French and English Furniture

THE EARLY GEORGIAN PERIOD

PLATE XXIV

135

The Early Georgian Period covers an interval of about forty years,—from the accession of the House of Hanover in 1714 to the appearance of Chippendale’s The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director in 1754. During this period, strange to say, the art of the Regency and Louis XV., though not unfelt, has not so much influence as a spurious Gothic revival, an equally spurious “Chinese” furore and a fetish worship of Palladio and Classic architecture.

The commanding figures in the taste of the day were William Kent, Richard Boyle, third Earl of Burlington, and John Talman. Kent and Talman studied in Rome under the Chevalier Luti. When the Society of Antiquaries was established in its present form in 1718, Talman was appointed its first director. He died in 1726. Kent attracted the attention of the Earl of Burlington, and from 1716 to 1748, when Kent died, he 136received the shelter and hospitality of the Earl’s town house.

Kent’s charming personality, and the authority he assumed in art matters in consequence of his foreign training, enabled him to win a high position in fashionable circles. He soon became the arbiter of taste. Horace Walpole testifies: “He was not only consulted for furniture, as frames of pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, etc., but for plate, for a barge, for a cradle. And so impetuous was fashion that two great ladies prevailed on him to make designs for their birthday gowns. The one he dressed in a petticoat decorated with columns of the five orders; the other, like a bronze, in a copper-coloured satin with ornaments of gold.” Walpole also says: “Kent’s style predominated during his life.” Besides the numerous mansions he built for the nobility in the Classic style, he also built a “Gothic” house for Henry Pelham.

Pope says:

Kent was a painter, architect and general designer, and nobody has been found to oppose Hogarth’s dictum that neither England nor Italy ever produced a more contemptible dauber. Hogarth satirizes him in two of his prints: Masquerades and Operas (1724), and The Man of Taste (1732). In the former, the statue of Kent 137surmounts Burlington Gate, and supported on a lower level by the statues of Raphael and Michael Angelo; in the latter, he again towers above the same two artists over the gate (of taste), which is being whitewashed. On a scaffolding Alexander Pope’s diminutive form is wielding the brush and spattering passers-by with the whitewash. The Duke of Chandos gets most of it. The Earl of Burlington is mounting the ladder with more material.

Burlington House, Piccadilly, was practically rebuilt about 1716 from the Earl’s plans. It formed a striking exception to the mixed and commonplace architecture of the period, and aroused the enthusiasm of contemporary writers. Gay writes: “Beauty within, without proportion reigns.” Lord Hervey, however, sneers at its lack of accommodation:

This mordant wit also satirizes another residence at Chiswick owned by Lord Burlington, which was built about 1730 after the model of the celebrated villa of the worshipped Palladio. According to Hervey’s, “It was too small to live in and too large to hang to a watch.” Burlington designed mansions for others also. One of these, belonging to General Wade, in Cook Street, provoked Walpole to say: “It is worse contrived in the inside than is conceivable, all to humour the beauty in front.” Lord Chesterfield also suggested: “As the general could not live in it to his ease, he had better take a house over against it and look at it.”

138The discomfort of the interior arrangement of even the most magnificent houses built at the beginning of this period is attested by more than one writer. Pope sneers at Blenheim as follows:

How strong the fashionable taste of the day was for Gothic, Chinese and French decorations is gathered from the indignant writings of contemporaries who could not bear to see their pet Classic neglected. We learn that by the middle of the century the craze for the French and Chinese had somewhat abated. In 1756, Isaac Ware has much to say on the late tendencies. He speaks bitterly of the degeneracy of modern taste, and attacks those who “flew into every absurdity that the scope of things could afford. Of this we see instances in many expensive works which stand, and will stand to disgrace our country: and we have models of them, and of others as ridiculous, proposed for imitation.... 139We have seen architecture, a science founded upon the soundest principles, disgraced by ignorant caprice, and fashion very lately attempted, and it would be well if we could not say attempts now, to undermine and destroy it by the caprice of France, and by the whims of China.

PLATE XXV

“How must a man of true taste frown to see in some of the best buildings of that country, as it would pretend for the encouragement of arts, Corinthian capitals made of cocks’ heads. It is called the French (order) and let them have the praise of it; the Gothic shafts and Chinese bells are not below or beyond it in poorness of imagination.

“It is our misfortune to see at this time (1756) an unmeaning scrawl of (Cs) inverted, turned and hooked together take place of Greek and Roman elegance, even in our most expensive decorations. This is not because the possessor thinks there is or can be elegance in such fond, weak, ill-jointed and unmeaning figures: it is usually because it is French; and fashion commands that whatever is French is to be admired as fine.

“While these French decorations were driving out from the inside of our houses those ceilings which a Burlington had taught us to introduce from Roman temples, and those ornaments of doors which a better taste under Inigo Jones had formed upon the models of the best Roman structures; the Goths seemed to have seized upon pavilions, and the Chinese on rooms of pleasure. The jointed columns rose without proportion for the support of the thatched roof in some lower ground, while bells dangled from every corner of the edifice that caught the traveller’s eye upon an elevation.

140“True taste and good admonitions have got the better of these; and they are left for cake-houses for Sunday apprentices. The French are more difficult to conquer; but let us rouse in every sense the natural spirit against them; and no more permit them to deprave our taste in this noble science, than to introduce among us miseries of their government or fooleries of their religion.”

Again he says:

“The French have furnished us with abundance of fanciful decorations for these purposes (ceilings and panels) little less barbarous than the Gothic; and they were, like that species of building (for we will not descend to call it architecture) received with great readyness; the art seemed upon the point of being lost in England; but a better taste has now prevailed. We should, in that danger, have declared for banishing whatever came under the denomination of French ornament; but, now we see it over, the art will be to receive these ornaments with discretion, to adapt them to the few uses for which they are proper, and to soften their luxurious use, and blend them with better figures, till we have reduced them into a more decent appearance.

“A ceiling straggled over with arched lines, twisted curves, with X’s, C’s and tangled semi-circles, may please the light eye of the French, who seldom carry their observation farther than a casual glance; but this alone is poor, fantastical and awkward; it is a strange phrase to use for anything from France, but those who have seen such ceilings as we here describe must acknowledge it is just.”

141He then goes on to recommend a ceiling which the plate shows to be Louis XV. in style.

Here then we have direct evidence of the favour in which the styles of the Regency had been received in England. The rocaille decoration and the excessive use of Chinese subjects, and monkeys, arabesques and floral devices, and particularly the broken curve, quickly overcame the opposition encountered from conservative members of the old school and strongly influenced Germany and England.

The expensive French wall-painting and silken hangings are imitated in wall-paper. The taste even spread to America, for Mr. Hancock, of Boston, sent to London in 1736 for paper-hangings for one of the rooms of his new house. He says about three or four years ago one of his friends had a hanging like the sample he sends, but he adds, “If they can make it more beautiful by adding more birds flying here and there, with some landskips at the bottom, should like it well. Let the ground be the same colour of the pattern. At the top and bottom was a narrow border of about 2 inches wide, which would have to mine.... In the other part of these hangings are great variety of different sorts of birds, peacocks, macoys, squirril, monkys, fruit and flowers, etc.”

The macoys (which, of course, are macaws or parrots) and the monkeys proclaim the Regency taste.

Some characteristics of the Regency style are as follows: The legs of the furniture are slightly curved and not so heavy as the Louis XIV. furniture. However, they retain a look of solidity. Round the edge of the table, under the top, is usually a frieze which forms a 142descending curve in the middle; it sometimes assumes the form of a bow also. This has been called the contour d’arbalète. At the top of the legs, and on the corners of other pieces of furniture, are mountings of bronze often showing acanthus motives with a head which is more expressive than the antique mascarons of the preceding style. Sometimes heads of animals also appear. The scroll and shell-work is rapidly becoming ornate. A fine example of Regency work is shown in the lower screen on Plate XXX., in which the prevailing vogue of the monkey is noticeable. Besides Watteau, Chinese designs were also produced by Aubert (d. 1721), La Joüe (d. 1752), Fraisse (d. 1735), and Mondon le fils (d. 1738). Roumier (d. 1724) designed tables of this period.

The French school, which Chippendale was going to follow almost slavishly in his book of designs, had many admirers in England long before. In 1740, Batty Langley brought out The City and Country Builder’s and Workman’s Treasury of Designs. In this and other works, he gives several hundred designs for buffets, chimney-pieces, cisterns, clocks, table-frames, etc. Some of these are confessedly “after the French manner.” Of these, we have the curious chest-of-drawers on Plate XXVIII., the dressing-table on Plate XXVI. and the clock and bookcase on Plate XXV.

After examining Batty’s dressing-table and chest-of-drawers, the latter of which he has even neglected to supply with handles, we are astonished to come across anything so graceful as the console-table on Plate XXVI., which also appears in his book. However, in our examination 143of French designs, we come across this very table signed Picau, so that Mr. Langley has shamelessly transferred a French design to his own book without acknowledgment, as Picau considerably antedated Langley. The influence of the French decoration is also noticeable in the bookcase, No. 1, Plate XXV.

Langley thus catered to some extent to the tastes of those who admired the French styles, but he did not approve of them himself. He says:

“The great pleasure that builders and workmen of all kinds (those called cabinet-makers, I think, only excepted) have of late years taken in the study of architecture has induced me to the compiling of this work. And indeed I am very sorry that cabinet-makers should have been supine therein; because of all small architectural works none is more ornamental to buildings than theirs, when well and justly executed, as being generally made with such kinds of materials which Nature has wantonly adorned with delightful textures of colours that contribute very greatly to their beauty.

“The evil genius that so presides over cabinet-makers as to direct them to persevere in such a pertinacious and stupid manner that the rules of architecture, from whence all beautiful proportions are deduced, are unworthy of their regard, I am at a loss to discover; except Murcea, the Goddess of Sloth, acts that part and has thus influenced them to conceal their dronish, lowlife incapacities and prompt them, with the fox in the fable, to pronounce grapes sour that ripen out of their reach.

“Cabinet-makers originally were no more than spurious 144indocile chips, expelled by joiners for the superfluity of their sap, and also, by instilling stupid notions and prejudice to architecture into the minds of youth educated under them has been the cause that at this time ’tis a very great difficulty to find one in fifty of them that can make a book-case, etc., indispensably true after any of the Five Orders without being obliged to go to a joiner for to set out the work and make his templets to work by.

“But if these gentlemen persist much longer thus to despise the study of this noble art, the very basis and soul of their trade, which now to many joiners is well understood, they will soon find the bad consequences of so doing and have time enough on their hands to repent of their folly—and more especially since that our nobility and gentry delight themselves now more than ever in the study of architecture, which enables them to distinguish good work and workmen from assuming pretenders.”

On Plate XXV. are three of his eight designs of bookcases, which, “if executed by a good joiner, and with beautiful materials, will have good effects, or even if by a cabinet-maker, provided that he understands how to proportion and work the Five Orders, which at this time, to the shame of that trade be it spoken, there is not one in a hundred that ever employed a moment’s thought thereon, or knows the Tuscan from the Doric, or the Corinthian from the Composite Order, and more especially if the Doric freeze hath its triglyphs and mutules omitted. In short, the ultimate knowledge of these sort of workmen is generally seen to finish with a monstrous 145Cove, on an Astragal, crowned with a Cima Reversa, in an open pediment of stupid height.

PLATE XXVI

“When a Gentleman applies himself with a good design of a book-case, etc., made by an able architect, to most of the masters in this trade, they instantly condemn it and allege that ’tis not possible to make cabinet works look well that are proportioned by the Rules of Architecture; because, they say, the members will be too large and heavy, etc., whereas the real truth is that they do not understand how to proportion and work the members of these designs, and therefore advise the unwary to accept of such stuff as their poor, crazy capacities will enable them to make, and wherein ’tis always seen that the magnitudes of their Coves and Cima Reversas (their darling finishing) are much larger members than any members of a regular cornice (even of the Tuscan Order) of the same height, wherefore, ’tis evident that all their assertions of this kind are used for nothing more than to conceal an infinite fund of stubborn ignorance which cannot be paralleled by any other set of mortals in the world. This I mention that for the future Gentlemen may have a more particular regard in the choice of works and workmen, in this way, than any have heretofore done. For I do affirm that a good joiner will not only execute a design of this nature in much less time than any of the common run of cabinet-makers can, but will perform it in that masterly manner which is known but to very few, if any, in the cabinet trade.”

Isaac Ware, who, as we have seen, was a determined enemy to the French innovations, says: “We shall here direct the eye of the student from the frivolous decorations 146which France has furnished us to those which dignified the works of Greece and Rome, and have been an honour to the names of some of our own architects in times of better taste.” Though he prefers the nobler style of Inigo Jones, he advises the architect “to consider the other kind of richness. We consider the proprietor dislikes the former kind; he thinks it too heavy, or he has corrupted his taste in France so far as to dislike the Grecian science. He desires to have a ceiling as rich as that proposed to him, but more airy; and he will have some of the French crooked figures introduced into it.”

“A continued chimney-piece can only be proper where there are ornaments of sculpture about the room; for otherwise there will be nothing with which it can correspond. Therefore, against all other considerations, let him design at all times a simple chimney-piece for a room that is hung, and a continued one for a room that is finished any other way. No wainscot is or can be made without panels; and it will be easy to make the upper part of a continued chimney-piece correspond with them, let them be of whatsoever kind.... No more will be required than to form a regular design of an upper part for the chimney-piece intended to be placed there, and to execute it with the common mouldings of the panels.... The purpose of the work is to raise an ornament like that of the other parts of the room from the chimney-piece to the ceiling; and in such manner to adapt this to the chimney-piece itself that it shall seem naturally to rise from it and be connected with it; that it shall be a regular and proportioned part of the 147chimney work at the same time that it is also a regular part of the ornament of the room....

“It is the first object that strikes the eye, on entrance and the most conspicuous part of the room, and for that reason, while he gives it the same air as the rest, let him make it somewhat richer. When the common mouldings of the wainscot have some sculpture, let those which are continued over the chimney have more, as well as be laid in greater number, and to whatever degree the rest is carried, let this part exceed it.

“Rooms that are hung are debarred by the rules of the science from the advantage of this ornament; but for all other kinds whatsoever, it is very well adapted. Where the walls are plain stucco, this upper part of the chimney-piece must have very little ornament; but even in that case, as the lower part will naturally be very plain, a light representation of its most conspicuous parts in the space above will be far from unpleasing.

“Let him (the student) not suppose this circumstance of room finished with plain stucco to be a parallel case with that of one hung with paper or damask, and in which we limited him to the use of a simple chimney. Here the space within the panel over the chimney being plain as the rest of the wall, at the same time it admits the grace of this addition, keeps up a similarity with the rest, without anything improper in itself; but, in the other case, the great contrast in the colour or figures of the paper or silk would break in upon the intended composure of the whole; and the mouldings, whether in wood or stucco, would appear to be stuck on the paper, not to rise from it, as they will certainly 148appear to do from the stucco-wall. The upper part of the chimney-piece, which in the case of our plain stucco-wall shews itself only what it is, that is, a light ornament continued from the lower work of the chimney, will, where there is paper or silk, have the aspect of a frame; and these will appear as pictures in it. All know how poor this must look, since, in the reality, what could be so mean as the thought of framing a piece of the hanging?”

Having now learned from contemporary authorities the most approved styles of decoration of ceilings, walls and chimney-pieces during the Early Georgian period, we may proceed to say a few words concerning the Gothic and Chinese influence. The Chinese fad, which is often wrongly attributed to Sir William Chambers, was no new thing, as we have already seen. In the preface to his book of designs he had made in Canton, he clearly states that his object is to correct the absurdities that were daily produced for the public as “Chinese.” He says:

“It was not my design to publish them, nor would they now appear, were it not in compliance with the desire of several lovers of the arts, who thought them worthy of the perusal of the publick, and that they might be of use in putting a stop to the extraordinary fancies that daily appear under the name of Chinese, though most of them are mere inventions, the rest copies from the lame representations found on porcelain and paper-hangings.”

PLATE XXVII

Towards the middle of the century, many books appeared by Johnson, Edwards and Darly, Halfpenny and 149others, giving designs for Chinese temples, arches, garden-seats, bridges, palings, etc. When Chippendale brought out his book, as we shall see, he felt compelled to bow to the prevailing taste, and give designs of Chinese character.

Just as the Chinese fashion is attributed to Chambers, so the Gothic revival is frequently erroneously attributed to Horace Walpole. It is true that he greatly liked to encourage that form of architecture, but the taste was reviving before he had any influence.

In 1742, Langley published his Gothic Architecture. He says it is “restored and improved by a great variety of grand and useful designs entirely new in the Gothic Mode for the ornamenting of buildings and gardens exceeding everything that’s extant.” The subscribers to this work included eighty-one of the nobility, two bishops, nine judges, two ladies of title, sixteen gentlemen, three carpenters, one smith and one mason.

This list shows that it was already fashionable to take interest in “Gothic.” Horace Walpole was one of the subscribers, but the claim made for him of having originated revived interest in Gothic architecture is disposed of by the fact that he was not yet in possession of Strawberry Hill, and it was not till 1750 that he wrote: “I am going to build a little Gothic castle.” In fact, in 1756, Isaac Ware calls it a “late taste” and implies that it is already on the wane. He writes: “The Gothic is distinguished from the antique architecture by its ornaments being whimsical and its profiles incorrect. The inventors of it probably thought they exceeded the Grecian method, and some of late have seemed, by their 150fondness for Gothic edifices, to be of the same opinion; but this was but a caprice, and, to the credit of our taste, is going out of fashion again as hastily as it came in.... The error of the late taste has been in attempting to bring the Gothic into use in smaller buildings, in which it can never look well.”

The Englishmen of taste had adopted the French fondness for ruins in decoration, and real and artificial ruins in their gardens. It is said that some even dismantled their castles to have respectable ruins of their own.

In Langley’s Principles of Gardening, published in 1728, this taste is catered to. Among his plates is “an avenue in perspective, terminated with the ruins of an ancient building after the Roman manner”; and eight plates are devoted to “views of ruins after the old Roman manner for the termination of walks, avenues, etc.” These ruins, some of which are of a false Gothic style, are to adorn “such walks that end in disagreeable objects,” and “may either be painted upon canvas, or actually built in that manner with brick, and covered with plastering in imitation of stone.”

We get a faint hint of the rococo also from the following advice: “When figures of shell-work are erected in the midst of fountains, we receive a double pleasure of a fountain and cascade also by the waters agreeably murmuring down the rocky shells.”

Langley was far more responsible for the “Gothic” craze than Walpole was. Besides writing books on the subject, his services were engaged by the latter, doubtless on account of his being the authority of the day on that subject. Walpole’s good sense, however, soon taught 151him dissatisfaction. When we look at the Gothic chimney-pieces and other features that adorned the rooms of Strawberry Hill, we cannot wonder at his dissatisfaction. We learn from the Gentleman’s Magazine:

“Through the inability of his architects, particularly of Langley (who, though esteemed capital in his day, knew nothing of the art of constructing modern Gothic), his ideas were never properly executed. Mr. Walpole often complained they were rather Moorish than Gothic; however he could not at that day procure better assistance. He was always, however, among the first to depreciate his own architecture.”

Mrs. Delany’s letters afford evidence of the prevailing Gothic taste. In 1754, we hear: “I am working stools in worsted chenille for the Gothic cell.” In 1756, she mentions a great Gothic hall in her description of Lady Oxford’s house. She also says:

“The chapel is to be new built in the same taste; the alterations Lady Oxford made in this place cost above 40,000 pounds, and her apartment is the prettiest thing I ever saw, consisting of a skylight antechamber or vestibule, adorned in the Gothic way. The rooms that encompass it are a library, a dressing-room, a room fitted up with china and Japan of the rarest kinds, and a Gothic room full of charming pictures, and embellished with everything that can make it look gay and pleasant; it is lighted by a window something of the Venetian kind, but prettier, and the whole breadth of one side of the room.” Then, in 1758:

“My closet is just hung with crimson paper, a small pattern that looks like velvet; as soon as dry, I shall put 152up my pictures; and I am going to make a wreath to go round the circular window in the chapel, of oak branches, vines and corn; the benches for the servants are fixed, the chairs for the upper part of the chapel are a whim of mine, but I am not sure till I see a pattern chair that I shall like it; it is to be in the shape and ornamented like a Gothic arch.”

Hogarth should be a very valuable guide to the furniture of this period. As a rule, however, he seems to care very little about the delicate details and generalizes the forms, giving an impression of excessive heaviness and clumsiness. However, occasionally we get a good hint, as in the bed in the scene of the countess’s toilet in Marriage à la Mode. One of Hogarth’s tables is shown on Plate XXVIII., No. 1. It will be noticed how little trouble he has taken to indicate the special kind of foot, whether hoof or ball-and-claw. An escritoire from one of the plates of the Industrious Apprentice is shown on Plate XXVIII., No. 2. The ball-foot and drop-handles are clearly shown in this. One of Hogarth’s chairs, which was a very common pattern during this period, is that of No. 4, Plate XXVII. The models also numbered 9, 10 and 11 are generally known as Hogarth chairs. No. 7 is one of Halfpenny’s designs for a Chinese chair. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8 are also types of chairs in use before Chippendale brought out his book. No. 5 is an early model of the “Windsor chair,” which came into favour during the reign of Queen Anne and maintained its place for a century and a half. This chair dates from about 1710. The central drawing represents a folding chair-bed. 153The frame is of mahogany and the back filled with cane. The back is curved at the top and straight at the sides, which have two curved pieces, or wings, projecting forward. The arms are curved and the four cabriole legs end in club feet. The backs of Nos. 9, 10 and 11 on this plate curiously agree with the form of the fire-back No. 3 on Plate XX. This general model appears in the inventories as the “Crown-back chair.” With the exception of the Windsor chair, which was very often made of cheap wood, the chairs on this plate were made of walnut or mahogany and upholstered with velvet, cloth, leather, Turkey-work, leather, or haircloth plain or figured.

The seat is movable, and no upholstery nails or braids were used, the frame of the wood giving the necessary finish. The dumb-waiter on Plate XXVIII. dates from about 1740: it is of mahogany decorated with incised floral pattern in outline. No. 2, Plate XXVI., shows a toilet swinging-glass dating from about 1730 which exhibits a little of the French influence. It has a wood frame carved and gilt with flowers, foliage and scroll ornament. Nos. 1 and 3 are other common forms of mirrors of this period. The frames are frequently of mahogany picked out with gold.

The general proportions of the room shown in Plate XXIV. are taken from Hogarth’s Marriage à la Mode.

As a rule, the bed was the four-poster of oak, walnut or mahogany draped with upper and lower valances and curtains. The window curtains always matched those of the bed, and unless the chairs were of cane, or leather, they were also covered with the same material. 154These hangings were of silk or worsted damask, serge, flowered or figured russell, harrateen, camlet, mohair, or chintz. Numerous products in silks and cotton from India were also used. The Early Georgian bedroom was seldom draped in white: the different bedrooms frequently are described as the “Blue,” the “Yellow,” the “Red,” or the “Green Room.”

Sometimes a room contains an alcove and an alcove bed after the French style, and the field-bed is not unfamiliar. The latter, however, is chiefly reserved for the unimportant bedrooms.

The furniture includes small chairs and easy chairs, chests-of-drawers, cases-of-drawers, chests-upon-chests, sometimes a press, a secretary, and almost invariably two or three tables. One small table always stood by the bed for such conveniences as a candlestick, etc.

The dressing-table was a case-of-drawers, such as is seen to the right in Plate XXIV. Upon this is spread a toilet and over it hangs a mirror. This is, of course, a species of commode. This piece of furniture of late years has been called improperly a “low-boy,” as the high case-of-drawers that sometimes stands on cabriole legs and sometimes on six spindle-shaped legs joined by stretchers, has been called a “high-boy.” Another variety is the chest-upon-chest consisting of a double case-of-drawers.

These pieces are made of mahogany, walnut, cherry, or they are japanned, painted with Chinese or Japanese subjects and lacquered, or painted and lacquered in imitation of the French work of the day. The tall clock is also frequently japanned and brightened with 155brass mounts. The frames of looking-glasses and pictures are also frequently lacquered.

Engravings and mezzotints, which are very much in vogue, are framed in this style, or in black. Although the grate is rapidly gaining favour, the brass andirons have not been banished. In either case the hearth furniture, tongs, shovel, etc., is of brass, more or less ornate.

Two bedrooms described in 1738 will give an idea of the appearance of the sleeping-rooms of the age. One was a Green Room; the bed-curtains, window-curtains, and chair coverings were of green harrateen. The floor was covered with a Turkey carpet, and the chimney-piece was bright with brass andirons and other hearth furniture. A pier-glass was hung between the windows, and the rest of the furniture consisted of twelve chairs and a couch, a dressing-glass and drawers, a bureau-table and three large sconces with arms.

The other room was furnished in yellow mohair. There were six chairs, a large chair, two stools, a desk and bookcase with glass doors, a dressing-table and glass, a chimney-glass and sconce, a bed and brass andirons, etc. The window curtains and window cushions matched the bed, whose bolster and counterpane, as well as draperies, were of yellow mohair.

PLATE XXVIII

LOUIS XV. PERIOD

159

The gloom and solemnity of the last years of Louis XIV., ruled by a morose monarch and his bigoted, unacknowledged wife, gave place to the license of the Regency, and the exuberant vitality of a young king, the influence of which is fully reflected in decorative art. The Regency saw a short period of inflated wealth such as had never been dreamed of by any living man. Law’s Mississippi Bubble, before it was pricked, enabled men to get rich in a day, and some of the upstarts paid fabulous sums for the best work that artists of all kinds could produce. Architecture had to give up parade and magnificence, and cater to comfort and convenience. Paris saw mansions and pretty little houses rise by the hundred. Their furniture and decoration bore the stamp of gaiety and caprice. There was open rebellion against the rigid rule of the last reign.

Le Brun’s divinities become gay and frisky and laugh 160at you. Fauns get very hairy about the snout, plants climb and frolic along the limbs of the goddesses. Olympus becomes human; partitions are built to break up the too cold and imposing grand galleries and transform them into cabinets particuliers. The pier invades the walls, the chimney-piece assumes shell forms. In fact, as the subtle “Advice to lovers of design,” which heads Oppenord’s collection of engravings says, these works are composed in a “taste after the antique,—but richer.” Then, we are led on to the charming follies of Meissonier, whom later we shall see go even further, growing ever and ever more “rich,” but still thoroughly under the illusory conviction that his style is “antique.”

Now we have arrived at what is perhaps the most exquisite and perfect period of the history of furniture in France. The workers of the Regency and of the reign of Louis XV. united with an incomparable manual dexterity a grace, fancy and caprice that is found nowhere else except perhaps in the best art of Japan.

Perhaps the greatest furniture-maker of this time was Charles Cressent (b. 1685). For the perfection of his workmanship, he ranks as high as André Charles Boulle, and perhaps surpasses the latter in the qualities of seductiveness and elegance. He was an engraver as well as a carver. Copper played a great part in the ornamentation of his coloured marquetry works, and he was able to set his own mark of taste and finesse directly upon his productions.

PLATE XXIX

The Orient was exercising a powerful influence on French as on Dutch and English taste. We have seen that a liking for the contrast of richly coloured exotic 161woods was noticeable toward the end of the reign of Louis XIV. The Siamese embassy with its rich offerings of porcelain and lacquer had concentrated the eyes of the Court for a moment on the art of the East. French artists catered to the novelty, and from then till the middle of the Eighteenth Century the lacquers of China and Japan were actively though freely imitated.

