid dark This mahogany side chair with an upholstered This walnut armchair has a carved and pierced After the Civil War (1861\u201365), the wood furniture crowned by cathedral- drop-in seat has an openwork splat, shaped top crest. The back is flanked by spiral spindles victorious North was imbued with style trefoils and quatrefoils could be rail, and scrolled ears. Elegant cabriole legs and stiles. The ring-turned arms terminate in new vigour and wealth as the tide of found in many middle-class homes. terminate in claw-and-ball feet. It is one of a ball-turned hand-holds, and the seat is raised industrialization swept across the states. set of six chairs. c.1900. H:100cm (39in). BRU on spiral-turned legs. H:118cm (461\u20442in). SL HOMEGROWN INGENUITY APPROPRIATIONS FROM EUROPE George Hunzinger, a German who CHEST-ON-CHEST long drawers positioned above a gadroon-carved The American Empire style reached its arrived in the United States in 1855, base and the piece is supported on claw-and- zenith around 1840, when the tide devised ingenious space-saving, This Colonial-revival chest-on-chest is made ball feet. The overall form is based on a mid of fashion turned in favour of plain mechanical furniture. He amassed from mahogany. The upper section of the 18th-century original. The legs are inspired by surfaces. Heavy furniture in mahogany more then 20 patents during his chest consists of an outset gadroon-carved a mid 18th-century form, while the moulded and rosewood veneers dominated the career, for furniture that folded, top, two moulded frieze drawers, and three top drawer is 19th century in style. Mid 19th later American Empire period. extended, collapsed, or converted. graduated drawers. The lower section has two century. H:152.5cm (60in). S&K William Wooton, a native of Indiana, The Empire manner was gradually secured a patent for an equally clever, ousted from its central position but altogether more immutable form in American taste by an influx of in the 1870s. The Wooton Patent European craftsmen, who helped to Secretary was a large desk that disseminate the Rococo-revival style. concealed innumerable small The Classical motifs of Empire drawers and compartments for the furniture gave way to emblems drawn storage of documents and chattels. from the natural world, and rounded Rococo forms replaced the earlier A NEW AMERICAN RENAISSANCE architectural structures. The Renaissance forms were rediscovered development of laminate veneers after the Civil War and incorporated greatly aided the practitioners of the into a new, distinctly American look. Rococo revival, led by German-born The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial New Yorker J.H. Belter (see pp.296\u201397). Exhibition was a statement of the Some American designers, such as nation\u2019s confidence and marked the Alexander Roux, eschewed the use of culmination of the Renaissance revival. laminated bentwood in favour of a Luminaries of the Gilded Age, such more authentic Rococo look. Roux as J.P. Morgan, commissioned grand was a French immigrant whose houses designed in the Renaissance elaborately carved pieces featured style. The Centennial also spawned decorative motifs drawn from hunting, an interest in a revival of American such as grouse, dogs, and deer. colonial furniture forms. The American people had long been fascinated with Egyptology, and a number of exhibitions of ancient Egyptian artefacts drew vast crowds during the latter half of the 19th century. It is therefore no surprise that Egyptian motifs found their way on to furniture of the period. Actual Egyptian forms were rarely used. Instead, lotus, sphinx, and other emblems were applied to Renaissance- revival furniture. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The current building was designed in the popular Gothic- revival style by American architect Frank Furness (1839\u20131922). The Academy opened in 1876.","UNITED STATES 295 1840\u20131900 TEA TABLE TRIPLE-ARCH SOFA This tea table or card table, is an exact copy of a late 18th- This Renaissance-revival, laminated walnut, triple-arch sofa is century piece, with a top that opens out to provide a larger influenced by Louis XV style. It has a pierced foliate, scroll-and-grape surface. Made from mahogany, the table is inlaid with boxwood. clustered frame, centred by a carved mask crest. The tufted back of The frieze is inlaid with an urn motif, and the table is raised on the sofa is in three sections above a padded serpentine seat with a square, tapering legs. Mid 19th century. floral-carved apron on cabriole legs. c.1865. W:200cm (80in). S&K Interior detail The pediment has a central domed crest. The panel doors are as deep as the desk itself. Hinges allow the heavy panels to open outwards. Detail of crest Two small drawers flank either Detail of drawers side of a central recess. The wooden knobs are in a darker wood than the drawers. The writing surface is hinged so it can be raised