History Of The Furniture

French Period Furniture

The craftsmen of France were far more advanced than the English, therefore the English craftsmen took their furniture design inspiration from them. French Period furniture follows the French Style periods.

14th - 15th Centuries  Early French
16th Century   French Renaissance
1610 - 1643   Louis 13th
1643 - 1715   Louis 14th
1715 - 1774   Louis 15th
1774 - 1793   Louis 16th
1795 - 1804   Directoire and Consulate
1804 - 1815   Empire

The major influences of French Furniture came within 1643 to 1793, the reigns of Louis 14th, 15th and 16th    

Louis 14th (1642 - 1715)

The French Renaissance had lost most of it's Italian origin and had developed a character of it's own. This is when Louis 14th came to reign; he was a man with extravagant tastes. France was at the time one of the wealthiest countries in Europe therefore he was able to indulge in his passion for arts and crafts. The country had fine skilled craftsmen of enormous talent in abundance and nothing was too good or too expensive to be made. The most outstanding of these craftsmen was Andre Charles Boulle, he experimented with the Italian art form of Marquetry in brass, copper, tortiseshell and ebony. This work is now commonly called "Boulle work".

The features of the furniture were, wood carving, which did not have decoration, only marquetry, and often elaborate brass mounts. The surfaces of cabinets were generally flat. This is a considerable feature as the next period used curved surfaces everywhere. The main source of decoration was Boulle work. Curved and straight legs were used, with the curved dominating at the end moving to the more shapely next period. 

The Palace of Versailles was commissioned by Louis 14th, it was furnished with the finest and richest work that could possibly be produced. Much was destroyed during the Revolution, but what remains today is still extravagant splendour. In major contrast, England at the time was producing simple walnut furniture. On Charles II return from years of exile in France, he introduced many of the French ideas and designs to England.

Louis 15th (1715 - 1774)

The son of Louis 14th was only five years old when his father died and too young to take the reign. The Duke on Orleans was appointed Regent and took control until his death in 1723.

Changes happened in this time and the extravagant grandeur of the court was no longer. The country was not as wealthy and people lived a much quieter presence. Changes in social standings were occurring, the aristocracy began to marry the more humble but now wealthy middle classes, bankers, merchants etc. The grand mansions that once were ostentatious and full of extravagance were replaced by smaller more intimate homes. This meant that the style of furniture had to change to meet the peoples new demands. It needed to be smaller, it stayed ornate but the once masculine forms were replaced by softer prettier feminine lines. Therefore the furniture became more elegant with more ornamental decoration.

The major feature of Louis 15th Furniture is the shaped work of the curves. This commenced in Louis 14th 's reign and was expanded upon to the extent that there was barely a straight line or, flat surface visible. Fronts and sides of cabinets were curved in plan and elevation, which required a high level of skill for the craftsmen to apply the veneers, then there was the elaborate decoration that was usually inlaid. Guilded mounts in place of carving continued its trend.

The cabriole leg (French Version) was at it's most popular during this period. It was similar to the English, theirs had a high-pronounced knee adjoining a square at the top and the bottom usually was completed with a club or claw and ball foot. The French had a more flowing shape, it did not have the square at the top, the shape flowed into the rails or had a concave curve upwards and the foot was usually scrolled.

The most common of timbers used at this time were, boxwood, rosewood, mahogany, walnut, tulipwood, sycamore and ebony. Guilding and lacquering were also popular at this time.

There was a reaction to the elaborate Rococo work near the end of Louis 15th's reign and the revival of the classical spirit began in Louis 16th's reign.

Louis 16th (1774-1793)

The reaction against the work of the 18th century as well as the continued financial difficulties of his predecessor created a new style of furniture.

The design became more refined, most of the shape work was removed and with the Queen's influence, (Marie Antoinette), who preferred the simpler forms a new style was developed. In comparison to the English styles of the same period it was still very ornate, but compared with what had been previously in fashion it was very much simplified.

The major characteristics of this period's furniture are the use of straight lines and flat surfaces with delicate, refined use of detail. Guilded mounts were still popular, small mouldings and light carvings were now seen. The timbers used were the same as for the previous period adding satinwood to the list. Now that the shaped work had gone, the cabriole leg was no longer as popular; it was used in a lighter form for small beaureaux and console tables. Light turned legs or square tapered legs which often had recessed surfaces and guilded mount decoration were then introduced.

