Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/chatsonoldfurnitOOhayd_0 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE 3 Jacobean Chair. CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Press Notices, First Edition. “ Mr. Hayden knows his subject intimately.”— Pn// Mall Gazette. “ The hints to collectors are the best and clearest we have seen ; so that altogether this is a model book of its kind.” — AthencBiim. “A useful and instructive volume.” — Spectator. ‘‘An abundance of illustrations completes a well-written and well-constructed history .” — Daily News. ‘‘Mr. Hayden’s taste is sound and his knowledge thorough.”— Sco/s;;m 7 i. ‘‘A book of more than usual comprehensiveness and more than usual merit.”— Vanity Fair . “ Mr. Hayden has worked at his subject on sj^stematic lines, and has made his book what it purports to be — a practical givide for the collector .” — Saturday Review. CHATS ON ENGLISH CHINA BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Fourth Impression. Price 5s. net. With Coloured Frontispiece and Reproductions oj !$(> Marks and ii8 Illustrations of China. A List of SALE PRICES and a full INDEX increase the usefulness of the Volume This is a handy book of reference to enable amateur Collectors to distinguish between the productions of the various factories. Press Notices, First Edition. “A handsome handbook that the amateur in doubt will find useful, and the china-lover will enjoy for its illustrations, and for the author’s obvious love and understanding of his subject.” — St. fanics's Gazette. ‘‘All lovers of china will find much entertainment in this volume .” — Daily News. “ It gives in a few pithy chapters just what the beginner wants to know about the principal varieties of English ware. We can warmly commend the book to the china collector .” — Pall Mall Gazette. “ One of the best points about the book is the clearway in which the characteris- tics of each factory are noted down separately, so that the veriest tyro ought to be able to judge for himself if he has a piece or pieces which would come under this heading, and the marks are very accurately given.”— jjz/rrn. CHATS ON OLD PRINTS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Second Impression. Price 5s. net. With a Coloured Frontispiece and no Illustrations, a Table of Engravers, a Bibliography, a Glossary, and a Full Index. “ Mr. Hayden writes at once with enthusiasm and discrimination on his theme.” — Daily Telegraph. ‘‘Any one who, having an initial interest in matters of art, wants to form sound and intelligent opinions about engravings, will find this book the very thing for him .” — Literary World. “These ‘ Chats’ comprise a full and admirably lucid description of every branch of the engraver’s art, with copious and suggestive illustrations .” — Morning Leader. London : T. FISHER UNWIN, Adelphi Terrace. Chats on Old Furniture A Practical Guide for Collectors r>y 1 Arthur Hayden Author of * “Chats on English China” NEW YORK : FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS MCMVI 3 Portion of Carved tPain-ut Virginal. < PREFACE This volume has been written to enable those who have a taste for the furniture of a bygone day to arrive at some conclusion as to the essential points of the various styles made in England. An attempt has been made to give some lucid historical account of the progress and development in the art of making domestic furniture, with especial reference to its evolution in this country. Inasmuch as many of the finest specimens of old English woodwork and furniture have left the country of their origin and crossed the Atlantic, it is time that the public should awaken to the fact that the 7 8 PREFACE heritages of their forefathers are objects of envy to all lovers of art. It is a painful reflection to know that the temptation of money will shortly denude the old farmhouses and manor houses of England of their unappreciated treasures. Before the hand of the despoiler shall have snatched everything within reach, it is the hope of the writer that this little volume may not fall on stony ground, and that the possessors of fine old English furniture may realise their responsibilities. It has been thought advisable to touch upon French furniture as exemplified in the national collections of such importance as the Jones Bequest at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Wallace Collection, to show the influence of foreign art upon our own designers. Similarly, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch furniture, of which many remarkable ex- amples are in private collections in this country, has been dealt with in passing, to enable the reader to estimate the relation of English art to contemporary foreign schools of decoration and design. The authorities of the Victoria and Albert Museum have willingly extended their assistance in regard to photographs, and by the special permission of the PREFACE 9 Board of Education the frontispiece and other repre- sentative examples in the national collection appear as illustrations to this volume. I have to acknowledge generous assistance and courteous permission from owners of fine specimens in allowing me facilities for reproducing illustrations of them in this volume. I am especially indebted to the Right Honourable Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane, G.C.B., I.S.O., and to the Rev. Canon Haig Brown, Master of the Charterhouse, for the inclusion of illustrations of ^ furniture of exceptional interest. The proprietors of the Connoisseur have generously furnished me with lists of prices obtained at auction from their useful monthly publication. Auction Sale Prices^ and have allowed the reproduction of illus- trations which have appeared in the pages of the Connoisseur. My thanks are due to Messrs. Hampton, of Pall Mall, for their kind permission to include as illustra- tions several fine pieces from their collection of antique furniture. I am under a similar obligation to Messrs. Waring, who have kindly allowed me to select some of their typical examples. To my other friends, without whose kind advice 10 PREFACE and valuable aid this volume could never have appeared, I tender a grateful and appreciative acknowledgment of my indebtedness. ARTHUR HAYDEN. CROMWELLIAN CHAIR. Carved oak legs and stretcher. Leather seat and back. Spanish Chesc. CONTENTS PREFACE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY . GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED PAGE 7 13 19 23 CHAPTER I. THE RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT. . 3 1 II. THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE . . 57 III. STUART OR JACOBEAN (SEVENTEENTH CENTURY) 79 IV. STUART OR JACOBEAN (lATE SEVENTEENTH century) . . . . .109 V. QUEEN ANNE STYLE . . . 133 VI. FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XIV. 1 55 II 12 CONTENTS CHAPTER VII. FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XV. VIH. FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI. IX. FRENCH FURNITURE. THE FIRST EMPIRE STYLE X. CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE XL SHERATON, ADAM, AND HEPPELWHITE STYLES . XII. HINTS TO COLLECTORS INDEX ....... PAGE 169 189 201 21 T 239 257 275 ChippeyidaU Bureau Bookct LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Jacobean Oak Cabinet ; decorated with mother-of-pearl, ebony, and ivory. Dated 1653. (By permission of the Board of Education) .... Frontispiece Carved Wood Frame ; decorated with gold stucco. Sixteenth Century. Italian ..... Title page Cromwellian Chair .... Preface, p. 10 Chapter I. — The Renaissance on the Continent. Page Portion of Carved Cornice, Italian, Sixteenth Century . . . . . . .33 Frame of Wood, with female terminal figures, Italian, late Sixteenth Century . . . -35 Front of Coffer, Italian, late Fifteenth Century . 38 Bridal Chest, Gothic design, middle of Fifteenth Century . . . . . -39 Front of Oak Chest, French, Fifteenth Century . 44 Walnut Sideboard, French, middle of Sixteenth Century . . . . . . -45 Cabinet, French (Lyons), second half of Sixteenth Century ... . . 48 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Chapter I. — The Renaissance on the Continent (continued). PAGE Ebony and Ivory Marquetry Cabinet, French, middle of Sixteenth Century . . -50 Spanish Cabinet and Stand, carved chestnut, first half of Sixteenth Century . . .51 Spanish Chest, carved walnut. Sixteenth Century . 52 Chapter II. — The English Renaissance. Carved Oak Chest, English, Sixteenth Century . 59 Bench of Oak, French, about 1500 . . .60 Portion of Carved Walnut Virginal, Flemish, Six- teenth Century . . . . .61 Carved Oak Coffer, French, showing interlaced ribbon-work . . . . . .61 Fireplace and Oak Panelling, “Old Palace,” Bromley- by-Bow. Built in 1606 . , . .64 Elizabethan Bedstead, dated 1593 . . .66 Panel of Carved Oak, English, early Sixteenth Century . . . . . . 68 Mirror, in oak frame, English, dated 1603 . . 71 Court Cupboard, carved oak, English, dated 1603 . 73 „ „ carved oak, eaidy Seventeenth Cen- tury . . . .74 „ ,, about 1580 . , -75 Elizabethan Oak Table . . . .78 Chapter III.— Stuart or Jacobean. Seventeenth Century. Gate-leg Table . . . . .81 Oak Chair, made from Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the Golden Hind . . . . . -83 Oak Table, dated 1616, bearing arms of Thomas Sutton . ..... 85 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 15 Chapter III.— Stuart or Jacobean. Seventeenth Century {continued). PAGE Chair used by James I. . . . . .87 Jacobean Chair, at Knole . . . .89 Jacobean Stool, at Knole . . . .90 Carved Walnut Door (upper half), French, show- ing ribbon-work . . . . . -91 Oak Chair, with arms of first Earl of Strafford . -93 Italian Chair, about 1620 . .94 High-back Oak Chair, Early Jacobean, formerly in possession of Charles I. . . -95 Jacobean Chairs, various types . . .97 Ebony Cabinet, formerly the property of Oliver Cromwell . . . . . -99 Jacobean Carved Oak Chairs, Yorkshire and Derby- shire types ...... loi Jacobean Oak Cupboard, about 1620 . . . loi Jacobean Oak Chairs ..... 105 Carved Oak Cradle, time of Charles I., dated 1641 . 107 Chapter IV.~Stuart or Jacobean. Late Seventeenth Century. Interior of Dutch House, latter half of Seventeenth Century . . . . . .111 Cabinet of time of Charles II., showing exterior . 112 „ „ „ showing interior . 113 Portuguese High-back Chair . . . .115 Oak Chest of Drawers, late Jacobean . . .117 » „ . 119 Charles II. Oak Chair ..... 120 Charles II. Open High-back Oak Chair . . 121 Charles II. Chair, cane back and seat . . . 122 16 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Chapter IV.— Stuart or Jacobean. Late Seventeenth Century [ continued ). PAGE James II. Chair, cane back and seat . . . 123 William and Mary Chair . . . .125 Portuguese Chair-back (upper portion), cut leather work ....... 128 Chapter V. — Queen Anne Style. Queen Anne Chair . , . . .133 Queen Anne Oak Settle . . . .135 Queen Anne Mirror Frame, carved walnut, gilded . 137 Oak Desk, dated 1696 . . . . .139 Oak Cupboard . . . . . .140 Queen Anne Cabinet, burr-walnut panel . . 141 Queen Anne Chairs, various types . . .143 Dutch Marquetry Cabinet .... 147 Queen Anne Clock ..... 148 Queen Anne Settle, oak, dated 1705 . . . 149 Old Lac Cabinet ...... 150 Lac Cabinet, middle of Eighteenth Century . . 151 ,, „ showing doors closed . . .152 „ „ chased brass escutcheon , . . 154 Chapter VI. — French Furniture. The Period of Louis XIV. Cassette, French, Seventeenth Century . . . 157 Chair of Period of Louis XIII. . . .159 Pedestals, showing boule and counter-boule work . 163 Boule Cabinet, or Armoire . . . .165 Chapter VII.— French Furniture. Louis XV. Commode, by Cressent . . . • . 171 Commode, formerly in the Hamilton Collection . . 173 yP LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 17 Chapter VII. — French Furniture. Louis XV. { continued ). PAGE Commode, by Caffieri ..... 175 Escritoire a Toilette, formerly in possession of Marie Antoinette ..... 179 Secretaire, by Riesener . . . . .181 “Bureau du Roi,” the masterpiece of Riesener . 183 Chapter VIII.— French Furniture. Louis XVI. Jewel Cabinet, “ J. H. Riesener,” Mounts by Gouthiere 193 Commode, by Riesener ..... 197 Chapter IX. — French Furniture. The First Empire. Empire Chair . . . . . .201 Portrait of Madame Recamier, after David . . 203 Detail of Tripod Table found at Pompeii . . 20s Servante, French, late Eighteenth Century . . 206 Jewel Cabinet of the Empress Marie Louise . 207 Armchair, rosewood, showing Empire influence . 210 Chapter X. — Chippendale and his Style. Table made by Chippendale .... 213 Oliver Goldsmith’s Chair . . . .215 Chippendale Settee, walnut, about 1740 . . 217 „ ,, oak, about 1740 . . .219 Chippendale Chair-back, ribbon pattern . . 222 Ribbon-backed Chippendale Chair, formerly at Blenheim ...... 223 Chippendale Corner Chair, about 1780 . . 224 Gothic Chippendale Chair-back . . . 225 Mahogany Chippendale Chair, about 1740 . 226 „ „ „ about 1770 . . 227 2 18 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Chapter X.— Chippendale and his Style ( coii - tiiineci ). PAGE Chippendale Mirror ..... 229 Chippendale Bureau Bookcase . . . 231 Mahogany Chair, Chippendale Style . . . 232 Cottage Chairs, beechwood, Chippendale style . 233 Interior of Room of about 1782, after Stothard . 235 Chapter XL — Sheraton, Adam, and Heppelwhite Styles. Heppelwhite Settee, mahogany . . . 241 Sheraton, Adam, and Heppelwhite Chairs . . 243 Old English Secretaire .... 250 Shieli-back Chair, late Eighteenth Century . . 251 Chapter XII. — Hints to Collectors. Design for Spurious Marquetry Work , . 259 “Made-up” Buffet . . . . .261 Cabinet of Old Oak, “ made-up ”... 267 Design for Spurious Marquetry Work . . 273 Piece of Spanish Chestnut, showing ravages of worms ....... 274 BIBLIOGRAPHY GENERAL. Ancient Furniture, Specimens of. H. Shaw. Quaritch. 1836. £10 los., now worth £'^ 3s. Ancient and Modern Furniture. B. J. Talbert. Batsford. 1876, 32s. Antique Furniture, Sketches of. W. S. Ogden. Batsford. 1889. I 2 S. 6d. Carved Furniture and Woodwork. M. Marshall. W, H. Allen 1888. £2,. Carved Oak in Woodwork and Furniture from Ancient Houses. W. B. Sanders. 1883. 31s. 6d. Decorative Furniture, English and French, of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. W. H. Hacked. 7s. 6d. Ecclesiastical Woodwork, Remains of. T. T. Bury. Lockwood. 1847. 21S. French and English Furniture. E. Singleton. Hodder. 1904. Furniture, Ancient and Modern. J. W. Small. Batsford. 1883. 21S. Furniture and Decoration. J. A. Heaton. 1890-92. Furniture and Woodwork, Ancient and Modern. J. H. Pollen. Chapman. 1874-5. 21s. and 2s. 6d. Furniture and Woodwork. J.H. Pollen. Stanford. 1876. 3s. 6d. Furniture of the Olden Time, F. C. Morse. Macmillan. 12s. 6d. Gothic Furniture, Connoisseur. May, 1903. History of Furniture Illustrated. F. Litchfield. Truslove. 25s. Marquetry, Parquetery, Boulle and other Inlay Work. W. Bemrose. 1872 and 1882. Old Furniture, English and Foreign. A. E. Chancellor. Batsford. 5s. 19 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY Old Furniture from Twelfth to Eighteenth Century, Wyman. 1883. los. 6d. Style in Furniture and Woodwork. R. Brook, Privately printed. 1889. 21S. PARTICULAR. ENGLISH. — Adam R. & J., The Architecture, Decoration and Furniture of R. & J. Adam, selected from works published 1778-1822. London. 1880. Adam, The Brothers. Connoisseur. May, June and August, 1904. Ancient Wood and Iron Work in Cambridge. W. B, Redfern. Spalding. 1887. 31s. 6d. Chippendale, T. Cabinet Makers’ Directory. Published in 1754, 1755 and 1762. (The best edition is the last as it contains 200 plates as against 161 in the earlier editions. Its value is about Chippendale and His Work. Connoisseur, January, July, August, September, October, November, December, 1903, January, 1904. Chippendale, Sheraton and Heppelwhite, The Designs of. Arranged by J. M. Bell. 1900. Worth £2 2S. Chippendale’s Contemporaries. Connoisseur, March, 1904. Chippendale and Sheraton. Connoisseur, May, 1902. Coffers and Cupboards, Ancient, Fred Roe. Methuen & Co. 1903- £?> 3 s. English Furniture, History of. Percy Macquoid, Published by Lawrence & Bullen in 7s. 6d, parts, the first of which appeared in November, 1904, English Furniture and Woodwork during the Eighteenth Century, T. A. Strange. 12s. 6d. Furniture of our Forefathers. E. Singleton. Batsford. £2, 15s. Hatfield House, History of. Q F. Robinson. 1883. Hardwicke Hall, History of. Q. F, Robinson. 1835. Heppelwhite, A., Cabinet Maker. Published 1788, 1789, and 1794, and contains about 130 plates. Value £^ to £12. Reprint issued in 1897. Worth £2 los. Ince and Mayhew. Household Furniture. N.d. (1770). Worth £20. Jacobean Furniture. Connoisseur, September, 1902. Knole House, Its State Rooms, &c. (Elizabethan and other Furni- ture.) S. J. Mackie, 1858. Manwaring, R,, Cabinet and Chairmaker’s Real Friend. London. 1765. BIBLIOGRAPHY 21 Mansions of England in the Olden Time. J. Nash. 1839-49. Old English Houses and Furniture. M. B. Adam. Batsford. 1889. 25s. Old English Oak Furniture. J. W. Hurrell. Batsford. £2 2s. Old English Furniture. Frederick Fenn and B. Wyllie. Newnes. 7s. 6d. net. Old Oak, The Art of Collecting. Connoisseur^ September, 1901. Sheraton, T. Cabinet Maker’s Drawing Book. 1791-3 edition contains iii plates. Value £1^. 1794 edition contains 119 plates. Value ;^io. Sheraton T. Cabinet Directory. 1803. Staircases and Handrails of the Age of Elizabeth. J. Weale. i860. Upholsterer’s Repository. Ackermann. N.d. Worth £^. FRENCH. — Dictionnaire de V Amenhlement. H. Havard. Paris. N.d. Worth ;^5. Dictionnaire Raisonne. M. Viollet-le-Duc. 1858-75. 6 vols. Worth ;^io. French Furniture. Lady Dilke. Bell. 1901. French Eighteenth Century Furniture, Handbook to the. Jones Collection Catalogue. 1881. French Eighteenth Century Furniture, Handbook to the. Wallace Collection Catalogue. 1904. History of Furniture. A. Jacquemart. Chapman. 1878. 31s. 6d. Issued in Paris in 1876, under the title Histoire du Mobilier. Le Meuble en France an XVI Siecle. E. Bonnaffe. Paris. 1887. Worth los. JAPANESE. — Lacquer Industry of Japan. Report of Her Majesty’s Acting-Consul at Hakodate. J. J. Quin. Parliamentary Paper. 8vo. London. 1882. SCOTTISH. — Scottish Woodwork of Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. J. W. Small. Waterston. 1878. £4. 4s. SPANISH. — Spanish and Portuguese. Catalogue of Special Loan Exhibition of Spanish and Portuguese Ornamental Art. 1881. - A, ? • carved jambs, panels, brackets, sides, and cornice, 6 ft by 7 ft. 3 in. high. Herbert Wright, Ipswich, February 19, 1904 Old oak panelling, in all about 60 ft run \i55 o o and 6 ft 6 in. high, with 17 carved panels and 3 fluted pilasters fitted in same, part being surmounted by a cornice. Herbert Wright, Ipswich, February 19, 1904 . . . ./ Credence, walnut-wood, with a cupboard and drawer above and shelf beneath, the corners are returned, the central panel has carved upon it, in low relief, circular medallions, pierced steel hinges and lock, 36 in. wide, 50 in. high, early sixteenth century. Christie, May 6, 1904 . . . 346 o o Bedstead, Elizabethan, with panelled and carved canopy top, supported by fluted and carved pillars, inlaid and panelled back, with raised figures and flowers in relief, also having a carved panelled footboard. C. W. Provis & Son, Manchester, May 9, 1904 . 22 10 o Bedstead, oak Elizabethan, with carved back, dated 1560, and small cupboard fitted with secret sliding panel, and further having carved and inlaid panelled top with inlaid panels, the 78 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE ^ s. d. whole surmounted with heavy cornice. C. W. Provis & Son, Manchester, May 9, 1904 33 o o Sideboard, Elizabethan old oak, 6 ft. 2 in. wide by 7 ft. 6 in. high, with carved canopy top ; also fitted with gallery shelf, supported by lions rampant. C. W. Provis & Son, Manchester. May 9, 1904 60 o o Ey kindness of T. E. Price Sir etc he. Esq. ELIZABETHAN OAK TABLE. Ill STUART OR JACOBEAN. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY By permission of Messrs. {Taring. GATE-LEG TABLE. Ill STUART OR JACOBEAN. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY James 1 1603-1625. Charles 1 1625-1649. The Commonwealth 1649-1660. 1619 . Tapestry factory estab- lished at Mortlake, under Sir B'rancis Crane. — Banqueting Hall added to Whitehall by Inigo Jones. 