when locking up the desk. Panel doors are fitted with shelves and divisions. WOOTON DESK This imposing variation of the fall-front desk has an elaborate, domed pediment. Two lockable, hinged front panels open to reveal an extensive, complex arrangement of interior drawers and divisions. The writing surface, also hinged, lifts from horizontal to vertical so the panel doors can close. The doors are also fitted with shelves and divisions. Late 19th century.","296 MID-19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 BELTER AND THE ROCOCO REVIVAL Belter was the star of the American Rococo revival \u2013 his furniture combined technical wizardry with traditional skill and won him the adoration of New York\u2019s glitterati. JOHN HENRY BELTER (1804\u201363), as he came to be LOVE SEAT known, was born Johann Heinrich Belter, near Asymmetrical in design, this small, upholstered love seat Osnabr\u00fcck in present-day Germany. He was trained has a carved, laminated satinwood frame. The in the art of wood-carving in W\u00fcrttemberg, a town crest of the frame is richly carved with steeped in the traditional Black Forest traditions of fruits and foliage, and the pierced back hewing complex designs from the native hard woods. rail sweeps down gently, in sections, Belter left his homeland for America, arriving in New to meet the seat rail. The whole is York in 1833. Within six years he had become a supported on elegant cabriole legs, naturalized citizen of the United States, and was in which terminate in brass business as a cabinet-maker in his newly adopted casters. c.1855. H:101.5cm city as early as 1844. It was not long before his name, like that of Thomas Chippendale, became (40in); W:101.5cm (40in); synonymous with the type of furniture he produced. D:101.5cm (40in). AME A SINGULAR TALENT Unlike many of his contemporaries in the furniture business, Belter only ever worked within one idiom. Somewhat fortuitously, but also due in no small part to Belter\u2019s own great skill, the Rococo-revival style in which he excelled remained in vogue throughout his career and long after his death. His great triumph, and the exclusive feature of his work that kept him in the vanguard of the competition, was the series of breakthroughs he made in the lamination process. A Belter label This lable was affixed to the back of one of Belter\u2019s belter patents patent pattern chairs and to the bottom of its rear seat apron. 1852. AT THE TIME BELTER WAS WORKING, THE US PATENT OFFICE WAS PROCESSING Belter bedstead Made of THOUSANDS OF APPLICATIONS A YEAR TO HELP FOSTER A CLIMATE OF INNOVATION. laminated rosewood, the footboard of this bedstead is The distinctive style in which John Henry Belter worked would not have been possible bent and decorated with a without his innovative technical and methodical achievements. A patent effectively small carved panel. An acted as a limited monopoly sanctioned by the State, and could prove extremely elaborate carved Rococo-style lucrative if used wisely. Although Belter was successful in securing a number crest adorns the headboard. of patents during his career, he apparently failed to exploit them to their full potential as he never became very wealthy. It seems likely that some of Belter\u2019s rivals, including Charles Baudouine of New York, infringed his copyright in their imitations of his work. The first of Belter\u2019s patents was granted in 1847. His \u201cmachinery for sawing arabesque chairs\u201d made it possible to cut intricate curves through his tough laminate boards. This was followed in 1856 with a far more specific application to patent a laminate bedstead. Belter was evidently very proud of this item, boasting that its simple two-piece construction allowed for swift disassembly in case of fire and had no recessed joints to harbour bed bugs. Two years later, Belter belatedly patented refinements he had made to his laminate and cutting processes. An ingenious central locking device provided the basis for Belter\u2019s final patent in 1860, through which he sought to protect a mechanism that secured multiple drawers at the turn of a single key.","BELTER AND THE ROCOCO REVIVAL 297 1840\u20131900 ROSEWOOD SETTEE Belter fashioned strong laminate panels by affixing This Louis XV-style twin-seater sofa has a thin strips of wood together, the grain in each layer scroll-carved top rail, padded back and seat, lying perpendicular to that of the layer below. This and cabriole legs. The angled ends practice enhanced the natural strength of the wood, encourage users to turn rendering it extremely resistant to cracking or towards each other. splitting. Rosewood was especially fashionable at the time \u2013 Belter sourced his from Brazil and India \u2013 but H:106.5cm (42in); he also worked in oak, mahogany, and other hard W:157.5cm (62in); woods, sometimes ebonizing them. D:86.5cm (34in). BRU DRAMATIC CURVES A typical Belter piece might be constructed from a 1850S