First, the monkey was all the rage as a decorative motive. Monkeys climb up piers, swing on garlands in panels, and not only play their usual malicious tricks, but musical instruments also. They appear in all attitudes and combinations. Watteau, Huet, Gillot and even Chardin, the realist, bowed to the demand for Singerie. A good example of the use made of the monkey in furniture decoration is the beautiful Regency screen on Plate XXX., in which the characteristic scroll and shell also appear.

The monkey, however, was not the sole motive of decoration. Chinese and Japanese screens, jars and fans soon asserted their rights; and “chinoiserie” was in full swing. The walls and furniture for a time, as in England, show strong evidence of the “Chinese” taste. In France, however, it is followed at a greater distance from the original, and artistically modified and developed. The “chinoiserie” of Watteau and Gillot has only a faint though delicate flavour of the real Far East. This “chinoiserie” had some effect on furniture in certain ornamental details, and Cressent’s work shows traces of the prevailing taste.

The artist who perhaps had the greatest influence in 162producing the Louis XV. rocaille style was J. A. Meissonier (b. 1695), who by his contemporaries was abused for having broken up the straight line outrageously and pushed the curve to extreme limits. He was the abomination of all who held the angular and dry in reverence. A very able designer, Cochin, in 1754, issues an appeal to goldsmiths, chisellers, interior woodwork carvers, engravers, etc. He begs them “when carving an artichoke or celery head in natural size to be kind enough not to set beside it a hare as big as a man’s finger, a lark of natural size, and a pheasant one-fourth or one-fifth size; children of the same size as a vine-leaf; or figures of a supposed natural size supported by a decorative flower that could scarcely support a little bird without bending; trees with trunks slimmer than one of their own leaves, and many other sensible things of the same order. We should also be infinitely obliged to them if they would be kind enough not to change the uses of things, but to remember, for instance, that a chandelier should be straight and perpendicular, in order to carry the light, and not twisted as if it had been wrenched; and that a socket-rim should be concave to receive the running wax and not convex to shed it back upon the chandelier; and a multitude of equally unreasonable details that would take too long to particularize. Similarly, carvers of interior decorations of rooms are begged to be obliging enough, when executing their trophies, not to make a scythe smaller than an hour-glass, a hat or Basque drum larger than a bass-viol, a man’s head smaller than a rose, nor a sickle as big as a rake.”

163In reply we have the following protest: “It was necessary to find another kind of architecture in which every worker could distinguish himself and bring that kind of skill within the reach of everybody; nevertheless, accepted tastes should not be rudely shocked by the sudden production of novelties too remote from the reigning taste, thereby risking a hissing. At first the famous Oppenord served us zealously.... He made lavish use of our favourite ornaments and brought them into favour. Even now he is useful to us, and there are some of us who take him as a model.... We found a stronger support in the talents of the great Meissonier. It is true that the latter had studied in Italy, and consequently was not one of us, but as he had wisely preferred the taste of Boromini to the wearisome antique taste, he had thereby come closer to us; for Boromini rendered the same service to Italy that we have to France, by introducing there an architecture gay and independent of all those rules that anciently were called good taste. Meissonier began by destroying all the straight lines that were used of old; he curved the cornices and made them bulge in every way; he curved them above and below, before and behind, gave curves to all, even to the mouldings that seemed least susceptible of them; he invented contrasts;—that is to say, he banished symmetry, and made no two sides of the panels alike. On the contrary, these two sides seem to be trying which could deviate most, and most oddly, from the straight line that till then they had been subject to.”

As Oppenord may be said to have presided at the opening of the Regency style, so Meissonier inaugurated 164that of Louis XV. His rocaille escaped the exaggerations of the contemporary foreign masters, and kept within the bounds of good taste.

Among other decorators, less inventive but of charming taste, who followed in the traces of Meissonier were Michel, René Stoldz or La Joüe, Chevillon, etc. The Print Room of the Bibliothèque Nationale possesses a collection of the beautiful designs of the two last-named artists in water-colour and gouache. These designers used many of the same motives as Meissonier, the shell, the cabbage-leaf, the shrimp (of course, the forms derived from these objects), but they added to their decorations still more fleeting and vague elements, such as falling water, the ostrich plume, etc. La Joüe is a real past master in the art of introducing into a decorative panel a cascade which sometimes falls from nowhere and loses itself in pearly foam: for him everything serves as a pretext for a cascade: neighing horses plunging in the water, an open-jawed dragon clinging to the base of a column, a hunted stag vomiting a jet of water into a fount whose marble rim is full of twists and contortions.

The list of artists who contributed to interior decorations during the Louis XV. period is a long one. It includes: Boffrand, Le Roux, Oudry, Brisseux, Huquier, Pineau, Mondon, Cuvilliés, Gravelot, Boucher, Blondel, Babel, Germain, Marvye, Chedel, Jombert, Babin, Cochin, Pillement, Peyrotte, Eisen, Demarteau and Martinet. These are the great masters of the style. The principal smaller ones are: Aubert, Crepy, Vassy, Bachelier, Roumier, Vervien, Caylus, Lassurance, Lange, La Collombe, Dubois, Bouchardon, Prevost, Le Grand, 165Fraisse, Blanchard, Marsenois, De La Cour, Canuc, Poulleau, Mollet, Mansart, De Jouy, Perault, Dumont, Aveline, Cornille, Chamblin, Bellay, Vanerve, Pelletier, Paty, Chopart, Borch, La Datte, Lamour, Girard, Ballechou, Herisset, Hubert, Metayer, Servandoni, Sloiste, Caque, L’Hermitais, Roy, Duval, François, Charpentier, Lebas, Radel, De Lorme, Courtelle, Viriclix, Tessier, Lattre, De Laborde and Harpin.

PLATE XXX

One of the cabinet-makers who best produced the ideas of Meissonier was Jacques Caffieri (b. 1678), who was “sculpteur, fondeur et ciseleur du roi.” Even if he did not himself manufacture, he directed the production of splendid cabinet-work. His work is distinguished by grace and aristocratic elegance. He executed a great quantity of bronze for the famous cabinet-maker, Œben. Many extant works bear the mark of a C surmounted by a fleur-de-lis, and these are usually attributed to this master, but the great inequality of excellence makes many critics doubtful. Œben was a pupil of Boulle, and devoted himself exclusively to the branch of marquetry in cabinet-making, leaving the metal decoration to his assistants, Caffieri and Duplessis. His work was in the greatest favour with Madame de Pompadour, who bought it through the merchant Duvaux, one of whose best customers was the king himself. Œben died about 1756, and his works helped to furnish all the mansions and castles of the Marquise and King in Paris, Fontainebleau, Compiégne, Versailles, Bellevue, Crécy, Champs, Saint-Ouen, and la Celle Saint-Cloud. His widow married his foreman, J. Henri Riesener. The other great cabinet-makers of this period whose works are to be 166found in the Rothschild, Wallace, South Kensington, and other famous collections, are Bernard, Boudin, Ollivier, Dubois and Cremer, who worked principally in artificially coloured marquetry, and Gamier, Pafrat and Roubo. The latter wrote a very valuable treatise called L’Art du menuisier.

The taste for Chinese and Japanese art was very insistent, but at the same time only skin-deep. There was no true feeling for the profundity of the wonderful art in the patient work that produced the Chinese and Japanese lacquer. It was regarded as a toy. However, progress is noticeable, and fashion gladly welcomed the art products of the Far East. In Angola, a novel within the period, we read: “Upon my word!” says the Count to the Countess, “you have a splendid chimney-furnishing, and those Chinese cabinets are charming. Is this the rue du Roule?^[16] I am simply crazy about that little man. Everything that he sells is so expensive and scarce.” “Oh,” says the Countess, “it is a pretty good selection.” “Well,” replies the Marquis, “there is simply a divine taste in everything there. There are little divinities in the most wonderful forms. This one, for instance; this and your fool of a husband are as like as two peas.” Another description from the same work and in the same tone tells us a “lit de repos, in a niche of damask, coloured rose and silver, looked like an altar consecrated to delight; an immense screen surrounded it, and the rest of the furniture was in perfect accord with it; consoles, jasper corner-shelves, China cabinets loaded with the most rare pieces of porcelain, and the 167chimney-piece was decorated with corpulent gods of the most wonderful and clownish shapes.”

These Chinese cabinets were principally of lacquer, more or less adapted to French demand. Just as soon as the French taste required Oriental goods, orders were sent abroad and the “Heathen Chinee” was quick to supply the foreign market. The native art was gladly modified by the merchants in accordance with the demands of foreign trade. Sometimes even French and other goods were transported to China to have the finishing touches added there. Of course, the time came when native craftsmen tried to meet the demands of fashion by imitations of the Eastern ware. The trouble was that for a long time the home workmen could not produce the proper varnish and make a satisfactory lacquer. Some workmen boldly used native varnishes without attempting to imitate the Chinese and Japanese, and produced charming work of the most delicate finish; but these, unfortunately, scarcely outlasted the special entertainment for which they were manufactured. The undoubted chiefs of these varnishers were the Martins. In 1744, a decree of the Council allowed “au Sieur Étienne Martin le cadet exclusivement à tous autres, à l’exception du Sieur Guillaume Martin,” the privilege of manufacturing for twenty years all kinds of relief-work in the Japanese and Chinese taste. In addition to the above-mentioned, we must not forget the brothers Julien and Robert. The number of panels, carriages, sedan-chairs, boxes and ceilings and walls that they varnished is innumerable. The rage for their work was such that the wonderful Boulle-work in marquetry on the walls of Versailles that Louis 168XIV. had had executed for his son were destroyed and replaced by Martin decorations on a green background. They also did a lot of work for Madame de Pompadour at Bellevue. Their fame spread, so that Frederick the Great summoned Robert’s son, J. A. Martin, to decorate Sans Souci. Voltaire even thought the Martin work worth writing couplets in its praise.

Like all fads, the Vernis Martin aroused criticism and enmity. Mirabeau indignantly denounces the “voitures Vernis par Martin.” Notwithstanding jealousy and abuse, the Vernis Martin held its own, and to-day is a thing of great price. Good as it was, it could not compare with the Japanese and Chinese lacquer, and the specimens that have survived are relatively scarce. It may be interesting to note that the old lacquers that sunk in the shipwreck of the Nile, in 1874, near Yokohama, were found practically uninjured a year afterwards. At the same time, the modern products of Kioto and Yeddo were entirely destroyed.

In the Louis XV. period, the word apartment means a complete suite of living-rooms. There are three kinds of apartments, large, medium and small. A large apartment consists of a vestibule, a first ante-chamber, a second ante-chamber, a principal chamber, a salon or company-room (reception-room or drawing-room), a bedroom and several cabinets (studies), and garde-robe (wardrobe rooms). The medium apartment has fewer rooms and the small apartment still fewer. However, to be complete, the smallest apartments must comprise four rooms,—an ante-chamber, a chamber, a cabinet (dressing-room) and a garde-robe (a wardrobe), to which a 169small staircase leads. Each room has its own especial decoration. First comes the vestibule. This is a passage leading into the apartment. It is ornamented with columns, or pilasters, and circular niches, in which statues are placed. The ante-chamber comes next to the vestibule, and is destined for the servants. This room is ornamented in simple style: the woodwork of the doors and windows gives it its chief decoration, but mirrors and handsome paintings are often hung on the walls, and sometimes the corners are rounded for the sake of effect. This room frequently contains a stove, so that the cold air from the vestibule may be tempered before it reaches the inner apartments.

Next comes the second ante-chamber, where the servants who are in direct attendance upon the master wait. Sometimes this room is used for a dining-room, or a drawing-room. If used as a drawing-room, the woodwork is more or less richly carved, handsomely framing mirrors and pictures. Console-tables with marble slabs stand underneath the mirrors, contributing to the decoration of the room and exhibiting handsome vases, ornaments, etc. Sometimes the walls are adorned with rich tapestries reaching to the wainscot, which is of the same height as the slab of the chimney-piece. When used as a dining-room, the buffet is the chief feature. After indicating the place of the buffet, D’Aviler says: “The buffet can be incrusted with marble or Portland stone, or wainscotted with woodwork. This consists of a recess which occupies one entire side of the room; here you place a table of marble or stone supported on consoles, beneath which you may stand a small stone 170basin for cooling the wine bottles. On each side of the table is a deep niche, ornamented with aquatic attributes, such as Tritons, dolphins and mascarons of gilded lead, which throw water into the little basins below, from which it escapes, as well as into the basin underneath the table. The back of the buffet is ornamented with a little gallery with consoles, above which is hung a picture, usually representing fruits or flowers, a concert of music, or other pleasant subjects. This one (represented in D’Aviler’s book) represents upon a background of foliage, grapes and birds, a bust of Comus’s God of Festivity, upon which two little Satyrs are placing a crown of flowers and grapes.”

The chamber is the principal room in an apartment. Formerly it included all the rooms inhabited by the master except the vestibules, salons, peristyles and galleries.

The bedroom is the sleeping-room where the bed is placed. As a rule, this faces the windows. The decoration cannot be too rich, but this does not mean an overloading of ornament, as the best adornment consists of panels, mirrors and pictures well distributed. The large mirror is hung between the two windows opposite the bed, and below it is placed a console-table of gilded wood with a marble slab. Each window is furnished with a seat and has glass panes and an outside railing. On each side of the window, in the corners of the room, are pilasters, like those that decorate the rest of the room. Opposite the chimney-piece is another glass, beneath which stands a rich commode. Pictures are placed over the doors and mirrors.

171The bedroom may also be hung with tapestries of silk like the hangings of the bed. The pattern should be of large floral branches and leaves.

The chambre de parade demands the handsomest kind of furniture. Here visits of ceremony are received. A magnificent bed stands here in a rich alcove, or is separated by a balustrade from the rest of the room. The railing is quite high, gilded, and terminates in Corinthian columns. Carved panels with pilasters, painted white and brightened with gold, decorate the walls. A rich cornice, ornamented with consoles, and whose metopes are enriched with bas-reliefs and trophies, runs around these panels. The ceiling should be tastefully painted, and pictures, mirrors and handsome furniture should complete the decoration.

White and gold, according to D’Aviler, is the most elegant composition, especially if the wall behind the balustrade, where the bed is placed, is covered with a tapestry of blue silk, and the bed hung with blue and white curtains, ornamented with gold braid. The form of this room is important: (1) it must be deeper than wide, so that, if the space occupied by the bed is excepted, the room is square; (2) the windows must be opposite the bed; (3) the chimney-piece must mark the centre of the room and be exactly opposite the principal entrance.

As a rule, the salon is rectangular. Its proportions are 4 to 3 or 2 to 1. There are square, round, oval and octagonal salons. Sometimes Corinthian columns are used for decoration and to frame the mirrors and pictures. The decoration is left largely to the taste of the owner, 172but whatever is chosen must be of great richness and charm, because the salon is supposed to be “a retreat after a day spent in hunting or after a walk.” Here the inmates and guests gather to enjoy the evening with cards or conversation and light refreshments.

The cabinet is a little room in the apartment, consecrated to study. It should be secluded and removed from all noise. As a rule, it is between the ante-chamber and the bedroom. The morning hours are usually passed in the cabinet. The servants go into the bedroom through the exits by the bed, and the master or mistress is undisturbed in his cabinet, which is decorated in the simplest kind of fashion so as not to take the thought away from study. Sometimes the cabinet consists of three little rooms, one arrière-cabinet where books, etc., are kept and which is very private (cabinet secret); the next is a serre-papier, where titles, contracts, business papers and money are kept; while the third is a kind of wardrobe and toilet-room, which communicates with the bedroom, and has an exit for the servants. The name cabinet is also given to the room where the ladies make their toilette, have their oratory, or take their noonday rest.

The garde-robe is the room where the clothes are kept and where the body-servants sleep. Some architects like a chimney-piece here, for the sake of an occasional fire.

Such is the arrangement and decoration of the large apartments. It will be noticed that carved panels, with or without pilasters, and panelled doors surmounted by paintings or panes of glass occur in nearly every 173room. The wall decorations are important. D’Aviler says:

PLATE XXXI

“The paintings in the spaces above the doors or other parts of the room should, especially in the first rooms, show the qualities of the master, or his exploits, so as to announce by these allegories the respect due to the person who lives there.”

One of the favourite ways of arranging the bedroom, particularly for the small apartment, was to place the bed in a niche, from which circumstance the room received the name of chambre en niche. D’Aviler describes it as follows:

“As for the chambre en niche, the bed is viewed from the front; an arm-chair may stand on either side, the alcove being ten to eleven feet wide. If it is smaller, the bed must be turned sideways, and the width of the alcove must not be more than the length of the bed, its depth also being restricted to the breadth of the bed. (See Plate XXIX.) This will cause it to be called a niche, and the room will also receive the same name. In this case, for the sake of symmetry, a false bolster is placed at the foot of the bed, which has caused it to be called the two-bolster bed (lit à deux chevets). These rooms are usually covered with carpentry, all the mouldings and ornaments of which are gilded. Sometimes people content themselves with varnish.”

D’Aviler, however, greatly prefers the chambre en alcove to the chambre en niche, and goes on to explain that the alcove is the part of the bedroom in which the bed is placed. “Usually the top of it is formed by a parallel headpiece of carpentry work, accompanied by 174two other panels vertical or perpendicular to it. Sometimes, also, it is separated from the rest of the room by an estrade, or by several columns or other architectural ornaments. This makes quite a fine effect, and it is susceptible of great decoration. Besides the magnificence in sculpture, painting and gilding, of which the panels are susceptible, the back of the alcoves may also be adorned with mirrors; which light up the room and do away with the deep shadows which a bed almost always produces in a room. This kind of strengthening has a peculiar usefulness when it is well placed or arranged in a room; there is then enough space remaining on both sides for small wardrobes, or at least entrances into other wardrobes. The alcove is thus accompanied by two doors with glass in them to admit light into these little wardrobes, and they may be very richly decorated.”

In Blondel’s Maisons de plaisance (1734), he gives us a very clear insight into the arrangement and furnishing of a fashionable, though somewhat modest, house of the period. We cannot do better than paraphrase his recommendations.

As the building is intended to receive only a few people at a time, all the rooms, with the exception of the Salon, in case of a reception, are not very large.

“The vestibule is graceful in form; in the four angles are niches with statues. The four doors are symmetrically arranged. The outside door faces that leading to the Salon. This room is high in proportion to its size. The decoration is of woodwork, painted white, without gilding, because it is so situated as to serve as a passage 175to the outer rooms around it. However, the servants having the vestibule for retirement and the Salon being then able to be occupied by the masters, it is therefore adorned with pictures, sculpture and mirrors. In cold weather, there is a fire here for those who want to warm themselves after their different amusements, the apartments to the right and left being reserved for the relaxation of the masters of the house.

“On the right of the Salon is a room for play. Opposite the windows that light it, is a niche for a sofa, and in the two angles are recesses for cabinets for holding the chess, tric-trac, counters, etc. Opposite the chimney-piece, the wall is panelled and carved, the ornaments being varnished and gilded.

“All these small rooms being intended for recreation of the mind, nothing should be neglected to render the decoration fine and gay. It is here that genius may soar and abandon itself to the vivacity of its caprices, whilst in the apartments de parade it must restrict itself to the most rigid rules of conduct and good taste, and not fall into the unrestrained liberties of the carving of to-day, which should be banished with all the more reason that true architects scarcely tolerate them in the rooms we are now describing.

“This play-room leads into another one where coffee is served. Here Indian and Chinese plants and figures have full licence to take part in the decoration: here they are naturally befitting; and, in my opinion, this is the sole place where they should be admitted.

“Next we enter a cabinet en niche, oval in form, which is lighted by a glass door that leads into a little bosquet, 176which serves as a private promenade for this chamber. Opposite this door is a chimney-piece in an arcade which matches the arcade in which the lit en niche is contained, and opposite which another of the same form is imitated, or the door leading into this room. In this doorway is a staircase leading up to the entresols that are over this room and a little room behind it, which are intended for the servants’ sleeping-rooms.

“From the coffee-room you enter a gallery that terminates the right side of this building. This gallery is symmetrically decorated, and the spaces between the windows are enriched with mirrors and consoles on which are placed various curios, such as bronzes, crystals, porcelains, etc.

“From this gallery you enter the garden.

“To the right of the Salon is a billiard room of a shape appropriate to its use. Ornaments, mirrors and pictures rarely form part of the decoration of this kind of a room on account of the accidents incidental to this game; and the walls are simply covered with large panelling.

“This billiard room leads into a room which in turn leads into a chambre en niche; it may be ornamented with tapestries above a wainscot. As for the chambre en niche, its walls should be covered with carpentry work all the way up. This will preserve it from the humidity it might have, being on the ground floor, and which always attacks apartments that are not constantly occupied. The decoration is perfectly symmetrical. To combine pleasure and convenience, I have arranged close to it a small garde-robe that is lighted from and opens into a little court. On each side of the 177niche that contains the bed, there is a door; one serves as a passage into the garde-robe, and the other opens into a recess for keeping the linen in and keeping under key whatever the master desires.

PLATE XXXII

“The little court communicates with the kitchens.

“The dining-room on the right of the vestibule is of an irregular form. The chimney-piece faces the two windows; the angles of the superfices on which it is placed are rounded, and in them I have placed niches for marble tables, on which can be set the silver, crystal and dessert, during the repast, and afterwards be put away in the closet next to this room.

“On the other side of the vestibule, is the common room in which the servants dine. Next to it come the kitchens.”

When the dining-room is separate from the suite, it is usually situated on the ground floor, near the large stairway. The architects of the day insisted that it should be well lighted, and, if possible, open upon a garden. The floor was of parquetry, and the walls wainscotted in oak and sometimes carved; yet it was not unusual to have the panels carved, painted white and gilded. The buffet with its fountain and wine-cooler was the centre of attraction. The curtains were of silk, the chairs were upholstered and the floor warmed by a carpet or rugs laid. On the mantel-piece stood a clock and candelabra, and sconces and chandelier holding many candles brightly illuminated the rooms.

One of the changes of this reign was the appearance of the petit salon and boudoir, smaller rooms beautifully 178and comfortably furnished, which were more adapted for intimate social life.

“In order to find useful furniture,” says Jacquemart, “we must pass to the reign of Louis XV., the king who deserted the state apartments for by-places with secret doors and back staircases.”

The Palais Soubise in Paris, the ancient home of the Guises, and the home of the Prince de Soubise, a favourite of Louis XV. and a devoted friend of Madame de Pompadour, is happily extant. The Prince de Soubise took for his second wife, his cousin, Anne Julie Charbot de Rohan, so celebrated for her beauty and her intrigues. The embellishments at the Hôtel de Soubise were begun by them in 1704 and continued by their son, the Duc de Rohan, who died in 1749, and the decorations of this mansion are considered among the triumphs of the “élégances raffinées” of the Eighteenth Century. Germain Boffrand, a pupil of Mansart, is responsible for the interior architecture.

The two floors in which the Prince and Princess had their apartments were laid out identically. The Prince occupied the rez-de-chaussée, or ground-floor, consisting of a bedroom, a Salon oval and ante-chambers, etc.

The bedroom communicated directly with the Salon oval and the many windows and glass doors of the latter opened upon a formal French garden. The decorations of these rooms were in the pale grey tone known as gris de lin. There were no bright colours and no mythological pictures of love and gallantry. The panels were laden with beautiful wood carvings, and in the upper part between the archivolts of the doors and 179windows were eight allegorical groups representing the arts and sciences. Music, Justice, Painting and Poetry, History and Fame were painted by Lambert Sigisbert Adam; and Astronomy, Architecture, Comedy and the Drama by Jean Baptiste Lemoine.

The Princess’s apartments above consisted likewise of a bedroom, Salon oval, and an antechamber. The bedroom was lighted by two windows that looked upon an interior court. In the cornices and in the centre of the panels were groups of figures inspired by the stories of Greek mythology. On the piers, a skillful carver related the amorous adventures of Venus and Adonis, Semele and Jupiter, Europa and the Bull, and Argus and Mercury. In the four corners of the ceilings, the gilded medallions represented Diana, Leda, Ganymede and Hebe; and, finally, in the cornice, stucco figures of almost natural size stood out boldly. They formed four groups. Between the windows, Bacchus and Ariadne were represented; in the depth of the alcove, Diana and Endymion, and at the side of the Salon Oval, Pallas and Mercury,—opposite to Venus and Adonis. Innumerable little Cupids, bearing attributes of sciences, arts and letters were everywhere. Over each door was a painted panel: one, by Boucher represented the Graces presiding at Cupid’s Education, the other, signed Trémolières and dated 1737, Minerva teaching a Young Girl the Art of Making Tapestry. In the back of the room, standing out from the red damask of the alcove, were two pastorals by Boucher, with shepherds in satin garments, and shepherdesses in panier-skirts, and beribboned sheep. All the frames, so graceful in sweeping 180curves, were in delightful harmony with this subject, adding as Jules Guiffrey says, “a fantastic piquancy to these mythological gallantries.”

“The Oval room,” says the same art critic, “will always remain one of the most artistic models of the Eighteenth Century; and everybody knows that the period of Louis XV. carried the science of decoration to its last limit.” The chief paintings were done by Charles Natoire in 1737–1739, and describe the story of Cupid and Psyche in the most charming colours; but, still quoting from M. Guiffrey, “the details of the ornaments of the salon oval defy all description. You must study in detail the entwinings of the rosace, the little cupids clothed in a beautiful coating of gold, all different in gesture, attitude and expression, to gain an idea of the infinite resources of the designers and sculptors of the time.”

The original chimney-piece was removed to the Tuileries, where it was burned. The floor originally was incrusted in the style of Boulle’s furniture, in branches of copper and pewter.

PLATE XXXIII

The boudoir is generally smaller than the average room of the period. The ceiling should be painted in the style of Boucher, with a pale sky scattered with clouds, garlands and Cupids. The cornices are white and gold, and the cartouches flowered and gilt. The doors are white and gold, and ornamented with painted motives very light. The panels of the wall are covered with silk, bearing flowers and birds on a pale rose, blue, or lilac background. The nails are covered with a harmonious braid. The alcove, or niche, is hung with the 181same material as the panels, and the cornice matches the other woodwork. Opposite the alcove is the window, the cornice of which repeats that of the alcove, and from it fall the curtains, made of the same material as the wall panels and alcove draperies, heavily wadded and lined with silk. They are surmounted by a light drapery, caught into festoons here and there, ornamented with shells or knots of the same stuff, and tassels or bell-shaped balls of silk. The under curtains are white lace, and the heavy curtains are looped back by means of light tassels of various hues. A scarf of drapery falls on either side of the alcove, the cornice of which sometimes is decorated with pommes. Below this is a valance corresponding with the valance at the base of the lit de repos that is placed within it. The chimney-piece is white marble, surmounted by a mirror with a frame of gilded wood carved richly in palms, flowers, birds, shells, etc. Upon it should stand a clock and two small candelabra of like design, or of Sèvres or Dresden porcelain. Opposite the chimney is a similar mirror, below which is a pier table or a commode. The carpet is Aubusson of light colours, and the doors, if preferred, can be hung with portières agreeing with the window curtains.

Sofas, easy-chairs, arm-chairs, secretaries, small tables, corner-cupboards and chiffonnières are all appropriate to the boudoir, which may be heated with a wood fire on bright andirons, or by a grate. The light is supplied by candles.

A book called La Petite Maison (1758) contains a description of the furnishings of a wealthy home in the height of the reign of Louis XV.

182Taking the dining-room first, we find that the walls are in stucco of many colours, made by the famous Milanese worker in stucco, Clerici, who made the Salon de Neuilly for the Comte d’Argenson and the Rendez-vous de chasse de Saint-Hubert for the King. In the compartments were bas-reliefs of stucco, the work of the sculptor Falconet. They represented the feasts of Comus and Bacchus; and the King’s sculptor Vassé had adorned the pilasters with twelve trophies, representing the pleasures of the chase, fishing and good cheer. On each of these trophies was fixed a torchère of gilded bronze, bearing a six-branched girandole, which could make this fine room as bright as day.