1632 . Vandyck settled in London on invitation of Charles I. 1651 . Navigation Act passed ; aimed blow (1572-1652) at Dutch carrying trade. All goods to be imported in English ships or in ships of country producing goods. With the advent of the House of Stuart the England under James I. saw new fashions introduced in furniture. It has already been mentioned that the 82 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE greater number of old houses which are now termed Tudor or Elizabethan were erected in the days of James I. At the beginning of a new monarchy fashion in art rarely changes suddenly, so that the early pieces of Jacobean furniture differ very little from Elizabethan in character. Consequently the Court cupboard, dated 1603, mirror of the same year (illustrated on p. 70), though bearing the date of the first year of the reign of James, more properly belong to Tudor days. In the Bodleian Library at Oxford there is pre- served a chair of fine workmanship and of historic memory. It was made from the oak timbers of the Golden Hind, the ship in which Sir Francis Drake made his adventurous voyage of discovery round the world. In spite of many secret enemies “ deaming him the master thiefe of the unknowne world,” Queen Elizabeth came to Deptford and came aboard the Golden Hind and “ there she did make Captain Drake knight, in the same ship, for reward of his services ; his armes were given him, a ship on the world, which ship, by Her Majestie’s commandment, is lodged in a dock at Deptford, for a monument to all posterity.” It remained for many years at Deptford dockyard, and became the resort of holiday folk, who made merry in the cabin, which was converted into a miniature banqueting hall ; but when it was too far decayed to be repaired it was broken up, and a sufficient quantity of sound wood was selected from it and made into a chair, which was presented to the University of Oxford. This was in the time of Charles II., and the poet Cowley has written some By permission oj ike proprietors of the “ Connoisseur. OAK CHAIR MADE FROM THE TIMBER OF THE GOLDEN HIND. COMMONLY CALLED “SIR FRANCIS DRAKE'S CHAIR.” [^At ihe Bodleian Libcaryl) I i ( V ^ M STUART OR JACOBEAN 85 lines on it, in which he says that Drake and his Golden Hind could not have wished a more blessed fate, since to “ this Pythagorean ship ” “ . . . a seat of endless rest is given To her in Oxford, and to him in heaven — ’’ By permission of the Master of the Charterhouse. OAK TABLE, DATED l6l6, BEARING ARMS OF THOMAS SUTTON, FOUNDER OF THE CHARTERHOUSE HOSPITAL. which, though quite unintentional on the part of the poet, IS curiously satiric. The piece is highly instructive as showing the prevailing design for a sumptuous chair in the late seventeenth century. The middle arch in the back of the chair is disfigured by a tablet with an inscription, which has been placed there. Of the early days of James I. is a finely carved oak table, dated i6i6. This table is heavily moulded and 86 CHATS ON OLD FUENITURE carved with garlands between cherubs’ heads, and shields bearing the arms of Thomas Sutton, the founder of the Charterhouse Hospital. The upper part of the table is supported on thirteen columns, with quasi-Corinthian columns and enriched shafts, standing on a moulded H-shaped base. It will be seen that the designers had not yet thrown off the trammels of architecture which dominated much of the Renaissance woodwork. The garlands are not the garlands of Grinling Gibbons, and although falling within the Jacobean period, it lacks the charm which belong to typical Jacobean pieces. At Knole, in the possession of Lord Sackville, there are some fine specimens of early Jacobean furniture, illustrations of which are included in this volume. The chair used by King James I. when sitting to the painter Mytens is of peculiar interest. The cushion, worn and threadbare with age, is in all probability the same cushion used by James. The upper part of the chair is trimmed with a band of gold thread. The upholstering is red velvet, and the frame, which is of oak, bears traces of gilding upon it, and is studded with copper nails. The chair in design, with the half circular supports, follows old Venetian patterns. The smaller chair is of the same date, and equally interesting as a fine specimen ; the old embroidery, discoloured and worn though it be, is of striking design and must have been brilliant and distinctive three hundred years ago. The date of these pieces is about 1620, the year when the “Pilgrim Fathers” landed in America. From the wealth of Jacobean furniture at Knole it Hy permission of the proprietors of the "Connoisseur. CHAIR USED BY JAMES I. In the possession of Lord Sackville. STUART OR JACOBEAN 89 is difficult to make a representative selection, but the stool we reproduce (p. go) is interesting, inasmuch as 3y permission of the proprietors of the “Connoisseur. JACOBEAN CHAIR AT KNOLE. In the possession of Lord Sackville. it was a piece of furniture in common use. The chairs evidently were State chairs, but the footstool 90 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE was used in all likelihood by those who sat below the salt, and were of less significance. The stuffed settee which finds a place in the billiard-room at Knole and the sumptuous sofa in the Long Gallery, with its mechanical arrangement for altering the angle at the By permission of the proprietors of the “ Connoisseur.' JACOBEAN STOOL AT KNOLE. In the possession of Lord Sackville. head, are objects of furniture difficult to equal. The silk and gold thread coverings are faded, and the knotted fringe and gold braid have tarnished under the hand of Time, but their structural design is so effective that the modern craftsman has made luxu- rious furniture after these models. STUART OR JACOBEAN 91 Carved oak chests were not largely made in UPPER HALF OF CARVED WALNUT DOOR. Showing ribbon w'ork. FRENCH ; LATTER PART OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY. (Height of door, 4 ft. 7 in. ; width, i ft. ii in.) [Victoria and Albert Mnseiim.) Jacobean days — not, at any rate, for the same purpose as they were in Tudor or earlier times. As church 92 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE coffers they doubtless continued to be required, but for articles of domestic furniture other than as linen chests their multifarious uses had vanished. Early Jacobean coffers clearly show the departure from Elizabethan models. They become more distinctly English in feeling, though the interlaced ribbon decoration, so frequently used, is an adaptation from French work, which pattern was now becoming acclimatised. The French carved oak coffer of the second half of the sixteenth century (illustrated p. 6i) shows from what source some of the English designs were derived. In the portion of the French door which we give as an illustration (on p. 91), it will be seen with what grace and artistic excellence of design and with what restraint the French woodcarvers utilised the running ribbon. The ribbon pattern has been variously used by designers of furniture ; it appears in Chippendale’s chair-backs, where it almost exceeds the limitations of the technique of woodcarving. Art in the early days of Charles I. was undimmed. The tapestry factory at Mortlake, established by James I., was further encouraged by the “ White King.” He took a great and a personal interest in all matters relating to art. Under his auspices the cartoons of Raphael were brought to England to foster the manufacture of tapestry. He gave his patronage to foreign artists and to foreign craftsmen, and in every way attempted to bring English art workers into line with their contemporaries on the Continent. Vandyck came over to become “ Principal painter of Their Majesties at St. James’s,” keeping open table at Blackfriars and living in almost regal STUART OR JACOBEAN 93 style. His grace and distinction and the happy circumstance of his particular style being coincident with the most picturesque period in English costume, have won him a place among the world’s great painters. Fine portraits, at Windsor and at Madrid, at Dresden and at the Pitti Palace, at the Louvre and in the Hermitage at Peters- burg, testify to the European fame of the painter’s brilliant gallery representing the finest flower of the English aristo- cracy, prelates, statesmen, cour- tiers and beautiful women that were gathered together at the Court of Charles I. and his Queen Henrietta Maria. In Early Stuart days the influence of Inigo Jones, the Surveyor of Works to Charles I., made itself felt in woodwork and interior decorations. He was possessed with a great love ^ ^ OAK CHAIR. and reverence for the classic- charles i. period. ism of Italy, and introduced of Thomas Wenlwortb, into his banqueting hall ^t Whitehall fnow the United {Victoria and Albert . ^ Mnsetmi.) Service Museum), and St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, a chaster style, which was taken up by the designers of furniture, who began to abandon the misguided use of ornament of later Elizabethan 94 CHATS OA OLD FURNITURE days. In the Victoria and Albert Museum is an oak chair with the arms of Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Stafford, whiclr, in addition to its historic ITALIAN CHAIR, ABOUT 162O. Thence introduced into England. [Victoria and Albert Mtisenni.) interest, is a fine example of the chair of the period of Charles I. (illustrated p. 93). It is certain that the best specimens of Jacobean furniture of this period, with their refined lines and STUART OR JACOBEAN 95 well-balanced proportions, are suggestive of the stately diction of Clarendon or the well-turned lyrics of Herrick. In the illustration of a sixteenth-century chair in common use in Italy, it will be seen to what source the Jacobean woodworkers looked for inspiration. The fine, high-backed oak Stuart chair, elaborately carved with bold shell and scroll foliage, hav- ing carved supports, stuffed upholstered seats, and loose cushion covered in old Spanish silk damask, is a highly in- teresting example. It was long in the possession of the Stuart MacDonald family, and is believed to have belonged to Charles I. By permission of The gate-leg table, some- Hampton son of as Crom- high-back oak chair. EARLY JACOBEAN. Elaborately carved with shell and scroll foliage. times spoken oi as wellian, belongs to this Middle Jacobean style. It cannot be said with any degree of accu- (Formerly in the Stuart MacDonald racy that in the Commonwealth session of King charies i.) days a special style of furniture was developed. From all evidence it would seem that the manufacture of domestic furniture went on in much the same manner under Cromwell as under Charles. Iconoclasts as were the Puritans, it is doubtful whether they extended their work of de- 96 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE struction to articles in general use. The bigot had “ no starch in his linen, no gay furniture in his house.” Obviously the Civil War very largely inter- fered with the encouragement and growth of the fine arts, but when furniture had to be made there is no doubt the Roundhead cabinetmaker and the Ana- baptist carpenter produced as good joinery and turning as they did before Charles made his historic descent upon the House in his attempt to arrest the five members. There is a style of chair, probably imported from Holland, with leather back and leather seat which is termed “ Cromwellian,” probably on account of its severe lines, but there is no direct evidence that this style was peculiarly of Commonwealth usage. The illustration (p. 97) gives the type of chair, but the covering is modern. That Cromwell himself had no dislike for the fine arts is proved by his care of the Raphael cartoons, and we are enabled to reproduce an illustration of a fine old ebony cabinet with moulded front, fitted with numerous drawers, which was formerly the property of Oliver Cromwell. It was at Olivers Stanway, once the residence of the Eldred family. The stand is carved with shells and scrolls, and the scroll-shaped legs are enriched with carved female figures, the entire stand being gilded. This piece is most probably of Italian workmanship, and was of course made long before the Protector’s day, showing marked characteristics of Renaissance style. The carved oak cradle (p. 107), with the letters “G. B. M. B.” on one side, and “October, 14 dai,” on JACOBEAN CHAIR, CANE BACK CROMWELLIAN CHAIR, ARMCHAIR. DATED 1623. ARMCHAIR. WITH INLAID BACK. JACOBEAN CHAIRS. {By fermission of T. E. Price Stretche, Esq.) 7 ;| “J ‘7*’. -.f. STUART OR JACOBEAN 99 the other, and bearing the date 1641, shows the type of piece in common use. It is interesting to the collector to make a note of the turned knob of wood so often By permission oy Messrs. Hampion &■ Sons, EBONY CABINET. On stand gilded and richly carved. FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF OLIVER CROMWELL. (From Olivers Stanway, at one time the seat of the Eldred family.) found on doors and as drawer handles on un- touched old specimens of this period, but very frequently removed by dealers and replaced by metal 100 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE handles of varying styles, all of which may be pro- cured by the dozen in Tottenham Court Road, coarse replicas of old designs. Another point worthy of attention is the wooden peg in the joinery, securing the tenon into the mortice, which is visible in old pieces. It will be noticed in several places in this cradle. In modern imitations, unless very thought- fully reproduced, these oaken pegs are not visible. In the page of Jacobean chairs showing the various styles, the more severe piece, dated 1623, is Early Jacobean, and the fine unrestored armchair of slightly later date shows in the stretcher the wear given by the feet of the sitters. It is an interesting piece ; the stiles in the back are inlaid with pearwood and ebony. The other armchair with its cane panels in back is of later Stuart days. It shows the transitional stage between the scrolled-arm type of chair, wholly of wood, and the more elaborate type (illustrated p. 123) of the James II. period. In addition to the finer pieces of seventeenth- century furniture to be found in the seats of the nobility, such as at Penshurst, or in the manor houses and homes of the squires and smaller landowners, there was much furniture of a particularly good design in use at farmsteads from one end of the country to the other, in days when a prosperous class of yeoman followed the tastes of their richer neighbours. This farmhouse furniture is nowadays much sought after. It was of local manufacture, and is distinctly English in its character. Oak dressers either plain or carved, were made not only in Wales — ‘'Welsh Dressers” having become almost a trade JACOBEAN CARVED OAK CHAIRS. Yorkshire, about 1640. Derbyshire ; early seventeenth century. {Victoria and Albert Museum.) By permissron oj the Rt. Hon. Sir Spenctr Ponsonby-Fane, G.C.B., /S.O. JACOBEAN OAK CUPBOARD. ABOUT 162O. r .1 i ,/ J.- STUART OR JACOBEAN 103 term — but in various parts of England, in Yorkshire, in Derbyshire, in Sussex, and in Suffolk. They are usually fitted with two or three open shelves, and sometimes with cupboards on each side. The better preserved specimens have still their old drop-handles and hinges of brass. It is not easy to procure fine examples nowadays, as it became fashionable two or three years ago to collect these, and in addition to oak dressers from the farmhouses of Normandy, equally old and quaint, which were imported to supply a popular demand, a great number of modern imitations were made up from old wood — church pews largely forming the framework of the dressers, which were not difficult to imitate successfully. The particular form of chair known as the “ York- shire chair” is of the same period. Certain localities seem to have produced peculiar types of chairs which local makers made in great numbers. It will be noticed that even in these conditions, with a con- tinuous manufacture going on, the patterns were not exact duplicates of each other, as are the machine- made chairs turned out of a modern factory, where the maker has no opportunity to introduce any personal touches, but has to obey the iron law of his machine. As a passing hint to collectors of old oak furniture, it may be observed that it very rarely happens that two chairs can be found together of the same design. There may be a great similarity of ornament and a particularly striking resemblance, but the chair with its twin companion beside it suggests that one, if not both, are spurious. The same peculiarity is exhibited in old brass candlesticks, and especially the old Dutch 104 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE brass with circular platform in middle of candlestick. One may handle fifty without finding two that are turned with precisely the same form of ornament. The usual feature of the chair which is termed “Yorkshire” is that it has an open back in the form of an arcade, or a back formed with two crescent- shaped cross-rails, the decorations of the back usually bearing acorn-shaped knobs either at the top of the rail or as pendants. This type is not confined to Yorkshire, as they have frequent!}’ been found in Derbyshire, in Oxfordshire, and in Worcestershire, and a similar variety may be found in old farm- houses in East Anglia. In the illustration of the two oak chairs (p. 105), the one with arms is of the Charles I. period, the other is later and belongs to the latter half of the seventeenth century. The Jacobean oak cupboard (illustrated p. loi) is in date about 1620. At the side there are perfora- tions to admit air, which shows that it was used as a butter cupboard. The doors have an incised decoration of conventional design. The lower part is carved in style unmistakably Jacobean in nature. The pattern on the two u[3rights at the top is re- peatedly found in pieces evidently designed locally for use in farmhouses. It is not too much to hope that enough has been said concerning Jacobean furniture of the early and middle seventeenth century to show that it possesses a peculiar charm and simplicity in the lines of its construction, which make it a very pleasing study to the earnest collector who wishes to procure a few STUART OR JACOBEAN 105 genuine specimens of old furniture, which, while being excellent in artistic feeling, are not unprocurable by reason of their rarity and excessive cost. It should be within the power of the careful collector, after following the hints in this volume, and after examin- By fiermissioji of Messrs. Fenton & Sons. JACOBEAN OAK CHAIRS. Armchair, time of Charles 1. Yorkshire chair. Late seventeenth century. ing well-selected examples in such a collection as that at the Victoria and Albert Museum, to obtain, without unreasonable expenditure, after patient search, one or two Jacobean pieces of undoubted authenticity. 106 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE RECENT SALE PRICES.^ £ s. d. Cabinet, Jacobean oak, with two drawers, and folding doors below enclosing drawers, decorated with rectangular panels in relief, inlaid in ebony and ivory, and with baluster colunrins at the side — 48 in. high, 46 in. wide. Christie, November 27, 1903 . . 44 2 o Cabinet, Jacobean black oak, 5 ft. wide by 6 ft. 2 in. high, fitted with cupboards above and below, with sunk panelled folding doors, carved with busts of warriors in high relief, the pilasters carved with mask heads and caryatid figures, the whole carved with floral scrolls and other devices. Capes, Dunn & Pilcher, Manchester, De- cember 9, 1903 . . . . 57 o o Chairs, set of three Jacobean oak, with canework seats, and panels in the backs, the borders carved with scrolls, and on scroll legs with stretchers. Christie, January 29, 1904 . . 52 10 O Table, Cromwell, oak, on spiral legs. Dowell, Edinburgh, March 12, 1904 ii 06 Elbow-chair, oak, Scotch, back having carved wheel, “ A. R., 1663.” Dowell, Edinburgh, March 12, 1904 . . 60 18 o " By the kindness of the proprietors of the Comioisseiif these items are given from their useful monthly publication, Auction Sale Prices. STUART OR JACOBEAN 107 Cabinet, Jacobean oak, with drawer and folding doors below, with- moulded retangular panels and balusters in relief, 50 in. high, 46 in. wide. Christie, July i, 1904 . . . 35 14 o CRADLE, TIME OF CHART.ES I. CARVED OAK; WITH LETTERS G. B. M. B. DATED 164I. ( Victoria and Albert Mnseuin.) IV STUART OR JACOBEAN. LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY iAfle^' picture by Caspar Netscher ) INTERIOR OF DUTCH HOUSE. LATTER HALF OF SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. IV STUART OR JACOBEAN. LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Charles II. ... 1660-1685. James II 1685-1688. William and Mary . 1689-1694. William .... 1694-1702. Sir Christopher Wren (1632- 1723). Grinling Gibbons (1648-1726). 1660 . Bombay became a British possession. Importation of Indo-Portuguese furniture. 1666 . Great Fire in London. Much valuable furniture destroyed. 1675 - 1710 . St. Paul’s Cathedral built under Wren’s direc- tion. 1685 . Edict of Nantes revoked. Spitalfields’ silk industry founded by French refu- gees. After the Civil War, when Charles II. came into his own again, the furniture of the Restoration period III 112 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE most certainly took its colour from the gay Court with which the Merry Monarch surrounded himself. The By permission of the proprietors oj the “ Connoisseur." CABINET OF THE TIME OF CHARLES IT. With exterior finely decorated with needlework. cabinet which we reproduce has the royal arms embroidered on the cover, and is a beautiful example STUART OR JACOBEAN 113 of intricate cabinetmaking. The surface of the piece is entirely covered with needlework. On the front By pertnisstun of the proprietors of the ‘'Connoisseur." CABINET OF THE TIME OF CHARLES II. Showing interior and nest of drawers stand a cavalier and lady, hand-in-hand. On the side panel a cavalier is leading a lady on horseback. 114 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE On the back a man drives a laden camel, and on another panel is shown the traveller being received by an old man in the grounds of the same castle which appears all through the scenes. This suggests the love-story of some cavalier and his lady. The casket is worthy to have held the love-letters of the Chevalier Grammont to La Belle Hamilton. As is usual in pieces of this nature, the cabinet contains many artfully devised hiding places. A tiny spring behind the lock reveals one secret drawer, and another is hidden beneath the inkwell. There are in all five of such secret compartments — or rather five of them have been at present discovered — there may be more. The illustration of the cabinet open shows what a nest of drawers it holds. In the days of plots, when Titus Oates set half the nation by the ears, when James solemnly warned the merry Charles of plots against his life, pro- voking the cynical retort, “ They will never kill me, James, to make you king,” secret drawers were no doubt a necessity to a fashionable cabinet. Catherine of Braganza, his queen, brought with her from Portugal many sumptuous fashions in furniture, notably cabinets and chairs of Spanish and Portuguese workmanship. The cavaliers scattered by the Civil War returned, and as in their enforced exile on the Continent they had cultivated foreign tastes, it was only natural that Dutch, French, and Italian work found its way to this country and effected the character of the early furniture of the Charles II. period. From Portugal came the high-backed chair, havinp; the back and the seat of leather cut with fine STUART OR JACOBEAN 115 design, and coloured or gilded. This leather work is of exquisite character, and we reproduce a portion of a Portuguese chair-back of this period to show the artistic excellence of the design. With Catherine of Braganza came the marriage dower of Bombay, and from India, where the set- tlement of Goa had been Portuguese for centuries, were sent to Europe the carved chairs in ebony, inlaid in ivory, made by the native workmen from Portuguese and Italian models, but en- riched with pierced carv- ing and intricate inlay of ivory in a manner which only an Oriental craftsman can produce. Having become fashion- able in Portugal, they made their appearance in England, and rapidly became popular. At Penshurst Place there are several fine speci- mens of this Indo-Portu- guese work, with the spindles of the chair- stamped leather, studded with brass bosses. backs of carved ivory ; and in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford there is the well-known chair which was presented by Charles II. to Elias Ashmole. By permission o/ Messrs. Hampton &• Sons. PORTUGUESE HIGH-BACK CHAIR. Seat and back formed of two panels of old 116 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Both in this later Stuart period and in the days of the first Charles inlay was considerably used to heighten the carved designs on oak tables, chairs, and cabinets. The growth of commerce was respon- sible for the introduction of many varieties of foreign woods, which were used to produce finer effects in marquetry than the rude inlay of Elizabethan days. The Frontispiece to this volume represents a very handsome cabinet of English workmanship, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. It is an unusually fine example of the middle seventeenth century, and bears the date 1653, the year when Cromwell forcibly dissolved the Rump Parliament and was declared “ Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.” Up till now oak— the hard, tough, English variety, and not the more modern Baltic oak or American varieties now used — was the material for the tool of the carver to work upon. With the introduction of more