In conclusion
The furniture of Louis 14th was heavy and excessive, of solid and magnificent splendour. Louis 15th was over ornamented, had flamboyant elegance with shapes and curves and Louis 16th was delicate refinement and is considered as French design and workmanship at its best.

We have only touched the furniture for the wealthy. There were lesser more subdued styles of the reigning fashion. These were made by tradesmen of the provinces and created some lovely pieces of which we still see in use today. This style is commonly known as "French Provincial". 

English Period Furniture

The Evolution of English Furniture

Throughout the history of furniture, the changing styles have arrived by the conditions ruling at any one time. These conditions may have been the result of:

• The Limits of Knowledge, wood expansion and contraction
• The limits of equipment, only tools and saws
• The Availability of Timber, Local supply, only solid timber
• Economic Conditions, wealthy or not, changes
• Peace or War, determine furniture, immobile, security
• Overseas Influences, trade agreements, incentives
• Reigning Monarch
• A Movement
• A Generic influence
• A Religious Group

Britain had Oak and Beech as it's native timber for furniture production, but with the discovery of new land and the establishment of overseas trade, other timber species suddenly became available:

• Oak  1500-1600
• Walnut  1660-1723
• Mahogany 1715-
• Satinwood 1765

Prior to 1500, the Gothic Period, teaching and learning of craftsmanship was mostly overseen by the church. Therefore, most ornamentation on Gothic furniture follows the lines of ornamental stonework from the Gothic Churches and buildings.

The carpenter, blacksmith and the turner made the furniture. It consisted of tables, forms, stools and chests. The chest was the principal piece as it served not only as storage, but also a seat or table. Tables generally were loose boards on top of trestles.

Henry VII, came to the throne following the war of the roses in 1485, and was the first Tudor monarch. During this time Britain had found peace and order not previously known.

Henry VIII succeeded his father in 1509, and inherited his accumulated treasures. He continued to change the Gothic style by keeping up his father's interest in foreign artists and craftsmen. More economical printing materials were available which allowed for pattern books from the continent.

The wealth of the country increased under the stable Tudor government and a new middle class was formed creating a demand for a new form of furniture.

Therefore the 16th Century can be divided into two halves. The first part, furniture consisted of carving on gothic framework, stools and forms were the only form of seating available. The second part, new pieces of furniture evolved. Buffets or sideboards, fold top games tables, taller chests which doors became cupboards or hutches and the draw leaf table which is still common today.

Chairs were developed from chests and had upright back legs, heavy turning and often carved panels.

Tudor Gothic

• Plank Chest - Simple Plank construction by a carpenter and blacksmith. Metal straps and nails were used to hold the timber together but because of the arrangement of grain the timber often split. They often had handles to carry it.
• Chest / Partly Framed Chest - This was superseded by the partly framed chest. It used dry pegged construction and panel fitted into the frame allowed for movement without the timber splitting.
• Panels from riven boards were hand moulded and sometimes carved to give the "linenfold" effect. The board is cut with a wedge and split.
• Built In Seating - Early settles accommodated up to six people with simple linenfold panels and foot rest rail.

• Wainscott panelwork was used on the walls.
• Joined Chest - Joyned or joined distinguished the work of the joiners from the carpenter.
• Settles - Settles were made more movable. The seat had a lift up lid for stotrage. The arm supports were shaped for added comfort. Some were adaptable into tables as well as seats.
• Credence - A table to hold bread and wine for holy Communion. Panels carved with bunches of grapes and vines. They often had an overhead canopy.

Elizabethan 1558-1603 OAK

Renaissance ideas were entering Britain during this period. Oak was still the main timber used. Strap work carving was popular and cut directly into solid timber furniture.

Furniture legs were mainly bulbous - carved at the top and a gadroon at the bottom with an acanthus leaf. Chairs were either turned or wainscoted. Pewter was displayed in buffets or court cupboards. Beds were very large with carved posts, a canopy and long velvet hangings often with bulbous decoration. Solid top refectory tables replaced the Tudor trestle tables.