In the adjoining small cabinet, in which coffee was served, the panels were painted of a sea-green hue with picturesque subjects brightened with gold. In this room were a number of baskets filled with fleurs d’Italie. The furniture was covered with embroidered moiré. Next came the cabinet de jeu. Here the walls were done in Chinese lacquer; the furniture was also of lacquer, with rich Oriental material finely embroidered. The girandoles were of rock crystal, and upon finely carved and gilded brackets were valuable porcelains from Saxony and Japan. A thick-piled carpet was spread upon the floor. This room communicated by two doors with the dining-room and the boudoir. The door into the latter was disguised by a portière of tapestry.

The salon, which opened out upon the garden, was circular, arched en calotte and painted by Hallé, a French painter, who much resembled Boucher. The panels were painted in lilac and framed by very large mirrors. 183The space above the door was also painted by Hallé in a mythological design. The lustre and the girandoles were of Sèvres porcelain, with supports of gilded bronze or moulu.

The bedroom, square in form and à pans, was lighted by three windows that looked upon the garden,—an “English garden” it was. It ended in an arch, and this arch contained in a circular frame a picture representing Hercules in the arms of Morpheus, awakened by Love, painted by Pierre. The panels were imprinted with a pale sulphur. The parquet was marquetry of the odorous woods of amaranth and cedar. In the four corners of the room were mirrors, and beneath them console-tables with marble tops, upon which were arranged with great taste fine porcelains, handsome bronzes and marbles. The bed was draped in a material from Pekin, jonquil colour, ornamented with the gayest hues; and was enclosed in a niche or alcove, which communicated both with the garde-robe and bath-room. The garde-robe was hung with gourgouran (a kind of silk from India), gros vert, on which were hung rare prints by Cochin, Lebas and Cars. The furniture here consisted solely of ottomans, sultanes and duchesses.

In the bath-room, marbles, porcelains and muslin were not stinted. The panels were covered with arabesques executed by Pérot after designs of Gillot, and distributed in compartments with much taste. Marine plants mounted in bronze by Caffieri, pagodas, crystals and shells decorated the room. In it were two niches: in one was a silver bathtub; in the other a bed draped in Indian muslin, embroidered and adorned with tassels. 184This was a lit de repos, and at its side opened the dressing-room. The panels here were painted by Huet, the designs being medallions, garlands of flowers, birds, fruits, and some gallant subject in the style of Boucher. The upper part was finished with a cornice, surmounted by architectural motives that also bordered a surbased calotte containing a mosaic of gold, with bouquets of flowers painted by Bachelier. Natural flowers filled the bowls of porcelain gros bleu, ornamented with gold. Furniture, gros bleu, the wood of which was aventurine, had been finished by Martin. The toilet service was of silver, made by the goldsmith Germain.

The boudoir was, perhaps, the most elaborate of all the rooms. The walls were completely covered with mirrors, whose joinings were masqued and disguised by the trunks of artificial trees massed and arranged so that they formed a quincunx that one might believe real. These trees were loaded with flowers of porcelain and gilded girandoles, which produced, with their rose-coloured and blue candles, a soft and diaphanous light, reflected, but moderated by the transparent gauze that had been spread over the mirrors at the back of the room, where there reigned a voluptuous twilight. In the niche, also covered with mirrors, was a lit de repos enriched with gold braid and accompanied with cushions of all sizes. The parquet was of rosewood. All the carpentry work and carving was painted by Dardillon, who, in painting and gilding the panels, had mingled with the colours some odorous ingredients for the purpose of having them exhale a perfume. This boudoir was thus a natural bouquet, exhaling from its paintings 185and gilding the combined perfume of violet, jasmin and rose.

One wishing to furnish a room in the Louis XV. style could hardly find a better model than the following that dates from 1730. This had a furnishing of Lyons brocade of jonquil-coloured background embossed with silver flowers, designed by Lallié, and trimmed with braid, lace, and silver fringe. The set consisted of a bed, two fauteuils, two square cushions, six folding-stools, a screen, a folding-screen, wall-hangings, and four portières. The window-curtains were of plain jonquil taffeta, trimmed at the sides and top with silver lace, and at the bottom with a silver fringe. Each curtain was 13 feet, 10 inches long, divided into two parts, each part containing two lengths. The four portières of jonquil and silver brocade were lined with jonquil taffeta. Each was in two parts, each of three lengths (2⅓ ells long), and trimmed like the window-curtains. The wall-hangings were trimmed with silver braid. They comprised 24 lengths, 10⅔ ells around the course, which was 3¼ ells high. The fauteuils were of the typical style with wavy top rail, curving arms with cushions on the elbows and bombé fronts. The frames were richly carved and silvered. These chairs were covered with jonquil brocade and trimmed with silver braid and fringe. The square cushions of the same brocade were trimmed with silver braid and had a silver tassel at each corner. The frames of the folding-stools were carved and gilt; the seats were covered with jonquil brocade. The screens were also covered with the same material, which was tacked on by silver-headed nails upon silver braid. The bed was magnificent. 186It was 11 feet, 8 inches high, 6 feet long and 5½ feet wide. The draperies were exclusively of the jonquil brocade lined with jonquil taffeta and trimmed with silver braid and silver fringe. The draperies consisted of three inside and four outside valances enriched with embroidery. The latter were gracefully looped in irregular festoons and trimmed with a silver braid. Silver braid arranged in the form of shells fastened the curtains back to the columns. The headboard was embroidered in silver with designs of flowers and peacock feathers in high relief. The Imperial, or canopy, to which were attached the inside valances, was lined with jonquil taffeta and trimmed with silver braid. Four “pommes” in the shape of vases covered with jonquil brocade trimmed with silver, supported by leaves and scrolls of embroidery, held four “bouquets,” containing altogether 120 plumes and four aigrettes.

The furnishings of the bed were luxurious in the extreme. It was supplied with four woollen mattresses covered with some jonquil-hued material, a down bolster covered with white taffeta, a scarlet ratteen blanket of Holland manufacture, another blanket of white wool bordered with jonquil ribbon, a counterpane of Marseille piqué, and a quilted and wadded counterpane of white satin. The outside ornamental counterpane was of jonquil and silver brocade lined with jonquil taffeta and trimmed with silver braid and fringe.

Another suggestion for furnishing may be gained from a description of Madame de Pompadour’s room at the Château de Saint-Hubert, which was furnished in 1762 with a rich damask from India of green and white 187stripes. The two fauteuils and six chairs with backs were covered with this material, ornamented with a braid of assorted silks. The wood of the frames was carved and painted green and white. A small tabouret, a little footstool, and a fauteuil en confessional^[17] with its cushion were similarly covered and had also carved frames painted white and green. There was also a fauteuil de toilette made of beech and cane, the cushion and back of which were covered with green and white damask. There was a folding-screen covered with the same damask on both sides and ornamented with silk tassels. The carved frame was also painted green and white. The one portière in the room contained three lengths of the same damask, two ells in length, and was lined with white taffeta and trimmed with silk braid. The toilet-table was covered with a piece of the same damask, 7 feet, 4 inches long, lined with white taffeta and ornamented at each corner with a tassel of green and white silk. The window curtains were in two parts, each part containing two lengths of white silk (gros de Tours), 2½ ells long, trimmed with a braid of green and white silk.

The bed was completely draped in the same damask. It had four columns, headboard and footboard, and “imperial” or canopy (with four outside and four inside valances) four curtains en cantonnières, containing altogether twenty lengths, with four silk cords to attach them; the counterpane, three lower valances, four sheaths for the pillows, and four pommes were trimmed with silk fringe.

188This bed stood on castors, and was 4½ feet wide; 6 feet, 3 inches long; and 8 feet high. Three mattresses, a down-bed, two down bolsters, soft woollen blankets bordered with ribbons, a piqué Marseilles counterpane, and a white satin coverlet, were among its comfortable furnishings.

In this room were also two commodes of rosewood veneered and set with mosaics, the tops of violet breccia marble. In front were two drawers. The length was 3½ feet; the width 20 inches; and the height 32 inches. The mounts, trimmings and shoe of the leg were of bronze gilt or moulu. The writing-table was of rosewood inlaid with flowers of violet wood, with flap to let down. This was covered with black leather. On the right, it had a drawer that contained writing-materials. All the mounts and feet were of bronze gilt. This table was 26 inches high, 23 inches long and 15 inches wide.

A night-table was also in this apartment. It was 20 inches long, 13 inches wide and 32 inches high. It was of violet wood and rosewood, the top, a slab of breccia marble from Aleppo, the height 32 inches; the length, 20 inches; and the width 13 inches. The shoes of the feet and the ring-handles were of gilt bronze or moulu.

The room was heated by means of a grate, on each side of which was represented a child holding a bouquet. The depth was 22 inches. The shovel and tongs were gilded.

A peculiar feature was a niche en tabouret for two dogs, covered with the same damask of white and green, the 189wood painted white and green. Within it were two mattresses covered with white linen.

PLATE XXXIV

The furniture of Madame la Princesse de Talmont’s apartment at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1771 consisted of a bed, two settees, eight arm-chairs, two banquettes, two screens, three commodes, four writing-tables, a night-table, a bidet, three chairs, two corner-cupboards, three mirrors and two portières. The wall-hangings were white Chinese satin with figures, flowers, and animals richly embroidered in coloured silks. The same material was used for the bed, screens, sofas and chairs, but the two portières (10 feet, 9 inches long) were of white taffeta trimmed with a silk braid of many colours. The bed, a lit à impériale et à la duchesse, was composed of three outside valances of green taffeta ornamented with a deep lace of gold arranged in festoons; the four inside valances were trimmed in the same style with a narrower gold lace, and these, as well as the ceiling, back, headboard, bonnes grâces, counterpane, and three lower valances were of the white satin embroidered with figures and trimmed with gold lace. There were also two curtains of white taffeta lined with serge. The bed itself with its canopy crosswise was 5 feet, 4 inches wide, 6½ feet long, and 12½ feet high and was equipped with three mattresses, a feather bed and feather bolster. The spread was a Marseilles piqué. The two sofas were each 6 feet long of sweeping and bombé curves, the arms also rounded and adorned with the small cushion on top (manchette). The material was fastened to the frames with silver nails. Each had a mattress and two square 190pillows, also covered with the embroidered satin. The eight arm-chairs, the two banquettes and one screen were covered in the same style.

The folding-screen of six leaves, was 4 feet high. It was also covered with the same material, and its frame, like the wood of the rest of the furniture already described, was carved and varnished.

One of the mirrors had a border of carved leaves gilded. Its glass was 28 inches high and 21 inches wide. The other two had a gilded border, 4 inches wide; the glass of each was 26 inches high and 20 inches wide. The three commodes were à la Régence, violet and rosewood veneered. Each was surmounted by a slab of Flemish marble, and contained one large and two small drawers. All the mounts, locks, friezes, ornamental chutes, and feet were of bronze gilt. They were 34 inches high, about 4½ feet long, and 22 inches deep. Two of the writing-tables were of violet-wood and rosewood veneered with cross-grained contrasts and on the right side each had a drawer with lock, that contained an inkstand and other writing materials. One contained in front a little shelf or flap, 2½ feet wide, covered with black leather and had gilt bronze feet; the other was ornamented outside with flowers applied and was 2 feet long, about 18 inches wide and 26 inches high. The other writing tables were 2 feet long, 15 inches wide, and 26 inches high. The night-table was of cherry-wood inlaid with threads of amaranth wood with a slab of Flemish marble. This was 27 inches high, 17 inches long and 11 inches deep. The bidet, 18 inches long, 15 inches wide and 10 inches high, was of cherry. 191Its top was a tabouret colored with red leather put on with gilt nails. The two corner cupboards were of various Indian woods veneered, and had tops of Flemish marble. In front were two doors that locked. The feet and ornamental metal and key-plates were of bronze gilt; these were about 30 inches high and were surmounted by a series of four shelves, 28 inches high and 11 inches square.

In 1729, a complete set of “Persian” furniture consists of hangings for the wall, a lit de repos, four fauteuils à bergère, two chairs with backs, two portières and a window-curtain. The “Persian” was a kind of figured chintz with a white background. The lit de repos en Ottoman was 10 feet long and 3 feet deep, and was equipped with a mattress, 2 bolsters and 6 square cushions, all covered with “Persian.” The two portières were of two lengths, each 7 feet, and were trimmed with a blue and white silk braid, and lined with white English taffeta. The window-curtain of the same was 7 feet, 10 inches long, containing three lengths. The seats were all covered similarly.

In 1730, a furnishing for a cabinet described as “mi-party of brocade of silver background on which are gold branches outlined in musk-colour, and crimson damask trimmed with gold,” consisted of wall-hangings, a niche, two portières, two lits de repos, an arm-chair, twelve folding-stools and six small and low folding-stools. The two portières were in two parts each; each half containing three half-lengths of brocade and two lengths of damask (3 ells long), trimmed all around with a deep gold braid and lined with crimson taffeta.

192“The niche, in the form of an armoire, serving as a shelter for a lit de repos,” was hung outside with five lengths of brocade and three of damask (8 feet, 7 inches high), trimmed at the top, bottom and sides with a golden braid. Inside were five lengths of brocade and four of damask. Two curtains hung before the niche, each containing three half-lengths of the brocade and two lengths of damask (8 feet, 4 inches high). These were trimmed with gold braid and fringe, and lined with crimson taffeta. There were also two valances for the niche, one outside and one inside. The outside one was of the brocade and damask mi-party, the inside one of crimson damask. They were bordered with gold braid and fringe. Above the niche were four carved vases of flowers to serve as “pommes.”

The lit de repos that was placed in the niche was 6 feet long and 2½ feet wide. It was furnished with two mattresses, two bolsters and two square pillows. The valances and coverings were of the brocade and damask, trimmed with gold braid and fringe. The cushions were ornamented with gold tassels. The other lit de repos, 7 feet long and 2½ feet wide, was similarly draped. The fauteuil and folding-stools were covered with a square of crimson damask, bordered with a band of the silver and gold brocade. The frames were painted red, picked out with gold.

A furnishing of 1730 was of lemon-coloured leather, framed in red leather in large compartments, bordered with a narrow braid and cord of silver. The furniture included a sofa, two forms, twelve tabourets and a folding-screen of six leaves. The sofa was 7 feet, 1938 inches long, 25 inches deep and 3 feet, 9 inches high from top to floor. The frame was carved and lacquered, and the leather was fastened to it by means of silver-headed nails. The screen was covered in the same fashion.

We also hear of a set of furnishings, dating from 1732, of white silk with a pattern of honeysuckle branches, with other ornaments forming cartouches of cut-out green taffeta. This was used for covering two arm-chairs, two square pillows, twelve folding-seats, and two screens, as well as for draping the bed and for the wall-hangings. The latter were 3 ells high in 27 lengths. The arm-chairs were trimmed with green silk braid, and the material was fastened by gilt-headed nails to the frames, which were carved and gilt, with curving arms and backs. They were furnished with square cushions, which were adorned with green silk fringe and green silk tassels. The bed was Impériale et à la Duchesse, and stood lengthwise. It was 12 feet high, 6 feet, 10 inches long, and 5 feet, 8 inches wide. It was draped with three outside valances, four inside valances, festooned, a headboard with sweeping top, inside and outside bonnes grâces, counterpane, three lower valances and two curtains of 16 lengths each. All of these were of the white silk with the honeysuckle pattern and green cartouches. The bonnes grâces were looped back and held by two ornamental hooks. On the top of the bed there were four consoles for “pommes,” bearing altogether eighty feathers.

This bed was equipped with four woollen mattresses, a down bolster, a red blanket, a white English blanket, 194a Marseilles counterpane piqué, a wadded quilt and a coverlet of white silk lined with taffeta.

The cabinet was furnished in the same material, which was used for two portières, two window curtains, a sofa, two arm-chairs, twelve folding-stools and two screens. The sofa was 6 feet long, with curving wings or cheeks, the frame carved and gilt. It had a mattress and two square cushions. The portières, 9 feet, 7 inches long, were lined with white silk, each containing three lengths of material. The windows were 12 feet, 10 inches high, and the curtains contained each two lengths.

The above detailed descriptions will enable anybody to furnish a Louis XV. room in the most fashionable and sumptuous style.

At no period in the history of art have the masters of decoration given proof of more science and skill in the technique of curves than during the Louis XV. period. Some of the skeletonized curves with which Meissonier and his school loved to adorn mouldings and the framework of all kinds of furniture are shown on Plate XXXII., Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5. These elements were elaborated in a hundred various ways. This kind of curved ornament used on large pieces of furniture is exemplified in the sketch No. 1 on the same plate. This is a big china cupboard, or double-bodied buffet-vitrine. It is far more sober in its ornamentation than many objects of this class of the Louis XV. period. It was made in Liège.

On the same plate is a beautiful bras de lumière in gilded bronze by Caffieri, with arms for candles. The branches twisted in moulded volutes, enriched with acanthus, palm 195and oak leaves, flowers and buds, spring with masterly management from a central stem which is robust and in entire harmony with the dimensions of the whole. It is about 32 inches high.

The change from the Louis XV. to the Louis XVI. style, though marked, was by no means violent or sudden. Chairs and settees are often found with clearly defined transitional features in the mouldings and ornamentation of the framework. Some of the Fontainebleau furniture covered with tapestry from Boucher’s designs has the straight grooved leg and other Louis XVI. characteristics. On Plate XXXVI., Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 7 are shown the details of a charming causeuse of the transitional period. The general disposition preserves the undulous flexions of the Louis XV. style, and the details of the carving (bunches of flowers) obey the law that proscribes those parts that are too prominent and likely to form too sharp angles. The central cluster on the top of the back, No. 3, soberly follows in its flowers and leaves the Louis XVI. sweep, being in very low relief like the cluster No. 4 that heads the middle leg. The general interlacings that run round the entire framework are also in very low relief. This motive, borrowed from passementerie, harmonizes excellently with the surfaces covered by the woven stuff. No. 5 shows the sections, curves and deep grooves of the mouldings of the arms.

Towards the end of the Louis XV. period, the feet and general outlines of the chairs and other furniture become more restrained and less curved. The straight line that gradually asserts itself, and the knots of ribbon, shepherds’ 196and shepherdesses’ hats, crowns and garlands that appear as motives announce the coming style Louis Seize.

The bed was of many varieties. The great lit d’ange is still met with, but alcove and sofa-beds are far more popular. One of the new varieties of the latter was the lit d’anglaise, which seems to have come into fashion about 1750. This had three backs, or rather a back and a headboard and footboard. In his Principes de l’art du tapissier, Bimont says “the lit d’anglaise can be used as a sofa at need. Care must be taken that the backs fold exactly one over the other, which, of course, is a matter of mechanical excellence.”

The lit à la polonaise had four columns and a canopy. Sometimes the canopy was decorated with a little graceful carving. A “pomme” or a bunch of feathers, ornamented the centre and each corner of the canopy. Houdon, the sculptor, had a lit à la polonaise draped in yellow Indian damask trimmed with braid, the woodwork of which was carved and painted white. One of these beds, with a carved and gilt frame hung with crimson damask, was sold for 3,000 livres in 1770; another, for 2,500 livres in 1777; and a third for 1,100 livres in 1782. Sometimes the frames were made entirely of iron and draped.

The lit de duchesse was also popular. In 1743, when the Queen’s bedroom was refurnished for Marie Leczinska, a lit de duchesse was provided. The Duc de Luynes says: “This bed is of white silk, embroidered and painted. The bed is not composed of four posts, as all the Queen’s beds have been up to the present. It is what is called à la duchesse.”

PLATE XXXV

197Another favourite was the lit en ottamane which dates from about 1765. One is described as a “lit en ottomane” of 5 feet, the dome and the rest of the woodwork carved and gilt and the counterpane, the curtains and the interior of cherry-coloured Indian damask.

Another, in 1770, was of “blue and white moiré, 3½ feet wide, en ottomane, the wood carved and picked out with blue.” The lit en ottomane was a variety of the lit de repos.

The lit à romaine, which became popular about 1760, had a canopy and four festooned curtains. The lit à tulipe was similar to the lit à arc, or lit à flèche; only, instead of an ornamental arrow fixed to its pavilion, its decoration was a bronze, copper or gilded tulip from the hanging bell of which the curtains seemed to fall. The lit à la Turque, in fashion from 1755 to 1780, was a sort of sofa with three backs; a variation was introduced about 1766. The lit à tombeau (see Plate XXXVI., No. 8) was also a favourite. The two posts at its foot were shorter than the two at the head, and the canopy had in consequence a somewhat sharp slant. It much resembles what in England was called a “single-headed couch or field bed.” The lit à double tombeau had posts of equal height and the curtains fell down the sides in equal slants.

We also find among the beds of the day (1751) a lit en baldaquin of crimson damask, composed of a little canopy, two small and one large valances, a large headboard, counterpane, two backs and two hooks. It was 3½ feet wide and 6 feet long, and was equipped with two wool mattresses, a feather bed and two feather bolsters.

198Another lit en baldaquin had its canopy, two small and one large valances and headboard hung in green and white stripes while the two large curtains (5 lengths each, 7½ feet long) were of green serge.

A lit à chassis (canopy bed) was draped entirely in a green and white striped material. It was composed of a canopy, four small and three large valances, two lower valances, a headboard and a counterpane. The frame was 9 feet, 8 inches high, and 4 feet wide.

Another lit en chassis en l’air had its four small valances, headboard, counterpane, two large curtains and two bonnes grâces of green serge and its three large valances and three lower valances of green and white stripes.

The lit de repos, a kind of chaise longue or couch, made for lounging upon and of which examples have already been given on Plates VIII., XIII., XVIII. and XX., becomes in this reign even of greater importance. Sometimes two of them occur in a bedroom or boudoir. One of these is represented in the niche or alcove on Plate XXIX.

A suggestion for a beautiful alcove bed may be taken from one dating from 1732. This was equipped with a mattress, two bolsters and two square pillows, and had three backs, all covered and draped with white satin embroidered in poppies of natural hues, and ornamented with a braid of silk embroidery. The feet of the bed were in the form of consoles, carved and varnished. The room in which this was placed, also contained a fauteuil of beech, carved, upon the cane back and seat of which was a cushion covered with the poppy-embroidered 199satin. Two similar cushions furnished a chair of acacia and fine straw, and the same material was used to cover two banquettes or forms, of beech, carved and varnished, and having hinds’ feet.

The first alcove beds were called lits en niche, and they were always lits de boudoir rather than beds for the sleeping room. In many old designs, curtains are lacking and the bed is adorned merely with a lambrequin, or a drapery across the façade of the niche or alcove, this drapery being similar to the covering of the bed itself, which is sometimes in the form of a lit de repos or a sofa.

Some alcoves under the reign of Louis XV. contained a bed vu de pied that stood very low and whose feet projected into the room. One of this kind was in the Hôtel de Soubise; and the model may be seen in many old designs.

An extreme example of the rococo decoration of a bed is shown on Plate XXXIV. This is by J. J. Schübler, who died in Nuremberg in 1741. Schübler, an architect, painter, sculptor and mathematician, was also one of the most famous masters of decorative design of his day. His original drawings include French beds, cabinets, alcoves, grates, mantel-pieces, writing-tables, toilette-tables, clock-cases, commodes, chaises longues, dining-room tables, candlestands, dressoirs, lustres, étagères, consoles, jewel-cases, buffets, fountains, garden-ornaments and grottoes. His collection of 150 plates passed through twenty editions. His works often resemble those of Paul Decker, another celebrated German master, who died in Nuremberg in 1713; and, 200just as Decker is a German exponent of the late Louis XIV. emerging from the influence of Bérain and Lepautre into the style of the Regency, so Schübler exhibits the transitional stage between the Regency and Louis XV. as filtered through a German mind. Two of Decker’s designs are shown on Plate XXXIII., Nos. 1 and 2.

A bed of the late Louis XV. period also appears on Plate XXXIV., No. 2, showing the correct arrangement of the canopy and draperies above the sofa.

Window-curtains were of great importance. They hung from a cornice which was carved, more or less ornately, in curves, scrolls and other characteristic motives. Occasionally the curtains were of muslin or gauze, but more frequently of silk, damask, brocatelle or “Persian.” They were of a solid hue, or a mixture of two or three colours. The designs of these rich materials were much smaller in pattern, as a rule, than those of the preceding reign and they were far gayer in colour, for all the crimson, gros bleu, gros vert and other dark shades gave place to the light hues of rose, pale green, pale blue, jonquil, yellow, etc.

The shapes and folds into which the curtains were cut and draped were spirited, fantastic, and even coquettish, in order to harmonize with the general character of the decorations and furniture, and it required the greatest skill on the part of the decorators to loop and tie them into the correct knots, shells, “choux,” “volants,” etc., to give them the proper effect and light, half frivolous air.

The lambrequin, which was extremely popular, differed 201from that in use in the reign of Louis XIV. It was less severe and straight, being cut more freely in order to accord with the cornice that surmounted it. Instead of the rounded scallop, it often terminated in points, to each of which a tassel was hung. Braids took the place of lace in trimming, and the favourite fringe consisted of twisted strands of mixed colours. The ravelled-out fringe, long so popular, at last disappeared. An example of the pointed drapery is shown in the Schübler bed on Plate XXXIV.

The commode was universally used in the bedrooms and boudoirs. It generally stood opposite the mantel-piece. It is now a superb piece of furniture, being, as a rule, richly decorated with gilt bronze or moulu and often painted and lacquered in the Chinese taste,—in Vernis Martin. It was the famous Cressent who made the Commode à la Régence, à la Chartres, à la Bagnolet, à la Charolais, à la Harant and à la Dauphine fashionable. One of Cressent’s commodes, sold in 1761, was thus described by himself: “A commode of a pleasing contour, made of violet-wood, having four drawers and ornamented with bronze gilt, or moulu. This commode is a work (with regard to the bronzes) of an extraordinary richness; they are very well executed and the distribution of them very fine; among other things, you notice the bust of a Spanish woman placed between the four drawers; two dragons, whose tails turned up in relief form the handles for the two upper drawers, and the stems of two great leaves of a beautiful form are also turned up in relief to make handles for the two lower ones: you must admit that this commode is a veritable curiosity.”

202Another of Cressent’s commodes owned by the Baron Rothschild in London “is of a most elegant form upon which the bronzes of an extraordinary richness represent, on the front, two children swinging a monkey.” Jean Jacques Caffieri also made superb commodes. One of his, ornamented with superb bronzes in the rocaille style, is in the Wallace Collection which also owns a commode by Cressent. Sometimes the commode was ornamented with panels of rosewood, or violet-wood, or some other exotic product, framed in spiky bronze work, or again, it was of lacquer, the designs being flowers, leaves, Chinese pagodas and landscapes.

Two commodes are represented on Plate XXXV. The lower one is made of violet-wood with ornaments of chiselled copper, Nos. 2a and 2b show the handles and the end of another by Pinaud. This dates from 1750. The decorative details are of gilt copper and show the mascaron and gracefully twining leaves. The handles and key-plates are hidden by the ornaments. The key-plates of the two drawers are different, as will be noted. On the upper one, a woman’s head is represented, while the lower one has a fine shell. The third ornament below these is a shell with the favourite device of dripping water. A commode dressing-table appears as No. 12 on Plate XXXVI. The foot of a chest-of-drawers with beautiful ornamentation of chased and gilded copper, is on the same plate, No. 11. At this date the Cabinet de toilette is often called the Cabinet à la Poudre, the name not needing a definition when we recall the numerous pictures and caricatures of the fashionable lady seated before her glass, with her coiffeur, or femme de chambre, mounted on a 203stool, or ladder, busy working on the towering headdress. The toilet table was a commode or a simple table spread with linen, silk, or lace over silk, and above which was hung a glass. Frequently lace, muslin, chintz, or silk, was looped over the table and caught back by knots of ribbon, artificial flowers, or gilded figures of Cupids, or dolphins, or some favourite device of the day. The small chiffonnier with drawers, made of marquetry, or Vernis Martin, and ornamented with gilt bronze or moulu mounts, dates from this period.