flowing lines and curves, a wealth of detail, it is not unnatural to find that softer woods began to find favour as more suitable to the new decorations. The age of walnut was approaching when, under William the Dutchman, and in the days of Queen Anne, a newer style of furniture was to arise, made by craftsmen trained in the precepts of Grinling Gibbons and following the conceptions of Sir Christopher Wren. It must be borne in mind that in Italy the softer woods, such as lime, willow, sycamore, chestnut, walnut, and cypress, had long been used for the delicate carving during the height of the Renaissance and succeeding period, and in France and Spain chestnut and walnut were favourite woods. STUART OR JACOBEAN 117 In the central panel of the Restoration chair-back, canework began to be used instead of the Early Jacobean carving. Cane seats were frequent, and loose cushions, attached by means of strings, covered (Height, 3 ft. 3 in. ; width, 3 ft- i depth, i ft. 10 in.) these cane panels and seats. The illustration (p. 122 ) shows a Jacobean chair of this period. Belonging to these later Jacobean days are chests of drawers of oak with finely panelled fronts. We illustrate two specimens, showing the old brass 118 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE metal work and the drop-handles. They are usually in two parts, and are very deep from back to front. These are two typical examples of this kind of furni- ture, which was in general use up to the days of Queen Anne, when pieces are frequently found supported on a stand. In the picture by Caspar Netscher, showing a Dutch lady at her toilet, a good idea is conveyed of the kind of chair in use in Holland in the latter half of the seventeenth century, upholstered in brocade, and the rich tapestry tablecloth is a noticeable feature. Before entering upon the last phase of Stuart fur- niture, and leaving the days of Jacobean oak with its fine carving and handsome appearance — the careful result of selecting the timber and splitting it to show the fine figure of the wood — the attention of the reader should be drawn to the fact that the appearance of the surface of furniture made subsequent to this period begins to approach the results of the modern cabinetmaker with his polishes and spirit varnishes and highly glazed panels and table tops. The lover of old oak abominates varnish. The Elizabethan and Jacobean carved oak furniture received only a preliminary coat of dark varnish in its early days, mixed with oil and not spirit, which sank into the wood and was not a surface polish, and was probably used to preserve the wood. These old pieces, which have received centuries of rubbing with beeswax and oil, have resulted in producing a rich, warm tone which it is impossible to copy by any of the subtle arts known to the modern forger. The STUART OR JACOBEAN 119 collector should make himself thoroughly familiar with the appearance of this old oak by a careful examination of museum pieces, which, when once seen, cannot easily be forgotten. CHEST OF DRAWERS, OAK, LATE JACOBEAN. (Height, 4 ft. 4J in. ; width, 3 ft. 2 in. ; depth, i ft. 10 in.) The Italian Renaissance furniture probably received an oil varnish, the composition of which, like the varnish employed for old violins, has been lost, but after centuries of careful usage and polishing, the result, as seen in the fine specimens in the Victoria 120 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE and Albert Museum, is to give to them the appearance of bronze. Tliere is little doubt that the Great Fire, which did such immense destruction in London in 1666, in which some eighty-nine churches and thirteen thousand houses were de- molished, gave a consider- able impetus to the manu- facture of furniture in the new style. It is not a pleasing reflection to think how many fine pieces of Elizabethan and early Jacobean furniture were consumed in the flames, including much of Inigo Jones’s work. Under the genius of Sir Christopher Wren many of the city churches were rebuilt, including St. Paul’s Cathedral ; and Greenwich Hospital and Hampton Court were enlarged ac- cording to Wren’s designs, CHARLES II. OAK CHAIR. co-operation of scrolled foiSge“siu«ed‘sLt''covero^^ the master woodcarver, will, old damask, Grinling Gibboiis. In later Jacobean days a splendour of style and an excellence of workmanship were the outcome of the fine achieve- ments in interior woodwork by Grinling Gibbons and By perinissioii of Messrs. Hampton Gr Sons. the school he founded. STUART OR JACOBEAN 121 The work of Grinling Gibbons consisted of most natural chains of flowers and foliage, fruit, or birds or cherubs’ heads, all faithfully reproduced untrammelled by convention. St. Paul’s Cathedral, Hampton Court, Chatsworth, and Petworth House all con- tain work by him of singular beauty. He trained many assistants to help him to carry on his work, and one of them, Selden, lost his life in endeavouring to save the carved room at Petworth from a de- structive fire. The soft wood of the lime was his favourite for detailed carving ; for church panelling or choir stalls, such as at St. Pauls, he employed oak ; in his medallion portraits or figure work he preferred ^ s.,,,. pear or close-grained c„aiu,es ii. open higu-back oak boxwood. CHAIR. The gradual develop- Finely carved legs and stretcher. Stuffed ^ ^ seat covered in old Spanish silk damask. ment of the chair in the later Stuart days in the direction of upholstered seat will be noticed in the specimens which are given as illustrations. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV. drove some thousands 122 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE of French workmen — weavers, glass-workers, and cabinetmakers — to this country. The silk-weav- ing industry established by them at Spitalfields was one of the results, and silk stuffs and brocades were used for covering the seats and backs of furniture. At Hampton Court the crystal glass chandeliers were made by French workmen, whom Wren was glad to employ to assist him to make that palace a worthy rival to Versailles. The chair here illus- trated shows the commence- ment of the use of cane work in place of wood for the panel in back and for the seat. The James II. chair illustrated shows the later development of the cane-back. The William and Mary chair (illustrated p. 125 ) shows how the cane- Messrs. Harold G. Lamaster &■ Co. back was retained later than CHARLES II. CHAIR. the caiie-seat, and how rich Cane back and seat, finely carved damask WaS employed for legs and stretcher. . the upholstered seat. It is interesting to see how the stretcher, which in earlier days was of use to keep the feet raised from a wet or draughty floor, has now become capable of elaborate By permission of Messrs. Fejiten &• Sons. JAMES II. CHAIR. With cane back and seat, and finely turned legs and stretcher. STUART OR JACOBEAN 125 ornamentation. Genuine examples of chairs of Elizabethan and Early Stuart days show the wear of the feet of the sitters. The same wear is observable in the lower rail of old tables. In later Stuart days the stretcher 'has left its place at the bottom, between the two front legs. Since its use as a foot-rest, owing to carpeted floors, is gone, it is found either joining the legs diagonally, or higher up as an ornament with carved front. In the eigh- teenth century it has al- most disappeared alto- gether. Mirrors began to take a prominent place in interior decoration. The house of Nell Gwynne in St. James’s Square had one room en- tirely lined with glass mirrors. Hampton Court is full of mirrors, and they are arranged with consider- able skill. By an arrangement the mirror in the King’s Writing Closet is placed at such an angle that the reflection of the whole suite of rooms may be seen in it. The looking glasses made in this By pennissioii of Messrs. Harold G. La}tcaster &■ Co. WILLIAM AND MARY CHAIR. 126 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE country in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were the work of Venetian and French workmen. The plates had a bevel of an inch in width, and these bevels followed the shape of the frame, whether square or oval. A factory was es- tablished near Battersea which produced some fine work of this nature. It will be noticed by the collector who is observant that the bevels differ considerably from modern bevels. The angle is not such an acute one, and sometimes the edges are double bevelled. Many of the mirrors of the time of William and Mary had an ornamented border of blue glass. Sometimes the mirror was painted with festoons of flowers and with birds in French manner. In imitation of Italian style the back of the mirror, in examples a little later, was worked upon in the style of intaglio, or gem cutting, this presenting a dull silver surface when seen from the front. In picture frames, in chimneypieces, or in mirror frames the school of Grinling Gibbons was still pre- eminent in carving. Now and again are found traces of Italian or Louis XIV. influence, but as a whole the English carver held his own, and the traditions of Grinling Gibbons were maintained, and he did not easily allow himself to be carried away by foreign elaborations. When William of Orange came over in 1688 he brought with him many of his own countrymen as military and civil advisers, and in their train came artists and craftsmen, who introduced Dutch art into England, and prepared the way for the more homely STUART OR JACOBEAN 127 style of Queen Anne. Walnut cabinets inlaid with various woods, and with ivory squares represent- ing miniature Dutch courtyards in the recesses of cabinets, had found their way into England. With the period of William and Mary the cabriole leg in chairs and in tables became popular — at first an English adaptation of Dutch models — but later to develope into the glorious creations of the age of walnut. Blue delft jars and bowls, some especially made for William and Mary and bearing the Royal arms and the cypher “ W. M. R.” and the Nassau motto, main tien-dray, ’ still to be seen in the Queen’s Gallery at Hampton Court, were introduced, and it became fashionable to collect china. Consequently the furniture in rooms had to be adapted for the arrangement of this new class of ornament, and cabinets were largely made with accommodation to receive vases and beakers and blue bowls on their shelves. The earlier form have straight sides ; but later, especially in the next reign, they follow French designs, and are swollen or bombe at the sides. With William, too, came over the plain walnut card-table. Clock cases of the style termed “ Grand- father” were of Dutch origin. The seats of chairs were shaped and removable. The Dutch trade with the East Indies had brought Oriental china and lac cabinets into Holland, and these, with the coming of William, found their way into this country. Bureaux with a number of secret recesses were introduced, and another Dutch importation from the East was the now celebrated chair or table leg with claw and {Victoria and Albert Museum.) with the furniture, the old Chinese symbol of a dragon’s foot holding a pearl, was repeated in the furniture by Dutch cabinetmakers. Dutch marquetry made an early appearance with simple ornamenta- 128 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE ball foot. This came directly from China, and as in the case of delft, which is the earthenware replica by the Dutch potter of fine blue porcelain vases, from Nankin and Canton, where the Oriental per- spective and design have been slavishly copied, so UPPER PORTION OF CHAIR RACK OF CUT LEATHER. PORTUGUESE. LATTER PART OF SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. STUART OR JACOBEAN 129 tion, sometimes enriched by ivory or mother-of-pearl inlay, but later it developed into flowing floral designs with figures, vases, fruit, butterflies, and elaborate scrolls in various coloured woods, of which yellow was the predominant colour. RECENT SALE PRICES.^ S. d Armchair, Charles II., oak, carved with cherubs supporting crowns, and with turned column supports. Christie, November 20, 1903 . . . .1546 Chairs, pair, Charles II., oak, with cane seats and oval cane panels in the backs, spirally turned legs, stretchers and rails at the back. Christie, March 4, 1904 63 o o Armchair, Charles IL, oak, with high back carved with arabesque foliage, with lions’ masks and claw legs. Christie, March 29, 1904 . . . 63 o o Chairs, pair, nearly similar, carved with foliage. Christie, March 29, 1904 . 39 18 o Armchair, Charles II., walnut-wood, of Italian design, carved with masks, cane seat and panel in back ; and cushion, covered with old Flemish tapestry. Christie, March 4, 1904 . 77 14 o * By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseur these items are given from their useful monthly publication, Auction Sale Prices. 9 130 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Chairs, three, Charles II., oak, with oval panels of canework in the backs, the borders carved with foliage, flowers, and Amorini,and surmounted by busts. Christie, April 12, 1904 . Chairs, set of twelve, Charles II., of chest- nut-wood, with high backs carved with rosette ornaments, scroll foliage, and formal blossoms, on cabriole legs carved with flowers and shaped stretchers. Christie, July i, 1904 Chairs, pair of chestnut-wood, with high backs slightly curved, pierced and carved at the top, and each inlaid with two cane panels, on carved cabriole legs and shaped stretchers, temp. James II. Christie, June 2, 1904 Cabinet, English marquetry, with folding doors, enclosing twelve drawers and small cupboard, and with four drawers below, the whole elaborately inlaid with vases of tulips, roses, and other flowers, small figures, birds, and in- sects, on a walnut-wood ground, 69 in. high, 47 in. wide, temp. William III. Christie, February 12, 1904 Mirror, in case of old English marquetry, inlaid with large flowers and foliage in coloured woods and ivory on walnut-wood ground, 32 in. by 28 in.. £ s. d. 42 o o 462 o o 36 15 o 105 o o STUART OR JACOBEAN 131 s. d. temp. William III. Christie, Febru- ary 19, 1904 . . . . . Chairs, set of six, walnut-wood, with high, open backs, carved with foliage, the centre inlaid in marquetry, on carved cabriole legs and eagles’ claw- and-ball feet, temp. William and Mary. Christie, June 2, 1904 Chairs, set of four, of similar form, open backs, carved with shell, and gadroon ornament, and on carved cabriole legs with hoof feet, the stretcher carved with a shell, temp. William and Mary. Christie, June 2, 1904 . Cabinet, William and Mary, marquetry, veneered with walnut-wood, decorated with oval and shaped panels, inlaid, upon ebony field, 42 in. wide. Christie, March 18, 1904 Cabinet on stand, ebony, Dutch, seven- teenth century, supported by six beaded columns with stage under and mirror panels at back, the upper part composed of doors carved in medal- lions ; the centre doors enclose an architectural hall, inlaid in ivory, &c., with gilt columns and mirror panels, and fitted with secret drawers, 5 ft. 3 in. wide, 6 ft. 6 in. high and 22 in. deep. Jenner & Dell, Brighton, May 3, 1904 43 3 o 315 o o 105 o o 65 2 o 100 o o 132 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE £ s. d. Corner cupboard, Dutch marquetry, 8 ft. high, having carved crown-shaped cornice, with centre vase, four doors, with bow fronts, inlaid with flowers and carved raised headings, the interior fitted. C. W. Provis & Son, Manchester, May 9, 1904 . . . 32 o o Table, Dutch marquetry, with shaped front and two drawers inlaid with sprays of flowers in coloured woods and ivory, on cabriole legs, 32 in. wide. Christie, March 4, 1904. . 37 16 o V QUEEN ANNE STYLE Q7teeii Anne IValmit Chair with panelled cane hack. :J;y . By permission o/ Messrs. Hampton &■ Sons QUEEN ANNE OAK SETTI.E. Scrolled arms, panelled back and loose cushioned seat. Width 6 feet. V Anne QUEEN ANNE STYLE 1702-1714. 1707. Act of Union between England and Scotland. First United Parliament of Great Britain met. 1713. The National Debt had risen to ;^ 38 ,ooo,ooo.. With the age of Queen Anne domestic furniture departed from the ornate characteristics which had marked previous epochs. The tendency in English furniture seems to have made towards comfort and homeliness. The English home may not have con- 136 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE tained so many articles of luxury then as does the modern house with its artistic embellishments, and a popular taste rapidly ripening into a genuine love of the fine arts. “ A modern shopkeeper’s house,” says Lord Macaulay, “ is as well furnished as the house of a considerable merchant in Anne’s reign.” It is very doubtful whether this statement holds good with regard to the days of Elizabeth or the days of the early Stuarts, but there certainly seems to have been in the dawn of the walnut period a curtailment of luxurious effects that might well tempt a casual observer to generalise in the belief that the days of Anne spelt dulness in art. The settle, the illustration of which is given (p. 149), bearing the date 1705, the year after Blenheim, shows that Jacobean models of early days were not for- gotten. The inlaid borders are very effective, and there is nothing vulgar or offensive in the carving. It is simple in style and the joinery is good. A walnut mirror, carved and gilded (illustrated p. 137), exhibits the same solidity. There is nothing to show that the glorious age of Louis XIV. had produced the most sumptuous and richly decorated furniture the modern world had seen. The simplicity of this carved mirror frame is as though art had begun and ended in England, and probably it is this insularity of the furniture of this period, and the almost stub- born neglect of the important movements going on in France that makes the Queen Anne style of peculiar interest. The oak desk illustrated (p. 139), dated 1696, is similar to the one at Abbotsford, in which Sir Walter By permission of Messrs. Harold G. Lancaster &■ Co. QUEEN ANNE MIRROR FRAME. WALNUT, CARVED AND GILDED. QUEEN ANNE STYLE 139 Scott mislaid his manuscript of “ Waverley/’ where it lay among his fishing-tackle for eleven years. Another piece of the same period is the cupboard with carved doors and drawers beneath (illustrated p. 140). OAK DESK. WITH INITIALS “ L. G.” AND DATED 1696. {From the collection of 7\ E. Price Stretche, EbijI) Some pretty effects were now obtained by veneer- ing, which was largely coming into practice. The pieces with the burr-walnut panels, marked in a series of knot-like rings, are especially sought after. This 140 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE pattern was obtained from the gnarled roots of the Bv per>!iission of T. E. Price Stretcke, Esq- OAK CUPBOARD. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Metal handles of drawers, eighteenth century. (Height 6 ft. 7 in. ; width, 4 ft. 6 in.) walnut-tree, and applied in a decorative manner with excellent result. Cabinet closed ; showing fine mottled figure of Cabinet open ; showing drop-down front and burr walnut. nest of drawers. r f j. . i DUTCH MARQUETRY CHAIR. QUEEN ANNE CHAIR. By permission of Messrs. Hampton Gr Sons. QUEEN ANNE WALNUT ARMCHAIR. BLACK AND GOLD LAC CHAIR. By permission of Messrs. U'arui^. -■T ! QUEEN ANNE STYLE 145 In the fine cabinet, the illustration of which is given (p. 141), the style is typical of this period. The panels of the doors are of exquisite finish, and show a beautiful walnut grain of peculiarly-pleasing mottled appearance, and the mellow effect which time has given to this specimen cannot be imitated with any degree of success in modern replicas. In the illustration showing this piece when open, the rich effect of the walnut in the middle panel may be noticed ; the contemporary brass handles to the nest of drawers are typical of this style. In chairs and in tables the elegant cabriole and colt’s-foot legs were now commonly adopted, and apparently, simple as is the construction, it is only when Queen Anne pieces come to be repaired that it is found how expensive an undertaking it is, owing to their ingenious construction and the patient labour that was expended upon them, to produce unpreten- tious and harmonious effects. The assertively English spirit which was the dominant note of the furniture of the early eighteenth century continued up till the early years of the reign of George II. During this period, which covers half a century, walnut was the wood mostly used in the manufacture of furniture, and this walnut period shows a quiet dignity of style and a simple propor- tion, reticently elegant and inornate without being severe. The Queen Anne oak settle, with shaped panelled back and scroll arms, which appears as the headpiece to this chapter, is especially representative of the kind of piece in common use at the time ; oak was still 10 146 CHATS ON OLD FUKNITURE employed in furniture of this nature. The legs show the newer design, which was already departing from the elegant turning of earlier Jacobean days. In the Queen Anne chair which is illustrated in the group of chairs of this period (p. 143), with open back and carved scroll foliage, the cabriole legs are finely carved with lion masks and acanthus leaf ornament, on lion’s claw-and-ball feet. The seat is removable, and is stuffed. Queen Anne chairs had high carved or plain splat backs. The armchair in the same group shows this type of back. The Dutch shell- pattern often appears either on back or at the junc- ture of the leg with the seat. Chairs decorated in marquetry, in Dutch fashion, were in use at this period. The one illustrated with the two above- mentioned chairs is inlaid with birds and flowers, and the legs are cabriole. The seat follows the growing usage of being loose and stuffed. Dutch marquetry cabinets on stands, with straight uprights, were imported and became a feature in the early eighteenth century drawing-room (see illustra- tion, p. 147). The earlier forms had straight sides, but later, as the fashion grew, bureaux and large cabinets, with the dimensions of a modern wardrobe, had taken their place, with boinbe or swelled sides, and profusely decorated in marquetry, with vases and tulips and unnamed flowers of the cabinet- maker’s invention, birds, butterflies, and elaborate scrollwork, in which ivory and mother-of-pearl were often employed as an inlay. The stands on which the smaller cabinets stood were turned with the spiral leg of Jacobean days, and QUEEN ANNE STYLE 147 later they have the cabriole leg^, with ball-and-claw or club feet. Cabi- nets and stands are frequently found together, in which the one is much earlier than the other. Rich damask be- gan to be used in the furnishing of hangings, and in some of the palatial furniture of the period the looms of Spitalfields pro- duced the cover- ings. In Queen Anne’s bedroom the hangings were of rich silk velvet. Clocks of the variety termed “ Gran d fa t h e r,” either with fine walnut cases or inlaid with mar- quetry, came into more general use in By peratission of Messrs. Hampton Or Sons. the days of Queen Anne. An elabo- rafinn of oarin' nrr and scrolled foliage. On stand with ration OI carving turned legs and stretcher. DUTCH MARQUETRY CABINET. Fitted with shelves. Door richly inlaid with 148 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE on grandfather clock cases as a rule is to be regarded with suspicion. Plain panels are not so saleable as carved ones ; the want is supplied, and many fine old clock cases are spoiled by having the touch of a modern hand. The clock illustrated is an untouched specimen. The walnut case is a fine example of Queen Anne marquetry work. The works are by Sam Barrow, Hermitage Bridge, London. The steel dial is richly mounted with cupids, masks, and scrolls in chased brass. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century and later, cabinets of Dutch importa- tion, and Japanese or Chinese in origin, were extensively in use. In smaller numbers they had, without doubt, in the days of William and Mary, been introduced, but it was not until the commerce with the East had been well established that they became popular. In the cabinet illustrated (p. 150) QUEEN ANNE STYLE 149 the cabinet-work is English, the drawers are all dovetailed in the English manner, but the lacquered doors come from the East. It is an especially Ry permission of Messrs. H'ctriH£'. QUEEN ANNE OAK SETTLE. DATED I705. With borders in marquetry. (Width, 5 ft.) interesting example, as the pagoda-like super- structure is not often found complete. Lacquered boxes had been sent home from the 150 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE East by English, French, and Dutch merchants, for many years, and with characteristic ingenuity the By permisswi of Messrs. Brown &■ Bool. OLD LAC CABINET. ENGLISH ; EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. French cabinetmakers had employed these as panels for their furniture, but the supply not being sufficient they had attempted a lacquer of their own, which is 151 QUEEN ANNE STYLE dealt with in a subsequent chapter on Louis XIV. furniture. Dutch lacquer-work was a similar attempt LAC CABINET. MIDDLE OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. (Height, 2 ft. 5 in. ; width, 2 ft. SJ in. ; depth, i ft. 6^ in. ; height of stand, 2 ft. 9 in. [From the collection of IV. G. Honey, Esq., Cork.) on the part of the craftsman of Holland to equal the Oriental originals. 152 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE In the early eighteenth century the English crafts- man tried his skill at lacquered furniture, it is true not with very successful results, but it is interesting to see what he has left as attempts. The illustration (p. 143) of a chair in black and gold lac is of English manufacture. The splat back and the cabriole leg give the date, and the specimen is a noteworthy example. Another piece of the first half of the eighteenth cen- tury period is the lac cabinet illus- trated (p. 1 51). The metal hinges and corners of this are of chased brass and of Eng- lish or Dutch w o r Iv m a n s h i p . The shape and design of the drawer handles are frequently found in nests of If'. G. Honey, Esq., Cork. FRONT OF LAC CABINET (ILLUSTRATED), WITH DOORS CLOSED. drawers of this period, and there was a singular fond- ness shown at this time for numbers of small drawers and pigeon-holes in furniture. The now familiar bureau with bookcase above, and drop-down, sloping front covering drawers and recesses, dates from this time. The escutcheon of the lac cabinet is illustrated in detail as a tailpiece to this chapter to show the particular style of work found on the locks and hinges and drawer-handles of pieces of this nature. As has QUEEN ANNE STYLE 153 been said before, it is especially useful to the collector to make himself thoroughly familiar with these details of the various periods. It may be readily imagined that at a time when cards were the passion of everybody in society, the card-table became a necessary piece of furniture in eighteenth-century days, just before the dawn of the great age of mahogany, when Chippendale, and the school that followed him, eagerly worked in the wood which Raleigh discovered. They produced countless forms, both original and adapted from the French, which have enriched the 7 'epevtoire of the cabinet- maker and which have brought fame to the man whose designs added lustre to the reputation of English furniture. RECENT SALE PRICES.^ £ s. d. Chairs, six, mahogany, single, and one armchair to match, with shaped legs and openwork backs (early eigh- teenth century). F. W. Kidd, & Neale & Son, Nottingham, November 11,1903 25 4 o Chairs, eight Queen Anne, walnut-wood, with high backs, on slightly cabriole legs, with stretchers. Christie, De- cember II, 1903 t . . . 33 12 o * By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseur, these items are given from their useful monthly publication, Auction Sale Prices. 154 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE £ s. cl. Armchair, Queen Anne, large walnut- wood, carved with foliage, the arms terminating in masks, on carved cabriole legs and lion’s-claw feet. Christie, March 29, 1904 . . . 50 8 o Cabinet, Queen Anne, the lower part fitted with escritoire, the upper part with numerous drawers, shaped cornice above, 3 ft. 6 in. by 7 ft. 6 in. Puttick & Simpson, April 12, 1904 34 2 o Chairs, four Queen Anne, walnut-wood, with interlaced backs carved with rosettes and a shell at the top, on cabriole legs carved with shells and foliage ; and a pair of chairs made to match. Christie, July 8, 1904 . 44 2 o II'. G. Honey Esq., Cork. CHASED BRASS ESCUTCHEON OF LAC CABINET (ILI.USTRATED). (Width, loi in. ) VI FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XIV ■I CASSETTE. FRENCH ; SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Containing many secret drawers. VI FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XIV Louis XIV. ( 1643 - 1715 ), cover- ing English periods of Civil War, Commonwealth, Charles II., James IL, William and Mary, and Anne. 1619-1683. Colbert, Minister of Finance and patron of the arts. 1661-1687. Versailles built. 1662. Gobelins Tapestry Works started by Colbert ; Le Brun first director ( 1662 - 1690 ). 1664. Royal Academy of Paint- ing, Architecture, and Sculpture founded by Col- bert, to which designs of furniture were admitted. In order to arrive at a sense of proportion as to the value of English furniture and its relation to con- temporary art in Europe, it is necessary to pass under 157 158 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE hasty examination the movements that were taking place in France in the creation of a new style in furniture under the impulses of the epoch of the Grande Monarqiie. To estimate more correctly the styles of the Early Jacobean and of the later English furniture extending to the days of Chippendale and Sheraton, it must be borne in mind that England was not always so insular in art as the days of Queen Anne would seem to indicate. It is impossible for the cabinetmakers and the craftsmen to have utterly ignored the splendours of France. Louis XIV. had a long and eventful reign, which extended from the days when Charles I. was marshalling his forces to engage in civil war with the Parliament down to the closing years of Queen Anne. During his minority it cannot be said that Louis XIV. influenced art in furniture, but from 1661, contemporary with Charles II., when he assumed the despotic power that he exercised for half a century, his love of sumptuousness, and his personal supervision of the etiquette of a formal Court, in which no detail was omitted to surround royalty with magnificence, made him the patron of the fine arts, and gave his Court the most splendid prestige in Europe. As a headpiece to this chapter we give a very fine example of a cassette^ or strong box, of the time of Louis XIV. It is securely bound with metal bands of exquisite design. The interior is fitted with a number of secret drawers. In the illustration (p. 159) it will be seen that the chair of the period of Louis Treize differed in no great respects from the furniture under the early Stuarts in FRENCH FURNITURE 159 this country. This design is by the celebrated Crispin de Passe, and the date is when Charles I. raised his standard at Nottingham, a year prior to the birth of Louis XIV. During the reign of Louis XIV., tables, ar moires, and cabinets were designed on architectural princi- ples. Under the guiding influence of Colbert, Minister of Finance, architects and cabinetmakers were selected to design furniture for the Tuileries, the Louvre, and Fon- tainebleau. In the early years of the reign furniture was made with severe lines, but gradually it became the prac- tice to fashion larger pieces. Immense tables with sumptu- ous decoration, on gilded clawfeet,and having tops inlaid with pietra-dura in- tended to carry bronze groups and porphyry vases, chair of period of louis xiii. were made at the designed by Crispin de passe, 1642. Gobelins factory, under the direction of the celebrated Le Brun. This artist loved grandeur and gorgeous- ness in decoration, and in accord with the personal 160 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE ideas of Louis XIV., who had an inordinate love for perfect symmetry, huge pieces of furniture were built in magnificent manner to please the taste of the Grande Mo 7 iarque. Men of genius were employed in the manufacture of tapestries, of furniture, and of metal mountings, and the interior decorations of the palaces were designed in harmony with the furniture intended for use therein. The most illustrious among the cabinetmakers was Andre Charles Boule, who was made, in 1673, by letters patent. Premier djeniste de la maison royale. The work of this artist in wood has attained a world- wide celebrity, and his name even has been corrupted into “ buhl to denote a particular class of work which he perfected. His most notable productions are the finely chased ormolu, in which he was an accomplished worker, and the inlay of tortoiseshell and brass, sometimes varied with ebony or silver, which have remained the wonder of succeeding generations. Boule was born in 1642, and lived till 1732. The first Boule, termed “ Le Pere^' he was succeeded by no less than four sons and nephews of the same name, in addition to his pupils who carried on his traditions at the Boule atelier, and a crowd of later imitators, even up to the present day, have followed his style in lavish decoration without being possessed of his skill. In Italy and in France marquetry of considerable delicacy and of fine effect had been produced long before the epoch of Louis XIV., but it was Boule who introduced a novelty into marquetry by his veneered work, which rapidly grew into favour till it FRENCH FURNITURE 161 developed into cruder colouring in inlays and un- bridled licence in ornamentation, to which its origi- nator would never have given countenance. The pieces of furniture usually associated with him are massive structures of ebony with their surfaces covered with tortoiseshell, in which are inlaid arabesques, scrolls, and foliage in thin brass or other metal. Upon the surface of this metal inlay further ornamentation was chased with the burin. This alternation of tortoiseshell and brass forms a brilliant marquetry. Into the chased designs on the metal a black enamel was introduced to heighten the effect, which was further increased by portions of the wood beneath the semi-transparent tortoiseshell being coloured black or brown or red ; sometimes a bluish- green was used. Later imitators, not content with the beautiful effect of tortoiseshell, used horn in parts, which is more transparent, and they did not fear the garish effect of blue or vermilion underneath. Boule’s creations, set in massive mounts and adornments of masks and bas-reliefs, cast in gilt-bronze and chased, were pieces of furniture of unsurpassed magnificence, and especially designed for the mirrored splendours of the salons of Versailles. In boule-work all parts of the marquetry are held down by glue to the bed, usually of oak, the metal being occasionally fastened down by small brass pins, which are hammered flat and chased over so as to be imperceptible. In order to economise the material, Boule, when his marquetry became in demand, employed a process which led to the use of the technical terms, boule and 162 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE cotmter-boule. The brass and the tortoiseshell were cut into thin sheets. A number of sheets of brass were clamped together with the same number of sheets of tortoiseshell. The design was then cut out, the result being that each sheet of tortoiseshell had a design cut out of it, into which the same design from one of the sheets of brass would exactl)^ fit. Similarly each sheet of brass had a design cut out of it into which a corresponding piece of tortoiseshell would fit. That in which the ground is of tortoiseshell and the inlaid portion is brass, is considered the better, and is called boiile, or the p7'emiere par'tie. That in which the groundwork is brass and the design inlaid is of tortoiseshell, is called coimter-boule or conti^e-partie. This latter is used for side panels. An examination of the specimens preserved in the Louvre, at the Jones Bequest at the Victoria and Albert Museum, or in the Wallace Collection will enable the student to see more readily how this practice works out in the finished result. In the illustration (p. 163 ) of the two pedestals the effect of the employment of boule and countei'-boule is shown. Associated with Boule is Jean Berain, who had a fondness for the Italian style; his designs are more symmetrically correct, both in ornamental detail and in architectural proportion. His conceptions are remarkable for their fanciful elaboration, and their wealth of profuse scrollwork. In the French national collections at the Louvre, at Versailles, and elsewhere there are many beautiful examples of his chandeliers of magnificent carved and gilded work. The freedom of the spiral arms and complex coils he introduced {a.) id.) PEDESTALS SHOWING BOULE AND COUNTER-BOULE WORK. {Wallace Collection.) (a) Boule or premiere partie. (b) Counter- boule or contre-partie. FRENCH FURNITURE 165 into his candelabra have never been equalled as harmonious portions of a grandly conceived scheme of magnificent interior decoration, to which, in the da\'s BOULE CABINET, OR ARMOIRE. Valued at nearly ;^i5,ooo. {Victoria and Albert Musetwi.') of Louis XIV., so much artistic talent was devoted. With regard to the value of some of the specimens in the national collections, it is difficult to form an 166 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE estimate. The Boule cabinet, probably designed by Berain, executed by Boule for Louis XIV. (illustrated p. 165) would, if put up for sale at Christie’s, probably fetch ;Ci 5,000. This piece is held to be grander in style than any in the galleries in France. At the Wallace Collection there are examples which would bring fabulous sums if sold. A cabinet by Boule, in the Jones Bequest, purchased by Mr. Jones for ;C3,ooo in 1881, is now worth three times that sum. Upon the building, decorating, and furnishing of Versailles Louis XIV. spent over five hundred million francs, in addition to which there was the army of workmen liable to statute labour. Some twenty thousand men and six thousand horses were em- ployed in 1684 at the different parts of the chateau and park. In May, 1685, there wfre no less than thirty-six thousand employed. The illustrious craftsmen who were employed upon the magnificent artistic interior decorations have transmitted their names to posterity. Berain, Lepautre, Henri de Gissey, are the best known of the designers. Among the painters are the names of Audran, Baptiste, Jouvenet, Mignard, and the best known of the sculptors are Coustou and Van Cleve. Of the woodcarvers, metal-chasers, locksmiths, and gilders Pierre Taupin, Ambroise Duval, Delobel, and Goy are names of specialists in their own craft who transformed Versailles from a royal hunting-box into one of the most splendid palaces in Europe. FKENCH FURNITURE 167 RECENT SALE PRICES.’' £ s. d. Commode, Louis XIV., of inlaid king- wood, with two drawers, mounted with handles and masks at the corners of chased ormolu, and sur- mounted by a fleur violette marble slab, 52 in. wide. Christie, January 22, 1904 31 10 o Show-cabinet, of Louis XIV. design, inlaid king-wood, with glazed fold- ing doors, ormolu mounts, chased and surmounted by vases, 73 in. high, 46 in. wide. Christie, April 12, 1904 30 9 o Casket, Louis XIV., black Boule, inlaid with Cupids, vases of flowers and scrolls, and fitted with four tortoise- shell and gold picque shell-shaped snuffboxes. Christie, April 19, 1904 73 10 o Commode, Louis XIV., Boule, of sarco- phagus form, containing two drawers, at either corners are detached cab- riole legs, the various panels are in- laid with brass and tortoiseshell, the whole is mounted with ormolu, surmounted by a slab of veined marble, 49 in. wide. Christie, May 27, 1904 57 15 o ^ By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseur, these items are reproduced from their useful monthly publica- tion, Auction Sale Prices. I 1 VII FRENCH FURNITURE* THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XV 169 By permission of Messrs. Foley &• Eassie. COMMODE, BY CRESSF.N . (From a drawing by Walter Eassie. {IVa/lace Collection.') VII FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XV Louis XV. . . . 1715-1774, Petit Trianon built at Versailles. Meissonier, Director of Royal Factories {1723-1774). Watteau (1684-1721). Pater (1695-1736). Lancret (1690-1743). Boucher (1704-1770). 1751 . The leading ebenistes compelled to stamp their work with their names. Louis XIV. died in the year following the death of Queen Anne, so that it will be readily seen that 171 172 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE English art was uninfluenced by France in the days of William and Mary, and how insular it had become under Anne. The English craftsman was not fired by new impulses from France during such an out- burst of decorative splendour. The reign of Louis XV. extends from George I. down to the eleventh year of the reign of George III., which year saw the cargoes of tea flung into Boston harbour and the beginning of the war with America. In glancing at the Louis Ouinze style it will be observed how readily it departed from the studied magnificence of Louis XIV. In attempting elegance of construction and the elimination of much that was massive and cumbersome in the former style, it developed in its later days into meaningless ornament and trivial construction. At first it possessed con- siderable grace, but towards the end of the reign the designs ran riot in rococo details, displaying incon- gruous decoration. It was the age of the elegant boudoir, and the bedroom became a place for more intimate guests than those received in the large reception-room. In the days of Louis XIV. the bed was a massive structure, but in the succeeding reign it became an elegant appendage to a room. At Versailles the splendid galleries of magnificent proportion were transformed by the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France (17 15-1723) during the king’s minority, into smaller salons covered in wainscoting, painted white and ornamented with gilded statues. In like manner the Louis Quinze decorations were ruthlesslydestroyed by Louis-Philippe. With chased and bronze-gilt mounts. [^Formerly in the Hamilton Palace Collection.') ' idi FRENCH FURNITURE 177 The commode in the Wallace Collection (illustrated p. 17 1 ) is of the time when Louis XV. was in his minority, and of the days of the Regency. It is by Charles Cressent (1685-1768), who was cabinetmaker to Philippe d’Orleans, Regent of France. This is an especially typical specimen of the class to which it belongs as showing the transition style between Louis XIV. and the succeeding reign. To establish Louis the Fifteenth’s petits appaj'te- ments the gallery painted by Mignard was demolished, and later, in 1752, the Ambassadors’ Staircase was destroyed, the masterpiece of the architects Levau and Dorbay, and the marvel of Louis the Fourteenth’s Versailles. It is necessary to bear these facts in mind in order to see how a new French monarch set ruthlessly new fashions in furniture and created a taste for his personal style in art. In the first part of the Louis Quinze period the metal mountings by Cafderi and Cressent are of exquisite style ; they are always of excellent workmanship, but later they betrayed the tendency of the time for fantastic curves, which had affected the furniture to such an extent that no straight lines were employed, and the sides of com- modes and other pieces were swelled into unwieldy proportions, and instead of symmetrical and har- monious results the florid style, known as the “ rococo,’’ choked all that was beautiful in design. IMeissonier, Director of the Royal Factories (1723- 1774), was mainly responsible for this unnatural development. He revelled in elaborate combinations of shellwork and impossible foliage. 