• Wealth was reflected in the furniture.
• Heavy bulbous tables - bulbous turning often with much carved ornament such as gadrooning, nulling and acanthus leaves.
• Tables with 4 or 6 bulbous legs with stretcher rails at the bottom as a footrest to keep feet of the floor rushes.
• Melon bulb turning.
• Inlaid fruitwood.
• Elaborate four poster beds with solid or draped testers to protect from draughts.
• Turning was produced using a foot lathe, producing asymetrical objects.
• Court Cupboard - the court cupboard was developed for holding plates and eating utensils. Cupboard space and flat top for serving food. Hardware was handmade and rather conspicous.
• Bible box - the bible box appeared, these were small side chests designed to hold the family bible. They were later made with a slopig top to facilitate writibg and reading. It was the forerunner to the writing desk. They were oak, left natural or finished with oils or beeswax.

Jacobean 1603-1660  OAK

Oak was still the timber used during the reigns of James I and Charles I. The furniture retained many Elizabethan characteristics but the ornament gradually became less prominent.

The ornamentation became smaller, lighter with flatter carving, and carpets were now being introduced.

The changing of women's fashion, in particular their dresses, led to the development of chairs without arms, and upholstery became popular.

Chests disappeared and were replaced with chests of drawers, which often had applied mouldings mitred around the drawer front. This was to cover the dovetail joints which were being used for the first time to construct the drawers. Previously drawers were always hidden behind doors. The gate leg table was introduced. Knobs and drawer pulls were often carved.

Many wealthy left England when the civil war broke out in 1642. The building of great houses halted and many of the household staff left for the battlefield.

Until 1660 and the restoration of the monarchy, furniture had been made under the Puritan rule and lacked inspiration and reflected increased simplicity. Plain bobbin turning became popular and upholstery reverted to plain leather that was usually held by heavy brass studs.

• Farthingale Chair -this was developed because ladies wore farthingale hooped skirts, a chair was required for the women to be able to sit down.
• Gate Leg Table - circular, elliptical and rectangular tables made their appearance.
• Bulbous became oval and left plain before disappearing altogether.
• Chest of drawers developed with geometrically designed applied mouldings.
• Families became less wealthy.
• Simple panel beds.
• "x" chairs with crossed legs were also common.
• Bible box has legs added to become a writing desk.
  

Commonwealth Period 1649-1660

Puritan Cromwells overthrew the monarchy, which saw the strict abolition of all frivolity.

The Puritan scorned even the subdued richness of the Jacobeans. Therefore function prevailed over decoration. Any mouldings were applied rather than carved.

Cromwellean Style

• Furniture followed basic shapes and had to be useful.
• Furniture with straight severe lines without carving or other enrichments.
• Simple bobbin turning.
• For the first time chairs were made in sets with the front stretcher rail placed higher and often with two sets of side stretcher rails.
• Leather was used to replace rich velvet and tapestries.
• Stuffed seats and backs were far too luxurious to be permitted.
• Slung seats and backs were used.
• Open slat chair backs.

Restoration 1660-1688

This was the return of the court from its ten-year exile. It brought about an extreme reaction.

Now back in England, Charles II and his court surrounded themselves with furniture resembling the most lavish they had seen in France and Holland. This caused an immediate reaction to the stifling restrictions of the Puritans. The upper classes took their cue from the court with much extravagant furniture, and gradually the middle class followed.

It was an excessively civilised society, and great ladies rivaled each other in the grandness of their dressing rooms, which created a new demand for items of furniture. The bureau, the bookcase and the Day Bed made their first appearance.

The great fire of London was in 1666, and the city had to be rebuilt, smaller rooms were created.

Walnut veneer replaced solid oak timber. Chair frames were sometimes guilded or silvered. Upholstery and silk fringes became fashionable. The wing chair was introduced, upholstered stools and benches in elaborate design were popular.