The armoire is still in use. In 1760, we hear of the lower part of a large armoire in the form of a bookcase, of violet-wood veneered in mosaics. It was 7½ feet long, 4 feet high, and 26 inches deep. The interior was divided into three compartments and a long shelf covered with crimson watered silk. In front were three doors, the middle one of which was enriched with a large medallion, bronze gilt or moulu, representing Minerva holding in her right hand a compass with which she is measuring a globe, on a background of lapis lazuli painted. The other doors were decorated with trophies in bronze gilt or moulu representing mathematical instruments. On the ends were cartouches of bronze gilt or moulu of various Chinese plants. The bookcase was ornamented with hasps and mouldings also of bronze gilt or moulu and stood on six feet, the four front ones being square and the two in the back round.

The form is still in use. In 1750, the archives of Versailles mention: “seven formes de moquette with coloured flowers on a white background, 5 or 6 feet long, and from 2 to 4 feet, by 18 inches high, and 15 inches 204wide, nailed with gilded nails, to serve the Queen at the grand couvert.”

These were also known as banquettes as early as 1732. In 1770, there is mention for the service of the King, of “nine banquettes covered with crimson plush 6 feet long and 17 inches wide to be used at the grand couvert” also, in the same year, to serve in the Salle de spectacle amphithéâtre, four banquettes each having two elbows, covered with blue velvet garnished with gold braid nailed on with gilt nails, the wood painted blue picked out with gold.

The frames of the chairs and arm-chairs of this period were not only carved and gilt, but were painted or lacquered as well. Sometimes one colour only was used, which was brightened by threads of gold, or white, or some gay hue harmonizing, or contrasting, with the upholstery. Sometimes the wood was painted in several colours, and often, too, another kind of painting, known as camaïeux,^[18] was used. Simpler arm-chairs, and chairs that were met with in the drawing-room were of natural oak, or beech, polished with an encaustic. In the same room with the large arm-chairs smaller ones are often found. These were known as cabriolets, probably owing to the ease by which they were moved about, as well as to their shape. In general design, the cabriolet was like the large arm-chair, but it was even more curved, more arched, and more exaggerated than its parent. The elbows too were more wavy and were always of a most 205graceful sweep. At the beginning of this period, the back was of the form of a violin, but later the medallion form became more popular. The upholsterers studied the proportions of the smaller chair as they did the large one, and gave the seats less thickness and a more square, or a rounder effect, according to the form and proportions of the seat and back, as well as the curves of the whole frame. The small arm-chair was placed in front of, or at the side of, one of the great arm-chairs in the drawing-room or boudoir. The cabriolet had to agree with its large companion either in its frame, or else its covering had to be of the same material.

PLATE XXXVI

The arm-chair (fauteuil) is represented on Plate No. XIII.

These chairs and sofas were upholstered with many of the textiles used in the reign of Louis XIV. One of the most popular coverings was Gobelin or Aubusson tapestry representing the graceful designs of Watteau, or Æsop’s Fables. Utrecht velvet and Lyons damask with floral designs were also popular, as well as silk brocaded with coloured flowers. Sometimes a braid or lace (a very favourite pattern being the rat-tooth, “dent de rat”) was used to hide the nails; but the material was also tacked to the frames by gilt-headed nails placed so close together that they touched one another.

A typical pattern of the period is shown in the sofa on Plate XXXII.

Turning now to special descriptions of chairs at Versailles, we find in 1722, “two fauteuils of varnished walnut and open-work cane; the manchettes (elbow-cushions) and backs upholstered in lemon-coloured 206leather,” the backs curved; three fauteuils of varnished walnut wood and cane with sweeping backs and console feet, and carved with several ornaments; twelve chairs with backs, of cherry wood and open-worked cane, the backs having sweeping curves and feet in consoles, carved with various ornaments, including shells. The latter stood 39 inches high, including back, the seats measured 16 inches. In 1729, “six fauteuils of cane and cherry-wood carved with several ornaments and varnished, the backs curved and the elbows cushioned.” They were upholstered in red leather with a braid of gold, nailed with gilt-headed nails. Also “four fauteuils of beech-wood, varnished and cane, had curved and carved backs ornamented with a carved border all around the seat, the arms also carved at the ends.” These were upholstered in lemon-coloured leather fastened with silver-headed nails placed close together.

In 1730, there were “fourteen chaises à la Reine, covered with crimson and gold damask, the frames carved and gilt.” Also “three chaises à la Reine covered with crimson and gold damask nailed to the frames with gilt-headed nails, very close together, the frames painted red and gold;” also “four fauteuils and two tabourets of walnut covered with black leather;” and finally a chaise d’affaires, the frame on a background of black lacquer and “aventurine de Japon,” with landscapes and birds in relief in colours and gilt in the borders, a mosaic of mother-of-pearl and copper wire à la Chinoise. The chair was lined with red lacquer, and the cushion was green velvet. This remarkable chair was 19 x 15 inches wide and 19 inches deep. The chaise à 207la Reine, mentioned above, had a very low seat with a very high back.

In the same year, there are two fauteuils, Chinese style, painted at the Gobelins, with cartouches, representing figures, birds, Chinese houses, etc. The border was of carved and gilt wood, the feet hinds’ feet, the backs ending in a shell, and the seats and backs covered with crimson damask.

In 1736, two banquettes of beech-wood, delicately carved and varnished, 24 inches long, 14 inches deep and 15 inches high, have seats of cane, each supplied with a hair cushion covered on both sides with crimson damask, tufted. There were also three tabourets like the above, only shorter,—16 inches long, 14 inches deep and 16 inches high.

In 1737, a tall chair of beech lightly carved appears, the curved back filled with cane, and the seat, lemon-coloured velvet fastened with silver-headed nails, standing on four hinds’ feet. Two little chairs of gilt cane, the backs curved, the wood delicately carved and gilt are also mentioned.

In 1751, six chairs of fine straw were made, each with two cushions for the seat, the back of crimson damask, tufted; and six folding-stools covered with crimson damask garnished with a gold fringe, the wood painted red picked out with gold, for M. le Dauphin.

Several arm-chairs of a new shape appear. One, usually placed by the hearth near the fire, is of the “gondola” form. The ornamentation, of course, followed the general style of the room. This is the period at which they began to take the name of fauteuil de bergère, 208or marquise (see Plate XXXVI., No. 1). The bergère, or “burjair,” played a very important part in the new styles put forth by Chippendale, Ince and Mayhew, Heppelwhite and others. It was, as a general rule, quite large, wider than it was deep, and the seat was not very high from the floor. The bergère was sometimes accompanied by a tabouret, which was placed immediately in front of the chair, and made of it a kind of chaise longue.

In this reign arm-chairs were also made, especially for desks. Until this time, they always used any ordinary chair, or arm-chair at the desk. The new arm-chair for this purpose was of the “gondola” form, usually with back and seat of cane, the elbows adorned with cushions (manchette) and covered with leather. This chair spread out even more generously, and the legs were balanced as follows: one was placed directly under each elbow, a third directly in front, and the fourth in the centre of the back. Some of these arm-chairs were equipped with a removable leather cushion.

The first chaises comfortables followed the model of the gondola arm-chairs; the wood, or rather the moulding of the back, served as a framework for more or less simple garniture. The feet were either grooved, or of sabre form.

Dining-room chairs were specially designed, and followed the general form of the drawing-room chairs. As a rule, they are covered with leather. Tapestry is met with also, and “Persian.”

A fauteuil de commodité of the period is described as having a little mahogany desk attached to the right of 209the chair by means of a gilded steel support nicely divided into compartments for pens, ink, etc. On each side of the chair, two sconce-arms for candles were adjusted. The chair and cushion were covered with blue leather.

Leather was quite popular for covering furniture. One set, consisting of a sofa, two banquettes, twelve tabourets and a six-leaved screen, were upholstered in red leather, with applied ornaments of yellow leather edged with a narrow gold cord.

Characteristic chairs are shown on Plate XXIX. and Plate XXXIII., Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. These are by Meissonier.

The very handsome canapé shown on Plate XXXII. is also one of Meissonier’s productions. This was designed for Count Bielenski. The frame was gilt.

The canapé confident consisted of a sofa which had from two to four places, and at each end by the elbows, there was another seat at the corner rounded off. It was supplied with an elbow at the other side. The effect was as if an arm-chair had been placed at each end of the sofa at right angles. It was a very popular piece of furniture.

The chaise longue is sometimes composed of two sections; one, a kind of very deep fauteuil with two elbows; the other, a kind of tabouret, which also had a small back against which the lounger placed his feet.

The example on Plate XXXIII. is of carved wood with cane seat and backs.

Another kind, with a “gondola” back, was known as “duchesse.”

210Typical mirrors appear on Plates XXX., XXXIII., and XXXV. The full drawing on Plate XXXV. is the earliest, being an example of late Louis XIV. It is surrounded with an ornate border of carved and gilt wood, showing leaves, branches, stems and an indented fronton, surmounted by shells. It is interesting to compare this mirror with Chippendale’s on Plate XLII., which also has panels of glass. Nos. 1 and 2 on Plate XXXIII. come next in chronological order. These are by the German, Decker, to whom reference has been made on page 199. Both are dated 1700. The lower one has the mascaron, shell and chute of leaves, or husks, for its chief ornaments, while the scroll somewhat timidly, although strongly, asserts itself. This has no sconces. On the one above it the scroll is more assertive. The mascaron surmounts it, and the chute of leaves is much heavier and shorter. The three sconces, two of which only are visible, spring from the shell, but they have not become as yet very branched. The sconces really belong to the whole design in the example No. 1 on Plate XXXV., the chief decorations of which are the mascaron, the shell and the scroll. A still more elaborate specimen, by Pinaud, appears on Plate XXX., No. 2. The curve here is delightfully exhibited, almost as if the presiding genius in the winged helmet had taken a mischievous pleasure in its convolutions. Here we have not only the leafy scroll playfully twined, but the old ear-motive known to the decorators of the Louis XIII. age (see page 5) appears, through which a winged serpent, or dragon, twists,—himself a series of curves. Below the head of Mercury is carved his emblem,—the Caduceus. Another “illuminary” 211appears on Plate XXXVI., No. 2. No. 3 on Plate XXX. represents the frame of a large toilet mirror by P. Germain.

Another finely carved and gilded frame is that of the screen on Plate XXX., which dates from the Regency. It is composed of shells and scrolls, and a monkey sits on the top of each upright. Unfortunately, the feet have been lost, and the screen is supported on ordinary blocks of wood. The covering is of the same period as the frame. It is brocaded silk, with flowers, leaves and peacock feathers.

The mirror was not the only ornamental wall-decoration that was made use of to carry candles. Sometimes the bracket that held a china ornament, or ornaments, was pressed into this service. The “console for porcelain,” by Pinaud (No. 4, Plate XXX.), is furnished with a sconce-arm on either side of the pedestal that supports the handsome piece of china, or vase. Another “console for porcelain,” also by Pinaud, appears on the same plate as No. 6. This is purely for decoration and has no branches for illumination. Upon it stand a beaker and two small cups. The chief decorations are the mascaron, which here seems to have horns, and a snake, which twists himself around the two scrolls, placed back to back, and threatens the mascaron with open jaws.

Another beautiful frame for a rich piece of porcelain is shown on Plate XXX., No. 5. This is a species of pier-table and is a fine example of Meissonier’s Regency work. The straining-rails form a kind of bracket for a china vase, while the shelves above afford opportunity for the exhibition of smaller treasures.

212Another handsome piece of furniture for the display of porcelain is the encoignure (No. 9, Plate XXXVI.), made to stand in the corner.

The tall torchère, or standing-candlestand, on Plate XXXI., No. 3, shows a well-balanced combination of the mascaron, scroll, shell and leaf.

Two superb examples of console-tables occur on Plate XXXIV. These are of carved and gilded wood. The full drawing is one of Cuvilliés’s designs, and shows a bewildering combination of scrolls as a background for the beautiful carving of flowers and leaves. In the foreground a dog attacks a very savage dragon, whose wings bristle with anger and who darts forth his forked tongue. The other frame, No. 1, is by Pinaud, and though far simpler, is quite as effective. The scroll is most gracefully combined with the shell, and here again we have the ear (see page 210), through which a winged dragon, with a most expressive face, has slipped himself. An early console support is shown on Plate XXXVI., No. 6.

The bureau, or desk, assumed great importance in the reign of Louis XV. The long bureau-table was still made, and sometimes at one end of it was placed a tier of ornamental shelves and pigeon-holes that was known as serre-papiers. Also in this reign the cylinder-bureau, with a roll top, came in to favour. It is sometimes said to have been invented by Prince Kaunitz. In contemporary writings, this special form of desk is frequently called “bureau à la Kaunitz.” The most famous desk of this period, however, is the “grand bureau secrétaire du roi Louis XV.” that was made for the King from the design of Œben, who died before it was finished. It was completed 213by Œben’s successor, Riesener, who had been his apprentice. This appears on Plate XXXI.

It is made of rosewood and amaranth and richly decorated with marquetry representing flowers, leaves and the attributes of royalty and poetry. Above the cylinder top that hides the pigeon-holes, is placed a horizontal ornament composed of rods twined with ribbons, and above this is an open-worked gallery, broken by figures of Cupids playing above a little clock. On each side of the cylinder, a figure of gilt bronze holds a girandole of two branches, each terminating in a floral cup for the candle, something like the bras de lumière on Plate XXXII. One figure is Apollo and the other, Calliope. The bronzes were modelled by Duplessis and Winant, and chiselled by Hervieux; and in addition to the ornaments already described, there are swags of leaves, knots of ribbon and decorations on the legs and feet,—all of or moulu. For many years these bronzes were attributed to Caffieri. This work is signed “Risener fa, 1769.”

A very interesting example of a low glass book-case and serre-papiers appears as No. 2 on Plate XXXI. The serre-papiers, surmounted by a clock, stands upon a very characteristic table. On either side of it is placed a low bookcase with glass doors, the top moulding of which suggests the shape of a wing, or bow. This is flanked by a panel, above which is another panel. The wall space above the bookcase and behind the serre-papiers is intended to be hung with tapestry, or damask.

A table, similar in general form to the one on which the serre-papiers just described stands, appears on Plate XXXI. This is a Regency piece, with its slightly curving 214legs, hinds’ feet, and or moulu ornaments. The arrangement of scrolls in the centre of the drawer is very characteristic. No. 1 on the same plate gives details of the ornamentation at the sides under the slab.

There were many varieties of desks, cabinets, jewel-cases, etc., designed especially for the boudoir. Some of these have already been described. A “petit-bureau,” however, is shown on Plate XXXIII. This is known as “bonheur du jour,” and is made of sycamore, ornamented with chiselled copper appliques and plaques of Sèvres porcelain. The foot is decorated with “leaf-shoe” of gilded metal, also characteristic of the age.

One of the many varieties of card-tables appears on Plate XXXVI., No. 10. This has the hollows for counters and candlesticks.

Nothing more impressively decorative in its proper surroundings can be imagined than the tall clock of the Regency and Louis XV. period. In houses of the present day, a tall clock is set up in some corner entirely irrespective of the wall-decoration of the hall, or room. The Regency clock was strictly in keeping with the general decoration, and deserves something better as a background than poor panelling, or vulgar printed paper. It requires a wainscot with solid mouldings, severe and well studied lines, and a high ceiling. A somewhat plain specimen of the period, in carved oak, is shown on Plate XXXII.

Two other clocks appear on Plate XXX. The full drawing is a pendule d’applique, the frame of which is most ornate. It stands on a console of carved and gilded copper. The detail No. 1 on the same plate is a clock 215appropriate to stand on a bracket, chimney-piece or table. Its frame consists of bold sweeps with a fine display of scrolls, leaves and shells.

The Duc de Bourgogne owned a very fine clock of black marquetry and copper, with ornaments of bronze in colour. On the top of the case, a satyr was seated on a rock, holding a pipe in his left hand. The base ended in rock-work, brightened with coloured copper ornaments. The dial was of copper, the hours were enamelled, and the clock struck the hour and half hour, and ran fifteen days. It was 2 feet, 11 inches high, and the dimensions of the foot were 9½ inches high by 13 inches wide. Juhel was the maker at Versailles.

Madame Henriette owned a clock in 1746 that was made by Jean-Baptiste Baillon. It was 1 foot high and 6 inches wide. The case was of bronze gilt or moulu and carved with leaves and ornaments. Among the latter were a lion’s head and a Cupid. The feet were of the console form. The dial was enamelled.

Another, by the same maker, is described in 1745 as “a beautiful gilt clock or moulu, the frame of which is enamelled and the hands of bronze gilt, standing on two consoles, ornamented with palms, in the centre of which is a woman’s masque. Mosaic ornaments decorate the sides, as well as two bouquets of flowers. The top is surmounted by a Cupid holding a scythe in his left hand. The foot is gilt bronze of rocaille work, flowers, plumes, two dragons and the head of Boreas. Including the foot, it is 4 feet high and 14 inches wide.”

About this time, two of the King’s daughters bought a clock of bronze gilt and porcelain, 21 inches high, 216made by Godin. On the front was a shepherd with his dog, and a parrot perched on a gold tree, from which hung several cherries. The base was an irregularly shaped cartouche framed in leaves. The dial was enamelled and surmounted by a little carved Bacchus.

The list of new furniture of Versailles for 1752 mentions a clock “in the form of a lyre of bronze gilt or moulu, the lyre surmounted by a sun and flanked on each side by two terms of women, ending in scrolls that united at the base to form a sort of shield or cartouche of rocaille, with festoons of leaves; the dial enamelled on copper gilt; 2 feet, 10 inches high, and 17 inches wide.”

In 1763, the King owned two splendid clocks, the cases of which were violet-wood and rosewood veneered. One of the clocks was solar, ornamented with attributes of Apollo in or moulu and surmounted by a perfume-box and ornamented with garlands. The other was lunar, with symbols of Diana. It was also surmounted by a perfume-box, and was ornamented by a star. Each clock was 7½ feet high and 21 inches wide.

In 1774, in Madame Sophie’s sleeping-room was a clock by Tolleverk of Paris, which could run for 15 days and which struck hours, and half hours, besides containing a chime of bells that played thirteen airs. The dial was 4½ inches in diameter and the hands were of gold. The case was surrounded by garlands of laurel held at the top by ribbon. On the right of the base was a celestial globe and the figure of a woman whose head was encircled by stars. She held a trumpet in her right hand, while her left rested on the clock; on the left, was a T-square, a compass, and other mathematical and scientific 217instruments, and three volumes besides. The whole was of bronze gilt or moulu and measured 16 inches in height, 16 in length, and 17 in depth.

THE CHIPPENDALE PERIOD

221

All lovers of antique furniture are sufficiently familiar with the name of Thomas Chippendale, but this name has been of late years used so carelessly that it has become a generic term for all the mahogany furniture of the first half of the Eighteenth Century, and the “Chippendale chair” that is recognized as typical is the one with a pierced and carved back and claw-and-ball foot. This is an erroneous interpretation of the Chippendale style. Chippendale was a cabinet-maker, and doubtless made furniture for his patrons in the old style that had been in vogue since 1714; but the tastes for the Chinese and Gothic, as well as the Louis XV. rock-and-shell work had already been formed, and Chippendale claims more originality than he is entitled to when he says: “In executing many of the Drawings, my Pencil has but faintly copied out those Images that my Fancy suggested.”

222It is clear then that the only way to understand and define Chippendale is to go directly to his book, there to learn what kind of furniture he made and wanted to make. The first edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director was published in 1754. A third edition appeared in 1762, when some of the patterns of the first book were dropped and many new plates were added. The title-page of the latter shows very plainly that Chippendale had turned his attention to almost every object for household use.

“The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director being a large collection of the most elegant and useful designs of Household Furniture in the most Fashionable Taste, including a great variety of Chairs, Sofas, Beds and Couches; China-Tables, Dressing-Tables, Shaving-Tables, Bason-Stands and Tea-Kettle Stands; Frames for Marble Slabs, Bureau-Dressing-Tables and Commodes; Writing-Tables and Library-Tables; Library Book-Cases, Organ Cases for private Rooms or Churches, Desks and Bookcases; Dressing and Writing Tables with Book-Cases, Toilets, Cabinets and Cloaths-Presses; China Cases, China-Shelves, and Book-Shelves; Candle-Stands, Terms for Busts, Stands for China Jars and Pedestals; Cisterns for Water, Lanthorns and Chandeliers; Fire-Screens, Brackets, and Clock-cases; Pier-glasses and Table-Frames; Girandoles, Chimney-Pieces, and Picture Frames; Stove-Grates, Boarders, Frets, Chinese-Railing and Brass-Work for Furniture, and other Ornaments.... The whole comprehended in Two Hundred Copper Plates, neatly engraved, calculated to improve and refine the present taste, and suited 223to the Fancy and Circumstances of Persons in all degrees of Life.” He ends his Preface to both editions as follows: “Upon the whole, I have given no Design but what may be executed with Advantage by the Hands of a skilful Workman, though some of the Profession have been diligent enough to represent them (especially those after the Gothick and Chinese manner) as so many specious Drawings, impossible to be worked off by any mechanick whatsoever. I will not scruple to attribute this to Malice, Ignorance and Inability; and I am confident I can convince all Noblemen, Gentlemen, or others, who will honour me with their Commands, that every Design in the Book can be improved, both as to Beauty and Enrichment, in the Execution of it, by Their Most Obedient Servant, Thomas Chippendale.”

Our accurate knowledge of Chippendale and of his work outside his own book is very meagre. He was evidently at work during the reign of George I. and was probably busiest when he published his book of designs in 1754. An examination of the plates contained in this collection of drawings shows that Chippendale cared more about the carving and ornaments than the forms themselves. He does not seem to have been an inventor of a style. Sheraton shares this view. The latter writes in 1791:

“I have seen one (book of design) which seems to have been published before Chippendale’s. I infer this from the antique appearance of the furniture, for there is no date to it; but the title informs us that it was composed by a society of Cabinet-makers in London.

“Chippendale’s book seems to be next in order to 224this, but the former is without comparison to it, either as to size or real merit. Chippendale’s book has, it is true, given us the proportions of the Five Orders, and lines for two or three cases, which is all it pretends to relative to rules for drawing; and, as for the designs, themselves, they are now wholly antiquated and laid aside, though possessed of great merit, according to the times in which they were executed. After Chippendale’s work, there appeared, in the year sixty-five, a book of designs for chairs only, though it is called The Cabinet-Maker’s real Friend and Companion, as well as the Chair-maker’s. The succeeding publication to this seems to be Ince and Mayhew’s Book of Designs in Cabinet and Chair Work, with three plates containing some examples of foliage ornaments, intended for the young designer to copy from, but which can be of no service to any learner now, as they are such kind of ornaments as are wholly laid aside in the cabinet-branch, according to the present taste. The designs in cabinets and chairs are, of course, of the same cast, and therefore have suffered the same fate; yet, in justice to the word, it may be said to have been a book of merit in its day, though much inferior to Chippendale’s, which was a real original, as well as more extensive and masterly in its designs.”

Strange to say, the book Sheraton thinks the earlier, came out six years after Chippendale’s and contains designs that differ little in general form from those in the Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director.

PLATE XXXVII

It cannot fail to strike any one who examines Chippendale’s designs carefully that he was beyond everything 225else a carver and a decorator. Although he was most particular about proportion and joinery, he took the greatest delight in ornamentation, caring far more for his ornate carving and swags of drapery than for his wood, or his materials. Indeed, he nearly always desires his handsome pieces to be gilded, or painted, or japanned; and he says nothing whatever about textiles, although his beds and sofas with canopies are so dependent upon festoons and curtains for their effect. The covers upon his “French chairs” often exhibit Chinese subjects, flowers, Æsop’s fables, or the gallant Watteau-like scenes; and we may conclude that the printed silks and satins of the day were too familiar to need any detailed description.

Ornate as his designs are, it will be noticed in the above Preface that Chippendale thinks further “enrichment” will add to the beauty of every design.

It will also be noticed that the descriptions of his plates contain very few references to mahogany. He far prefers furniture made of soft wood japanned in any colour, with the ornamental parts heavily gilt, and carved and gilt frames, to sombre walnut or mahogany. Rosewood he likes very much, but brightens it with gilt ornaments. Chippendale’s taste is very gay, even fantastic, and a room furnished and decorated by him must have been exceedingly brilliant.

Many of his plates were engraved by M. Darly, who lived in Paris in the first half of the Eighteenth Century; and some people think that Darly is responsible for all of Chippendale’s designs.

Whether Chippendale was ever in Paris or not, makes 226little difference: he knew the contemporary designs and he was saturated with the flavour of the Louis XV. taste. For instance, he was so familiar with Meissonier, that he quietly appropriated some of his designs and issued them in his book with little change as his own conceptions, without a word of acknowledgment. One of these, Chippendale labels “French chair,” but this is really a chair designed by Meissonier for Madame de Brezenval in 1735, the only change being a little extra carving. Another theft of Chippendale’s is a “sofa for a grand apartment.” The original was a canapé designed by Meissonier for the Grand Marshal of Poland, also in 1735. Chippendale put cushions upon the arms and added a little more carving,—and described it as follows:

“A Design of a Sofa for a grand Apartment, and will require Great Care in the Execution, to make the several Parts come in such a Manner that all the Ornaments join without the least Fault; and if the Embossments all along are rightly managed, and gilt with burnished Gold, the whole will have a noble appearance. The carving at the Top is the Emblem of Watchfulness, Assiduity and Rest. The Pillows and Cushions must not be omitted, though they are not in the Design. The dimensions are 9 feet long without the scrolls; the broadest part of the Seat from Front to Back 2 feet 6 inches; the Height of the Back from the Seat, 3 feet, 6 inches, and the Height of the Seat 1 foot 2 inches without Casters. I would advise the workman to make a model of it at large before he begins to execute it.” The massive frame is carved with shells, and on the top rail in a cloud is seated a Cupid with his arm in the strap of 227a buckler. Two large birds are carved below him on either side in the centre of the sweeping curves and near them are bunches of flowers. The arms are carved, and upholstered in a silk or damask the pattern of which is a combination of flowers and large scrolls. One of the arms ends in a grotesque head,—a kind of gnome with a long peaked beard.

PLATE XXXVIII

Neither does Chippendale scruple to avail himself of one of Meissonier’s trophies consisting of a hunting-horn, stag’s head, gun and net, designed for the King’s portrait and the Royal Hunt; and Meissonier’s Livre de Légumes and Livre d’Ornements have been attentively studied for the shell-work, fountains, balconies, balustrades, swags of bell-flowers and laurel, colonnades, flowers, acanthus leaves, fruits, animals, birds, human beings, dripping water, cascades, feathers, flags, scrolls, musical instruments, fragmentary peristyle effects, implements, weapons, vegetables, icicles and spiky effects.

The japanning and lacquering that Chippendale so frequently recommends is doubtless inspired by the Vernis Martin; and all the gilded ornaments, handles, shoes for legs of his pieces, from the French or moulu work.