12 178 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE In the Louis XV. commodes illustrated (pp. 173, 1 75)' it will be seen how far superior is the design and treat- ment of the one which was formerly in the celebrated Hamilton Collection. Its chased and gilt mounts are harmoniously arranged, and though the ornamenta- tion is superbly rich, it breaks no canons of art by overloaded detail or coarse profusion. Not so much can be said for the other commode of the rococo style, even though the mounts be by Caffieri and executed in masterly manner. There is a wanton abandonment and an offensive tone in the florid treatment which point clearly to the decline of taste in art. The highest art of concealment was not a pro- minent feature in a Court which adopted its style from the caprices of Madame du Pompadour or the whims of Madame du Barry. But among the finest productions are the splendid pieces of reticent cabinet- making by the celebrated Jean Francois Oeben, who came from Holland. His preference was for geo- metrical patterns, varied only with the sparing use of flowers, in producing his most delicate marquetry. In the pieces by Boule and others, not in tortoise- shell but in wood inlay, the wood was so displayed as to exhibit in the panels the grain radiating from the centre. Oeben did not forget this principle, and placed his bouquets of flowers, when, on occasion, he used them, in the centre of his panels, and filled up the panel with geometric design. The well-known maker, Charles Cressent (1685- 1768), used rosewood, violet, and amaranth woods in his marquetry, and at this time many new foreign FRENCH FURNITURE 179 woods were employed by the cabinetmakers in France and Italy. In addition to woods of a natural colour, it was the practice artificially to colour light woods, LOUIS XV. ESCRITOIRE A TOILETTE. Of tulip-wood and sycamore, inlaid with landscapes in coloured woods Formerly in the possession of Queen Marie Antoinette {Jones Bequest: Victoria and Albert Museum.) and inlay work was attempted in which trophies of war, musical instruments, or the shepherd’s crook 180 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE luing with ribbon, were all worked out in marquetry. Pictures, in coloured woods, in imitation of oil paint- ings on canvas, were foolishly attempted, and altogether the art of inlay, ingenious and wonderful in its con- struction, began to affect trivialities and surprising effects most unsuited to the range of its technique. In the toilet-table illustrated (p. 179 ), this misappli- cation of inlay to reproduce pictures is seen on the three front panels and on the middle panel above. The chief woods employed are tulip and sycamore, inlaid with tinted lime, holly, and cherry-woods. The mountings of the table are chased ormolu. The cylindrical front encloses drawers with inlaid fronts. Beneath this is a sliding shelf, under which is a drawer with three compartments, fitted with toilet requisites and having inlaid lids. This specimen of Louis Quinze work is in the Jones Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was formerly in the possession of Queen Marie Antoinette. It is attributed to Oeben, though from comparison with some of the chaster work known to have come from his hand it would seem to be of too fanciful marquetry for his restrained and sober style. It is especially true of the furniture of this great French period that it requires harmonious surround- ings. The slightest false touch throws everything out of balance at once. Of this fact the inventors were well aware. If Dutch furniture requires the quiet, restful art of Cuyp or Van der Neer, or Metzu or Jan Steen on the surrounding walls, the interiors of Louis Quinze demand the works of contemporary French genre-painters. FRENCH FURNITURE 181 All things worked together to produce a harmonious ensemble in this brilliant period. The royal tapestry and Sevres porcelain factories turned out their most beautiful productions to decorate rooms, furniture, LOUIS XV. SECRETAIRE. By Riesener, in his earlier manner. IN TRANSITIONAL STYLE, APPROACHING LOUIS SEIZE PERIOD. ( Wallace Collection . ) and for the table. Tapestries from Beauvais, Gobelins, and Aubusson, rich silks from the looms of Lyons, or from Lucca, Genoa, or Venice were made for wall- hangings, for chair-backs, for seats, and for sofas. 182 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Fragonard, Natoire, and Boucher painted lunettes over chimney-fronts, or panels of ceilings. Of great cabinetmakers, Riesener and David Roentgen, princes among ebenistes^ worked in wonderful manner in tulip-w’ood, in holly, in rosewood, purple wood, and laburnum to produce marquetry, the like of which has never been seen before nor since. Associated with the period of Louis XV. is the love for the lacquered panel. Huygens, a Dutchman, had achieved good results in imitations of Oriental lacquer, which in France, under the hand of Martin, a carriage-painter, born about 1706, rivalled the importations from Japan. It is stated that the secret of the fine, transparent lac polish that he used was obtained from the missionaries who resided in Japan before the date of the massacres and foreign expul- sion of all except the Dutch traders. Vernis-Martin, as his varnish was termed, became in general request. From 1744 for twenty years, Sieur Simon Etienne Martin was granted a monopoly to manufacture this lacquered work in the Oriental style. Although he declared that his secret would die with him, other members of his family continued the style, which was taken up by many imitators in the next reign. His varnish had a peculiar limpid transparency, and he obtained the wavy network of gold groundwork so successfully produced by Japanese and Chinese craftsmen. On this were delicately painted, by Boucher and other artists, Arcadian subjects, framed in rocaille style with gold thickly laid on, and so pure that in the bronze gilding and in the woodwork it maintains its fine lustre to the present day. By permission of Messrs. Foley dr Eassie. THE “bureau DU ROI.” THE MASTERPIECE OF RIESENER. (From a drawing by Walter Easbie.) ( / Vallace Collection . ) FRENCH FURNITURE 185 Towards the close of the reign of Louis XV. a new style set in, which reverted to simpler tastes, to which the name “ A la reine ” was given, in deference to the taste which is supposed to have emanated from Marie Leczinska, the queen, but is said to have been due to Madame du Pompadour. At the Wallace Collection is a fine secretaire, with the mounts and ornaments of gilt bronze cast and chased, which is illustrated (p. i8i). The central panel of marquetry shows, in life size, a cock, with the caducens, a snake, a banner, and symbolical in- struments. It is by Jean PTangois Riesener, and in his earliest manner, made in the later years of Louis Quinze in the Transitional style approaching the Louis Seize period. Among the wonderful creations of Riesener, prob- ably his masterpiece is the celebrated “ Bureau du Roi,” begun in 1760 by Oeben, and completed in 1769 by Riesener — who married the widow of Oeben, by the way. Its bronzes are by Duplesis, Winant, and Hervieux. The design and details show the transition between the Louis Quinze and the Louis Seize styles. The original, which is at the Louvre, is in marquetry of various coloured woods and adorned by plaques of gilt bronze, cast and chased. The copy from which our illustration is taken (p. 183) is in the Wallace Collection, and is by Dasson,and follows the original in proportions, design, and technique. 186 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE RECENT SALE PRICES.^ £ s. d. Table, Louis XV., oblong, the legs are cabriole, it contains one drawer and a writing-slide ; around the sides are inlaid panels of old Japanese lacquer, each panel bordered by elaborate scrollwork of chased ormolu, signed with “ B. V. R. B.,” surmounted by a slab of white marble, 39 in. wide. Christie, December 18, 1903 . 1900 o o Writing-table, Louis XV., marquetry, with sliding top and drawer, fitted with movable writing slab, compart- ment for ink-vases, &c., signed “ L. Doudin,” Louis XV. form, with cab- riole legs, the top decorated with scrolls forming panels, the centre one containing a Teniers figure sub- ject, parquetry and inlays of flowers round the sides, corner mounts, &c., of ormolu, cast and chased, 30 in. wide. Christie, March 18, 1904 . . . 630 o o Cartonniere, Louis XV, of inlaid tulip- wood, containing a clock by Palanson, a Paris, mounted with Chinese figures, masks, foliage and scrolls of chased ormolu, 48 in. high, 36 in. wide. Christie, April 22, 1904 . . . 409 lO o ' By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseur these items are given from their useful monthly publication, Auction Sale Prices. FRENCH FURNITURE Secretaires, pair, Louis XV., small mar- quetry, with fall-down front, drawer above and door below, inlaid with branches of flowers, and mounted with chased ormolu, surmounted by white marble slabs, 46 in. high, 22 ia wide. Christie, April 29, 1904 . . 46 Cabinet, Louis XV., parquetry, with fold- ing doors enclosing drawers, mounted with ormolu, surmounted by a Brescia marble slab, 30 in. high, 44 in. wide. Christie, April 29, 1904 . . -31 Bcrgeres, pair of Louis XV., corner-shaped, the frames of carved and gilt wood, the seats and backs covered with old Beauvais tapestry. Christie, May 18, 1904 420 Settee, Louis XV., oblong, of carved and gilt-wood, covered with panels of old Beauvais tapestry, 3 ft. 8 in. wide. Christie, May 18, 1904 . . , . 231 Canape, Louis XV., of carved and gilt wood, the borders carved with acan- thus scrolls, the seat and back covered with old Beauvais silk tapestry, decorated, 4 ft. 6 in. wide. Christie, May 18, 1904 420 187 s. d. 4 o 10 o o o o o o o VIII FRENCH FURNITURE* THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI 189 :< FRENCH FURNITURE. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI Louis XVL . . . 1774 - 1793 . 1730-1806. Riesener, ebeniste to Marie Antoinette (born near Cologne). 1789. Commencement of the French Revolution. The so-called Louis Seize period embraces much that is good from the later days of the previous reign. The same designers were employed with the addition of a few younger men. Caffieri and Riesener were producing excellent work, and above all was Gouthiere, whose renown as a founder and chaser of gilded bronze ornaments is unrivalled. Elegance and sim- plicity are again the prevailing notes. Straight lines took the place of the twisted contortions of the rococo style. Thin scrolls, garlands, ribbons and knots, classical cameo-shaped panels, and Sevres plaques form the characteristic ornamentation. The acanthus-leaf, distorted into unnatural pro- portions in the middle Louis Quinze period, returned to its normal shape, the egg-and-tongue moulding 192 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE came into use, and the delicacy of the laurel-leaf was employed in design in Louis Seize decorations. In the jewel cabinet illustrated (p. 193), the new style is shown at its best. The cabinet is inlaid in rosewood and sycamore, and bears the name of “ J. H. Riesener ” stamped on it. The chased ormolu mounts are by Gouthiere. The geometrical inlay is a tradition which Oeben left to his successors. The upper portion has a rising lid with internal trays. In the lower part is a drawer and a shelf. This piece is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Jones Bequest, and it is well worth detailed examination as being a representative specimen of the most artistic work produced at this period. Pierre Gouthiere had a complete mastery over his technique. The estimation with which his work is regarded has made furniture which he mounted bring extraordinary prices. In 1882, at the dispersal of the celebrated Hamilton Palace Collection, three speci- mens with his workmanship realised ;!^30,000. The Vernis-Martin panels were decorated by Watteau and Pater. The age of artificialities with its fetes-galantes in the royal gardens of the Luxem- bourg and in the pleasure parks of the Court, with the ill-starred Marie Antoinette playing at shepherds and shepherdesses, had its influence upon art. Watteau employed his brush to daintily paint the attitudes of Le Loigneur upon a fan-mount, or to depict elegantly dressed noblemen and ladies of the Court dancing elaborate minuets in satin shoes, or feasting from exquisite Sevres porcelain dishes in the damp corner of some park or old chateau. LOUIS XVI. JEWEL CABINET. Inlaid in rose and sycamore woods. Stamped “ H, Riesener. ’ Chased Ormoulu mountings by Gouthiere. Jones Bequest. Victoria and Albert Museum i) 13 FRENCH FURNITURE 195 The artificial pretence at Arcadian simplicity adopted by the Queen, in the intervals between her attendance at public hals-inasque, when she almost wantonly outraged the susceptibilities of the French people by her frivolities, found a more permanent form in interior decorations. Riesener and David designed a great deal of furniture for her. Dainty work-tables and writing-tables and other furniture of an elegant description are preserved in the national collection in the Louvre and at Fontainebleau, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Jones Bequest, and in the Wallace Collection. Tables of this nature are most eagerly sought after. A small table with plaques of porcelain in the side panels, which is said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette, was sold at Christie’s for £6,000 (Hamilton Collection). There is a similar writing-table in the Jones Collection, given by Marie Antoinette to Mrs. Eden, afterwards Lady Auckland. During the period under Louis Seize, when Fragonard and Natoire deftly painted the panels of rooms and filled ceilings with flying cupids and chains of roses, when Boucher was Director of the Academy, the interior of rooms assumed a boudoir-like appearance. The walls were decorated in a scheme of colour. Handsome fluted pillars with fine classic feeling were the framework of panelling painted in delicate and subdued tones. Oval mirrors, avoiding all massive construction, lightened the effect, and mantelpieces of white marble, and furniture evidently designed for use, completed the interiors of the homes of the grands 196 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE seigneurs. Sometimes the walls were painted, giving a lustrous appearance resembling silk, and this style is the forerunner of the modern abomination known as wall-paper. Before leaving this period of French furniture, when so much marquetry work was done of unsur- passed beauty and of unrivalled technique, a word may be said as to the number of woods used. Oeben and Riesener and their contemporaries used many foreign woods, of which the names are unfamiliar. Mr. Pollen, in his “ South Kensington Museum Handbook to Furniture and Woodwork,” has given the names of some of them, which are interesting as showing the number of woods especially selected for this artistic cabinetmaking. Tulip-wood is the variety known as Liriodendron tulipifera. Rosewood was extensively used, and holly {ilex aquifoliuni)^ maple {acer campestre), laburnum {cytisus A/pinus), and purple wood {copaifera pubiflord). Snake-wood was frequently used, and other kinds of light-brown wood in which the natural grain is waved or curled, presenting a pleasant appearance, and obviating the use of marquetry (pee “Woods used,” p. 29). In the great collections to which reference has been made, in well-known pieces made by Riesener his name is found stamped on the panel itself, or some- times on the oak lining. The large bureau in the Wallace Collection (Gallery xvi.. No. 66) is both signed and dated “ 20th February, 1769.” This piece, it is said, was ordered by Stanislas Leczinski, King of Poland, and was once one of the possessions of the Crown of France. FRENCH FURNITURE 197 With regard to the cost of pieces of furniture by the great master ebenistes, it is on record that a secretaire which was exhibited at Gore House in 1853, made originally for Beaumarchais by Riesener, cost 85,000 francs, a sum not much less than ;^'4,ooo. Celebrated copies have been made from these old models. The famous cabinet By permission of Messrs. iP'arinj^. LOUIS XVI. RIESENER COMMODE. with mounts by Gouthiere, now in the possession of the King, was copied about twenty-five years ago for the Marquis of Hertford, by permission of Queen Victoria. The piece took years to com- plete, and it is interesting to have the evidence of its copyists that the most difficult parts to imitate were the metal mounts. This replica cost some ^3,000, and is now in the Wallace Collection. The copy of the famous bureau or escritoire in the Louvre, 198 CHATS ON OLD FUENITURE known as the “ Bureau de St. Cloud,” was made by permission of the Emperor Napoleon III., and cost ^^*2,000. Another copy of the same piece exhibited at the French International Exhibition was sold for ;^3,500 to an English peeress. Many fine copies of Riesener’s work exist, and in the illustration (p. 197) a copy is given of a handsome commode, which exhibits his best style under the influence of his master, Oeben. RECENT SALE PRICES.^ £ s. d. Cabinets, pair of Louis XVI., dwarf ebony, the panels inlaid with black and gold lacquer, decorated with birds and trees in the Chinese taste, mounted with foliage borders of chased ormolu, and surmounted by veined black marble slabs, 45 in. high, 35 in. wide. Christie, November 20, 1903 . . 39 18 o Suite of Louis XVI. furniture, with fluted borders and legs, painted white and pale green, the seats, backs, and arms covered with old Beauvais tapestry, with vases and festoons of flowers and conventional arabesques in poly- chrome, on white ground in pale green borders, consisting of an ob- long settee, 72 in. wide, eight fauteuils. Christie, December 18, 1903 . 1470 o o ^ By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseur these items are given from their useful monthly publication, Auction Sale Prices, FRENCH FURNITURE £ Secretaire, Louis XVI., upright marque-» try, with fall-down front, drawer above, and folding doors below, in- laid with hunting trophies on trellis- pattern ground, mounted with foliage, friezes, and corner mounts of chased ormolu, and surmounted by a Breccia 1315 marble slab, stamped “ J. Stumpff. Me.,” 56 in. high, 40 in wide. Christie, February 12, 1904 .... Commode, en suite^ with five drawers, 58 in. wide. Christie, February 12, 1904 Work-table, Louis XVI., oval, in two tiers, upon a tripod stand, with double candle branches above ; the top tier is composed of a Sevres plaque, painted with sprays of roses ; around this is a gallery of chased ormolu ; the second tier is of parquetry, this has also a balcony ; the tripod base is of mahogany, with mounts of ormolu, cast and chased ; the nozzles for the two candles above are similar in material and decoration, width of top tier, 13 in. Christie, March 18, 1904 714 Table, Louis XVI., marquetry, signed “ N. Petit,” top inlaid with musical trophy, &c., mounts, &c., of ormolu, cast and chased, 30 in. wide. Christie, March 18, 1904 99 199 d. o o o o 5 o 200 CHATS ON OLD FURNITUEE £ s. cl. Fauteuils, pair, Louis XVI. (stamped “ J. Leglartier ”), tapered oblong backs and curved arms, turned legs, white and gilt, covered with Beauvais tapestry, with subjects from “ Fables de la Fontaine,” and other designs. Flashman & Co., Dover, April 26, 1904 75 o o Console-table, Louis XVI., carved and painted wood, with fluted legs and stretchers, and open frieze in front, surmounted by a slab of white marble, 5 ft. 4 in. wide. Christie, May 6, 1904 46 o o Commode, Louis XVI., containing three drawers, in front it is divided into three rectangular sunk panels of parquetry, each bordered with ma- hogany, with ormolu mounts, sur- mounted by a slab of fleur-de-peche marble, 57 in. wide. Christie, May 27 , 1904 357 o o Commode, Louis XVI., stamped with the name of “ J. FI. Reisener,” with tam- bour panels in front and drawers at the top ; it is chiefly composed of mahogany, the central panel inlaid in a coloured marquetry ; on either side, and at the ends, are panels of tulip-wood parquetery, the whole is mounted with ormolu, surmounted by a slab of veined marble, 34 in. wide. Christie, May 27, 1904 . . 3150 o o IX FRENCH FURNITURE. THE FIRST EMPIRE STYLE EMPIRE CHAIR. 201 PORTRAIT OF MADAME RECAMIER. (After David.) Showing Empire settee and footstool. {In the Louvre.) IX FRENCH FURNITURE— THE FIRST EMPIRE STYLE 1789. Commencement of French Revolution, 1798. Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt. 1805. Napoleon prepares to in- vade England ; Battle of Trafalgar ; French naval power destroyed. 1806. Napoleon issued Berlin Decree to destroy trade of England. 1812. Napoleon invaded Russia, with disastrous retreat from Moscow. 1814. Napoleon abdicated. 1815. Wellington defeated Na- poleon at Waterloo. When Louis XVI. called together the States- General in 1789, which had not met since 1614, the first stone was laid of the French Republic. 203 204 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE After the king was beheaded in 1793, the Reign of Terror followed, during which the wildest licence prevailed. Under the Directory, for four years from 1795, the country settled clown until the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who took the government in his own hands with the title of Consul, and in 1804 called himself Emperor of the French. During the Reign of Terror the ruthless fury of a nation under mobdaw did not spare the most beautiful objects of art which were associated with a hated aristocracy. Furniture especially suffered, and it is a matter for wonderment that so much escaped destruction. Most of the furniture of the royal palaces was consigned to the spoliation of “ the Black Committee,” who trafficked in works of great price, and sold to foreign dealers the gems of French art for less than a quarter of their real value. So wanton had become the destruction of magnificent furniture that the Convention, with an eye on the possibilities of raising money in the future, ordered the furniture to be safely stored in the museums of Paris. After so great a social upheaval, art in her turn was subjected to revolutionary notions. Men cast about to find something new. Art, more than ever, attempted to absorb the old classic spirit. The Revolution was the deathblow to Rococo ornament. With the classic influences came ideas from Egypt, and the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii provided a further source of design. A detail of a portion of a tripod table found at Pompeii shows the nature of the beautiful furniture discovered. FRENCH FURNITURE 205 As early as 1763, Grimm wrote: “ For some years past we are beginning to inquire for antique orna- ments and forms. The interior and exterior decora- tions of houses, furniture, materials of dress, work of the goldsmiths, all bear alike the stamp of the Greeks. The fashion passes from architecture to millinery ; our ladies have their hair dressed a la Grecque!' A French translation of Winckelmann appeared in 1765, and Diderot lent his powerful aid in heralding the dawn of the revival of the antique long before the curtain went up on the events of 1789. Paris in Revolution days assumed the atmosphere of ancient Rome. Children were given Greek and Roman names. Classical things got rather mixed. People called themselves “Romans.” Others had Athenian notions. Madame Vigee- Lebrun gave soiipers a la Grecqite. Madame Lebrun was Aspasia, and M. I’Abbe Barthelemy, in a Greek , , . , , , , (At Naples Museum.) dress with a laurel wreath on his head, recited a Greek poem. These, among a thousand other signs of the extraordinary spirit of classicism which possessed France, show how deep rooted had become the idea of a modern Republic that should emulate the fame of Athens and of Rome. The First DETAIL OF TRIPOD TABLE FOUND AT POMPEII. 206 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Consul fav'oured these ideas, and his portraits repre- sent him with a laurel wreath around his head posing as a Caesar. In tiansition days before the style known as Empire had become fixed there is exhibited in art Ey khid permission from the collection of Dr. Sigerson, Dublin. SERVANTE. Marble top ; supported on two ormoulu legs elaborately chased with figures oi Isis. Panelled at back with glass mirror. FRENCH ; LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. a feeling which suggests the deliberate search after new forms and new ideas. To this period belongs the servante, which, by the kindness of Dr. Siger- son, of Dublin, is reproduced from his collection. FEENCH FURNITURE 207 The claw-foot, the ram’s head, the bay-leaf, and a frequent use of caryatides and animal forms, is a common ornamentation in furniture of the Empire JEWEL CABINET OF THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE. Made on the occasion of her marriage with the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, in i8io. (Af Fontainebleau.) 