• The first bookcase made an appearance. Books were previously kept in a chest or cupboard.
• Visible Drawers
• Wardrobes were used to hold rich and varied clothes.
• The Flemish S scroll.
• Octagonal shaped panels.
• Barley-sugar or corkscrew twist turning.
• "X" shaped curved stretcher rails.
• Cresting rail fixed on top of chair back.
• Tall chair backs with weight saving split cane.
• Smaller gate leg tables with twist turning.
• Craftsman were brought in from France to teach new skills with refinement in construction, carved work and the newer inlaid craft.
• Inlaid solid timber in recesses, parquetry - geometrical patterns of solid timber.
• Marquetry using veneer was not yet used

William and Mary 1689-1702

This period was named after the marriage of the English Mary Stuart, the daughter of James II to the Dutch William of Orange.

The Dutch prince brought with him new ideas of comfort for the ordinary person. The furniture in his reign saw the first beginnings of real comfort. Upholstery became common. The chair backs were shaped slightly to fit the shape of your back and the back legs were splayed out at the bottom to prevent the chair from tipping backwards.

Bureaux were made strong enough to allow for a bookcase to be added on top for convenience. The Cabriole leg, which is identified with the Queen Anne Period, was borrowed from Holland, which meant the stretcher was gradually phased out.

The King not only imported ideas from Holland, but the craftsmen who left their mark on English Furniture history.

Walnut timber was used for furniture. Oriental lacquer finishes over cheaper timbers became more common. Front fall writing cabinets were developed. Simpler lines with more delicate proportions than before were seen.

• Elaborate veneering and marquetry replaced carving - using holly, ebony, satinwood and ivory.
• Upholstery became popular with the stuff over technique.
• The china cabinet was developed to hold the Queens' hobby, collecting delft and oriental porcelain.
• The bureau with a bookcase was set on stands.
• Back legs matched front legs.
• Feet were simple bun or pear shaped or goat's hoof. First cabriole leg was often left square.
• Legs often connected with x shaped stretchers with a finial at the junction. Stretchers were left flat with a veneered surface.
• Smaller dining rooms changed the emphasis on dining furniture.
• Gateleg tables.
• Flemish Scroll.
• Apart from the bed, bedroom furniture had not yet taken. Cabinets, bureaux, day beds, tables and easy chairs were used. There was no dressing table: usually a gilded framed mirror hung over the toilet table.
• Tallboys began to develop raised off the unusual stand.
• Inverted cup turning and tapered trumpet.

Queen Anne 1702 -1714

The gracious and comfortable furniture from the Dutch influence continued and the English craftsman were developing their own skills.

They had learned the foreign techniques and started to create a distinct English style. As the room sizes were now much smaller the pieces of furniture were less massive than those of previous centuries and the comfort was provided for in the chairs.

The chair is the single item that most typifies any one period and there is no exception with this period. The Queen Anne Chair is very well known and still popular today.

It features curved lines with the top rail flowing into the back legs with no obvious joints. Stretcher rails were omitted, as they were now unnecessary with cabriole legs. Walnut was still the most popular timber being used for furniture making, most of these articles featured cross-grained mouldings, rounded friezes and with many veneered surfaces, marquetry was replaced with fine carving. The cross-grained moulding was a feature that was exclusive to walnut work.  It was not practical to make short-grained mouldings in the solid, so a thin layer of cross-grained walnut was glued to a long grained backing. Time was then allowed for shrinkage and any splits were then filled in.

A greater leisure time saw the demand for small tables for tea, games etc.
The Windsor chair dates from this period also.

• Pembroke table pivot top and drawer in end.
• Dressing mirrors designed to sit on toilet table, or writing table was the beginning of the dressing table.
• Tall boy - the extension of the chest of drawers, formed by placing one on top of the other.
• Graduation of drawers was purely English.
• Writing desk with sloping front and lopers to support.
• Twin pedestal desk has its origin in the knee hole writing table.
• The secretaire similar to the bureau in having a vertical front and bracket feet.
• Oyster pattern veneer.
• Cock beads, protection for veneer.
• Queen Anne Chair
• Furniture relied on its graceful well-proportioned shapes. Carving almost disappeared or only on the escalloped shell on the knee.
• Unbroken curved lines.
• Urn or vase shape splat shaped to fit the back (spooned).
• Chair backs were considerably narrower at the back.
• Stuffed over seats or drop in.
• Wing chairs to protect user from draughts.
• Cabriole legs, sometimes terminated with a claw and a ball.
• Windsor chair with shaped seat.
• Most early Windsor chairs has front cabriole legs.
• Smaller folding tables including concertina tables with cabriole legs increased in popularity due to tea and card games.
• Difficulty in veneering large tops led to folding tables and four way matching.
• Bureau (secretaire) no drawers