Let us first examine the beds. We find “Dome Beds,” “Canopy Beds,” “Gothic beds,” “Chinese Beds,” “Field” and “Tent Beds,” and “Couch” and “Sofa Beds,” besides numerous designs for “Bed Posts” and “Cornices.” His four-post bedsteads are, as a rule, 7 feet, 6 inches high; 6 feet, 4 inches high; and 5 feet wide. The canopy is generally surmounted by a carved cornice furnished with an intricate arrangement of laths and pulleys by which the curtains are drawn up. As the curtains 228and valances are sometimes required to fall in symmetrical festoons and loops when drawn up, the mechanical devices require detailed description. In one “Gothic Bed with a drapery curtain,” the four posts of which are “made into eight cants and indented,” has pullies fixed at each corner to draw up the curtains. This bed appears as No. 2 on Plate XXXVIII.

No. 3 on Plate XLVIII. is a favourite with Chippendale. It appears in his first edition as Plate XXXI. and in his third as Plate XXI. This is more than 6 feet high, over 6 feet long, and 5 feet, 6 inches wide. He says this “is a dome bed, the side of the dome and the cornice I have form’d into an elliptical form, to take off the seeming weight which a bed of this kind has when the cornice runs straight. There are four dragons going up from each corner; the curtains and vallens are all in drapery. The head-board has a small Chinese Temple with a joss, or Chinese God; on each side is a Chinese man at worship; the outside of the dome is intended to be japan’d and Mosaic work drawn upon it; the other ornaments to be gilt; but that is left to the will of those who shall please to have it executed.”

PLATE XXXIX

Of the full drawing on the same plate, Chippendale gives no description. The dimensions that he gives are 6 feet, 4 inches for the length; 7 feet, 6 inches for the height; and 5 feet for the width. The long and tightly rolled and covered bolster below the ornamental head-board is the style he required for all his beds. Pillows never appear. This bed, as well as the Dome Bed just described, is dated 1753. This bed can be greatly simplified by substituting for the carved cornice and headboard 229plain ones following the same general outlines covered with the same materials as the curtains, and plain feet may be covered with a deep valance that touches the floor. Chippendale himself suggests such treatment when his beds are thought too difficult of execution. However, he prefers the wood to show, as is natural to a carver, because in his ten very handsome designs for bed pillars he says “they are all designed with pedestals, which must certainly look better than Bases of stuff around the Bed, and the Pillars seem to be unsupported.”

Another bed has pillars “composed of reeds with a palm branch twisting round,” the pillars being 8 feet, 6 inches high; and the bedstead 6 feet, 7 inches long and 6 feet wide.

The “Field” or “Tent beds are heavily draped, but the curtains and festoons are made to take off, and the laths are hung with hinges for the convenience of folding up.”

Another, is a “Chinese Bed,” the “curtains and vallens are tied up in drapery, the tester is canted at each corner, which makes a sort of an elliptical ornament or arch, and if well executed will look very well.” Another bed “may be gilt, or covered with the same stuff as the curtains.”

Before dismissing the four-post beds, the question of cornices must be considered. Chippendale gives numerous designs for “Cornices for Beds or Windows.” These are carved and are supposed to be gilt, or painted, or japanned, brightened with gold. Such designs as the scroll and leaf are frequent, as shown in No. 1 on Plate XL. while other ornaments are the crown, the urn, 230the shell, the eagle, the draped urn, the grotesque dog or monkey’s head holding the ends of two garlands in his mouth, the long-tailed and open-beaked bird.

Turning now to the Canopy, Couch and Sofa beds, we find Chippendale describing a “Couch with Canopy. The Curtains must be made to draw up in Drapery, or to let down, when it is occasionally converted into a Bed. This sort of Couch is very fit for alcoves, or such deep Recesses as are often seen in large Apartments. It may also be placed at the end of a long gallery. If the Curtains and Valances are adorned with a large gold Fringe and Tassels, and the ornaments gilt with burnished gold, it will look very grand. The Crane at the top of the Canopy is the Emblem of Care and Watchfulness: which I think it not unbecoming in a place of rest. The length of the bed cannot be less than 6 feet in the clear, but may be more if required. The Breadth is 3 feet or more, in proportion to the length. The height may be determined by the place it is to stand in.”

Another “Couch bed,” he tells us, “was made for an alcove in Lord Pembroke’s house, at Whitehall.” This bed is a sofa of sweeping curve, three short cabriole legs supporting it in front. A stiff rolled bolster is placed at each end of the sofa crosswise. Four slender posts hold a canopy draped and decorated with a Chinese feeling, only tassels are used for ornaments instead of bells. The drapery is arranged in four symmetrical festoons, caught back gracefully at the sides and falling nearly to the short leg of the sofa. This was really a kind of lit de repos rather than a bed properly speaking; but there is one that can be used either as a sofa or a bed. He describes 231it as follows: “A Chinese Canopy with Curtains and Valances tied up in Drapery, and may be converted into a Bed by making the front part of the seat to draw forward, and the sides made to fold and turn in with strong iron hinges and a proper stretcher to keep out and support the sides when open. The curtains must be likewise made to come forward, and when let down will form a Tent.”

Another of his designs is a “Chinese Sopha with a canopy over it, with its curtains and vallens all tied up in drapery. This design may be converted into a bed, by having the Sopha so made as to come forward, the curtains to draw to the front of the Sopha, and hang sloping, which will form a sort of a tent, and look very grand. The ornaments are designed for burnished gold.” Another “is a Chinese Sopha, intended for the same use as the former; the design is different from the other, and if well executed by an ingenious workman, it cannot fail of giving content.”

Another “Chinese sopha” is represented on Plate XLI., which is purely a sofa and not a bed. This has a pagoda-shaped canopy decorated with bells and the drapery arranged in formal festoons. At the back is a piece of silk ornamented in the style of Boucher, and the sofa, which is a French canapé, bears a design reminiscent of Watteau,—a “gallant scene” showing a lady in a large hat and flowing gown seated on a bank while her companion is a gentleman in a cocked hat.

Specific directions accompany four designs of Sofas. “When made large, they have a bolster and pillow at each End,” and Cushions at the Back, which may be 232laid down occasionally and form a mattress. The upper sofa is designed to have the Back Corners Circular, which must look well. The Sizes differ greatly; but commonly they are from 6 to 9 or 10 feet long; the Depth of the Seat from Front to Back from 2 feet, 3 inches, to 3 feet; and the Height of the Seat 1 foot 2 inches with casters. The scrolls are 18 to 19 inches high. Part of the carving may be left out, if required.

The chaise longue also appears, and of it the designer says: “This is what the French call ‘Péché Mortel.’ They are sometimes made to take asunder in the middle: one part makes a large easy chair and the other, a stool, and the feet join in the middle, which looks badly.” This, of course, is the duchesse, consisting of a fauteuil and a tabouret (see pages 208 and 209). Chippendale recommends for this a “thick mattress, 6 feet long in the clear; and 2 feet, 6 inches to 2 feet broad.”

Turning now to the chairs, a close examination will show almost double the number actually represented; because Chippendale often gives different motives for carving on the two sides of the special chair. He draws French chairs, Gothic chairs, Chinese chairs, Garden chairs, Hall chairs and his favourite “Ribband Back chairs.” The latter, one variety of which appears to the reader’s left on Plate XXXVIII., is one of “three Ribband-back Chairs, which, if I may speak without vanity, are the best I have ever seen (or perhaps have ever been made). The Chair on the left hand has been executed from this Design, which had an excellent effect, and gave satisfaction to all who saw it. I make no doubt 233but the other two will give the same content, if properly handled in the execution.”

The length of the front leg is 19 inches; the rail of the seat (upholstered with small nails touching one another) is 22¾ inches; the seat is 18 inches square; and the back from seat to top rail 22 or 23 inches high. “If the seats are covered with red morocco,” Chippendale assures us, “they will have a fine effect.”

Describing a series of eighteen chairs, Chippendale says these “are various designs of Chairs for patterns. The front feet are mostly different for the greater choice. The seats look best when stuffed over the rails and have a Brass Border neatly chased; but are most commonly done with Brass Nails, in one or two Rows; and sometimes the Nails are done to imitate Fretwork. They are usually covered with the same stuff as the Window Curtains. The Height of the Back seldom exceeds twenty-two inches above the Seats.”

Another set is thus described:

“Eight designs of French chairs, which may be executed to advantage. Some of them are intended to be open at the Back; which makes them very light, without having a bad effect.” (The Dimensions are the same as those given above, “only that the highest Part of the Back is 2 feet, 5 in.”) But sometimes these Dimensions vary according to the Bigness of the Rooms they are intended for. A skillful workman may also lessen the carving without any Prejudice to the Design. Both the Backs and Seats must be covered with Tapestry, or other sort of Needlework.

We also find:

234“Four designs of French chairs with Elbows and for the greater Variety, the Feet and Elbows are different. The little moulding, round the Bottom of the Edge of the Rails, has a good Effect.” The Backs and Seats are stuffed, and covered with Spanish leather or Damask, etc., and nailed with Brass Nails. The seat is 27 Inches wide in front, 22 Inches from the Front to the Back and 23 Inches wide behind; the Height of the Back is 25 Inches, and the Height of the Seat 14½ including Casters.

The “French chair” is the fauteuil, and the designs of the covers as represented in his third edition show design, in the “Chinese taste,” flowers, birds, pagodas, balustrades, mandarins and jars, or designs from Æsop. For example, one dated 1759, shows the dog crossing the brook with a bone in his mouth.

Of “Six Designs of Chairs for Halls, Passages, or Summer Houses,” he says: “They may be made either of Mahogany or any other Wood, and painted, and have commonly wooden Seats. The Height of the Gothic Back is two Feet, four Inches, and the others one Foot, eleven Inches, and the Height of the Seat seventeen or eighteen Inches. If you divide the Height of the Backs in the Number of Inches given, you will have a Measure to take off the Breadth of the circular Parts of each Back. Arms, if required, may be put to these chairs.”

Again, he gives “two designs of Chairs for Gardens and a long Seat.” One, considered “proper for Arbours,” has a branch for a leg, garden tools crossed form the back, which is surrounded by blades of grass bent in an oval form. The seat, which “may be placed in Walks or at 235the Ends of Avenues,” is 7 feet and has in the centre a leaf or shell. The second chair, “proper for grottoes,” is composed of two shells, one forming the back, the other the seat, the legs are dolphins standing on their tails, the cabriole leg formed by the arch of the dolphin’s neck.

Four plates give “a variety of new pattern chairs, which, if executed according to their designs, and by a skillful workman, will have a very good effect. The fore feet are all different for your better choice. If you think they are too much ornamented they can be omitted at pleasure. The proper dimensions of those chairs are 1 foot, 10 inches in the front; 1 foot, 5½ inches behind; and 1 foot 5 inches from the front of the back foot to the front rail; the back, 1 foot, 10½ inches high; the seat 1 foot, 5 inches high; but that is made lower according as the seat is to be stuffed.”

Two plates present “six new designs of Gothic Chairs; their feet are almost all different, and may be of use to those that are unacquainted with this sort of work. Most of the ornaments may be left out if required. The sizes are the same as in the preceding chairs, and may be lessened or enlarged, according to the fancy of the skillful artist.”

“Three Gothic chairs” “are suitable to a library and eating-parlours.”

“Nine Designs of Chairs after the Chinese Manner ... are very proper for a Lady’s Dressing-Room: especially if it is hung with India paper. They will likewise suit Chinese Temples. They have commonly Cane-Bottoms, with loose Cushions; but, if required, may have slipped Seats and Brass Nails.”

236The backs and legs are of fret work. The seat is 19 inches deep, 17 inches long; the back, 20 inches high, and the legs from floor to seat, 17 inches, and those made of pierced fretwork are 2½ inches wide.

Three plates show “nine Chairs in the present Chinese manner, which I hope will improve that taste, or manner of work; it having yet never arrived to any perfection; doubtless it might be lost without seeing its beauty: as it admits of the greatest variety, I think it the most useful of any other. The sizes are all specified on the designs. The three last I hope will be well received, as there has been none like them yet made.”

The width of the square leg was 2½ inches, seat front rail, 1 foot, 10 inches; back of seat, 19 inches, depth, 17½; height of back, 19½ inches. Another leg, 1½ inches wide; 17 inches high; (or 2½ if carved in open-work fret) front seat rail, 22½ inches; back of seat, 19 inches; depth, 17 inches; height of back from seat, 20 inches.

Four plates give “eight different designs of French Elbow Chairs, of various patterns, which I hope will be of great use, if properly applied. Some of those chairs are design’d to be open below at the seat, which greatly lightens them, and has no ill effect. The common sizes are as follows: 2 foot, 3 inches in front, 1 foot, 11 inches over behind; 1 foot, 10 inches from the front of the back to the front of the seat rail. The seat is 1 foot, 2½ inches high; the height of the back, from the seat, is 2 feet, 3 inches; but those dimensions differ according as the rooms are larger, or smaller: the ornaments on the backs and seats are in imitation of tapestry, or 237needlework. The carving may be lessened by an ingenious workman without detriment to the Chair.”

PLATE XL

The full drawing to the reader’s right on Plate XXXVIII. shows a Gothic chair. Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are typical chair backs, No. 5 being “Chinese,” as is plainly shown by its fret-work and mandarin hats. Nos. 3 and 4 are the legs of “Chinese chairs,” and No. 9 the leg of a “French chair.”

In not one of Chippendale’s drawings of chairs does the simple ball-and-claw foot occur. In one or two instances, however, there is a lion’s claw, or paw.

We find the straight, square leg; the straight leg carved with a chute of husks and resting on a square base; the cabriole leg, ending in a kind of scroll and resting upon a leaf; a leg resting upon a shell; a leg formed of a bunch of reeds wrapped with a ribbon; a leg ending in a hoof, with a ram’s head carved on the spring of the cabriole knee, a lion’s claw holding a very flat ball; and a leg upon which a curious sort of wingless dragon is crawling. (See Plate XXXVIII., No. 9.)

Another leg shows a dolphin’s tail gracefully carved upon a cabriole curve, while his head is used for the foot. In another chair the dolphin’s tail is used for the foot. Fret-work is used in the Gothic and Chinese designs.

The Chinamania had by no means subsided in Chippendale’s day. The case or shelf full of choice bits of porcelain was to be met with in many rooms, and always in the lady’s boudoir and dressing-room. In Chippendale’s first book, a number of china cases, Chinese cases, Chinese hanging shelves and Chinese shelves standing 238on feet appear, and even one labelled “India cabinet” shows the same style of treatment, which is, of course, either fret-work or a conglomeration of pagodas, mandarin hats, Chinese figures, bells and turned-up edges mingled with leaves and scrolls and dripping water. In the first edition of Chippendale’s book (Plates CV., CVI., CVII., CVIII. and CIX.) are china cases. “The latter,” he says, “is a very neat china case upon a frame, with glass doors in the front and ends; betwixt the middle feet is a stretcher, with a little canopy which will hold a small figure. This design must be executed by the hands of an ingenious workman, and when neatly japann’d will appear very beautiful.” This is the china case that is shown on Plate XXXVIII., and is dated 1753. The glass doors are enriched with ornate vines thick with leaves and flowers and dripping water. The ornaments of the top and sides are decorated with little bells, and there is a generous use of fret-work. Plate CX. of the first edition also shows a “china case with glass doors;” and Plate CXI. another, of which Chippendale seems to be very proud. He says it is “not only the richest and most magnificent in the whole, but perhaps in all Europe. I had a particular pleasure in retouching and finishing this design, but should have much more in the execution of it, as I am confident I can make the work more beautiful and striking than the drawing. The proportion and harmony of the several parts will then be view’d with advantage and reflect mutual beauty upon each other. The ornaments will appear more natural and graceful, and the whole construction will be so much improv’d under the ingenious hand of a workman 239as to make it fit to adorn the most elegant apartment.”

PLATE XLI

China cases on which to place the china are most elaborately carved; one of these in the Chinese style “may be soft wood and japanned, or painted and partly gilt.” A china case very proper for a lady’s dressing-room may “be made of any soft wood and japanned any colour.”

Hanging shelves for china are shown in Nos. 3 and 4 on Plate XLII. The latter is confessedly “in the Chinese taste.” In some of his highly ornamental cabinets the ornaments are intended to conceal the joining. He says: “They may be brass or silver finely chased and put on, or they may be cut in filligree work in wood, brass or silver.”

Chippendale fills four plates with a variety of Chinese railings, “very proper for gardens and other places, and may be converted (by the ingenious workman) to other uses.”

It is not likely that any confessed admirer of the French would neglect the commode. Sometimes he labels them “buroe dressing tables,” “commode bureau tables” and “French commode tables.” This is what he calls one design, dated 1753, which appears on Plate XLII., which has drawers at the top and in the middle and doors at the ends. “The ornaments should be carved very light,” he remarks, and these are a delicate kind of fret-work below the three top drawers and a profuse display of dripping water with leaves in the ovals of the doors, while the bottom is ornamented with leaves and the feet are leafy scrolls. Nos. 6 and 7 (Plate XLI.), are 240also portions of French commode tables, the former has drawers at the side and is enriched with the rocaille work of which Chippendale was so fond and the favourite dripping water. No. 7 shows only the leg.

The lady’s dressing-table received much attention from Chippendale. As a rule, he made it of rosewood ornamented with rich brass-work, and further decorated it with festoons of drapery. One, dated 1761, is described as a kind of commode. On top was a glass that came forward on hinges, on either side was a cupboard plain or silvered (i. e. quick-silvered); inside were drawers and pigeon-holes. “Two have been made of rosewood, which have given entire satisfaction,” adds Chippendale. All the ornaments were gilt and the dressing-drawer was full of compartments for all the little trinkets that are so necessary to women.

A Toilet, or Dressing-Table, for a lady is described as follows: “The Dressing Drawer under the glass should be divided. On the top is a large looking-glass which comes to the front with joint hinges, and over it a compartment, and on each side, and parts with doors that represent drawers. The ornaments should be gilt in burnished gold, or the whole work may be japanned and the drapery may be silk damask with gold fringe and tassels.”

PLATE XLII

Another toilet for a lady’s dressing-room is thus described: “The glass, made to come forward with folding Hinges, is in a carved frame, and stands in a compartment that rests upon a plinth, between which are small drawers. The drapery is supported by Cupids, and the Petticoat goes behind the Feet of the Table, 241which looks better. The ornamental parts may be gilt in burnished gold or Japanned. A China case in the Chinese style, may be of soft wood and Japanned, or painted and partly gilt.” A china case “very proper for a lady’s dressing-room may be made of any soft wood and Japanned any colour.” Chippendale’s convenient shaving-tables, and basin-stands, dressing-boxes and all other furniture for the dressing-room with their folding glasses and compact arrangement of drawers and partitions, prove that many years before Sheraton’s time there was a demand in England for such articles. Clothes-presses, wardrobes, chests, etc., also show that in Chippendale’s book nearly every article of furniture for every kind of a room is to be found.

One of his shaving-tables has rigid, simple lines, very like Sheraton, with “a folding top and a glass to rise out with a spring catch.” “There are places for soap, razors, bottles,” and there is a device “to bring the glass forward when the gentleman is shaving.” With it is a bason stand with a glass to rise on the shaving table. Three other bason stands are merely frames for the bason to stand in.

The bookcase received a great deal of attention from Chippendale. The “Gothic Library Bookcase,” a good example of which is shown on Plate XXXIX., seems to be one of his favourite types. Others he describes as “a rich Gothic Library Book-Case, with Gothic columns fix’d upon the doors to open with them; the doors are different, but may be made alike if required. This design is perhaps one of the best of its kind and would give me great pleasure to see it executed, as I 242doubt not of its making an exceeding genteel and grand appearance. The upper doors are to be glazed.”

Again we have “a Desk and Book Case in the Chinese taste: the doors are intended for glass, and will look extremely well. The small columns on the canopy above the cornice project forwards. The fret-work at the bottom of the Book-Case is for two small drawers.” There is also “a small desk and Book Case in the Gothic taste.”

For these he gives numerous designs of trimmings for ornamental glass-doors, a specimen of which appears on Plate XLII., No. 2. Other bookcases were combinations of bookcases and writing-desks. Some of them he calls “bureau desk and bookcase.” Two examples of the desk and bookcase are shown as Nos. 2 and 3 on Plate XXXIX. One of these has many of the so-called “Gothic” characteristics, with its pinnacles and crockets, although the inverted C and shell-like scroll is in evidence, while the other is quite “Chinese,” with its fretwork and umbrella-shaped ornaments despite the dripping-water decoration upon the glass doors. Sometimes another combination appears of a dressing-table with a bookcase, and a table and bookcase is not uncommon either. A writing-table and bookcase for a lady has “the middle feet come out with the drawer, which hath a slider covered with green cloth or Spanish leather for writing upon.”

Chippendale designed convenient library furniture, the forms of which are solid and intended for comfort. His “buroe tables” usually consist of two square tiers of drawers hollowed out in the centre and covered by 243a large slab. Sometimes he makes a sweeping line as in No. 1 on Plate XXXIX. On the same Plate, No. 5 exhibits the knee-hole of another “buroe table” ornamented with a little carving. No. 5 on Plate XLI. shows one end of a “library table.” Other tables are described as follows:

“A Gothic Table with different feet, the one solid, the other cut thro.”

“A Gothic Writing-Table, with one long drawer at the top, doors at each end, drawers in the inside, and a recess for the knees.... The columns are fixed to the doors and open with them.... This table has been made more than once from this design, and has a better appearance when executed than in the drawing.”

“A Gothic Library Table, the corners canted, and a Gothic column is fixed at each corner; that fixed upon the doors, and opens with them.”

Another writing-table “hath a writing Drawer which draws out on one end and has Term feet to support it.” The top “rises with a double horse to stand to read or write upon.” Another plate shows a Library Table with circular doors at each corner.

A writing-table in the Gothic taste has a “recess for the knees, and the pillars are fixed to the Doors and open with them.”

“A Library table” has “drawers and doors on both sides with upright Partitions for Books and Drawers for Works.”

Of another Library table he says: “The ends form an oval with carved terms fixed to the Doors and which 244must be cut at the astragal, base mouldings to open with the Doors.”

Another writing-table has drawers in the under part, small drawers and “pigeon-holes” and a place for books in the upper. In another writing-table “half of the front feet come out with the Drawer,” and in one corner is a “quadrant drawer for ink and sand.”

Another has a “flap on hinges in the top that rises to write upon.”

Frames and brackets for marble slabs, picture frames and frames for looking-glasses, girandoles, sconces, etc., etc., appealed very naturally to the carver. The very charming bracket, No. 1 on Plate XLII. with its frets, its scrolls, shells, roses, and leaves, which was, of course, intended for gold leaf, is very simple when compared with the girandoles and mirrors, of which Chippendale has given so many examples. One frame for a marble slab (really a console table) he evidently likes. It is “supported by two piping Fauns, leaning against two vines, intermingled with foliage, etc. It will have a grand appearance,” he adds, “if executed with judgment and neatly gilt.” Æsop and mythology and Chinese subjects afford Chippendale plentiful suggestion for other consoles. The pier glass on Plate XLII. shows Chippendale when he is most himself. This is 44 inches high and 28 inches wide, and the frames fairly bristle with spiky tufts of grass, scrolls, leaves, flowers, dripping water and long-tailed, open-mouthed, excited birds, while at the top under a small canopy stands a Chinese holding a tray of fruit. The mirror is in three panels: a large central one with a smaller one on each side.

245The girandole was also subject to the most fantastic kind of carving, out of which the sconce arms emerged in graceful sweeps. One of great interest is carved with the fox and grapes from Æsop while another represents a piece of ruins intermingled with various ornaments, and another shows a squirrel eating nuts.

No sideboard nor buffet appears in any edition of Chippendale’s designs. He gives a number of sideboard-tables, however, which are long, heavy tables that stand on four legs. These he carves ornately in either the Gothic or Chinese style, and specimens are shown on Plate XLI., Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

“Chandeliers,” Chippendale says, “are generally made of glass and sometimes of brass. But if neatly done in wood and gilt in burnished gold, would look better and come much cheaper.”

A standing-candlestand appears on Plate XLI. This is delicately and gracefully carved in wreathing leaves and scrolls, blossoming flowers and dripping water. Other articles for illumination are “lanthorns” for halls, passages and staircases; some of them are square, some have six sides and others are egg-shaped. These he directs to be “made of brass cast from wooden moulds.”

The chimney-piece afforded Chippendale the greatest scope. He published many designs far more ornate than the one that appears in Plate XXXVII. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to follow out all the details of carving bestowed upon them. One very ornate example, he says, “requires great care in the execution. The Imbossments must be very bold and the Foliage neatly laid down, and the whole properly relieved. The 246top may be gilt, as likewise some other ornamental parts.”

Grates, ornamental parts of grates of wrought brass and fire-screens also receive attention. The cornice, wall decorations, borders for paper-hangings, designs for frets that may be applied to various uses, patterns for “handles and escutcheons for brass-work” appear among all the miscellaneous articles. Chamber organs, book shelves, china shelves, terms for busts, stands for tall china vases and beakers and fire-screens are all included. Among the latter we may note that those that stand on four legs are commonly called “horse fire-screens.” Some of them slide up and down, others stand on the horse-leg, and others fold.

Clock-cases also appear; one is ornamented with Gothic columns, and one with a serpent running around the oval dial, “representing Time lasting to Eternity, and the Wings on the sides show how swiftly it flies away.” Table clock-cases also occur.

One of his handsome cisterns, or wine-coolers, which always stood beneath the sideboard table, was cut in the form of a shell supported by cherubs with tails that rose out of the grass. This was to be executed in “wood or marble and cut out of the solid.” The other designs “may be made in parts and joined with the Brass-work.” Tea-kettle stands of delicate proportions, tea-trays and tea-chests received much attention. Some of them had brass or silver ornaments and some were in the Gothic or Chinese taste. The breakfast table and the china table, intended both for use and the display of porcelain, are represented.

247No. 1 on Plate XXXVII. is a breakfast table. Its height is 28 inches and its leaves 45 inches. Its carved straining-rails are interesting. No. 2 on the same plate is a china table, the straining-rail of which drips profusely with icicles or falling water.

From a careful study of the Gentleman’s and Cabinet-Maker’s Director we find that Chippendale’s favourite ornaments are the shell, the fret, the endive and acanthus leaves, the dolphin, the wyvern, the ram’s head holding swags, the squirrel, the crow, the fox, the long-tailed and long-billed bird, the dog, the lion, the masque, the quatrefoil, ribbons, flowers of various kinds, the spiky thorn, bells, the Chinese mandarin, the Chinese pagoda, the Chinese umbrella, the Chinese canopy with bells at the corners, the monkey’s head, the cockatrice, the pine cone, Cupids, satyrs, Bacchantes, boys blowing horns, the rising sun, the two cɔ, the eagle, the horn, violin, pipes, and the lion’s head. We also note an occasional use of the fluttering ribbon, attributes of music, poetry, hunting, emblems of war, the sea, the bull’s head, the serpent among flowers, the caduceus, and Venus rising from the sea in her shell.

In his Analysis of Beauty, Hogarth says: “There is scarce a room in any house whatever where one does not see the waving line employed in some way or other. How inelegant would the shape of our movables be without it! How very plain and unornamental the mouldings of cornices and chimney-pieces without the variety introduced by the ogee member, which is entirely composed of waving lines!”

The above was printed in 1753, just at the height of 248the Louis XV. period and the year before Chippendale published his designs. In a few years all that Hogarth so justly admired was destined to pass away, for, as we shall see in the following chapter, the reaction against the graceful and fantastic curve had already begun.