208 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE period. In this specimen the two legs of ormolu have these characteristics, and it is noticeable that the shape of the leg and its details of ornament bear a striking resemblance to the leg of the Pompeiian table illustrated (p. 205). But the deities of Egypt have contributed a new feature in the seated figure of the goddess Isis. Napoleon himself encouraged the classic spirit which killed all memories of an a 7 icie}i regime. He would have been pleased to see all the relics of the former glories of France demolished. He had at one time a project to rebuild Versailles as a classic temple. At the height of his splendour he became the patron of the fine arts, and attempted to leave his impression upon art as he did upon everything else. New furniture was designed for the Imperial palaces. Riesener was alive, but it does not appear that he took any part in the new creations. David, the great French painter, an ardent Republican, was won over to become a Court painter. At Malmaison and at Fontainebleau there are many fine examples of the First Empire period which, how- ever, cannot be regarded as the most artistic in French furniture. Preserved at Fontainebleau is the jewel cabinet, made by Thomire and Odiot, at the Em- peror’s orders as a wedding gift, in 1810, to the Empress Marie Louise, in emulation of the celebrated Riesener cabinet at the Trianon. The wood used for this, and for most of the Empire cabinets, is rich mahogany, which affords a splendid ground for the bronze gilt mounts {see p. 207). FRENCH FURNITURE 209 The portrait of Madame Recamier, by David, which is in the Louvre, given as headpiece to this chapter, shows the severe style of furniture in use at the zenith of the Empire period. The couch follows classic models, and the tall candelabrum is a suggestion from Herculaneum models. The influence that this classic revival had upon furniture in this country is told in a subsequent chapter. In regard to costume, the gowns of the First Empire period have become quite fashionable in recent years. Although this style of furniture degenerated into commonplace designs with affectedly hard outlines, it had a considerable vogue. In addition to the influence it had upon the brothers Adam and upon Sheraton, it left its trace on English furniture up till the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The chair illustrated (p. 210) is about the year 1800 in date. There is presumptive evidence that this chair was made in Bombay after European design. It is of rosewood, carved in relief with honeysuckle and floral design. The scrolled ends of the top rail show at once its French derivation. In the national collections in this country there are very few specimens of Empire furniture. The Duke of Wellington has some fine examples at Apsley House, treasured relics of its historic associations with the victor of Waterloo. The demand in France, for furniture of the First Empire style has in all probability denuded the open market of many fine specimens. Owing to the fact that this country was at war with France when the style was at its height, 14 210 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE the number of Empire pieces imported was very limited, nor does First Empire furniture seem to have greatly captivated the taste of English collectors, as among the records of sales of furniture by public auction very little has come under the hammer. By kind fonnission n/ the Rev. H. V. I.e Bas, ARMCHAIR, ROSEWOOD. Carved in relief w'ith honeysuckle pattern, Formerly in possession of the Duke of Newcastle. ENGLISH ; LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. X CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 211 \ / By pert?tissi07i of the proprietors of the " Coit7toisseiir.'' TABLE MADE BY CHIPPENDALE. (Height, 29I in. ; width, 32I in. ; depth, 2i| in.) X CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE George 1 . George 1 1 . George HI. 1714-1727- 1727-1760. 1760-1820. Horace Walpole built Straw- berry Hill (1750) Sir William Chambers (1726- 1796) built Pagoda at Kevv about 1760. Chippendale’s D/rdc/ur published (1754). Thomas Chippendale, the master cabinetmaker of St. Martin’s Lane, has left a name which, like that of 213 2U CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Boule, has become a trade term to mark a certain style in furniture. With the dawn of the age of mahogany, Chippendale produced designs that were especially adapted to the new wood ; he relied solely upon the delicate carving for ornament, and rejected all inlay. Discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh, who brought specimens home with him, mahogany did not come into general use till about 1720. The material then used by Chippendale and his school was the splendid mahogany from the great untouched forests, producing at that time timber the like of which, in dimension and in quality, is now unprocurable. The cheaper “Hon- duras stuff” was then unknown, and English crews landed and cut timber from the Spanish possessions in spite of the protests of the owners. Many a stiff fight occurred, and many lives were lost in shipping this stolen mahogany to England to supply the demand for furniture. These nefarious proceedings more than once threatened to bring about war between England and Spain. The furniture of France, during the four great periods treated in the previous chapters, was de- signed for the use of the nobility. One wonders what furniture was in common use by the peasantry in France. In England, too, much of the furniture left for the examination of posterity was made for the use of the wealthy classes. In Jacobean days, settles and chairs, especially the Yorkshire and Derbyshire types, were in more common use, and the homely pieces of Queen Anne suggest less luxurious surroundings, but it was left for Chippen- CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 215 dale to impress his taste upon all classes. In the OLIVER goldsmith’s CHAIR. Wood, painted green, with circular seat, carved arms, and high back. Bequeathed by Oliver Goldsmith in 1774 liis friend. Dr. Hawes. {Bethnal Green Museum.) title-page of his great work, the Dircctoi', published 216 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE in 1754, he says that his designs are “ calculated to improv^e and refine the present taste, and suited to the fancy and circumstances of persons in all degrees of life.” His book of designs, as may naturally be supposed, was not greatly bought by the working classes, but fifteen copies of the Director went to Yorkshire, and many other copies were subscribed for in other parts of the country, so that local cabinetmakers began at once to fashion their furniture after his styles. The common form of chair at the time v/as similar to the specimen illustrated (p. 215), which formerly belonged to Oliver Goldsmith, and was bequeathed by him to his friend, Dr. Hawes. This is of soft wood, probably beech, painted green, with circular seat, curved arms, and high back. Chippendale revolutionised this inartistic style, and for the first time in the history of the manufacture of furniture in England, continental makers turned their eyes to this country in admiration of the style in vogue here, and in search of new designs. It might appear, on a hasty glance at some of Chippendale’s work, that originality was not his strong point. His claw-and-ball feet were not his own, and he borrowed them and the wide, spacious seats of his chairs from the Dutch, or from earlier English furniture under Dutch influence. Sir William Chambers, the architect of Somerset House, whose fondness for Chinese ornament pro- duced quite a craze, and who built the Pagoda in Kew Gardens, gave Chippendale another source of inspiration. In his later days he came under the Ry permission of the proprietors of the -Connoisseur:' CHI PPENDALE SETTEE ; WALNUT. ABOUT 1740- {From the collection of Sir W. E. Welby -Gregory, Bart.) CHIPPENDALE SETTEE, OAK. ABOUT I74O. {By courtesy of V. Robinson^ Esq., C.I.E.) CHIPPENDALE AND HIR STYLE 221 influence of the Gothic revival and was tempted to misuse Gothic ornament. His second style shows the Louis XIV. French decoration in subjection. In his ribbon-back chairs he employed the Louis XVI. ornamentation. But Chippendale was the most masterly adapter that England has ever produced. His adaptions became original under his hand, and his creations are sturdy and robust, tempered by French subtleties, and having, here and there, as in the fretwork in the chair-legs and angles, a suggestion of the East. He is the prince of chair-makers. His chairs are never unsymmetrical. He knew the exact proportion of ornament that the structure would gracefully bear. The splats in the chairs he made himself are of such accurate dimensions in relation to the open spaces on each side that this touch alone betrays the hand of the master, which is absent in the imitations of his followers. The illustration given of the Chippendale table in Chinese style (p. 213), is a beautiful and perfect piece of a type rarely met with. It was made by Chippen- dale for the great-grandmother of the present owner A similar table was in the possession of the Princess Josephine. In chairs, the back was sometimes of fret-cut work, as was also the design of the legs, with fretwork in the angles, which betray his fondness for the Chinese models. The Gothic style influenced Chippendale only to a slight degree. Horace Wal- pole at Strawberry Hill set the fashion in England, which fortunately was short-lived. Collectors divide Chippendale’s work into three 222 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE periods. To the first they assign the more solid chairs or settees with cabriole legs and Louis XIV. ornament, harmoniously blended with Queen Anne style. These chairs and settees are often found with claw-and-ball feet, and are frequently of walnut. Two fine examples of settees, the one of oak, the other of walnut, are illustrated. The second period embraces the fine creations which have the celebrated Louis XVI. ribbon orna- mentation in the backs. From one of the designs in Chippendale’s book, here illus- trated, the ele- gance of the style is shown. It is RIBBON PATTERN. ciiippENDALE CHAIR- gxuberantenouo’h but the author complains in his {From the Director F) volume that “ In executing many of these drawings, my pencil has but faintly carved out those images my fancy suggested ; but in this failure I console myself by reflecting that the greatest masters of every art have laboured under the same difficulties.” The ribbon-backed chair illustrated (p. 223) is one of the two given to an ancestor of the present owner by the fourth Duke of Marlborough in 1790. They were CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 223 formerly at Blenheim, and there is an added interest in them owing to the fact that the seats were worked by Sarah, the great Duchess of Marlborough. By permission of the proprietors of the “ Connoisseur." RIBBON-BACKED CHIPPENDALE CHAIR, FORMERLY AT BLENHEIM, THE SEAT WORKED BY SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH. 224 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE The latest style of Chippendale’s work is the Gothic. There are many pieces in existence which he probably had to produce to satisfy the taste of his fashionable clients, but the style is atrocious, and By permission oj the proprietors of the " Connoisseur." CHIPPENDALE CORNER CHAIR, ABOUT 1780. {Reproduced by kindness of the Hon. Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Rane, G.C.B., I.S.O.) the less said about them the better. The illustration (p. 225 ) of a chair-back from his design-book shows how offensive it could be. The fine corner-chair, here illustrated, exhibits the CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 225 strength and solidity he could impart to his work. His chairs were meant to sit upon, and are of ex- cellent carpentry. The square, straight legs are a feature of much of his work. The examples belong- ing to the India Office and the Governors of the Charterhouse illustrated (pp. 226, 227) show the type that he made his own and with which his name has been associated. Although his chairs are sought after as es- pecially beautiful in design (his father was a maker of chairs be- fore him) he made many other objects of furniture. The mirrors he designed are ex- quisite examples of fine woodcarving. The one illustrated (p. 229) shows the mastery he had over graceful out- line. Bureau bookcases with drop-down fronts have been successfully produced since his day after his models. The one illustrated (p. 231) shows a secret drawer, which is reached by removing the left-hand panel. Card-tables, settees, knife-boxes, tea-caddies, sideboards, and overmantles were made by him, which show by their diversity of technique that there was more than one pair of hands at work in carrying out his designs. The collecting of Chippendale furniture has become 15 GOTHIC CHIPPENDALE CHAIR-BACK. {From the “ Director.'') 226 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE so fashionable of late years that genuine old pieces are difficult to procure. It is true that two old chairs By permission of the propi-ietors of the “ Connoisseur^ MAHOCiANY CHIPPENDALE CHAIR. ABOUT 174O. [Property of the India Office.) v/ere discovered in a workhouse last year, but when specimens come into the market they usually bring CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 227 large prices. Two elbow state-chairs, with open- work backs, were sold a little while ago for seven By permission of the proprietors of the “ Connoisseu: MAHOGANY CHIPPENDALE CHAIR. {By pertilission of the Master- of the Charterhouse.) hundred and eighty guineas, and a set of six small chairs brought ninety-three guineas about the same time. But even this is not the top price reached, 228 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE for two chairs at Christie’s realised eleven hundred pounds ! Chippendale, the shopkeeper, of St. Martin’s Lane, who took orders for furniture, which he or his sons, or workmen under their direct supervision, executed, was one person, and Chippendale, who had quarrelled with the Society of Upholsterers, and published a book of designs on his own account, which quickly ran through three editions, was another person. In the one case he was a furniture maker whose pieces bring enormous prices. In the other he was the pioneer of popular taste and high-priest to the cabinetmakers scattered up and down England, who quickly realised the possibilities of his style, and rapidly produced good work on his lines. These pieces are by unknown men, and no doubt much of their work has been accredited to Chippen- dale himself. The illustration (p. 232 ) shows a mahogany chair well constructed, of a time con- temporary with Chippendale and made by some smaller maker. This type of chair has been copied over and over again till it has become a recognised pattern. It finds its counterpart in china in the old willow-pattern, which originated at Coalport and has been adopted as a stock design. Furniture is not like silver, where the mark of the maker was almost as obligatory as the hall mark. Artists, both great and small, have signed their pictures, and in the glorious days of the great French ebenistes and metal-chasers, signed work is frequently found. But in England, at a time when furniture of excellent design, of original conception, and of By permission of the proprietors of the '•Connoisseur.'' CHIPPENDAI.E MIRROR. CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 231 thoroughly good workmanship was produced in great quantities, the only surviving names are those of designers or cabinetmakers who have published books. So great was the influence of the style of Chip- By permission of Messrs. Harold G. Lancaster &• Co. CHIPPENDALE BUREAU BOOKCASE. With drop-down front, showing secret drawer. pendale that it permeated all classes of society. An interesting engraving by Stothard (p. 235) shows the interior of a room, and is dated 1782, the year that Rodney gained a splendid victory over the French 232 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE fleet in the West Indies, and the year that saw the independence of the United States recognised. Kitchen furniture or cottage furniture was made on the same lines by makers all over the country. The wood used was not mahogany; it was most frequently By permissi 07 t of Messrs. Harold G. Lancaster &■ Co MAHOGANY CHAIR. IN THE CHIPPENDALE STYLE. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. beech. Chairs of this make are not museum examples, but they are not devoid of a strong artistic feeling, and are especially English in character. More often than not the soft wood of this class of chair is found COTTAGE CHAIRS, BEECHVVOOD. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, IN STYLE OF CHIPPENDALE. CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 235 to be badly worm-eaten. Two chairs of this type, of beech, are illustrated (p. 233 ), and it is interesting to note that, as in the instance of the Yorkshire and Derbyshire chairs of Jacobean days made by local makers, it is not common to find many of exactly INTERIOR OF ROOM, ABOUT 1 782. [From engravi/ig after Stothard.) the same design. The craftsman gave a personal character to his handiwork, which makes such pieces of original and artistic interest, and cabinet- making and joinery was not then so machine-made as it is now. 236 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE It may be here remarked that the earlier pieces of the eighteenth century were polished much in the same manner as was old oak previously described. Highly polished surfaces and veneers, and that abomination “ French polish,” which is a cheap and nasty method of disguising poor wood, bring furniture within the early nineteenth-century days, when a wave of l^hilistine banalties swept over Europe. RECENT SALE PRICES.^ £ s. d. Side table, Chippendale, with gadrooned border, the front boldly carved with a grotesque mask, festoons of flowers and foliage, on carved legs with claw feet, 64 in. long. Christie, February 14, IQ02 126 o o Tea-caddy, Chippendale mahogany, square, with four divisions, the borders carved with rosettes and interlaced riband ornament, the sides inlaid with four old Worcester oblong plaques painted with exotic birds, insects, fruit, flowers, and festoons in colours on white ground, 10 in. square. Christie, F'ebruary 6, 1903 . . . . 52 10 o * By the kindness of the proprietors of the Co7inoisseu7 these items are given from their useful monthly publication Auction Sale Prices. CHIPPENDALE AND HIS STYLE 237 £ s. d. Fire-screen, Chippendale mahogany, con- taining a panel of old English petit- point needlework, worked with a basket of flowers in coloured silks, on pillar and tripod carved with foli- age and ball-and-claw feet. Christie, December 4, 1903 . . . . 17 17 o Armchairs, pair large Chippendale ma- hogany, with interlaced backs carved with foliage, the arms terminating in carved and gilt eagles’ heads. Christie, January 22, 1904 . . 88 4 o Cabinet, Chippendale mahogany, with glazed folding doors enclosing shelves, and with cupboards and eight small drawers below, the borders fluted, 8 ft. high, 8 ft. wide. Christie, January 22, 1904 . . 67 4 o Chairs, set of six Chippendale mahogany, with open interlaced backs, with scroll tops, carved with foliage and shell ornament, on carved cabriole legs and ball - and - claw feet. Christie, January 22, 1904 .... 102 18 o Table, Chippendale, oblong, cabriole legs, carved with shells, &c., on claw feet, surmounted by a veined white marble slab, 53 in. wide. Christie, March 4, 1904 . . . . . .73 o o 238 CHATS ON OLD FURNITUEE £ s. d. Settee, Chippendale mahogany, with double back with scroll top, carved with arabesque foliage, the arms ter- minating in masks, on legs carved with lions’ masks and claw feet, 54 in. wide. Christie, April 12, 1904 . . 278 5 o Mirror, Chippendale, carved with gilt, 88 in. high, 50 in. wide. Christie, May 18, 1904 94 10 O XI SHERATON, ADAM, AND HEPPELWHITE STYLES 339 By permission o/ Messrs. Harold G. Lancaster <5* Co. HEPPELWHITE SETTEE, MAHOGANY. XI SHERATON, ADAM, AND HEPPELWHITE STYLES Robert Adam . . 1728-1792. 1752. Loch and Copeland’s de- Thomas Sheraton . 1751-1806. signs published. 1765. Manwaring’s designs pub- lished. 1770. Ince and Mayhew’s de- signs published. 1788. Heppelwhite’s designs published. In the popular conception of the furniture of the three Georges the honours are divided between Chippendale and Sheraton. Up till recently all that was not Chippendale was Sheraton, and all that 16 241 242 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE was not Sheraton must be Chippendale. The one is represented by the straight-legged mahogany chairs or cabriole legs with claw-and-ball feet and the backs elaborately carved ; the other with finely tapered legs, built on elegant lines, and of satinwood, having marquetry decoration or painted panels. This is the rough generalisation that obtained in the earlier days of the craze for collecting eighteenth- century furniture. Heppelwhite and Adam (more often than not alluded to as Adams), are now added to the list, and auction catalogues attempt to differ- entiate accordingly. But these four names do not represent a quarter of the well-known makers who were producing good furniture in the days between the South Sea Bubble in 1720 and the battle of Waterloo in 1815. In this chapter it will be impossible to give more than a passing allusion to the less-known makers of the eighteenth century, but to those who wish to pursue the matter in more detailed manner the Bibliography annexed (p. 19) gives ample material for a closer study of the period. The four brothers Adam, sons of a well-known Scottish architect, were exponents of the classic style. Robert Adam was the architect of the fine houses in the Adelphi, and he designed the screen and gateway at the entrance to the Admiralty in 1758. James is credited with the designing of interior decorations and furniture. Carriages, sedan-chairs, and even plate were amongst the artistic objects to which these brothers gave their stamp. The classical capitals, mouldings and niches, the shell SHERATON ARMCHAIR; AUAM ARMCHAIR; MAHOGANY, ABOUT I780. MAHOGANY, ABOUT 1790. ARMCHAIR OF WALNUT, SHIELD- BACK CARVED WITH THREE OSTRICH FEATHERS. IN HEPPEL- WHITE STYLE. LATE EIGH- TEENTH CENTURY. CHAIR OF WALNUT, SHIELD- BACK ; IN THE STYLE OF HEPPELWHITE. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. ( Victoria and A Ibert lUiisetuji . ) SHERATON, ADAM, HEPPELWHITE 245 flutings and the light garlands in the Adam style, are welcome sights in many otherwise dreary streets in London. Robert, the eldest brother, lived from 1728 to 1792, and during that time exercised a great influence on English art. In 1790, a set of designs of English furniture were published by A. Heppelwhite. In these chairs with pierced backs, bookcases with fancifully framed glass doors, and mahogany bureaux, the influence of Chip- pendale is evident, but the robustness of the master and the individuality of his style become trans- formed into a lighter and more elegant fashion, to which French finesse and the Adam spirit have contributed their influence. In the illustration (p. 243) various types of chairs of the period are given. A chair termed the “ladder-back” was in use in France at the same time. In Chardin’s celebrated picture of jeu de Voyel' showing the interior of a parlour of the middle eighteenth century, a chair of this type is shown. The Heppelwhite settee illustrated as the headpiece to this chapter shows the delicate fluting in the woodwork, and the elaborated turned legs which were beginning to be fashionable at the close of the eighteenth century. The two chairs by Heppelwhite & Co., illustrated (p. 243), are typical examples of the elegance of the style which has an individuality of its own — a fact that collectors are beginning to recognise. The shield-back chair with wheat-ear and open- work decoration, and legs in which the lathe has been freely used, are characteristic types. The 246 CHATS OX OLD FUEXITURE elegance of the legs in Heppelwhite chairs is especially noticeable. The designers departed from Chippendale with results exquisitely symmetrical, and of most graceful ornamentation. Hogarth, in his biting satires on the absurdities of Kent, the architect, painter, sculptor, and ornamental gardener, whose claims to be any one of the four rest on slender foundations, did not prevent fashion- able ladies consulting him for designs for furniture, picture frames, chairs, tables, for cradles, for silver plate, and even for the construction of a barge. It is recorded by Walpole that two great ladies who implored him to design birthday gowns for them were decked out in incongruous devices : “ the one he dressed in a petticoat decorated in columns of the five orders, and the other like a bronze, in a copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of gold.” Heppelwhite learned the lesson of Hogarth, that “ the line of beauty is a curve,” and straight lines were studiously avoided in his designs. Of the varieties of chairs that he made, many have the Prince of Wales’s feathers either carved upon them in the centre of the open-work back or japanned upon the splat, a method of decoration largely employed in France, which has not always stood the test of time, for when examples are found they often want restoration. Of satin-wood, with paintings upon the panels, Heppelwhite produced some good examples, and when he attempted greater elaboration his style in pieces of involved design and intricacy of detail became less original, and came into contact with Sheraton. His painted furniture commands SHERATON, ADAM, HEPPELWHITE 247 high prices, and the name of Heppelwhite will stand as high as Chippendale or Sheraton for graceful interpretations of the spirit which invested the late eighteenth century. Before dealing with Sheraton in detail, the names of some lesser known makers contemporary with him may be mentioned. Matthias Lock, together with a cabinetmaker named Copeland, published in 1752 designs of furniture which derived their inspiration from the brothers Adam, which classic feeling later, in conjunction with the Egyptian and Pompeian spirit, dominated the style of the First Empire. Josiah Wedgwood, with his Etruscan vases, and Flaxman, his designer, filled with the new classic spirit, are examples in the world of pottery of the influences which were transmitted through the French Revolution to all forms of art when men cast about in every direction to find new ideas for design. Ince and Mayhew, two other furniture designers, published a book in 1770, and Johnson outdid Chippendale’s florid styles in a series of designs he brought out, which, with their twisted abortions, look almost like a parody of Thomas Chippendale’s worst features. There is a “ Chairmaker’s Guide,” by Manwaring and others in 1766, which contains designs mainly adapted from all that was being produced at the time. It is not easy to tell the difference between chairs made by Manwaring and those made by Chippendale, as he certainly stands next to the great master in producing types which have outlived ephemeral tastes, and taken their stand as fine artistic creations. 218 CHATS OX OLD FUEXITUEE Among other names are those of Shearer, Darly, and Gillow, all of whom were notable designers and makers of furniture in the period immediately pre- ceding the nineteenth century. Thomas Sheraton, contemporary with X^hlliam Blake the dreamer, shares with him the unfortunate posthumous honour of reaching sensational prices in auction rooms. There is much in common between the two men. Sheraton was born in 1751 at Stockton- on-Tees, and came to London to starve. Baptist preacher, cabinetmaker, author, teacher of drawing, he passed his life in poverty, and died in distressed circumstances. He was, before he brought out his book of designs, the author of several religious works. Often without capital to pursue his cabinetmaking he fell back on his aptitude for drawing, and gave lessons in design. He paid }'oung Black, who afterwards became Lord Provost of Edinburgh, half a guinea a week as workman in his cabinetmaker’s shop in Soho. In a pathetic picture of those days the Lord Provost, in his Memoirs, tells how Sheraton and his wife and child had only two cups and saucers and the child had a mug, and when the writer took tea with them the wife’s cup and saucer were given up to the guest, and she drank her tea from a common mug. This reads like Blake’s struggles when he had not money enough to procure copper- plates on which to engrave his wonderful visions. That the styles of Chippendale and Sheraton represent two distinct schools is borne out by what Sheraton himself thought of his great predecessor. Speaking in his own book of Chippendale’s previous SHERATON, ADAM, HEPPELWHITE 249 work he says : “ As for the designs themselves they are wholly antiquated, and laid aside, though possessed of great merit according to the times in which they were executed.” From this it would appear that the Chippendale style, at the time of Sheraton’s “ Cabinet- maker’s and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book,” published in 1793, had gone out of fashion. The woods mostly employed by Sheraton were satinwood, tulip-wood, rosewood, and apple-wood, and occasionally mahogany. In place of carved scrollwork he used marquetry, and on the cabinets and larger pieces panels were painted by Cipriani and Angelica Kauffman. There is a fine example of the latter’s work in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Sheraton borrowed largely from the French style under Louis XVI., when the lines had become severer ; he came, too, under the influence of the Adam designs. He commonly used turned legs, and often turned backs, in his chairs. His later examples had a hollowed or spoon back to fit the body of the sitter. When he used mahogany he realised the beauty of effect the dark wood would give to inlay of lighter coloured woods, or even of brass. The splats and balusters, and even the legs of some of his chairs, are inlaid with delicate marquetry work. Ornament for its own sake was scrupulously eschewed by Sheraton. The essential supports and uprights and stretcher-rails and other component parts of a piece of furniture were only decorated as portions of a preconceived whole. The legs were tapered, the plain surfaces were inlaid with marquetry. 250 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE but nothing meaningless was added. In France Sheraton’s style was termed Louis Seize a F AnglaiseS It was the firm of Heppelwhite that first intro- Ry per>7tission of .Sifssrs. Hainptoi &• Sons. OLD ENGLISH SECRETAIRE. Rosewood and satinwood. Drop-down front. duced the painted furniture into England, and under Sheraton it developed into an emulation of the fine work done by Watteau and Greuze in the days of Marie Antoinette. SHERATON, ADAM, HEPPEL WHITE 251 Among the varied pieces that Sheraton produced are a number of ingenious inventions in furniture, such as the library-steps he made for George III. to rise perpendicularly from the top of a table frame, and when folded up to be concealed within it. His By permission of Messrs. Harold G. Lancaster &■ Co. SHIELD-BACK CHAIR. MAHOGANY. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. bureau-bookcases and writing-cabinets have sliding flaps and secret drawers and devices intended to make them serve a number of purposes. On the front of his chairs is frequently found the 252 CHATS ON OLD FUENITUEE inverted bell flower, and another of his favourite forms of decoration is the acanthus ornament, which he puts to graceful use. The influence of his work, and of that of Hep- pelwhite & Co., was lasting, and much of the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century cabinetmaking owes its origin to their designs. The old English secretaire illustrated (p. 250), of rose and satinwood, with drawer above and fall-down front, having cupboard beneath with doors finely inlaid with plaques of old lac, is of the date when Heppelwhite was successfully introducing this class of French work into Ifngland. It is especially interesting to note that the drawer-handles are mounted with old Battersea enamel. The difficulty of definitely pronouncing as to the maker of many of the pieces of furniture of the late eighteenth century is recognised by experts. The chair illustrated (p. 251) cannot be assigned to any particular designer, though its genuine old feeling is indisputable. In the fine collection of old furniture of this period at the Victoria and Albert Museum will be found many examples of chairs with no other title assigned to them than “ late eighteenth century.” This fact speaks for itself. A great and growing school had followed the precepts of Chippendale and Heppelwhite and Sheraton. This glorious period of little more than half a century might have been developed into a new Renaissance in furniture. Unfortunately, the early days of the nineteenth century and the dreary Early Victorian period, both before and after the SHERATON, ADAM, HEPPELWHITE 253 ^reat Exhibition of 1851, display the most tasteless ineptitude in nearly every branch of art. From the days of Elizabeth down to the last of the Georges, English craftsmen, under various influences, have produced domestic furniture of great beauty. It is impossible to feel any interest in the Windsor chair, the saddle-bag couch, or the red mahogany cheffoniere. The specimens of misapplied work shown at the Bethnal Green Museum, relics of the English exhibits at the first Exhibition, are unworthy of great traditions. The awakened interest shown by all classes in old furniture will do much to carry the designers back to the best periods in order to study the inheritance the masters have left, and it is to be hoped that the message of the old craftsmen dead and gone will not fall on deaf ears. RECENT SALE PRICES.^ £ s. d. Chairs, wheel back, set of seven (including armchair), Adam, carved, mahogany. Good condition. Brady & Sons, Perth, September i, 1902 . . . . 27 2 o Mirror, Adam, in gilt frame, Corinthian pillar sides, ornamental glass panel at top, surmounted by a carved wood eagle figure. Gudgeon & Sons, Win- chester, November ii, 1903 . . 7 10 o * By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseur these items are given from their useful monthly publication, Auction Sale Prices. 254 CHATS OX OLD FURXITUEE Mantelpiece, Adam, carved wood, with Corinthian column supports, carved and figures and festoons. France & Sons, December i6, 1903 Mirrors, pair, oval, Adam, carved and gilt wood frame. Christie, March 18, 1904 Cabinet or enclosed buffet, Adam, on Empire lines, veneered on oak with grained Spanish mahogany, in the frieze is a long drawer, and below a cupboard, the whole on square feet, doors inlaid, handles, &c., of ormolu, 3 ft. 9 in. wide. Flashman & Co., Dover, April 26, 1904 Side-tables, pair hare-wood, by Adam, with rounded corners, on square- shaped tapering legs, the sides and borders inlaid with marquetry, in coloured woods, 53 in. wide. Christie, June 2, 1904 . . . . . Bookcase, 4 ft. 8 in., mahogany, Heppel- white, inlaid tulip-wood with box and ebony lines, fitted shelves and drawers, enclosed by doors. Bhillips, Son and Neale, November 17, 1903 Settee, Heppel white, square-shaped, 6 ft., and three elbow chairs. Gudgeon & Sons, Winchester, March 9, 1904 £ s. d. 20 o o 46 4 o 15 00 105 o o 44 o o 38 o o SHERATON, ADAM, HEPPELWHITE 255 Console-table, Heppelwhite satinwood, £ s. d. the top shaped as a broken ellipse, and of hare-wood with inlays of husks and flowers round a fan-pattern centre with borderings in ebony and other woods on a filling of satinwood ; the edge is bound with ormolu, reeded and cross banded, below is the frieze of satin-wood inlaid with honeysuckle, paterae, and other ornament in holly, &c., and supported on a pair of carved square tapered legs painted and gilt, and with pendants of husks and acanthus capitals, 4 ft 3 in. wide. Flashman & Co., Dover, April 26, 1904 . . . . 40 o o Suite of Heppelwhite mahogany furni- ture, with open shield backs, with vase-shaped centres carved, the back, arms and legs widely fluted, consist- ing of a settee, 74 in. wide, and ten armchairs. Christie, June 2, 1904 . 325 10 o Knife-box, oblong, Sheraton mahogany, with revolving front, inlaid with Prince-of-Wales’s feathers and borders in satinwood, 19J in. wide. Christie, November 21, 1902 . . . . 7 17 6 Sideboard, Sheraton, mahogany, satin- wood inlaid, fitted with brass rails. Dowell, Edinburgh, November 14, 1903 30 9 o 256 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE Wardrobe, Sheraton mahogany, banded with satinwood, with folding doors above and below, and five drawers in the centre, 7 ft. high, 8 ft. wide. Christie, January 22, 1904 Chairs, set of eighteen Sheraton, with oval backs with rail centres, fluted and slightly carved with foliage and beading, the seats covered with flowered crimson damask ; and a pair of settees, en suite, 6 ft. wide. Christie. February 26, 1904 Armchairs, pair, Sheraton, with shield- shaped backs, painted with Prince of Wales feathers, and pearl ornament on black ground. Christie, March 28, 1904 Cabinet, Sheraton satinwood, with glazed folding doors enclosing shelves, drawer in the centre forming secre- tary, and folding-doors below, painted with baskets of flowers, &c., 7 ft. 9 in. high, 41 in. wide. Christie, March 28, 1904 Secretaire, Sheraton small satinwood, with revolving tambour front, drawer and folding doors below, inlaid with arabesque foliage, 23 in. wide. Christie, April 29, 1804 £ s. d. 60 18 o 126 o o 28 7 o 189 o o 4; 5 o XII HINTS TO COLLECTORS 17 257 r » DESIGN FOR SPURIOUS MARQUETRY WORK. XII HINTS TO COLLECTORS The demand for old furniture has become so great that there is an increasing difficulty in supplying it. In order to satisfy the collector many artifices have been practised which in varying degree are difficult to detect, according to the skill and ingenuity of the present-day manufacturer of “antique” furniture. Replicas of old pieces are frequently made, and the workmanship is so excellent, and the copy of the old craftsman’s style so perfect, that it only requires a century or two of wear to give to the specimen the necessary tone which genuine old furniture has naturally acquired. 259 260 CHATS ON OLD FUKNITUEE In particular, French ornate furniture from the days of Boule to the Empire period has received the flattering attention of the fabricator by being imitated in all its details. These high-class French pieces are fine examples of cabinetmaking, and it is not easy for anybody who has not a special expert knowledge to pronounce definitely upon their authen- ticity. Doubts have even been expressed regarding certain pieces in the great national collections ; in fact the art of the forger in regard to old French furniture, of which specimens change hands at any- thing from .^^1,000 to 10 , 000 , has reached a very high level of excellence, having almost been elevated to one of the fine arts. If a clever workman possessed of great artistic feeling turns his attention to forging works of art, it is obvious that his triumph is com- plete over amateurs possessed of less artistic taste and knowledge than himself Many secret processes are employed to impart an appearance of age to the wood and to the metal mountings. The cruder methods are to eat off the sharper edges of the metal mountings by means of acid, and to discolour the newer surfaces by the aid of tobacco juice, both of which are not difficult to detect. The steady manufacture of these finer pieces goes on in France, and it has been found that the foggy atmosphere of London is especially useful in producing the effect of age upon the finer work, consequently many forged pieces are shipped to London to be stored in order to ripen until con- sidered fit for the American market, where so many forgeries have been planted. The reward is great, The middle portion, consisting of the two drawers and three panelled cupboards above, is genuine old carved oak. The stand, with the finely turned legs and rails, and the whole of the upper portion, is modern. HINTS TO COLLECTOKS 263 and even considering the amount of trouble bestowed upon such pieces and the excellence of the artistic work where the highest skilled labour is employed, the profit is enormous. The parvenu buys his Louis XIV. or Louis XV. suite, and pays an immense sum for pieces which are stated to have come from some French nobleman’s chateau, whose name must not be divulged, and so the interesting deal is brought to a successful termination. As an object-lesson as to the truth of the above remarks, the Wallace Collection contains a modern French copy in facsimile, by Dasson, of the celebra- ted “ Bureau du Roi ” of the Louis XV. period, the original being in the Louvre. The original is fully described in the chapter on Louis XV. style, and it is not too much to assert that ninety-nine per cent, of the visitors to the Collection could not say that this copy was not an old French specimen of over a century and a quarter ago, and the remaining one, unless he happened to be an expert, would not question its genuineness. Old oak has always been a favourite with the public, and from the modern Flemish monstrosities, carved in evil manner and displaying proportions in the worst possible taste, to the equally vulgar home production in buffet or sideboard, and stocked by many dealers in so-called “ antique ” furniture, the number of grotesque styles foisted upon the public within the last fifteen years has been remarkable. One wonders what has become of the high-backed oak chairs, nearly black with repeated applications of permanganate of potash, ha\'ing flaming red-leather 264 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE seats. They seem to have mysteriously disappeared from up-to-date “ antique ” stores of late. The public has taken to inquiring into art matters a little more closely. Nowadays the latest thing is “ fumed” oak, which is modern oak discoloured by means of ammonia, which darkens the surface of the wood to a depth of a sixteenth of an inch. It is not in- frequent to find an attempt made to represent this as old oak after an elaborate treatment with linseed oil, turpentine, and beeswax, though an examination of the interior edges of the wood will discover its modernity at once. Of course, such tricks as these are not practised by any firm of standing, who cannot afford to damage their reputation by any misrepresentation. As a general rule a dealer will readily point out the details of workmanship and offer technical informa- tion of much value to a beginner, if he discovers that his customer is a collector desirous of acquiring only fine specimens. It is more often than not the folly of the public, and not the dishonesty of the dealer, which results in trade frauds being committed in the attempt to execute some impossible and imperative order, which the moneyed collector has given. The difference between the genuine and the replica is most clearly made by old-fashioned firms of high standing. It is only when the collector enters into the arena and endeavours to set forth in quest of bargains, where he pits his skill against that of the dealer in the hope of outwitting the latter, that he is obviously on dangerous ground. In the one case he pays a higher price and obtains the benefit of the HINTS TO COLLECTORS 265 experience of a firm with expert knowledge, in the other he relies on his own judgment in picking up a bargain from some one whom he believes to be possessed of less knowledge than himself If he is successful he is not slow to brag about his cleverness ; but if he is worsted in the encounter, and pays, let us say, five pounds for an object which he fondly believed was worth fifty, if genuine, and which he subsequently discovers is worth less than he gave, there is nothing too bad to say concerning his antagonist. It is chiefly by the character of carved work that old pieces can be recognised. There are three classes of pitfalls to avoid. 1. Fraudulent pieces throughout, of modern wood and of modern carving. 2. “ Made-up ” pieces which often consist of genuine old pieces of carved wood pieced together ingeniously from fragments of carvings, with modern additions. 