Georgian Period 1714-1806

This period is divided into three:
Early Georgian 1745-1780
Mid Georgian 1730-1750's
Late Georgian 1750-1830

Furniture had previously had its origins in the court and worked its way down, but George I brought a dull and tarnished feeling to the court and only few developments took place in the households of the rich. Separate designers distinguished themselves in the late Georgian period, this is known as the "The Golden Age of Furniture". The designers were:

Chippendale  1745-1780
Hepplewhite  1760-1790
Adam   1760-1792
Sheraton  1790-1806

Thought was changing during these periods and the house and its contents started to be considered as two parts of one whole. Architects were now turning their hand to furniture design.

Early Georgian (Mahogany)

The importation of Mahogany in the 1720's firstly from Cuba, and later from Honduras generally replaced Walnut as the main timber for furniture making. Mahogany had much better characteristics, it was not attacked by worm, it carved with a crispness (which led to a revival in carving) and it was less likely to shrink and twist.

Furniture was now being imported from other countries, China and France.

Furniture was designed to match the Neo-Palladian architecture and was on a grand scale. William Kent, an architect, designed heavy showy pieces of furniture for the rich market. They were designed for mansions and palaces and were often enormous gilded pieces of bad taste. Bookcases had pediment tops which imitated the exterior of the house. It was the designers that followed this period that developed the style, now considered typically Georgian.

• George II Chair - splats carved in honeysuckle motif.

• Corner chairs for reading and writing some had candlesticks.

• Whorlfeet.

• William Kent Chair.

• Similar lines to Queen Anne chairs. Solid vase splat but heavier construction.

• Baroque style of William Kent.

• Gessowork. A paste of chalk and parchment size. It is applied to part finished wood, carved in fine detail, an easier task than with wood, then gilded.

• Crimson and gold upholstery pieces with the Greek key pattern around the seat frame.

• Carved lions masks and paw feet.

• Double chair back form.

• Concertina extension tables with two or three tops.

Mid Georgian

Chippendale (Mahogany 1745-1780)

This is a term used to describe furniture designed by Thomas Chippendale.

In 1754 he became known worldwide with his book publication "the Gentlemans' and Cabinetmakers' Director". The book was an advertising journal put out by a tradesman aimed at potential customers.
Chippendale was a functional designer and never sacrificed strength for appearance.

• Chippendale Rococco Chair.

• Country Chippendale - rural craftsman has access to pattern books.

• Dining tables followed the chairs either cabriole legs or straight.

• French legs.

• Chippendale Chinese and Gothic Chairs.

• Master carver - acanthus leaf, claw and ball. Carving is the only form of decoration.

• Influenced by French Chinese and gothic.

• Pierced urn shaped splat.

• Cupids bow top rails.

• Fretwork, ladder back and ribbon back chairs.

• Piecrust edge tables, tilt top, birdcage gallery, tripod base.

• Arm supports set back to accommodate hoped skirts.

• Chests of drawers with bracket feet.

• Breakfront bookcase, barred doors, broken swans neck pediments.

• Bedstead with cabriole legs carved.

• Bureau bookcase square and straight legs returned in 1760 and stretchers returned.

Furniture was now arranged in small functional groups and was no longer for display. Formality was replaced by romanticism.

Prince George became Regent from 1811-1820 - this was a period of classical furniture. It was then the fashion to copy actual furniture of the classical Roman and Greek times. If they were not identically copied, they were made as close as possible to the classical decoration forms. Winged Griffins, lions heads, animal legs, Roman Gods: anything that was popular in ancient Rome, Egypt or Greece. Furniture had moved from natural evolution to return to Classical form. The settee returned to a couch with scrolled ends supported by sphinx heads on lions legs.
Designers who distinguished themselves in this period were Thomas Hope, George Smith, and Henry Holland. George IV had a large influence over the craftsmen of the time.
The pinnacled, mosque like Pavilion at Brighton, England reflects some of the final madness of this period.