LOUIS XVI. PERIOD

251

The Louis XVI. style is easily recognizable. In every kind of furniture whether viewed from the full face or profile, the straight line strikes the eye. It is everywhere, in all the uprights, in the leg and backs of tables and chairs, and parallel lines are close together. Another striking object is a peculiarly slender oval that appears in medallions and vases and all kinds of ornaments. Oval medallions are to be met with on panels and wood marquetry in light tints. These medallions, in which the favourite device is a basket of flowers, are surrounded by a frame, or border, of a straight row of eggs, itself bordered within by a row of pearls. At the top of the medallion is a knot or bow of ribbon, from which falls on either side a little bunch of flowers.

The indications of the coming Louis XVI. style really began between 1745 and 1750, and developed at the same time that the rococo was in full flower. The discoveries 252made in Pompeii and Herculaneum are responsible for the enthusiasm of certain masters of decoration for the straight line and the regular forms of Greek art. Madame de Pompadour greatly favoured this new style.

This period is characterized by a peculiar liking, or pretended liking for everything relating to the fields and to nature. Books of Idylles and Bergeries are multiplied; l’homme de champs has appeared in literature; and the word “sensible” is very fashionable. The works of J. J. Rousseau, Berquin and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre are now being widely read. Ornamentation includes all the pastoral attributes (such as shepherds’ crooks, shepherds’ and shepherdesses’ hats, scythes, rakes, spades, watering-pots, pipes, flutes, Basque drums, and bird-cages), knots of ribbon, wreaths of roses, bunches of flowers, baskets of flowers, falling garlands, sheaves of wheat, architectural eggs and pearls, or beads, parallel groovings, the thyrsus, quivers, torches, the lyre, the broken column, the grooved shaft, the little open galleries or rails on the tops of pieces of furniture (see Plates XLVIII. No. 1; XLVII. and XLIV.) and round, oval, elliptical, or long square medallions containing pastoral subjects. Acanthus scrolls with slender stems support the tablets; and the mouldings are almost invariably bordered with pearl headings. The laurel leaf in the form of a wreath, or a swag, is often used; and the husk, or bell-flower, drops down the pilasters and legs of furniture. (Typical legs appear as Nos. 6 and 7 on Plate XLVII.) The vase is exceedingly prominent. Sometimes it holds flowers, sometimes a pine cone or a flame; 253the shield is also evident; the woodwork is often oak painted white; the walls are divided up by pilasters delicately carved and painted in colours, and often the mouldings are gilt. The chairs and sofas are covered with rich silk or tapestry. Pastoral subjects, flowers and trophies are worked for the backs and seats. Cabinets and tables are inlaid with woods of various colours: tulip-wood, rosewood, pear, holly and ebony are all in use; and bright colours are obtained by chemical treatment.

A critic has asked: “How is this? Should a decorator lose all sense of appropriateness and invite you to sit down upon a pigeon, to obliterate a love scene, and lean your back against a panier of fruit, or a basket of flowers?” The answer was: “Is it not as absurd to eat from a plate decorated with flowers which will mingle with the sauces, or to drink from a cup decorated with butterflies which might fly down your throat! If the pigeons, baskets of flowers and pastoral scenes delight the eye, that is sufficient.”

The materials used in this style are principally white marble, bronzes covered with a soft burnished gold, woods painted white, or in pale delicate hues, such as grey, with which is mixed a little blue, green, or red. To these numerous shades of grey the name “celadon” was given.

“The effort was everywhere made to substitute straight lines for curved and broken lines and unsymmetrical forms, so that simultaneously a right principle of construction was recognized and ornament was no longer required to serve constructive ends. It recovered its place 254as mere decoration, and as such was added or applied to furniture, though not always happily, for chairs and tables were adorned with freely modelled festoon and floating ribbons and garlands, which were too loosely connected with the objects decorated, and stood in too slight connection with them. Not only were the structural parts of furniture once more made rectilinear, but their profiles and dimensions were decidedly more delicate, and the legs of chairs and tables tapered downward to a point. Although this is essentially right in principle, as it gives furniture a more portable appearance, still it can be carried too far. This was so much the case with the furniture of this period that tables, chairs, high-legged secretaries and cabinets look poor and thin, stiff and stilted,—an effect which is not condoned by their elegant prettiness.”

The above quotation is from Falk, who goes on to say:

“That which was new in the style of Louis XVI. consisted in the employment of antique ornamental designs, which, having lately been made known through the excavations at Pompeii, had become fashionable; we mean those flowery, conventional, and charming arabesques interspersed with many graceful animal forms, with which the decorators of the time skilfully and pleasingly added an approach to the realistic use of natural forms, quite opposed to the system of Rococo ornament. Perfectly preserved examples of this style of ornament, which was used at the Petit Trianon, still exist in the above-mentioned boudoir of Marie Antoinette at Fontainebleau, as well as in the palace at Haga,^[19] both 255painted on and carved in the woodwork, although the latter is not left in its natural colour, but is gilded in various shades.”

Pollen describes the interior decoration of the rooms of this period as follows:

“The panelling of rooms, usually in oak and painted white, was designed in severe lines with straight moulding and pilasters. The pilasters were decorated with well designed, carved work, small, close and splendidly gilt. The quills, that fill the fluted columns still seen round so many interiors, were cut into beads or other subdivisions with much care. Fine arabesque works in the style of the Loggie of Raphael, partly carved in relief, partly drawn and painted, or gilt, with gold of a yellow or a green hue, the green being largely alloyed with silver, and with silver leaf as well.... The houses built for members of the brilliant court of Marie Antoinette at Versailles and Paris, were filled with admirable work in this style, or in the severer but still delicate carved panelling in wood plainly painted. The royal factories of Gobelins and of Sèvres turned out their most beautiful productions to decorate the rooms, the furniture, and the table service of the young Queen and her courtiers. The former of these factories produced the tapestries for wall hangings.... Gobelins tapestry was used for chair backs and seats, and for sofas. Rich silks from the looms of Lyons, and from those of Lucca, Genoa and Venice were also employed for this kind of furniture, both in France and Flanders, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as in our own country. But in all these matters France led the fashions.”

256One of the specialties of this period is the great use of porcelain applied to the front of furniture; these placques are round or oval, and frequently a long rectangle. This fashion had already become popular during the former reign; but it was carried to excess in the days of Louis XVI. Jacquemart says:

“We again repeat that no classification exists that is not defective; between the end of the reign of Louis XV. and the beginning of that of Louis XVI. there is certainly no marked transition; the sobered furniture in the style à la reine is still seen with its chequered marquetry and delicately chased bronzes. Louis XV., the founder of the Porcelain manufactory of France, no doubt caused Sèvres plaques with bouquets, bordered with turquoise blue to be inlaid in the furniture he had around him, or which he offered as gifts. And yet it is more particularly in the reign of Louis XVI. and at the time when Amboyna wood and spotted mahogany were replacing marquetry mosaic, that porcelain and Wedgwood cameos were incrusted in panels, friezes, and the drawers of furniture; it may be permitted, therefore, for the sake of clearness, to call the overlaying of furniture with china by the name of the sovereign who so especially admired and patronized it. In fact, the period of Louis XVI. is that in which cabinet-making employed its resources most largely and multiplied its styles.”

PLATE XLIII

Among the designers who are classed under the epoch of Louis XVI., but whose works are a mixture of Louis XV. and Louis XVI. styles, are Roubo, Lucotte, Watelet, Jean Baptiste Pierre, Dumont, Demontigny, Charles 257de Wailly, Le Lorrain, Choffart and Neufforge. The latter, a native of Liège, was one of the most prolific designers of the age. His eight books of architecture with supplement give examples of interior decorations. The fifth volume, which appeared in 1763, is devoted exclusively to mantel-pieces, ceilings, tables, stoves, commodes, parquet floors, vases and other furniture; and many designs of sofas, cabinets, buffets, armoires, clocks, consoles and commodes are included in the eighth volume published in 1768. Although Neufforge published all his designs during the reign of Louis XV., they form a complete illustration of both the exterior and interior decoration of houses of the Louis XVI. style. However, Neufforge did also produce some designs in the style Louis XV. A mirror by Neufforge appears on Plate XLVII., No. 2.

The most important designers of the Louis XVI. period are: Delafosse, Ranson, Forty, De Lalonde, Salembier, Fragonard, Boucher fils, de Cuvilliés fils, Marillier, Moreau le jeune, Prieur, Petitot, Cauvet, Fay and Le Canu. Others of reputation include: Boulanger, Simon Challe, Houel, Bellicart, Saint Non, LePrince, Bachelier, Liard, Robert, St. Aubin, Renard, Queverdo, Fonlanieu, Pariset, Moreau, Houdan, Beauvais, Le Geay, Bertren, Janel, LaRue, Parizeau, Bonnet, Duplessis fils, Fossier, Huet, Demarteau, Percenet, Pouget, Tibesar, Gardette Ponce, Moithey, Panseron, Desvoyes, Taraval, Charton, Aubert Parent, and Normand.

Delafosse (b. 1721) designed every species of interior decoration, and every kind of furniture and ornament in use, besides innumerable trophies, pastoral attributes, and 258attributes of music, painting, science, hunting, fishing, etc., etc. His furniture includes sofas, canapés and fauteuils in the picturesque taste, and chairs in the antique taste, Turkey ottomans and beds, gondola sofas, French, Italian and Chinese beds, and couches and settees in all the novel forms of the day, as well as window-seats, secretaries, corner-cupboards, candlestands, pedestals, stoves, and chimney-pieces. In some of his designs there are reminiscences of the Louis XV. style, but he is regarded as one of the exponents of the Louis XVI. style and their individuality has given them the name “genre de la Fosse.”

Fragonard (b. 1733; d. 1806) has among his designs bas-reliefs gay with fauns and Bacchantes in luxuriant foliage, panels and over-doors, and charming studies for ceilings, especially adapted for boudoirs.

Forty, designer, engraver, carver, etc., worked in Paris from 1775 to 1780; and in taste and execution his works are perfect examples of the time. In addition to books of vases, iron work for balconies, gratings, stairways, and designs for goldsmiths, he published eight books entitled Œuvres de Sculptures en bronze, in which are designs for girandoles, lustres, clocks, candelabra, dials, barometers, etc., and a “design for Two Toilettes,” representing everything that is appropriate to the use of a lady, and ornamented with the proper figures and allegorical attributes. Jewel-boxes, powder-boxes, comb-trays, etc., are included.

De Lalonde’s first publications, in the Louis XVI. style, are addressed “to artists and persons who wish to decorate with taste”; and he assures them that everything is in the newest style. They include borders and frames, 259both square and round, feet for furniture, tables and consoles, doors, cornices, entablatures, girandoles, lustres, candelabra, trophies, soffits, vases, mantel-pieces, over-doors, ceilings and rosettes for ceilings, fire-places, locks and knobs for the use of doors and furniture, chimney-pieces and sconces. His thirteen books of furniture represent sofas, lits de repos, bergères, duchesses, banquettes confidents, ottomans and other varieties of beds and sofas, fauteuils of both the square and gondola form, billiard and card-tables, desks of the cylinder and tomb shapes and desks with hind’s feet, commode desks, commodes of marquetry, square commodes and commodes with hind’s feet, corner-cupboards, screens, chiffonniers, bookcases with pilasters, little toilette commodes, demi-toilettes, flower-stands, etc., etc. Other books show numerous designs for the table service. The later publications of De Lalonde approach the new Classic taste. In these there are numerous plates for the decoration of apartments, cornices, consoles, ceilings, doors, alcoves, windows, chimney-pieces, girandoles, lustres, sofas, canapés, fauteuils and beds, most of which are “in the antique taste.” Among the chairs there is a chaise renversée à bergère, a fauteuil à griffon, a chaise élastique, a fauteuil à tête renversée, and a fauteuil à chimère antique.

De Lalonde’s designs were exceedingly popular. His beds and sofas à la duchesse, à la polanaise, à colonnes, à trois dossiers, à la turque, etc. are legion, and his chairs, arm-chairs, bergères, screens, tabourets, consoles, etc. appeared at Trianon and Fontainebleau, and many of them survived the Revolution. De Lalonde continued his work under the Directoire and so slavishly followed the fashion 260that his work leads directly into the style of the Empire as expressed by Percier and Fontaine.

De Lalonde is fond of the ribboned leg (see No. 3, Plate XLVI.) and the grooved leg; and his favourite ornaments are the quiver, the urn, the lyre, the garland, the burning torch, and, in his combinations of trophies, the ribbon plays an important part. Specimens of De Lalonde’s works are shown on Plate XLVI., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7.

Ranson was particularly fond of trophies and flowers. He composed many designs and motives for the embroidery of arm-chairs. His books give all sorts of trophies and floral designs for various kinds of decoration. He also designed a great deal of furniture, particularly beds. Among the varieties exhibited in his plates are: Lit à Impériale à colonnes, lit à chaire à prêcher. Lit à la Polonaise à tombeau, lit à l’antique, front and side view, lit à la duchesse, lit à la chinoise, lit à la Romaine, lit à la militaire, lit à la Panurge, lit à la Polonaise à tombeau retroussé à la chinoise.

Ranson was particularly fond of the pastoral accessories; and he groups large hats, shepherds’ crooks, spades, trowels, and bird-cages, and throws around them garlands and ribbons. The round or oval frames of his chairs are generally surmounted by a garland of roses wherein doves sometimes bill and coo, or a quiver of arrows is set. An example of the latter design appears as No. 3 on Plate XLIV. Two sofas by Ranson are shown on Plate XLIV., Nos. 1 and 2. The first is a “sofa with drapery and cushions,” the second is an “ottomane à la reine.”

PLATE XLIV

261The cabinet-makers made a vast number of Ranson’s designs.

Salembier’s publications are chiefly devoted to the study of ornaments, particularly trailing foliage and arabesques, the acanthus and the thistle leaf. He designed no large pieces of furniture, but there are a few plates of consoles, guéridons, sconces, chandeliers, clocks, feet and corners of tables; friezes and panels for doors are also included.

In Salembier’s designs, the foliage is not very luxuriant, and the acanthus leaf takes the place of the shell. The figures of Cupid that he uses are more like the Greek in treatment; and although his ornaments are plentiful, they grow slenderer. His arabesques are very ornate, although they are composed of light elements, mingled with branches, mosses and grass.

Petitot’s best book contains many views and studies of a salon in the purest Louis XVI. taste. He also published sets of vases.

Jules François Boucher (b. 1736, d. 1781), the son of the famous painter, published various decorations for panels, elevations for alcoves, windows, buffets, details of armoires and commodes, libraries, drawing-rooms, cabinets, bath-rooms, dressing-rooms, boudoirs, bedrooms, dining-rooms, vestibules, etc. His work is particularly valuable; for the decorations, like those of Neufforge, give a more correct idea of the general ornamentation of the Louis XVI. period than the very rich and elaborate designs of Cauvet, Salembier and others.

Cuvilliés (b. 1734, d. 1805) was for a time architect of the Bavarian court, and his stay in Germany greatly 262influenced his taste. His works deal chiefly with ornamentation, but designs for stoves, terms, vases and fountains are found among his drawings; and “niches in two Gothic styles” were published about 1770.

Marillier (b. 1740, d. 1808) chiefly designed flowers, trophies and cartouches. He also produced “new ornament composed in the most modern taste to be made in gold, silver, copper and other metals.” These include trimmings for commodes, buffets and other pieces of furniture, besides lamps, candelabras, sconces for mantel-pieces, hearth furniture, etc. Marillier’s work shows the best characteristics of the Louis XVI. style.

Prieur’s taste led him to arabesques, but, among his large collection of designs, one book is devoted to the decoration of apartments. Its six plates comprise a round dining-room, drawing-room, bedroom, boudoir, vestibule door and two ceilings.

A number of Beneman’s signed works exist, and are of massive and severe form. His heavy commodes of rigid lines are ornamented with handsome metal mounts; and many of his pieces announce the coming Empire style.

At Fontainebleau and the Louvre, are preserved many articles by Dugourc, whose favourite ornament was the quiver.

Cauvet (b. 1731, d. 1788) designed ornaments, chiefly arabesques. Typical trophies and arabesques are shown on Plate XLV. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

A great number of painters, decorators and designers devoted their attention to the urn and vase forms: innumerable volumes entitled “vases composed in the antique 263taste or suite des vases,” were published by Vien, Jacques, Saly, Watelet, Pierre, Wailly, La Live de Juilly, Simon Challe, Saint Non, Petitot, Cauvet, Houdan, Beauvais, Bertren, Gachet, La Rue, Bonnet, Joly, Duplessis, fils, Percenet, Scheemakers, Moithey l’ainé, Nicolet, Dupuis, Courture l’ainé, Marchand, Perault, Pannier, Doré and Normand.

Others gave great attention to designing iron-work for balconies, locks, bolts and mounts for furniture; and even stoves received much consideration. Bosse, for instance, gives eighteen models in his Collection des dessins de Poêles de formes antiques et modernes, de l’invention et de la manufacture du sieur Olivier, rue de la Roquette, faubourg Saint-Antoine.

Other designers published books of arabesques, trophies, flowers and other ornaments for the use of interior decorators. Among the most interesting of these is Charton’s Collection de douze cahiers de plantes étrangères en fleurs, fruits, corail et coquillages, published in 1784.

One of the most prolific designers of textiles was Pillement (b. 1728; d. 1808), and his plates show all the popular motives and subjects of the day: branches, ribbons, stripes mingled with flowers, and those patterns of winding ribbons alternating with straight stripes bespangled with flowers called Dauphines, which were introduced at the time of the Dauphin’s marriage with Marie Antoinette in 1770. From the time that the Princesse de Lamballe assumed charge of the Queen’s household, feathers were much used as a design for textiles; and the affected pastoral life at Trianon gave rise to the gayest sort of materials in which the winding 264stripes and interlacing ribbons are not only sprinkled with flowers, but all the pastoral attributes. About 1780, the round medallions came in and lasted till the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. Of course, the growing taste for the antique had its effect upon the decoration of materials, and the columns, volutes, lyres, heads of Minerva and other Classic ornaments became more and more popular. However, amidst all the changes, one thing persisted. This was the stripe. At first, it was hidden under ribbons and flowers, branches and feathers, but all the scattered ornaments became smaller and less noticeable until they disappeared altogether, and left the dominating stripe. Mercier wrote in 1788: “Everybody in the King’s cabinet looks like a zebra.”

The Marquise de Pompadour, who favoured the new styles, was fond of the stripe. Her bed at Marly was quite in advance of the style associated with Marie Antoinette. It was draped in a rich silk composed of blue and white stripes sprinkled with bouquets of flowers.

Typical coverings of the day are shown on Plates XLIV., XLV., and XLVI.

Fay was a famous designer of textiles, and wall paper which imitated them in pattern and colour. The material known as quinze seize, a kind of taffeta, whose name was derived from its width was much used for curtains, and also a heavy silk, called gros de Tours. They remained fashionable during the Empire. Another favourite material was the toile de Jouy, which was a kind of printed linen or cretonne made at the factory of Jouy in Josas, which Oberkampt established in 1759. 265His productions there became enormously popular, and the designs were printed from the best talent that could be engaged,—such as Huet, for instance.

It is singular that the two most famous cabinet-makers of the Louis XVI. period were Germans,—Riesener and Roentgen. Riesener (b. about 1730) came from his native town near Cologne to Paris, and, as we have seen, worked in Œben’s shop. When the latter died in 1768, Riesener carried on his business, and up to the outbreak of the Revolution, produced a great deal of furniture. He became “ébéniste du Roi” and worked for the Royal family until they left Versailles. Of course he began to work under Louis XV., his most important production having been made for that King himself (see page 213); but as the greater part of his work was accomplished during the following reign, he is always classed among artisans of the Louis XVI. period. Many of his pieces are from designs by De Lalonde. They include tables, chairs, cabinets, chests-of-drawers and corner-cupboards that are now prized. Riesener is particularly noted for his marquetry. He was fond of inserting a panel of a single piece of wood bearing in its centre a gay and graceful bunch of flowers, a wreath, or trophy, and enriching the border with a diaper pattern of three or four quiet colours. He often stamped his name upon the panel itself. His favourite woods for inlaying were: tulip, rosewood, holly, maple, laburnum, and purple-wood (copaifera pubiflora). Riesener also made furniture, particularly chests-of-drawers and cabinets of snake-wood, or other brown woods in which the grain is waved or curled, and also worked in plain 266mahogany and letter-wood, depending upon Gouthière’s metal mounts for the decorative effect. Fashion also forced Riesener to introduce, somewhat against his will, painted porcelain into his furniture in place of his inlaid panels. One of his productions of this class appears on Plate XLVII. It is a chiffonnier-secrétaire of mahogany with ornaments of chiselled copper, and plaques of Sèvres porcelain. The subjects of the latter are birds. The two lower plaques are apparently held by knots of ribbon made of copper chased and gilt. A little open-worked gallery runs around the back and sides of the top, the front moulding of which is ornamented with the festoon. The commode on Plate XLVIII. is also one of Riesener’s works.

David Roentgen is often known as “David.” He was born near Coblentz, and seems to have kept his shop there, visiting Paris to dispose of his wares; and, obtaining the interest of Marie Antoinette, he established a shop in Paris. He introduced a new kind of marquetry, in which the shadows and shading were actually done by pieces of wood; and, as a journalist of the period said, was done like “stone mosaic.” The woods he used for his marquetry work were lighter and gayer than Riesener’s. He employed various white woods, such as pear, lime, and other light-coloured woods, and frequently tinted them other shades by burning them, or by chemical processes. Like Riesener, he worked also in plain mahogany and letter-wood, and also veneered furniture with these woods. His productions were also brightened by Gouthière’s chased and gilt handles and key-plates. Roentgen was particularly 267clever about introducing mechanical devices into his furniture. His greatest period of activity was between 1780 and 1790.

Among other noted cabinet-makers were Leleu, Saunier, Carlin (who made many articles for Marie Antoinette), Levasseur, Avril, Pafrat (who worked with Carlin), Philippe-Claude Montigny (who copied the works of Boulle), Benman, Stockel, Weisweiler, and Schwerdfeger. Quite a colony of German cabinet-makers, attracted by the success of Riesener and Roentgen, as well as the hope of gaining the interest of the young Austrian Queen, settled in the faubourg Saint-Antoine.

Although some of the beds popular during the last reign survived, particularly the alcove and niche beds, many new varieties were introduced, and the books of such designers as Ranson, Delafosse, and Salembier, contain many drawings of beds. The canopy generally becomes smaller and smaller, until it dwindles into a crown or ring to hold the curtains, and is known as lit à couronne,—a variety that continued popular throughout the Empire. The great four-post bed and the lit en housse, occasionally recorded in inventories and sales, are survivals of the past; most of the new beds take some form of the sofa. The favourite lit à l’anglaise is really nothing but a square sofa. Indeed the dividing line between the beds and sofas is not clearly marked, for the “bed with three backs,” as they still defined it, is draped and furnished with the customary two bolsters and a decorative canopy and curtains. The distinction was not very rigidly observed even at the time. For example, in 1773 we read: “For sale at M. Carré’s, 268rue d’Enfer a lit à l’anglaise of yellow damask that forms a sopha 5 feet wide and 6 feet long; the frame of carved walnut.” In 1785, “a cane bed with three backs that may serve as an ottoman in a summer drawing-room,” is offered for sale.

Columns rarely appear now, and when they do, they are usually light. Sometimes, indeed, they are of iron, and covered with the same material as the curtains. It is preferred to place the bed sideways (vu de face) against the wall. In this case, the headboard and footboard are of equal height and exactly alike. (See Plates XLIV. and XLV.) Often the headboard and footboard are covered with the curtain-material; they are also left plain and printed, or lacquered or gilded. Natural wood ornamented with bronze gilt or moulu decorations is used. The use of veined woods gradually did away with the practice of covering the head and footboards. When the headboard was higher than the footboard, the head was placed against the wall (vu de pied), or it stood in the corner. Muslin, Persian, silk, and other materials were used for draperies, and these were trimmed with bows of ribbon, fringe, cords and tassels. The curtains and counterpane were subject to a formal arrangement of loops and festoons, and feathers still decorated the canopy. Among the most popular varieties were lit à la Polonaise, à la Turque, à la Chinoise, à tombeau, à double tombeau, and à l’anglaise. There was another new bed called à la dauphine, which did not long remain in fashion. Ranson designed one in 1780. This was a lit à impériale or à dôme, which was light and rather graceful. Instead of being supported by columns the 269dome was held by an iron armature. The lit à l’Italienne, so named on account of the draping of the curtains, was very popular in 1775; and the lit à couronne had a round or oval canopy, surmounted by a festoon drapery, trimmed with ball fringe. Two curtains, similarly trimmed, fell from the canopy on either side of the bed to the floor.

PLATE XLV

The forms, colours, and styles of the beds in use during the Louis XVI. period may be gathered from the following list: lit à housse, crimson velvet, trimmed and embroidered with gold, Maréchal Duc d’Estrées, 1771; lit à la polonaise, blue damask and moiré, Boucher (the painter), 1771; lit à housse, green damask, Madame Favart, 1772; bed of embroidered muslin, the Duc de Bouillon, 1772; lit de Perse, white background with various cut-out decorations, Duchesse de Brissac, 1773; bed of Indian damask, Chevalier d’Hestin, 1775; crimson velvet with gold braid, Duke of Saint-Aignan, 1776; yellow satin embroidered with gold flowers, Marquise de Courcillon, 1777; Indian damask, Mme. le president Talon, 1779; bright yellow damask (worth 24,000 livres), unknown, 1779; crimson damask, Marquise de Saint Georges, 1779; and crimson and white moiré, la Comtesse de Bérulle, 1779. In 1780, crimson seems to be the favourite hue, but there are also fine beds of blue and white damask, crimson and white brocade, and yellow damask, and in 1781–1782, yellow and white damask, green damask, blue damask, blue and white watered silk, blue and white brocade, Persian, tapestry and blue satin embroidered with gold and silk. Yellow camlet and damask in three colours occur in 1784, 270and in 1787 Oriental stuffs and imitations of them are the rage. In 1787, the Marquis de Ménars had a beautiful bed of embroidered blue moiré; the Duc d’Orléans, a lit à la duchesse of flowered silver velvet, trimmed with gold braid and fringes; and the financier, Beaujon, a large canopy bed hung with Gobelin tapestries.

In addition to these, we may call attention to the following folding-beds: a “lit d’ante-chambre in the form of a secretary” was offered at the sale of the Marquise de Vigean’s effects in 1783; and at the sale of Mme. Le Gros’s articles in 1784 “a bed of crimson damask enclosed in an armoire en secrétaire.” A French newspaper also offered for sale in 1785 “a pretty bed enclosed in a secretary made of mahogany with trimmings of gilded or moulu, 7 feet high and 3½ feet wide, proper for both city and country”; and four years earlier a “bed in the form of a commode and garnished with copper” was also offered for sale.

The lower drawing on Plate XLIV. represents a lit de repos, or “causerie,” such as was used at Trianon. The wood is walnut, gilded all over. A carved garland of flowers decorated the top of the head and foot-board, and the grooved columns are surmounted by a carved pineapple. The drapery is a light Florentine silk, green in hue, trimmed with cords and tassels and fringe of white, green and pink.

The bed on Plate XLV. is from a water-colour design by Rousseau de la Rottière.