3. “ Restored ” pieces which are mainly old and should have received, if admitted to a collection, only the necessary repairs to make them serviceable. With regard to the first class, fraudulent through- out, it is the hope of the writer that enough has already been written in this volume to point the way to the reader and to assist him to follow his natural inclinations in developing the necessary critical taste to readily detect pieces wholly false in character and feeling. “ Made-up ” pieces present a greater difficulty. Considerable skill has been exercised in combining certain parts of old furniture into a whole which is. 266 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE however, mostly inharmonious. In pieces of this nature there is an absence of feeling in style and carving. It is difficult to define the exact meaning of the word “feeling” as applied to art objects, it is a subtle expression of skill and poetry which com- municates itself to the lover of art. It is so subtle and elusive that experts will tell one that such and such a piece requires to be “ lived with ” to test its authenticity. Mr. Frederick Roe, whose volume on “ Ancient Coffers and Cupboards ” displays a pro- found knowledge of his subject, writes, “ it occasion- ally happens that pieces are so artfully made up that only living with them will enable the collector to detect the truth. In dealing with pieces of this suspicious kind one often has to fall back on a sort of instinct. With critical collectors of every sort this innate sense plays a very important part.” Two specimens of “made-up” furniture are re- produced, which will bear close study in order to appreciate the difficulty of collecting old oak. The illustration of the buffet (p. 261) has many points of interest. The general appearance of the piece is not inharmonious. It has been carefully thought out and no less carefully put into effect. The middle portion, consisting of the three drawers and the three cupboards above, up to and including the shelf partition at the top, is the only old part. The handles, locks, and escutcheons of the two drawers are old, but the hinges above are modern copies of old designs, and the handles of the cupboards are modern replicas. The massive stand with artistically turned rails in ■r j HINTS TO COLLECTORS 269 Jacobean style, is soft wood artfully fumed and generously beeswaxed. The whole of the top por- tion has been added and is soft wood very well carved. The carving of the panels is also well executed, and is evidently a copy of some old design. The older portion is a fine piece of early Jacobean work, and it is not difficult to distinguish between the feeling of this and the expression conveyed by the modern woodwork. The patina of the wood after two centuries of exposure and polishing has that peculiarly pleasing appearance which accom- panies genuine old woodwork. The edges of the carving have lost their sharp angles, and the mellow- ness of the middle panels are in strong contrast to the harsher tone of those of the upper portion. Such a piece as this would not deceive an expert, nor, perhaps, is it intended to, or greater care would have been bestowed upon it, but it is sufficiently harmonious in composition not to offend in a glaring manner, and might easily deceive a tyro. The next piece illustrated (p. 267) is interesting from another point of view. It is a more elaborate attempt to produce a piece of old furniture in which the details themselves have all the mellowness of fine old oak. In fact, with the exception of one portion, some eight inches by three, to which allusion will be made later, the whole of it is genuine old oak. The three panels at the top are finely carved and are Jacobean work. The two outside panels at the bottom, though of a later period, are good work. The middle panel at the bottom is evidently a portion of a larger piece of carving, because the pattern 270 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE abruptly breaks off, and it was most certainly not designed by the old carver to lie on its side in this fashion. The two heads at the top corners have been cut from some old specimen, and artfully laid on. The carving on both sides, running below each head from top to bottom, is of two distinct designs joined in each case in a line level with the upper line of the lower panels. The two uprights on each side of the middle lower panel are exquisite pieces of carved work, but certainly never intended to be upright. They are evidently portions of a long, flowing orna- ment, as their cut-off appearance too plainly shows. The top panels have done duty elsewhere, as part of the ornamental carving at the top and bottom of each lozenge is lost. The long line of scrolled carving above them is distinctly of interest. On the left hand, from the head to the middle of the panel, a piece of newer carving has been inserted, some eight inches long. The wood, at one time darkened to correspond with the adjacent carving, has become lighter, which is always the case when wood is stained to match other portions. The carving in this new portion follows in every detail the lines of the older design, and is a very pretty piece of “ faking.” The cross-piece running from left to right, dividing the lower panels from the upper, is in three parts. An examination of the design shows that the last three circles on the right, and the last four on the left, are of smaller size than the others. The design evidently belonged to some other piece of furniture, HINTS TO COLLECTORS 271 and has been removed to do service in this “made-up ” production. In all probability the two uprights enclosing the top middle panel, and the two uprights on the outside at the bottom were once portions of a carved bedstead, as they are all of the same size and design. It is a notorious trick to slice an old carved bedpost into four pieces, skilfully fitting the pieces into “made-up” furniture. There is a prevalent idea that worm-holes are actually produced in furniture, in order to give a new piece a more realistic appearance. There are traditions of duck-shot having been used, and there is little doubt that holes were drilled by makers who knew their public. But it is improbable that such artifices would be of much use for deceptive purposes nowadays. As a matter of fact, worm-holes are avoided by any one who gives a moment’s thought to the matter. To get rid of worm in furniture is no easy task, and they eventually ruin any pieces they tenant. The illustration (p. 274 ) shows a piece of Spanish chestnut badly honeycombed by furniture worms. In chairs, especially, their havoc is almost irreparable, and in the softer woods the legs become too rotten to be repaired or even strengthened. Metal plates are often screwed on the sides to prevent the chairs falling to pieces, but they become useless to sit upon without fear of disaster. The insect is really the boring wood-beetle, which is armed with formidable forceps, to enable it tO' burrow through the wood. The worm, the larva of 272 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE this beetle, is also provided with boring apparatus, and this insect, whether as beetle or as worm, is a deadly enemy to all furniture. The “ death-watch ” is also accused of being a depredator of books and of furniture of soft wood. To remove worms from furniture is a costly undertaking, requiring the greatest skill. Large pieces of furniture have actually to be taken to pieces and the whole of the damaged parts removed with a chisel. In cases where the legs, or slender supports, have been attacked, the difficulty is one requiring the specialist’s most delicate attention. Various applications are recommended, but cannot be stated to be reliable. Injecting paraffin is said to be the best remedy, and putting the pieces in a chamber where all the openings have been sealed, and lighting pans of sulphur underneath the furniture, allowing the specimens to remain in this fumigating bath for some days is another method resorted to. With regard to Chippendale furniture, a word of caution is necessary. It is as impossible for Chippendale and his workmen to have produced all the furniture attributed to them as it is for the small factory at Lowestoft to have made all the china with which it is credited. As has been shown in the chapter on Thomas Chippendale, his styles were most extensively copied by his contemporaries all over the country and by many makers after him, and modern makers produce a great quantity of “Chippendale” every year. Only a careful examina- tion of museum pieces will train the eye of the collector. The fine sense of proportion, at once HINTS TO COLLECTORS 273 noticeable in the genuine Chippendale chair, is absent in the modern copy, and, above all, the carving in the latter is thin and poor. In the old days the wastage of wood was not a thing which the master had in his mind. In modern copies the curl of the arm, or the swell at the top of the back, shows a regard for economy. There is a thin, flat look about the result, which ought not to be mistaken. Scrolls and ribbon-work are often added to later pieces made in the style of Chippen- dale, which have enough wood in their surfaces to bear carving away. An ingenious device is adopted in cases of inlaid pieces of a small nature, such as imitation Sheraton clock-cases and knife-boxes and the frames of mirrors. Old en- gravings are procured of scroll- spurious mar- work, usually from the end of Q^etry work. some book. The illustration (p. 259) shows the class of engravings selected. These engravings are coated with a very thin layer of vellum, which is boiled down to a liquid, and carefully spread over them. After this treatment they are ready to be glued on to the panels to be “ faked,” and, when coated over with transparent varnish, they present the appearance of an ivory and ebony inlay. The frauds practised in satinwood and painted pieces are many and are exceedingly difficult to detect. Much of Sheraton’s furniture was veneered with finely selected specimens of West India satin- wood. These carefully chosen panels were painted 18 274 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE by Cipriani and others. The modern “ faker ” has not the material to select from, as the satinwood imported is not so beautiful nor so richly varied in grain as in the old days. He removes a side panel from an old piece, and substitutes another where its obnoxious presence is not so noticeable. To this old panel he affixes a modern coloured print after one of Sheraton’s artists, which, when carefully varnished over and skilfully treated so as to represent the cracks in the supposed old painting, is ready for insertion in the “ made-up ” sideboard, to catch the fancy of the unwary collector. FINIS. PIECE OF SPANISH CHESTNUT SHOWING RAVAGES OF WORMS. INDEX A Adam, the brothers, and their style, 209, 251-256 Adam armchair (illustrated), 243 Admiralty, screen and gateway, designed by Robert Adam, 242 Anne, Queen, furniture of, prices realised at auction, 153 insularity of furniture in reign of, 136 well-constructed furniture of period of, 145 Apsley House, collection of furni- ture at, 209 Armoire, see Glossary, 23 Ascham, quotation from, 68 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, chair at, 115 B Baroque, see Glossary, 23 Barrow, Sam, name of maker, on Queen Anne clock, 148 Battersea enamel, its use on furni- ture, 252 Berain, Jean, 162 Blenheim, chair from, 222 Bodleian Library, Oxford, illus- tration of chair at, 82 Bombe^ see Glossary, 23 Bookcase by Chippendale, 225, 231 Boucher, 182, 195 Boule, Andre Charles, and his marquetry, 160-162 cabinet (illustrated), 165 see Glossary, 23 and counter-boule (illus- trated), showing difference be- tween, 163 Bridal chest (German), 43 Bromley-by-Bow, “ Old Palace,” oak panelling from, 65 Brown and Bool, Messrs., speci- mens from collection of, 141, 150 Buhl work, 160 Bureau, see Glossary, 24 Burr- walnut panels, 139 Butter-cupboard, 104 275 276 INDEX c Cabinet, ebony, formerly property of Oliver Cromwell, 99 Cabriole, see Glossary, 24 Cabriole-leg, introduction of into England, 127 Caffieri, 177, 191 Cambridge, King’s College Chapel, woodwork of, 63 Cane seats and backs of chairs, adoption of, 117 work in chairs, later de- velopment of, 122 Carolean, see Glossary, 25 Carving supplanted by cane-work panels, 117 Cassone (marriage coffer), the Italian, 42 Caryatides, see Glossary, 24 Cassette, (strong box) of period of Louis XIV., 158 Cassone, see Glossary, 24 Catherine of Braganza, fashions introduced by, 114 Cecil, Lord Burleigh, quotation from, 66 Chair, Charles L, 93, 95 Chippendale, 223, 224, 226, 227, 232, 233 • “ Cromwellian,” 96 high-backed, Portuguese, I14 Italian (1620), 94 Jacobean, made from tim- ber of Drake’s Golden Hind, 83 James L, 87, 89 James 11 . , 123 Louis XIII. period, 159 ribbon-back, 222, 223 Oliver Goldsmith’s, 215 Chair with arms of first Earl of Strafford, 93 Chairs, test as to age of, 100 — types of Jacobean (illus- trated), 97, 100, 105, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124 types of Queen Anne period (illustrated), 143 upholstered, adopted in late Elizabethan days, 75 Chambers, Sir William, 216 Chardin, picture by, showing ladder-back chair, 245 Charles 1 . furniture, prices realised at auction, 106 IL furniture, prices real- ised at auction, 129 IL, repartee of, 114 Charterhouse, specimen at, illustra- tion of, 227 Chatsworth, work of Grinling Gibbons at, 121 Chests of drawers, Jacobean, 117 China collecting, influence of, on furniture, 127 Chinese and Japanese cabinets, 148 “ Chinese ” Chippendale, 213, 221 Chippendale, Thomas, and his style, 213-238 ; his Director, 215 bureau-bookcase, 225, 231 furniture, tricks concern- ing, 272; prices of, 227, 236 Cipriani, 249 Classic models paramount, 205 Claw-and-ball feet adopted by Chippendale, 216 feet (prior to Chippen- dale), 146 foot, introduction of, 127 INDEX 277 Clock, “Grandfather,” introduc- tion of, 127 Clocks, “Grandfather,” 147 Colbert, the guiding spirit of art under Louis XIV., 159 Collectors, hints to, 259-274 Commode, see Glossary, 24 Commodes (illustrated), Cressent. 171 ; Louis XIV., 173 ; Caffieri, 175 ; Riesener, 197 Contre partie, see Glossary, 24 Copeland, designs of, 247 Copies of old furniture, 259, 263 of fine French pieces, 185, 197 Cottage furniture (Chippendale style), 232 Counter-boule, see Glossary, 24 boule, 161 Court cupboard, 70 Cowley, quotation from, 85 Cradle, with initials and date, 96 Cressent, Charles, 177, 178 Crispin de Passe, chair designed by, 159 Cromwellian chair, 96 Cromwell’s ebony cabinet, 96 Cushions for chairs when adopted, 75 D Darly, 248 Dated pieces — 1593, Elizabethan bedstead, 66 1603, Mirror, carved oak frame, 71 1603, Court cupboard, 73 1616, Oak table, 85 1623, Chair, 97 1641, Cradle, 96 1642, Chair, 159 Dated pieces {continued ) — 1653, CdbinQi, front i piece 1760-69, “ Bureau du roi,” 185 1769, Bureau, 196 1810, Jewel cabinet, 207 David, 195, 208, 209 Derbyshire chairs, 103 Diderot, 205 Director^ designs of chair-backs from, 222, 225 Drake, Sir Francis, chair made from timber of Golden Hind, 82 Drawers, chests of, Jacobean, 117 Dressers, Normandy, 103 “ Welsh,” 100 Dublin Museum, illustration ot oak chest at, 44 Dutch art, introduction of, by William of Orange, 124 house, interior of (illus- trated), III lacquer work, 151 marquetry, 128, 146 marquetry chair, illustra- ted, 143 marquetry, prices realised at auction, 132 E Eassie, Walter, illustrations from drawings by, 171, 183 Egyptian design, influence of, 247 Eighteenth century, early, well- constructed furniture of, 145 interior of room (illus- trated), 235 Elizabethan mansions, some note- worthy, 67 Elizabethan woodwork, fine ex- ample of, 65 INDEX 278 Empire style furniture, 202-210 its influence on English makers, 209 England, Renaissance in, 37, 59-78 F Farmhouse furniture, 100 Figure in wood, how obtained, 76, 1 18 Fire of London, destruction of furniture by, 120 First Empire style, 203-210 Flemish wood-carving, its influ- ence on English craftsmen, 49 Fontainebleau, illustration of jewel cabinet at, 207 Foreign workmen employed in England, 37 Fragonard, 182, 195 France, Renaissance in, 43 Francis I., patron of the new art, 47 Frauds perpetrated on collectors, 259-274 French polish, see Glossary, 24, 236 French Revolution, vandalism during, 204 G Gate-leg table, see Glossary, 24 table, 95 Gibbons, Grinling, work of, 12 1 Gillow, 248 Golden Hind, chair made from timbers of, 82 Goldsmith, Oliver, chair of, 215, 216 Gothic, see Glossary, 25 revival, its influence on Chippendale, 221 Gouthiere, Pierre, 191, 192, 197 Grandfather clock, 147 clock, introduction of, 127 Great Hall at Hampton Court, 63 Grimm, quotation from, 205 Grotesque design prevalent in Elizabethan furniture, 69 H Hall, Hampton Court, the Great, 63 Middle Temple, carved screen at, 65 Hampton Court, the Great Hall at, 63 Court, work of Grinling Gibbons at, 121 Hampton & Sons, Messrs., pieces from collection of, 59, 95, 99, 1 15, 120, 121, 135, 143, 147, 148, 250 Harrington, Sir John, quotation from, 75 Henry VH.’s chapel, Westmin- ster Abbey, 63 VHL, patron of the new art, 37 ! Heppelwhite, the style of, 241-256 chairs (illustrated), 243 Herculaneum and Pompeii, influ- ence of excavations at, 204, 209 Hints to Collectors, 259-274 Hogarth, William, 246 Holbein in England, 37 Honey, W. G., Esq., specimen from collection of, 151 Huygens, Dutch lacquer of, 182 INDEX 279 I Ince & Mayhew’s designs, 247 India office, specimen at, illustra- tion of, 226 Ingenious contrivances of Shera- ton’s furniture, 25 1 Inlay, see Glossary, 25 in Elizabethan pieces, 69 Italian art dominates Elizabethan fashion, 68 Italy, Renaissance in, 41 J Jacobean, see Glossary, 25 furniture, its fine simplicity, 104 Jacobean furniture, prices realised at auction, 106, 129 James I., chair at Knole House, 86 II. furniture, prices realised at auction, 130 Japanese and Chinese cabinets, 148 Japanese lac imitated, 182 Jones Bequest, illustrations of specimens in, 165, 179, 193 Inigo, his influence, 93 K Kauffman, Angelica, 249 Kent, eighteenth-century designer, 246 Kew Gardens, pagoda at, 216 King’s College Chapel, Cambridge , woodwork of, 63 Kitchen furniture (Chippendale style), 232 Knole House, James I. furniture at, 86 L Lac, see Glossary, 26 Japanese and Chinese imi- tated, 182 Lacquer, see Glossary, 26 Lancaster & Co., Messrs. Harold G., specimens from collection of, 122, 123, 137, 231, 232, 241, 251 Leather work, cut design, Portu- guese chair-back, 128 Le Bas, Rev. H. V., illustration of specimen in possession of, 210 Lebrun, Madame, 205 Leczinski, Stanislas, King of Poland, 196 Linen pattern, see Glossary, 26 Lock, Matthias, designs of, 247 Louis XHI., chair of period of, 159 XIV., period of, 157-167 XV., period of, 171-187 XVI., period of, 191-200 Louvre, copy of picture in, 203 illustration of portrait in, 209 M Macaulay, Lord, quotation from, 96, 136 “ Made-up ” pieces, 265 Madrid National Museum, illus- tration of specimen at, 52 Mahogany period, 34 how procured by British captains, 214 Sir Walter Raleigh’s dis- I CO very of, 214 Mansions built in Elizabethan I days, 67 280 INDEX Manwaring, designs of, 247 Marie Antoinette, furniture belong- ing to, 179, 180, 195 Marie Louise, jewel cabinet of, 208 Marquetry, see Glossary, 26 Dutch, 128 Dutch, 146 elaborate, 180, 182 in Elizabethan pieces, 69 work, spurious, 273 Martin, Sieur Simon Etienne {^Vernis- Martin)^ 182 IMartin’s varnish ( Vernis- Martin), see Glossary, 28 Meissonier, inspirer of rococo style, 177 Middle Temple Hall, carved oak screen at, 65 Mirrors, arrangement in Hampton Court galleries, 123 at Nell Gwynne’s house, 123 Chippendale, 229 made by French and Italian workmen, 124 Queen Anne, 136 various forms of, 1 24 Mortise, see Glossary, 26 Mother-of-pearl inlay, seventeenth century, 116 Munich National Museum, illus- tration of specimen at, 39 N Naples Museum, illustration of table at, 205 Napoleon, his influence on art, 208 Natoire, 182, 195 Needlework decorated cabinet, Charles H. period, 112 Netherlands, Renaissance in, 49 Netscher, Caspar, illustration after picture by, i i i Normandy dressers, 103 Notable examples of sixteenth, century English woodwork, 65 O Oak, collectors of, hints to, 103, 118 furniture, the collector’s polish for, 1 18 period, 34 polish, see Glossary, 26 Oeben, Jean Francois, 178 Old oak, polish for, 118 P Panjuetry, see Glossary, 26 Passe Crispin de, chair designed by, 159 Pater, 192 Penshurst Place, Indo-Portuguese furniture at, 115 Petworth House, work ot Grin- ling Gibbons at, 121 Polish, French, 24 ; oil, 26 Pollen, J., Plungerford, quotation from, 196 Pompeii, influence of excavations at, 204, 208, 247 Ponsonby-Fane, Right Hon. Sir Spencer, specimens in collec- tion of, loi, 224 Portuguese furniture, late seven- teenth century, in England, 114 INDEX 281 Q Queen Anne cabinet (illustrated), 141 chairs (illustrated), 143 furniture, prices realised at auction, 153 mirror frame (illustrated), 137 settle (illustrated), 149, 155 R Raleigh, Sir Walter, mahogany first brought home by, 214 Recamier, portrait of, by David, 209 Reeded, see Glossary, 27 Renaissance, see Glossary, 27 in England, 37, 59-78 in France, 43 in Italy, 41 in the Netherlands, 49 in Spain, 48 on the Continent, 33-55 origin of, 38, 41 Restored, see Glossary, 27 cupboard showing over- elaboration, 73 “ Restored ” pieces, 265 Revolution in France, vandalism during, 204 Ribbon-back chair (illustrated), 222 ornamentation adapted from France, 64 ; (illustrated) 60 pattern, early use of, by French woodcarvers, 92 Riesener, Jean Franij'ois, 185, 191, 192, 195. 197, 208 Robinson, V. J., Esq., C.I.E., furniture belonging to, 219 Rococo, see Glossary, 27 Roe, Mr. Frederick, quotation from, 266 Roentgen, David, 182 S Sackville, Lord, early Jacobean furniture in collection of, 86 St. Paul’s Cathedral, work of Grinling Gibbons at, 121 Secret drawers, 114 drawers, pieces with, 113, 157, 231 drawers, Sheraton’s love of, 251 processes to impart age to spurious pieces, 260 Settee, see Glossary, 27 upholstered, early Jacobean, at Knole, 90 Settle, see Glossary, 28, 60 Queen Anne style, 145, 149 Sevres porcelain as decoration to furniture, 191 porcelain in harmony with furniture, 181 Shattock, Esq., T. Foster, speci- mens from collection of, 45 Shearer, 248 Sheraton, Thomas, and his style, 209, 241-256 chair (illustrated), 243 mechanical contrivances of his furniture, 251 poverty of, 248 ; his opinion of Chippendale, 248 282 INDEX Sigerson, Dr., Dublin, specimens from collection of, 157, 206 Sixteenth-century woodwork, fine example of, 65 Spain, Renaissance in, 48 Spanish furniture (illustrated), cabinet, 51 ; chest, 52 Spitalfields’ velvet for furniture, 147 weaving founded by aliens, 122 Splat, see Glossary, 28 Stothard, copy of engraving by, 23 D 235 Strafford, first Earl of, chair with arms of, 94 Strapwork, Glossary, 28 borrowed from Flemish designers, 64; illustrated, 61, 68 Elizabethan, 69 Stretche, Esq., T. E. Price, specimens from collection of, 75 , 78, 97 , 139, 140 Stretcher, see Glossary, 28 in chairs, evolution of the, 122 wear given to, by feet of sitters, 100 Sutton, Thomas, founder of Charterhouse Hospital, 86 Symonds, John Addington, “The Renaissance in Italy,” quoted, 41 T Table, gate-leg, see Glossary, 24 Tapestry factory established at Mortlake, 92 in harmony with furniture, 181 Tenon, see Glossary, 28 Terror, Reign of, vandalism during, 204 Timber split to give figure in surface, 76, 118 Transition between Gothic and Renaissance, 44, 4.7, 63 Turned work, see Glossary, 28 U Upholstered chairs adopted in late Elizabethan days, 75 seat (William and Mary), 122 V Vandyck at the Court of Charles I., 92 Varnish, oil, composition of, not now known, 119 spirit, a modern invention, 1 18 Vernis-Martin, see Glos- sary, 28 Veneer, see Glossary, 28 Veneered work, its adoption, 139 Veneers, woods irsed as, see Glos- sary, 29 Vernis-Mariin (Martin’s varnish), see Glossary, 28, 182 Versailles, sums spent upon build- ing, 166 ; vandalism at, 172, 177 W Wallace Collection, illustrations of specimens, at, 163, 171, 181, 183 Walnut period, 34 INDEX Walnut veneer, Queen Anne period, 139 Walpole, Horace, 221 Waring, Messrs., specimens from collection of, 81, 117, 119, 143, 149, 197 Watteau, 192 Wedgwood, Josiah, 247 Wellington, Duke of, collection in possession of, 209 Welsh dresser, 100 Westminster Abbey, Henry VH.’s chapel, 63 William and Mary furniture, prices realised at auction, 130 Winckelmann, 205 283 Woods preferred by Grinling Gibbons, 121 used for delicate carving by foreign schools, 1 16 used in furniture, see Glossary, 29 with fancy names, 29 ; botanical names of, 196 Woodwork, sixteenth century, fine examples of, 65 Worms, ravages of furniture, 234, 271, 274 Wren, Sir Christopher, 120 Y Yorkshire chairs, 103 "Cbe ©resbam press, UxNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, WOKING AND LONDON. 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