• The addition of brass to wood. Brass inlays were longer lasting than marquetry and this lead to the revival of French Boulle decorations.

• Sofa Table

• Sabre Leg

• Cable Twist

• Metal Grille

• Commode was replaced by the chiffionier - straight front low cupboard

• Cheaper pieces sometimes painted with black lacquer -revival of japanning

• The current fashion was for decorating walls with paintings which led to lower pieces. Tallboys disappeared and bookcases and cabinets became smaller.

• Wide use of metal mounts, lion paw feet, fretted brass grilles cover glass doors, pierced galleries, supports for shelves. Ormolu - imitation gold.

  • Chest with front pilasters of classic forms, sphinx head on animal legs or caryatid - female figure

  • Scrolled end couches. Wooden frame often gilded.

  • Circular tables, some with marble tops, stood on plinth base with animal feet

  • Sabre shape legs decorated with reeding or brass inlay. Brass boss used at junction of leg and rail.

  • Trafalgar chair used in mourning, death of Nelson. Cable twist, sabre legs.

  • Novelties - Canterbury to carry music or plates

  • Whatnot to display small pieces - Davenport small writing desk.

  • Twin quadrople tables

  • Sofa Tables - long narrow table with a drop leaf aty each end and two drawers.

  • Sideboard in the Adam style with solid pedestals and urns grew quite massive.

  • Lyre shape used for table ends

  • Quadruple support.

He had a fondness for the curved line and introduced this into his design wherever possible. Hepplewhite moved away from the heavy carving of Chippendale and used more refined carving. His favourite timbers to work with were Mahogany and Satinwood. He lightened up the look of the timber without sacrificing the stability.

• Best known for his chair back designs - shield back, hoped back, oval and heart shaped which were very popular.

• Used straight tapered legs and also French cabriole leg

• Used decorations such as wheatears, husks, urns, draped cloth, and Prince of Wales feathers.

• Cylinder fall used on writing table

• Reeded chair legs, also single corner reed on square legs.

• Modern sideboard with concave ends and bow front center, searing end.

• Chest of drawers with curved base

• Toilet table (no running water - table to hold basin)

• Wardrobe starts to be used

• Bureau bookcase

• Pembroke Table - drawer at end

• Inlay used around the drawer fronts

While he was there a large amount of excavation work was taking place, especially around Pompeii.  These excavations and findings of the 1750's had a large influence on his work. When he returned to England he became the Court Architect to George III. There were already changes happening in the Georgian furniture, the flowing curves, the ornate carving. Adam brought back the simple classical lines of the Roman and Greek Styles. The people then turned to Adam's simple straight lines and simple mouldings. He started the new Neo Classical style.

Adam and his brother James were primarily Architects and designed the furniture to decorate the rooms. Adam's furniture consisted of huge pieces, sideboards with two pedestals surmounted by large classical urns. The dining room became the most important room with a strong masculine feeling. The men would spend many hours there after the women had withdrawn to the drawing room where the furniture was lighter and more delicate.

• Used other tradesmen to produce his designs

• Oval and shield back chairs

• Never used cabriole legs he preferred to use straight, tapered legs

• Used low relief ornament based on Greek and Roman Motifs

• Often-massive pieces of furniture

• Lower back chairs. Introduced the lyre shape, with metal rods which are still now being used in furniture making

• Introduced the pedestals to the side table for the start of the modern sideboard

• Rounded front commode

• Used center motifs on frieze with fluting and patereas

• The mouldings were of the simplest kind, dentils were used

• Applied decoration to Wedgewood China: applied to center panel (Adam Stucco Ceilings)

• Applied plaster motifs usually painted or gilded

• Used octagonal and hexagonal shapes

• Winged griffins

• Kept chair backs with straight lines and square shapes

• Kept backs as open as possible

• Single cross rails, vertical uprights and trellis effect

• Tapered legs including spade toe

• Turned legs with reeding became a fashionable form of decoration.

• Shield back with straight top

• Known for many complicated mechanical actions, secret compartments, concealed drawers, sofa into beds or bed settee.

• Six legged sideboard - straight front with convex ends. Brass rods including candle stand.

• Sewing table

• Introduced the tambour top or roll top desk, tambour front, roll top.

• Serpentine front chest of drawers.