The window-curtains and draperies have also changed, to be in sympathy with the furniture. They are far more studied than ever before, and it is the cutter whose 271abilities are required rather than the graceful draper. Every bit of material must count, and the shape is determined upon by the scissors. The straight line is insisted upon, and festoon, scarf and lambrequin are combined in a precise and formal manner. When a lambrequin is cut in denticulated ornaments, sometimes the teeth end in a point, and sometimes they are rounded. The cantonnière has entirely disappeared, and the scarf is now an obligatory accompaniment to bed curtains and window-curtains. The curtains are heavily wadded and lined, and beneath them thin muslin or taffeta curtains hang. The draperies are trimmed with braids, cords, fringes, small bell-shaped balls, and long or short but rather slender tassels.

Gilded and lacquered cornices are used, and cornices of white and gilt whose flowers and other ornaments are painted in appropriate colours. The latter style was known as camaïeux. On Plate XLIV., Nos. 3 and 4, specimen cornices with the correct drapery are shown. The central ornament of each is a composition of garlands, quivers and burning torches. Another arrangement of window drapery appears in Plate XLIII.

The lyre clock (No. 3, Plate XLVII.), and the screen (No. 4, Plate XLVIII.), are also typical examples.

The commode becomes more popular than ever. The bombé commode of the preceding reign is succeeded by a piece of furniture in which the straight line predominates, and which usually stands on grooved feet. Some commodes have doors and others long drawers, with two simple handles on either side of the key-plate. When five drawers are placed one above the other, the 272feet naturally become lower than those of the Louis XV. period. Commodes were made of plain mahogany, amaranth and violet-wood. Marquetry work gradually yielded to plain panels bordered with a delicately chased bronze moulding, and the top was covered with a marble slab. Doors and drawers, however, were sometimes ornamented with inlays of flowers or trophies in the centre of the panel. Very few lacquered commodes were made. The commode on Plate XLVIII. is a transitional piece by Riesener. It is of marquetry, ornamented with chased gilt bronze mounts. The legs show the Louis XV. influence. Above it, on the same Plate, is another piece that retains sympathy with the former period. This is a “demi-toilette.” Its curving hind’s feet are ornamented with a bronze gilt acanthus, and delicate metal-work decorates the moulding above the three drawers. (See detail No. 5).

The chiffonnier, or tall case of drawers, occurs in the inventories of this reign. It was used in the dressing and bedrooms.

The console, or pier-table, still holds its place under the mirror between the windows. It bears little resemblance to the superbly carved and decorative console of the former reign. It is composed of straight lines, a straight grooved leg, or a leg grooved and tapered, as shown on Plate XLVIII., No. 1. The ornaments are slight, merely a little gilded metal gallery around the top and base, a small ornament, a rosette or trophy, in the centre under the slab, and sometimes a little decoration on the legs. The straining-rails sometimes unite to form a sort of basket or tray to hold flowers or a piece 273of porcelain, and sometimes the legs are united by a solid piece of wood, as appears on Plate XLIII., which also shows the favourite style of standing upon it a single Sèvres vase. The console was not only made of mahogany and brass work, but it was frequently painted in a light colour. Grey or celadon was a favourite hue. At the sale of the Versailles furniture, during the Terror, “two consoles, painted in pearl-grey, elegantly ornamented with carving and having very handsome slabs of Carara marble,” were sold.

PLATE XLVI

A console in which the characteristics of the approaching Empire style are evident is shown as No. 5 on Plate XLVII. In the original, a double eagle sits upon the straining-rail directly below the chubby cherub. The eagle is accompanied by a branch of laurel. It will not be long before the classic head of the term leg is succeeded by the sphinx.

Typical drawing-room tables are shown on Plate XLIII. It is very rarely that a table of gilded wood is met with in a drawing-room or petit salon. Solid or veneered tables of rosewood, amaranth, violet-wood or mahogany, decorated with brass-work or gilded copper, are the favourites. Sometimes the top consists of a marble slab, and sometimes a square of velvet or cloth is framed in a border of wood ornamented with a metal moulding; but the table-cloth is rigorously avoided.

In the boudoir, tables painted and lacquered in the Vernis Martin style are met with. In the boudoir as well as in the drawing-room, the “flower table” also occurs. This must have been a jardinière, because Percier uses the word table à fleurs for his jardinières. Growing flowers 274were greatly preferred to cut flowers for decoration, and were placed on tables or stands in vases and baskets made of gilded metal or gilded osiers. The flower table, however, was arranged purposely for growing plants. It resembled the pier-table, and was often ornamented with porcelain plaques. In 1777, a Parisian advertisement reads: “For sale, a beautiful table à fleurs, now being made, of satin-wood lined with lead, the four feet in scrolls ornamented with shoes gilded or moulu, as also the rings that form the handles; with a drawer also lined with lead to drain the water.”

Writing-tables with desks that lift up and down at pleasure to any height required, by means of mechanical devices, were also placed in the boudoir. Work-tables were sometimes combined with the writing-tables.

Numerous kinds of card-tables were in use and tables called “de bouillote,” which were round, folding or fixed, and stood on four feet.

The extension dining-table, mounted on four, six or eight feet and opening at the middle, appears in this period, and a very useful article is introduced into the dining-room. This is the table servante, a species of dumb-waiter, with drawers and shelves arranged in tiers and supported on four feet. Some of the drawers are large enough to hold bottles or a carafe, while others are intended for corkscrews and small articles. The feet, which are grooved, are mounted on casters. This piece of furniture is represented in the caricatures by Charlet, Grandville and H. Monnier.

A kindred article is represented in the upper right-hand corner of Plate XLVIII. This is a breakfast table 275made by Carlin and Patrat. It is now in the South Kensington Museum.

Desks or bureaux, like the commodes, became heavier and approached the sarcophagus in shape. The rolltop cylinder was the most popular design. One of these is represented on Plate XLVII., No. 4. The cabinet was also in use, and sometimes it was constructed especially for the corner of a room. A corner cabinet is shown on Plate XLVII., No. 1, with its panel inlaid with a floral design, and its grooved column at the side that is of the vase shape, and supports a small urn with a burning torch. It was considered proper to place a vase on the top of the cabinet. The tall vase was greatly used as a decoration, and was placed not only on cabinet and pier-table, but a pedestal was frequently provided for it. (See Plate XLIII.)

Another specimen of a cylinder desk is represented on Plate XLIV. It is in the style of Riesener, and is made of mahogany with delicately chased metal trimmings. The frieze is a combination of scrolls, griffins and leaves; the panels of the doors and the cylinder are also bordered with metal; the foot is encased in a metal leaf; and the key-plates are ornately worked. The legs and pilasters are grooved. The top is covered with a marble slab surmounted by an open-worked metal gallery.

The seats differ greatly from those of the former period. In these, the curved outline entirely vanishes. During the transitional period, the feet are of the console outline, ending in a scroll or shell, or peg-top shape that succeeded the leaf shoe; and before the medallion 276was used for the back of the chair frame, the violin shape was employed. The next change was a sort of projecting square, then the shape of the handle of a basket, until the form is reached that shows a perfect square between two straight columns, each ending in a steeple ornament and making a kind of frame for the covering. (See Plates XLVI. and XLVIII.) The small arm-chairs were called cabriolets, but the frames of each were similarly ornamented with beads, winding ribbons, laurel leaves, etc. The richest chairs had a carved and gilt ornament in the centre of the top rail, usually a bow of ribbon, a bouquet of flowers, or a garland of small blossoms or leaves.

Plain woods, such as mahogany, walnut, or amaranth, are often used for the frames, but far more universal is the use of wood carved and gilded, or carved and painted according to fancy. Some mahogany and rosewood arm-chairs are brightened by the application of chased and gilded bronze ornaments. The upholsterers of the day furnished the chairs with round, flattened or half round cushions. The projection of the back cushion was regulated by the material with which it was covered, so that the latter should be exhibited to its best advantage. Many arm-chairs had removable cushions that fit into the frame of the chair. The cushions were sometimes tufted.

PLATE XLVII

The old damask of the past used for furniture coverings now gave place to figured and embroidered satin, the designs representing birds, vases full of flowers, Cupids, quivers smothered with garlands of flowers, a bouquet held by a bunch of ribbon, and, finally, stripes. 277The tones were light: two colours, one of which in two or three shades, were often employed, the favourites being pale blue, rose, yellow, lilac and grey. The manufactories of the Gobelins, of Beauvais and Aubusson produced the same designs and pictures in their tapestries which were in great vogue for chairs and sofas. Garlands, shepherds and shepherdesses, subjects from Boucher and Fragonard and trophies were reproduced most exquisitely upon light backgrounds. Persian, Chinese and Polish subjects witness how the decorators tried to study the designs of foreign and Oriental countries. The stamped velvets of Utrecht had smaller patterns and very frequently were striped. Braids were of innumerable varieties, and tassels and ball-fringe were universally used for trimmings. Arm-chairs were ornamented also with festoons of drapery, and were called fauteuils à la polonaise, à la turque, à la chinoise, and in all probability matched the beds and sofas of these names. Radel, De Lalonde, Salembier, and others give many designs of the draped arm-chair. Typical chairs are represented on Plates XLVI. and XLVIII. The arm-chairs on Plate XLVI. are by De Lalonde. Nos. 2 and 3 are drawings of the same chair, No. 2, showing the correct projection of the cushion of the back, which was a subject of so much study. No. 5 is a “voyelle,” also by De Lalonde. The plan of its seat appears as No. 4. No. 2 on Plate XLVIII. is an arm-chair of walnut and gold. The arm-chairs for the desk were made of mahogany, or painted wood. They were of the gondola form, and were supplied with cushions for the back and seat, which were not unfrequently of cane. The third 278foot placed directly in front now seems to have been given up. The fauteuil bergère still belongs to the drawing-room, but its lines are straighter than its parent (see Plate XXXVI., No. 1), and the elbow is more aggressive. A typical Louis XVI. fauteuil bergère is shown in No. 3 on Plate XLVIII. This is also called fauteuil confessional. In this reign the cushions of seat and back are often stuffed with hair instead of feathers, and tufted. Like the specimen on Plate XXXVI., this fauteuil bergère is often supplied with a separate cushion for the seat, covered like the rest of the chair.

Another typical chair was the “voyeuse,” the back of which was shaped like a lyre, and reached from the seat to the top rail. The latter was stuffed. Men sat astride the seat, and rested their arms upon the rail. This chair was generally in the card-room.

The dining-room chairs usually had cane backs and seats, or rush. The frames of oak or ebony followed the forms of the dining-room chair, or had turned bars or carved splats. Mahogany was also used, and often the frames were painted. As a rule, the chairs were furnished with removable cushions, but sometimes they were covered with velvet or leather.

The form of the sofa, or canapé, was similar to that of the chair, as will be noticed by an examination of Plate XLV. Sofas were of the gondola, basket, or medallion form, and were slightly lower and deeper of seat than those of the former reign. Sometimes they had high wings or cheeks at the ends, something after the shape of No. 3, on Plate XLVIII., which gave them a cosy, comfortable appearance. A typical canapé 279is represented on Plate XLVI. The frame is of carved and gilded wood, and it is covered with tapestry in the style of Boucher. The central medallion represents a pastoral subject,—a child with a dog, cock, and birdcage with a border of roses and daisies, and on either side are two trophies of musical instruments. The seat is similarly covered. The sofa, No. 7, on the same plate, is one of De Lalonde’s. This has a good deal of metal work, and the familiar patera that is placed at the head of the leg, and, in fact, wherever the wood is joined. This “sopha” has four front legs. Like the model below there is an open space under the arm. The omission of the cushion stamps it of a later date.

The little rounded and low sofa was often called an ottoman; but this name is also applied to large pieces. For instance, No. 2, on Plate XLIV., is called “Ottoman à la reine.” This is by Ranson, who is also responsible for the sofa above it. The latter permits the square pillow as well as the round bolster. The varieties of the draped sofa, known variously as lit de repos, chaise longue, duchesse, bergère, à la turque, à la polonaise, à la chinoise, etc., are too numerous to mention, and merge into the bed. It is hard to tell even from the contemporary drawings what is a sofa and what is a bed, as both appear with and without canopies. For example, No. 6, on Plate XLVI., is called “sofa bed à l’antique.” The frame is of plain mahogany, and the drapery is arranged in scant festoons. This piece is very close in feeling to the Empire sofas, and the scroll end sofas of the early Nineteenth Century that exactly follow the outline produced by the bird, cushion and roll of No. 6. The 280duchesse is still composed of the fauteuil and tabouret. Sometimes it is made in three instead of two divisions.

The apartments of the Princesse de Lamballe consisted of an ante-chamber, a dining-room, a dressing-room, a billiard-room, a bedroom and a boudoir. They display the Louis XVI. furniture in full flower (1785). Some idea of the height of the rooms can, of course, be gained from the length of the curtains.

The ante-chamber contained twelve square chairs covered with yellow bazanne,^[20] the frames painted white; a six-leaved screen covered with red cloth, 6 feet high; and a sofa-bed.

The dining-room was furnished with twenty chairs, three screens and a commode. The curtains, 14 feet, 6 inches high, were of heavy crimson silk trimmed with gold braid. The woodwork of the chairs was painted yellow, and they were covered with crimson panne velvet fastened by gilt nails on a gold braid. Two of the screens had six leaves and were 6 feet high. One was covered with crimson panne fastened by gilt nails on a gold braid; the other with crimson silk velvet, fluted and nailed similarly. The third screen was covered with crimson damask; its frame was carved and gilt. The commode was à la Régence, 4 feet long, of veneered wood with a marble slab on top, and two long drawers with lock-plates, rosette handles, chutes and shoes of copper gilt. The room was lighted by a splendid lustre of Bohemian crystal, with eight gilded branches (2 feet, 7 inches high and 2 feet wide); and a pair of arms, 281each with three rocaille branches (22 inches high and 15 inches wide). The heat was supplied by a grate.

The drawing-room was hung with green and white damask. It had a frieze of carved wood, partly gilt and partly painted white. Two large square arm-chairs, eighteen square chairs of gilded wood, four voyeuses, and two little chairs were covered with the same green and white damask as the hangings. The framework was carved and painted white. There were also twenty-four mahogany chairs with lyre backs, the seats of which were covered with green leather fastened by gilt-headed nails that touched one another. The window-curtains, of two lengths each (9 feet, 8 inches long), were of heavy green silk, trimmed with silk braid. A rich carpet covered the floor. The light was obtained by means of a Bohemian crystal lustre, over 3 feet high, with six silver branches and three pairs of sconce-arms. The fire-place was highly ornamental, and the tongs and shovel had gilded knobs.

The billiard-room was hung with green damask, and the curtains were of heavy green silk. Here were twelve chairs and four voyeuses, and a banquette covered with green Utrecht velvet, fastened with gilt-headed nails. The framework of these seats was painted white. There were also several stools and benches covered with green morocco.

The bedroom had a moquette carpet (14 feet, 6 inches by 25 feet) of a white background on which were ovals of green, upon which flowers tied with ribbons were represented. A very ornamental grate furnished the heat.

282The boudoir reflected the taste of the age. The hangings and furniture coverings were of heavy silk with a white background, on which a lozenge design was represented, as well as bouquets of flowers tied with blue ribbons framed in a kind of trellis-like border. The frames of the furniture were carved and gilt. The seats consisted of a settee, with a square cushion, two pillows and two round bolsters; six square arm-chairs, a bergère with a square cushion, and a screen. The niche (6 feet wide and 9 feet, 9 inches high) was hung with the same material as the rest of the boudoir, and was lined with white silk. The window-curtains matched the alcove and bed draperies. There was a handsome lustre of rock-crystal with eight branches of copper gilt, a screen of crimson damask with a beech frame; an “ottoman en gondole” painted white, covered with crimson damask, fastened with gold nails to the frame, and equipped with a square hair pillow and two feather pillows with tassels; seven crimson damask arm-chairs and a walnut writing-table with drawer.

The apartments of Mlle. Guimard, the actress, in 1786, give excellent hints for furnishings of this period. In the ante-chamber, on the ground floor, were twelve chairs covered with green moquette, two buffets, a fountain with a filter, a stove, a wooden coffer and figures in the niches.

In the dining-room, there were three tables for ten, fifteen, and thirty covers. The eighteen chairs were upholstered in green and white Utrecht velvet.

The greenhouse contained five banquettes, or forms, covered with green Utrecht velvet, and three girandoles 283carried by plaster figures standing on white marble pedestals.

In the passage to the boudoir was a banquette covered with “Pekin.”

The boudoir was furnished with two settees, two bergères, and two chairs covered with tapestry; and a desk stood in a counterfeit doorway. The window-curtains were of green taffeta, and a carpet covered the floor. In the bedroom, two large pictures took the place of hangings. A sofa-bed stood in the niche, draped with crimson and white Genoa velvet. The niche was hung with the same material. Two sofas, six square-backed arm-chairs, and a two-leaved screen and two banquettes were covered similarly, but the four cabriolets were upholstered in brocade. Another screen was covered with tapestry. There were also a foot carpet, an open fire-place with rich hearth furniture, pictures, and two lily-shaped girandoles of copper gilt, or moulu. A moquette portière screened the passage to the garde-robe. The “Baths” occupied three rooms. The bath-room and its niche were hung with Persian; the window curtains were white, and here stood a canapé and four cabriolets. The cabinet next to the bath contained a settee, four cabriolets, and two window-curtains, all in “painted Pekin.” The furnishings of the fireplace were gilt or moulu. The dressing-room was hung in damask paper, and its six cabriolets were upholstered with crimson and white velvet.

Mlle. Grimard’s suite upstairs consisted of antechamber, dining-room, drawing-room, dressing-room, bedroom, writing-room, and garde-robe. The ante-chamber 284was furnished with six cane chairs and a faïence fountain. The dining-room seats, covered with blue and white velvet, comprised six chairs and two arm-chairs.

The salon, or drawing-room, contained five tables: one stood in each corner and one in the centre. There were six square arm-chairs, four chairs, and a settee of green and white damask, and the one tabouret was covered with tapestry. The walls were hung with watered silk, and the curtains were green taffeta. The dressing-room contained four arm-chairs, and four chairs covered in blue and white damask; and the window-curtains were of blue taffeta. The arm-chair used at the toilette was upholstered in leather. The chimney-piece was “à la Prussienne,” and the hearth furniture was gilt or moulu. The bedroom was lighted by two windows, which were hung with curtains of green taffeta. The lit en niche and the alcove draperies were of Indian dimity. The four arm-chairs and four chairs were covered with toile de Jouy. (See page 264.) The fireplace furnishings were gilt or moulu. In the writing-room, the two curtains were of green taffeta; and the desk arm-chair was covered with green velvet. Two china corner-cupboards stood in the garde-robe.

The Cabinet des Modes from 1786 to 1790 gives many examples of furniture and interior decorations that are excellent records of the taste of the last years of the Louis XVI. style. The volume for 1786 gives designs for a clock and candelabra; bed in the form of a pulpit, front and side view, lit de repos, or causeuse, arm-chairs “in the latest fashion,” bergères, chaise à chapeau and 285chaise à resaut, “temple flambeaux and cassolettes for the decoration of a mantel-piece,” bed “à la Turque,” and decoration for a boudoir.

PLATE XLVIII

A lit à la Polonaise, a decoration for a bedroom with alcove with columns, cabinet clock, sofa with three backs, or “sofa pommier,” large arm-chair for a drawing-room, two voyeuses for a card room, and a chair appear in the second volumes. The third contains mantel-pieces, girandoles, clocks, a cylinder desk, a console, and the decoration for a salon. Another decoration for a salon appears in the volume for 1789, also a clock, girandoles, a Chinese lantern, pots pourris, or perfume-burners, a sofa of three divisions, a fauteuil à chapeau et à colonnes, a hearth and a settee. The volume for 1790 leads directly into the Directoire style, as the plates for the “lit à la fédération,” “new arm-chairs of antique form,” “antique arm-chair,” “Etruscan chair,” candelabra, and “salon nouveau” plainly show. Most of these designs are by Charpentier.

THE ADAM PERIOD

PLATE XLIX

289

Reaction from the rococo style doubtless marched with the same gradual and certain steps in England as in France. The Louis XVI. style crossed the channel and brought with it all its bitter contempt for “rock and shell,” its passion for the straight line, and its love for mortuary urns and arabesque ornamentation. In English decorative art, this style is known as “Adam.”

Although Robert and James Adam had great influence in creating and strengthening the “taste for the antique,” they were not the only ones who made war upon the rococo, Gothic and Chinese. One of these was George Richardson, who, like Adam, travelled in Italy. He published A Book of Ceilings composed in the style of the Antique Grotesque, in 1776; A New Collection of Chimney-Pieces in the style of the Etruscan, Greek and Roman Architecture, in 1781; and A Series of Original Designs for Country Seats or Villas, containing Plans, 290Elevations, Sections of Principal Apartments, Ceilings, Chimney Pieces, Capitals of Columns, Ornaments for Friezes, and Other Interior Decorations in the Antique Style, in 1795.

Placido Columbani published A New Book of Ornaments, in 1775; and A Variety of Capitals, Friezes, Cornices and Chimney-pieces, in 1776. These are designs for the interior decoration of rooms, chiefly of panels to be made in wood, or stucco, or painting.

John Crunden was another. He issued Designs for Ceilings, in 1765; Convenient and Ornamental Architecture, in 1768; The Joiner and Cabinet-Maker’s Darling, in 1770; and, with Thomas Milton and Placido Columbani, The Chimney-Piece Maker’s Daily Assistant, or a Treasury of New Designs for Chimney-Pieces.

N. Wallis published, in 1771, A Book of Ornaments in the Palmyrene Taste, which was followed by The Carpenter’s Treasure and The Complete Modern Joiner, which contain designs for ceilings, panels, pateras, mouldings, chimney-pieces, door-cases, friezes, tablets for the centre ornaments, chimney-pieces, and door-cases and ornaments for pilasters, bases and sub-bases. The greater number were of allegorical subjects. Wallis was fond of the “Raffle” leaf (indented foliage, such as the acanthus). J. Carter was another designer in the Adam taste. His ceilings greatly resembled Richardson’s. The latter describes one of his own chimney-pieces as follows: “The plain ground round the pilasters and architrave may be of jasper, or antique green; and the ornaments of the frieze and pilasters 291might be done of scagliola,^[21] and should be executed in wood; the ornaments will produce a fine effect if painted in the Etruscan manner—in various colours.” A Triumph of Venus is a tablet of another chimney-piece, “suitable for an elegant gallery or Drawing-room. She is sitting in a shell drawn by Dolphins guided by Cupid, in the air and accompanied by a Triton blowing his shell trumpet, and holding Neptune’s trident. The plain ground round the pilasters with termes may be of variegated colours, but all the rest should be of plain white marble.” Of the ceiling for a dressing-room he says: “The oval picture represents Diana bathing attended by her Nymphs. The small circles contain figures representing hunting-pieces and sacrifices, which may be painted in chiaro-oscuro, or executed in stucco in the manner of antique bas-reliefs.” A chimney-piece, suitable for a Parlour or Dining-room, is thus described: “The ornaments of the frieze may be of white marble, laid on dark grounds. If the cornice, with the frieze and back pilasters, be carved in wood, the moldings of the architraves in marble, might be quite plain.”

It will therefore be seen that the “Adam style” was a fashion. Taste was running its natural course and the reaction to the antique, from the curve in favour of the straight line, had set in.

The social position of the Adam brothers helped them greatly in towering above the other English designers 292and decorative artists of the day. Their father, William Adam, was an architect of reputation in Scotland; and sent his second son, Robert, to the University of Edinburgh, where he formed important friendships. In 1754, he went to Italy with a French architect and made a careful study of the ruins of the Emperor Diocletian’s palace at Spalatro in Dalmatia. He was made F.R.S. and F.S.A. while abroad; and, on his return to England, in 1762, become royal architect. His brother James was closely identified with him in all his work. The nobility and gentry not only patronized them, but received them socially; and when Robert died in 1792, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, the state of his funeral and the high rank of the persons who attended and officiated, prove the regard in which he was held. Adam, therefore, is of a very different class from Chippendale, Heppelwhite and Sheraton; and, although he designed much furniture to accord with the rooms that he altered and decorated, he never made any. The Adam brothers were purely designers: they employed special artists to work for them. These were Angelica Kauffman, and her husband, Antonio Zucchi, and Cipriani; also Pergolesi, whom they brought from Italy, and who Mr. Heaton says “beyond doubt was the unacknowledged author of most of the beautiful details of Adam’s book.”

Among their most important works that include interior decoration were: Sion House, the Duke of Northumberland’s seat in Middlesex; Kenwood, Lord Mansfield’s house near Hampstead; Osterley House, near Brentford; Shelburne (now Lansdowne) House, 293Berkeley Square, London; Keddlestone, Derbyshire; Luton House, Bedfordshire; and Compton Verney, Warwickshire.

PLATE L

“Whatever were the architectural defects of their works, the brothers formed a style, which was marked by a fine sense of proportion, and a very elegant taste in the selection and disposition of niches, lunettes, reliefs, festoons, and other classical ornaments. It was their custom to design furniture in character with their apartments, and their works of this kind are still highly prized. Amongst them may be specially mentioned their sideboards with elegant urn-shaped knife-boxes, but they also designed bookcases and commodes, brackets and pedestals, clock-cases and candelabra, mirror-frames and console tables of singular and original merit, adapting classical forms to modern uses with a success unrivalled by any other designer of furniture in England. They designed also carriages and plate, and a sedan-chair for Queen Charlotte. Of their decorative work generally it may be said that it was rich but neat, refined but not effeminate, chaste but not severe, and that it will probably have quite as lasting and beneficial effect upon English taste as their architectural structures.”^[22]

Like Chippendale, they claimed more originality than they were entitled to when they wrote in their preface:

“We have not trod in the path of others, nor derived aid from their labours. In the books which we have had the honour to execute we have not only met with the approbation of our employers, but even with the imitation of other artists, to such a degree, as in some 294measure to have brought about in this country, a kind of revolution in the whole system of this useful and elegant art. These circumstances induced us to hope that to collect and engrave our works would afford both entertainment and instruction.”

They paid much attention to colour, and remark:

“We have thought it proper to colour with the tints used in the execution, a few copies of each number, not only that posterity might be enabled to judge with more accuracy concerning the taste of the present age, and that foreign connoisseurs might have it in their power to indulge their curiosity with respect to our national style of ornament; but that the public in general might have an opportunity of cultivating the beautiful art of decoration hitherto so little understood in most of the countries of Europe.”

The Adams tell us they intended to prefix to their book a dissertation regarding the rise and progress of architecture in Great Britain, “to have pointed out the various stages of its improvements from the time that our ancestors relinquishing the Gothic style, began to aim at an imitation of the Grecian manner, until it attained that degree of perfection at which it has now arrived.”

Thus the Gothic had no more admiration from the Adams than it had when Evelyn denounced it.

It is interesting to let them exhibit their own taste and rating of British architects.

“Michael Angelo, Raphael, and other Italian architects of the Renaissance boldly aimed at restoring the antique. But in their time the rage for painting became 295so prevalent, that instead of following these great examples, they covered every ceiling with large fresco compositions, which, though extremely fine and well painted, were very much misplaced, and must necessarily, from the attitude in which they are beheld, tire the patience of every spectator. Great compositions should be placed so as to be viewed with ease. Grotesque ornaments and figures in any situation are perceived with the glance of an eye, and require little examination. Inigo Jones introduced them into England with as much weight, but with little fancy and embellishment. Vanburgh, Campbell, and Gibbs, followed too implicitly the authority of this great name. Kent’s genius for the picturesque, and the vast reputation he deservedly acquired, made him in some measure withstand this prevalent abuse; he has much merit in being the first who began to lighten the compartments and to introduce grotesque paintings with his ornament in stucco; his works, however, are evidently those of a beginner. Mr. Stuart, with his usual elegance and taste, has contributed greatly towards introducing the true style of the antique decoration; and it seems to have been reserved for the present times to see compartment ceilings, and those of every kind, carried to a degree of perfection in Great Britain that far surpasses any of the former attempts of other modern nations.