AMERICAN INTERIOR series of eight-ply laminate boards, although he Belter-style furniture is prevalent in this home. The furniture and sometimes used up to 16 layers of wood. Additional furnishings are influenced by Louis XV style and Rococo taste. panels carrying carved decoration were often glued on to the frame of a piece of furniture. These panels DRESSING TABLE had been bent under extreme pressure with the This mahogany dressing table has an oval mirror, surmounted application of steam to produce the dramatic curves that are a hallmark of Belter\u2019s oeuvre, along with tight by an ornately carved crest, and a shaped white marble top. \u201cC\u201d and \u201cS\u201d scrolls. The hardiness leant to wood by The serpentine apron has carved acanthus at the corners and is Belter\u2019s lamination process enabled him to produce elaborate open crestings and aprons. supported on cabriole legs, terminating in scroll feet. The legs are joined by a pierced and carved cross-stretcher with a High-backed chairs provided him with an ideal canvas for his carving skills. Naturalistic depictions carved finial at its centre. It was made by Prudent Mallard, of flowers and fruits \u2013 vines were a favourite \u2013 New Orleans. Mid 19th century. AME feature alongside more Classical motifs such as scrolls. It is often only the quality of the carving and the audacity of the openwork that show that a piece came from his workshops. Belter\u2019s furniture was of a consistently high quality, and he was patronized by some very wealthy New York clients. He also designed a table in ebony and ivory for display at the 1853 \u201cExhibition of the Industry of All Nations\u201d. EXCLUSIVE TO A FAULT Belter\u2019s refusal to cater to the mass market left him open to rivals who had no such qualms and made small fortunes selling a diluted version of Belter\u2019s pieces to aspiring, less wealthy consumers. Despite this, however, Belter was not unsuccessful. In 1854, he had his own five-storey factory erected on Third Avenue, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Two years later, he was joined in business by his brother- in-law, John H. Springmeyer. In 1861, William and Frederick Springmeyer also came aboard. When Belter succumbed to tuberculosis in 1863, the Springmeyers continued in business. It is a testament to the singular skill of John Belter that they were unable to survive for more than four years, despite the unabated popularity of the Rococo- revival style that the firm had made its own. Belter\u2019s absence was felt keenly, and in 1867 the company was forced into closure.","298 MID 19TH CENTURY 1840\u20131900 japan HAVING REMAINED almost completely the Meiji Emperor \u2013 Mutsuhito, isolated from the rest of the world who ruled from 1867 to 1912 \u2013 was for several hundred years, Japan restored, promising modernization. entered a period of momentous and Japanese industries developed at an unprecedented change in the mid 19th astounding rate, and her citizens began century, instigated by the Kurofune to turn their backs on many aspects Raiho (visit of the black ships) in of their traditional past and adopt 1853. Commodore Perry\u2019s American Western attitudes and customs. fleet effectively forced the Tokugawa government to reopen Japanese ports Changes were gradual at first. to international trade. Although it became fashionable among the wealthy elite to add rooms THE NEW ORDER with a Western theme to their houses, Japan had been a rigid feudal society, these were generally areas in which to steeped in conservatism and slow to change. In 1868, after a short civil war, Six-panel silk and paper screen This screen is the last Shogun was overthrown and decorated with a stylized landscape scene depicting wildlife \u2013 predominantly birds \u2013 in their natural habitat. c.1880. H:156cm (621\u20442in). NAG DISPLAY CABINET-ON-STAND panels. Some of the panels slide open to reveal TWO-FOLD LACQUERED SCREEN ivory and mother-of-pearl, and depicts an numerous interior shelves and compartments. anthropomorphic battle of frogs, including This rosewood display cabinet is from the Meiji The relief-carved ivory, bone, mother-of-pearl, Consisting of two lacquer panels, this a commander, infantry, standard-bearers, period (1867\u20131912). It has an elaborately and lacquerwork depict figural scenes, floral hinged screen from the Meiji period has and trumpeters. The back of the screen carved pediment and stand, both featuring arrangements, and birds. The whole cabinet is carved rosewood and mahogany surrounds is decorated with flowering cherry trees in representations of birds and vegetation. The of very fine quality. Late 19th century. H:230cm and a similarly carved rosewood and mahogany togidashi (lacquerwork). Late 19th century. cabinet also has a number of inlaid gold lacquer (901\u20442in); W:166cm (653\u20448in). frame. The face of the screen is inlaid with H:188cm (74in); W:172cm (673\u20444in)."]