“Inigo Jones, who had long studied in Italy, rescued this art (architecture) in a considerable degree from the Gothicism of former times, and began to introduce into his country a love of that elegance and refinement which characterize the productions of Greece and Rome.

296“Instructed and encouraged by his example, Sir Christopher Wren became more chaste; and having the felicity to be employed in executing the most magnificent work of English architecture, he was enabled to display greater extent of genius.

“Vanburgh understood better than either the art of living among the great. A commodious arrangement of apartments was therefore his peculiar merit. But his lively imagination scorned the restraint of any rule in composition; and his passion for what was fancifully magnificent, prevented him from discerning what was truly simple, elegant, and sublime.

“Campbell, Gibbs, and Kent have each their peculiar share of merit.”

From their own testimony we can, therefore, not agree with them, when they write elsewhere:

“Inferior to our ancestors in science, we surpass them in taste.” However, they insist that at the time they write, “greater variety of form, greater beauty in design, greater gaiety, and elegance of ornament are introduced into interior decoration.”

They were greatly in demand, as we have seen, and not only altered the interiors and exteriors of many English mansions, but designed the decorations. Chimney-pieces, ceilings, walls, niches, the handles of doors, locks, key-plates, cornices, draperies, furniture, gold and silver ware, and even damask for the table. Nothing seemed too great, nor too slight for their hands. The attitude they had towards their work may be appreciated by the following words:

“If we have any claim to approbation, we found it 297on this alone. That we flatter ourselves we have been able to seize, with some degree of success, the beautiful spirit of antiquity, and to transfuse it, with novelty and variety, through all our numerous works.”

The pictures on Plates L., LI., and LII. are taken from the book by the Adams. No. 1, on Plate L., is the curtain cornice of the Earl of Derby’s Etruscan Room; No. 2 on the same plate is another cornice with drapery, which, with the mirror below it, were made for Sion House. No. 4 is the leg of a table and No. 5 is the upper part of the frame of a pier-glass. The lower drawing is a sideboard table, under which, in the original drawing, a wine-cooler stands. No. 3 is a table, also from Sion House.

The sofa appearing on Plate LI. is of mahogany, the woodwork fluted and mounted with brass reliefs. The legs are characteristic of Adam. The cover is woolen work on canvas.

The table on the same plate is inlaid and has a border of inlaid brass and wood around the top. The two drawers under the top have borders of brass and are decorated with brass lions. In the centre of each crosspiece there is a decoration of leaves surrounding a rosette. The legs are gilded at intervals, and are ornamented with gilt lion’s heads and end in claw feet. This dates from about 1780.

The screen on the same plate is supported on a stand of wood fluted and gilded, out of which rises a brass rod. The oval frame encloses a piece of silk embroidery said to have been made by Queen Caroline. The little picture in the centre is painted. No. 1 is a curtain cornice, 298of which Adam says: “These curtains were intended as an attempt to banish absurd French compositions.” No. 2 is a ewer, that also appears in the Adam book. Plate XLIX. is a library after the Adam style. The full drawing on Plate LII. is a commode from the Countess of Derby’s dressing-room; it is richly decorated. No. 2 is a detail. No. 3 on the same plate from it is a girandole, made for a niche in the Earl of Derby’s Etruscan Room. The full drawing is “a design of a vase for candles to be fixed to the wainscoting of a room”; the central vase is a perfume-burner. No. 1 is a tripod of gilded wood, intended to support a base with candles.

Among the ornaments used by the Adam brothers were mythological subjects, lozenge-shaped panels, octagons, ovals, hexagons, circles, wreaths, fans, husks, medallions, draped medallions, medallions with figures, the sphinx, the faun, goats, drapery, ribbons, eagle-headed grotesques, griffins, sea-horses, the ram’s head, the patera, the rosette, caryatides and other Classic motives.

The ornaments of the ceilings and walls were stucco picked out with different tints, frequently pink and green. In handsome rooms, the chimney-piece was of statuary marble, the overmantel carved in wood and gilt, or painted. The drawing-room ceiling was coved and the compartments painted. Pilasters were often used to divide the rooms and the ornaments of these, like the arches and panels of the doors, were painted. The frieze was stucco. Ornaments in the niches were frequently gilt, as well as the girandoles and stucco ornaments of the ceilings. The Adams also recommended ornaments 299printed on papier maché and “so highly japanned as to appear like glass.” Damask and tapestry were used for hanging the drawing-room, but not the dining-room.

They assert that within the past few years there has been “a remarkable improvement in the form, convenience, arrangement and relief of apartments; a greater movement and variety, in the outside composition and in the decoration of the inside, an almost total change. The massive entablature, the ponderous compartment ceiling, the tabernacle frame almost the only species of ornament, formerly known in this country, are now universally exploded, and in their place we have adopted a beautiful variety of light mouldings, gracefully formed, delicately enriched and arranged with propriety and skill. We have introduced a great diversity of ceilings, frieze and decorated pilasters, and have added grace and beauty to the whole, by a mixture of grotesque^[23] stucco 300and painted ornaments, together with the flowing rinceau,^[24] with its fanciful figures and winding foliage.

“A proper arrangement and relief of apartments are branches of architecture in which the French have excelled all other nations; these have united magnificence with utility in the hôtels of their nobility, and have rendered them objects of universal imitation.

PLATE LI

“To understand thoroughly the art of living, it is necessary, perhaps, to have passed some time among the French, and to have studied the customs of that social and conversible people. In one particular, however, our manners prevent us from imitating them. Their eating-rooms seldom or never constitute a piece in their great apartments, but lie out of the suite, and in fitting them up, little attention is paid to beauty or decoration. The reason of this is obvious; the French meet there only at meals, when they trust to the display of the table for show and magnificence, not to the decoration 301of the apartment; and as soon as the entertainment is over, they immediately retire to the rooms of company. Not so with us. Accustomed by habit, or induced by the nature of our climate, we indulge more largely in the enjoyment of the bottle. Every person of rank here is either a member of the legislature, or entitled by his condition to take part in the political arrangements of his country, and to enter with ardour into those discussions to which they give rise; these circumstances lead men to live more with one another, and more detached from the society of the ladies. The eating-rooms are considered as the apartments of conversation, in which we are to pass a great part of our time. This renders it desirable to have them fitted up with elegance and splendour, but in a style different from that of other apartments. Instead of being hung with damask, tapestry, etc., they are always finished with stucco, and adorned with statues and paintings, that they may not retain the smell of the victuals.”

The Adam brothers now describe what seems to them a correct arrangement of a suite of apartments. These they themselves planned and decorated for the Duke of Northumberland’s estate, Sion House, near London. “The hall, both in our homes and in those of France, is a spacious apartment, intended as the room of access where servants attend. It is here, a room of great dimensions, is finished with stucco, as halls always are, and formed with a recess at each end, one square and the other circular, which have a noble effect and increase the variety.

“The ante-rooms on each side are for the attendance 302of the servants out of livery, and also for that of the tradesmen, etc. These are relieved by the back stairs in the towers. That on the side of the great apartment is square, and is decorated with columns of verd antique marble, which serve to form the room and heighten the scenery. The ante-room, on the side of the private apartment, is formed into an oval, a figure seldom or never used by the ancients, but has been sometimes introduced by the moderns with success, and was here in some respect necessary from the oblong shape of the room.

“Next to the ante-rooms are the public and private eating-rooms; the public one is a room of great extent, finished with stucco and adorned with niches and statues of marble; it is formed into a great circular recess at each end and decorated with screens of columns. The private one has also its recesses and stucco-finishing, and is relieved by a back-stair for the use of the servants.

“Next to the great eating-room lies a splendid withdrawing room, for the ladies, or salle de compagnie, as it is called by the French; this is varied from the other rooms by the form of its ceiling, which is coved and painted in compartments. It gives access into a gallery of great length, though rather too narrow and too low to be in the just proportion we could have wished. It is, however, finished in a style to afford great variety and amusement, and is, for this reason, an admirable room for the reception of company before dinner, or for the ladies to retire to after it: For the withdrawing-room lying between this and the eating-room, prevents the 303noise of the men from being troublesome; and for this reason we would always recommend the intervention of a room in great apartments to prevent such inconvenience.

“The little closets or cabinets, the circular one for china, and the other square one for miniatures, at each end of the gallery, serve only for an additional ornament. The gallery itself, as well as the private apartments, is relieved by the circular back stairs, and gives access to the ranges of apartments on both sides.

“The great circular saloon is a noble room entering from the hall, and leading into the gallery and great stairs, relieves all the other apartments: this serves also for a room of general rendez-vous, and for public entertainments, with illuminations, dancing and music. The form is new and singular; it is a circle within a circle, the smaller opening into the larger, by eight piercings adorned with columns and terminated with niches and statues, so that the scenery, like the decorations of a theatre, apparently increases the extent, and leaves room for the imagination to play.

“The private apartments are now the only part of the plan remaining undescribed; on one hand is the Duchess’s bed-chamber, an ante-chamber for the attendance of her maid; her toilet or dressing-room, her powdering-room, water-closet and outer ante-room, with a back stair leading to the intersols for the maids’ bedrooms and wardrobes, etc. On the other hand is a dressing-room for the Duke, a powdering-room, writing-room, with closet and stairs to intersols for His Grace’s valet-de-chambre, and wardrobe, etc.”

304The Adams also made changes at Kenwood in 1774, introducing their plans and decorations into an addition. “The great room with its ante-room was begun by Lord Mansfield’s orders in 1767, and was intended both for a library and a room for receiving company. The circular recesses were therefore fitted up for the former purpose, and the square part or body of the room was made suitable to the latter. The whole is reckoned elegant in its proportions and decorations, and the ceiling in particular, which is a segment of a circle, has been greatly admired.”

This ceiling is in “imitation of a flat arch, which is extremely beautiful and much more perfect than that which is commonly called the coved ceiling,” and Adam thus continues to describe it: “The stucco-work of this ceiling and of the other decorations is finely executed by Mr. Joseph Rose. The paintings are elegantly performed by Mr. Antonio Zucchi, a Venetian painter of great eminence; and the grounds of the panels and friezes are coloured with light tints of pink and green, so as to take off the glare of white, so common in every ceiling till of late. This always appeared to me so cold and unfinished, that I ventured to introduce this variety of grounds, at once to relieve the ornaments, remove the crudeness of the white, and create a harmony between the ceiling and the side walls with their hangings, pictures and other decorations.”

The Adams were very fond of this combination of colour. Osterley Park, the seat of the Earl of Jersey and one of the finest specimens of the Adam style extant, 305had its dining-room similarly painted by Zucchi. It is thus described:

PLATE LII

“The dining-room at Osterley Park, owned by the Earl of Jersey, was decorated by Zucchi in the Adam style. The walls of this apartment are in tints of the tenderest green and the very palest pinks, these colours being panelled by delicate scroll-work and artistic designs in the white composition which was known only to the Adam brothers. Three large pictures and several smaller ones, all being scenes and landscapes by Zucchi, are framed in this white scroll-work, while the same curving lines, with grapes and vine leaves, outline the pink and green panels of the ceilings, the design of which corresponds with the design of the neutral-tinted carpet. The tiny scroll patterns of the window mouldings are repeated in the ornamentation of the mahogany doors with their artistic brass locks and are again found in the designs of the buffets and side tables, where the ram’s head is introduced, which occurs more than once in both furniture and ornaments. Even the tablecloths were made to correspond in their woven pattern, and some are still in use bearing the date 1779. This careful and minute arrangement of detail is found only in an Adam House.”^[25]

W. Thomas was another designer in the Adam style; but of far greater importance was Michael Angelo Pergolesi, who was employed by the Adam brothers, and whose designs are equal to theirs. Pergolesi also employed Zucchi, Cipriani and Angelica Kauffman. His 306books of designs came out in parts from 1777 onward. One of Pergolesi’s rooms “has a low dado rail, plain plaster walls, panelled round with a moulding, a fine mantel-piece and a narrow ornamental compo frieze and plain ceiling.” Angelica Kauffman painted ceilings, table-tops, and furniture-panels, which, like Cipriani’s productions, represent cherubs, maidens, gods and goddesses, and amorini.

THE HEPPELWHITE PERIOD

PLATE LIII

309

Quite different from the sumptuous book by Robert and James Adam is the one that was published in 1788 by the firm of “A. Heppelwhite & Co., Cabinet-Makers.” This is a collection of three hundred designs by cabinet-makers for cabinet-makers and gentlemen. The title-page, which is also a table of contents, reads as follows:

“The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, or Repository of Designs, for every article of Household Furniture, in the Newest and most approved Taste, displaying a great variety of patterns for Chairs, Stools, Sofas, Confidante, Duchesse, Side Boards, Pedestal and Vases, Cellerets, Knife-Cases, Desk and Book-Cases, Secretary and Book-Cases, Library-Cases, Library-Tables, Reading-Desks, Chests-of-Drawers, Urn-Stands, Tea-Caddies, Tea-Trays, Card-Tables, Pier-Tables, Pembroke-Tables, Tambour-Tables, Dressing-Glasses, 310Dressing-Tables and Drawers, Commodes, Rudd’s Table, Bidets, Night-Tables, Bason-Stands, Wardrobes, Pot-Cupboards, Brackets, Hanging-Shelves, Fire-Screens, Beds, Field-Beds, Sweep Tops for Ditto, Bed-Pillars, Candle-Stands, Lamps, Pier-Glasses, Terms for Busts, Cornices for Library-Cases, Wardrobes, etc., at large, Ornamented Tops for Pier-Tables, Pembroke-Tables, Commodes, etc., etc., in the Plainest and most Enriched Styles.”

In his preface, Heppelwhite explains his ideas as follows:

“To unite elegance and utility, and blend the useful with the agreeable, has ever been considered a difficult, but an honourable task.

“It may be allowable to say, we have exerted our utmost endeavours to produce a work which shall be useful to the mechanic, and serviceable to the gentleman. With this view, after having fixed upon such articles as were necessary to a complete suit of furniture, our judgment was called forth in selecting such patterns as were most likely to be of general use—in choosing such points of view as would show them most distinctly—and in exhibiting such fashions as were necessary to answer the end proposed, and convey a just idea of English taste in furniture for houses.

“English taste and workmanship have, of late years, been much sought for by surrounding nations; and the mutability of all things, but more especially of fashions, has rendered the labours of our predecessors in this line of little use: nay, at this day, they can only tend to mislead those Foreigners, who seek a knowledge of the 311English taste in the various articles of household furniture.

PLATE LIV

“The same reason, in favour of this work, will apply also to many of our own Countrymen and Artisans, whose distance from the metropolis makes even an imperfect knowledge of its improvements acquired with much trouble and expense. Our labours will, we hope, tend to remove this difficulty; and as our idea of the useful was such articles as are generally serviceable in genteel life, we flatter ourselves the labour and pains we have bestowed on this work will not be considered as time uselessly spent.

“To Residents in London, though our drawings are all new, yet, as we designedly followed the latest or most prevailing fashion only, purposely omitting such articles whose recommendation was mere novelty, and perhaps a violation of all established rule, the production of whim at the instance of caprice, whose appetite must ever suffer disappointment if any similar thing had been previously thought of; we say, having regularly avoided those fancies, and steadily adhered to such articles only as are of general use and service, our principal hope for favour and encouragement will be, in having combined near three hundred different patterns for furniture in so small a space, and at so small a price. In this instance we hope for reward; and though we lay no claim to extraordinary merit in our designs, we flatter ourselves they will be found serviceable to young workmen in general and occasionally to more experienced ones.”

From the above quotation, it will be noticed that the 312firm of Heppelwhite and Company eschews extravagant designs, and aims to represent at the same time what is newest and most fashionable. We see, too, that previous publications sold, such as Chippendale’s, Ince and Mayhew’s, Edwards and Darly’s, and others that we have mentioned, are considered entirely out of date.

As far as Heppelwhite is concerned, neither the Chinese nor Gothic style ever existed. The straight line is insisted upon, and he prefers to any other the tapering and slender “term” leg ending in the “spade” foot. (See full drawings on Plates LIV., LV., LVI., and LVII., and Nos. 2 and 3 on Plate LIV.) The legs are frequently inlaid with the husk, or bell-flower, in satin-wood. His favourite ornamentations, whether carved, inlaid, or painted and japanned, are the bell-flower in swags and chutes, the lotus, the rosette, the acanthus, the shell, the urn with and without drapery, and the three feathers of the Prince of Wales’s crest. (See Plate LVI., Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8.) The brass-headed nail is always used for fastening the material to the frames of his seats. These are always placed close together, and are sometimes arranged in the form of festoons, or scallops, around the seat. The stripe is his favourite design for coverings. The festoon and the ornamental tassel he greatly admires.

The Heppelwhite chair has attained great fame. Generally speaking, its proportions are as follows: height, 3 feet, 1 inch; height to seat frame, 17 inches; depth of seat, 17 inches; and width of seat in front, 20 inches. Many chairs, however, are recommended to be made “according to the size of the room or pleasure of the purchaser.” For coverings of drawing-room chairs, such 313as Nos. 1, 5 and 8 on Plate LVI., silks and satins of light colours with printed oval medallions, or floral designs were used, and more particularly stripes, which were becoming more and more fashionable in France. Blue, or red, morocco leather, put on with ornamental brass nails, is another popular method of upholstering these articles. One of Heppelwhite’s instructions is that “leather backs or seats should be tied down with tassels, of silk or thread.” For the open back and carved chair, such as Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 on Plate LVI. silk, satin, and leather are used, and horsehair, figured, checked, plain, or striped, is also popular.

No. 7 on Plate LVI., which may be of mahogany, or japanned, has a cane bottom in the original design, and “should have a cushion of linen, leather, etc.”

Some of Heppelwhite’s carved chair-backs are square, and anticipate those of Sheraton represented on Plate LXII.; but he was fonder of the shield form. Backs of this shape were covered as in No. 5, Plate LVI., or had carved and open-backs, as the other examples shown on the same Plate.

Of chairs he writes:

“Chairs in general are made of mahogany, with the bar and frame sunk in a hollow, or rising in a round projection with a band or list on the inner and outer edges. Many of these designs are enriched with ornaments proper to be carved in mahogany. Mahogany chairs should have the seats of horsehair, plain, striped, chequered, etc., at pleasure, or cane bottoms with cushions, the cases of which should be covered with the same as the curtains.

314“For chairs, a new and very elegant fashion has arisen within these few years, of finishing them with painted or japanned work, which gives a rich and splendid appearance to the minuter parts of the ornaments, which are generally thrown in by the painters. Several of these designs are particularly adapted to this style, which allows a framework less massy than is requisite for mahogany, and by assorting the prevailing colour to the furniture and light of the room, affords opportunity, by the variety of grounds which may be introduced, to make the whole accord in harmony, with a pleasing and striking effect to the eye. Japanese chairs should have cane bottoms, with linen or cotton cases over cushions to accord with the general hue of the chairs.”

The full drawing on Plate LVI. is “an easy chair,” which Heppelwhite calls also a “Saddle Check,” the “construction and use of which is very apparent: they may be covered with leather, horsehair, or have a linen case to fit over the canvas stuffing, as is most usual and convenient.”

Chairs with stuffed backs he called “cabriole.” No. 5, on Plate LVI., is labelled a “cabriole chair.” Heppelwhite assures us that it “is of the newest fashion.” It consists of a shield-shaped back; a little cushion upon the arm, fastened by means of tiny nails; and a leg composed of reeds bound with ribbon, surmounted by the square patera that hides the joining.

PLATE LV

Twelve designs of chair backs, resembling chairs of the Sheraton style, are “proper to be executed in mahogany or japan; some of them applicable to the more elegant kind of chairs with back and seats of red, or blue, 315morocco leather; in these backs, which are sometimes made a little circular, are frequently inserted medallions, printed or painted on silk of the natural colours; when the backs and seats are of leather, they should be tied down with tassels of silk or thread.”

“Stools,” he says, “should match the chairs, the framework should be of mahogany, or japanned, and of course should be covered like the chairs.” His “window stools” are particularly graceful. They are intended to be placed directly under the window, and their “size must be regulated by the size of the place where they are to stand; their heights should not exceed the heights of the chairs.” Two of his designs, which he considers “particularly adapted for an elegant drawing-room of japanned furniture,” are covered in “taberray or morine of pea-green or other light colour.” The one represented on Plate LV. is of “carved mahogany with furniture of an elegant pattern.” He assures us that this “will produce a very pleasing effect.” Another one he recommends to be “japanned and covered with striped furniture;” and two others are “covered with linen or cotton to match the chairs. One is tufted and ornamented with buttons and the other has a scalloped valance trimmed with fringe. A tiny tassel hangs in the centre of each scallop.”

The general characteristics of the stuffed Heppelwhite sofa appear in the full drawing on Plate LIV., which also shows the correct covering fastened to the frame by a border of gilt nails. The dimensions of the sofa vary according to the size of the room, but the “proportion in general use” is as follows: length 316from 6 to 7 feet; depth about 30 inches; height of the seat frame, 14 inches; and total in the back, 3 feet, 1 inch. “The woodwork should be either mahogany or japanned, in accordance to the chairs, and the covering also must be of the same.” A long square sofa he calls “the newest fashion,” and recommends that “the frame should be japanned, with green on a white ground and the edges gilt; the covering of red morocco leather.”

French forms and names were just as popular with Heppelwhite as with Chippendale. On Plate LIV., No. 5, is shown a confidante of Heppelwhite’s design. He writes:

“This piece of furniture is of French origin, and is in pretty general request for large and spacious suits of apartments. An elegant drawing-room, with modern furniture is scarce complete without a Confidante, the extent of which may be about nine feet, subject to the same regulations as sofas. This piece of furniture is sometimes so constructed that the ends take away and leave a regular sofa; the ends may be used as Barjier Chairs.” The last name refers to the bergère.

Heppelwhite writes of the duchesse:

“This piece of furniture also is derived from the French. Two Barjier chairs of proper construction, with a stool in the middle, form the Duchesse, which is allotted to large and spacious ante-rooms; the covering may be various, as also the framework, and made from 6 to 8 feet long. The stuffing may be of the round manner as shown in the drawing, or low-stuffed with a loose squab, or bordered cushion, fitted to each 317part; with a duplicate linen cover to cover the whole, or each part separately. Confidantes, sofas and chairs may be stuffed in the same manner.”

PLATE LVI

Another variety is the “bar back,” which appears as if four open-back chairs (similar to No. 7, Plate LVI.) are placed side by side, the two end ones being supplied with an elbow, the general outline of which follows that of No. 8, or No. 5, on Plate LVI. We are told that this kind of sofa is of modern invention; and “the lightness of its appearance has procured it a favourable reception in the first circles of fashion. The pattern of the back must match the chairs; these also will regulate the sort of framework and covering.”

Heppelwhite’s beds are much lighter in general appearance than Chippendale’s, both with regard to framework and the hangings. “Beds are an article of much importance,” he thinks, “as well on account of the great expense attending them as the variety of shapes and the high degree of elegance which may be shown in them. They may be executed of almost every stuff the loom produces. White dimity, plain or corded, is peculiarly applicable for the furniture, which, with a fringe or gymp-head, produces an effect of elegance and neatness truly agreeable. The Manchester stuffs have been wrought into Bed-furniture with good success. Printed cottons and linens are also very suitable, the elegance and variety of patterns of which afford as much scope for taste, elegance and simplicity as the most lively fancy can wish. In general, the lining to these kinds of furniture is a plain white cotton. To furniture of a dark pattern, a green silk lining may be used with a good effect.” 318One of Heppelwhite’s beds on the general model of the one represented as Nos. 1 and 2 on Plate LVII. was hung with dove-coloured satin curtains with a lining of green silk. “The Vallance to this bed,” he writes, “is tied up in festoons. The cornice of mahogany may come so low as to hide the curtain rods.” He also gives designs of “Venetian, or waggon top beds,” “dome top beds,” “square dome top beds,” “press beds” and “field beds,” and gives the following instructions with regard to the richest kinds:

“In staterooms where a high degree of elegance and grandeur are wanted, beds are frequently made of silk or satin figured or plain, also of velvet with gold fringe, etc. The Vallance to elegant beds should always be gathered full, which is called a Petticoat Vallance. The Cornices may be either of mahogany carved, carved or gilt, or painted and japanned. The ornaments over the cornices may be in the same manner; and carved and gilt, or japanned, will produce the most lively effect.

“Arms or other ornaments to Stuffed Head Boards should be carved in small relief, gilt and burnished. The Pillars should be of mahogany, with the enrichments carved.”

The field-bed, of which a design dated 1787 appears on Plate LVII., is the French lit à tombeau and lit à double tombeau. In England it was known as the single-headed and double-headed field-bed. A single-headed bed of this kind appears on Plate XXXVI., No. 8; and this Louis XV. model was copied by Chippendale for his later plates, in which many varieties of the field-bed appear. 319The bed represented on Plate LVII. needs no explanation. The cornice, or “sweep,” is delicately carved. Urns surmount the bed-posts. Below it, on Plate LVII., are “sweeps for field-bed tops” dated 1787 (Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). Another design in Heppelwhite’s book for a bed with a sweep top is intended to be made of plain mahogany or with gilt ornaments. The headboard and draperies are quite elaborate. “The drapery may be the same as the furniture or the lining, the ornaments gilt, the headboard is stuffed and projects like the back of a sofa. The addition of stuffed headboards gives an elegant and high finish to the appearance of beds.”

The “press bed” is nothing more or less than a folding-bed in the shape of a wardrobe, with two big doors beneath which are drawers. Heppelwhite says:

“Of these we have purposely omitted to give any designs: their general appearance varying so little from wardrobes, which pieces of furniture they are intended to represent, that designs for them are not necessary.

“The upper drawers would be only sham and form part of the door, which may be made to turn up all in one piece, and form a tester; or may open in the middle, and swing on each side; the under drawer is useful to hold parts of the bed furniture; may be 5 feet 6 inches high, 14 feet wide.

“Nine designs for Cornices which are suitable for beds or windows are here shewn; these may be executed in wood painted and japanned, or in gold. A mixture of these two manners produces an elegant and grand effect. The foliage may be gilt, and the groundwork painted; or the reverse.” One of these appears as 320No. 4 on Plate LIV. This exhibits the curtain and toothed lappets, or points, of the lambrequin below the cornice.

The sideboard with Heppelwhite is quite different to that of Chippendale. The latter merely designs a long plain table with carved legs and no drawers. Heppelwhite’s sideboard is a far more highly developed piece of furniture. Sometimes the drawers were arranged in compartments, for various uses, and the sideboard had a cavity between the front legs to accommodate a wine-cooler. Pieces of plate and knife-cases stood upon its wide slab. The sideboard represented on Plate LIV. has Heppelwhite’s characteristic inlay of the husk or bell-flower done in satin-wood and the characteristic “spade” foot. An inlaid floral ornament decorates the corners below the front drawer.

Heppelwhite remarks:

“The great utility of this piece of furniture has procured it a very general reception; and the conveniences it affords render a dining-room incomplete without a sideboard.” The one represented on Plate LIV. has several drawers. The right-hand drawer “has partitions for nine bottles. Behind this is a place for cloths or napkins, occupying the whole depth of the drawer.”

“The drawer on the left hand has two divisions, the hinder one lined with green cloth to hold plate, etc., under a cover; the front one is lined with lead for the convenience of holding water to wash glasses, etc., there must be a valve-cock, or plug, at the bottom, to let off the dirty water; and also in the other drawer, to change the water necessary to keep the wine, etc., cool; or 321they may be made to take out. The long drawer in the middle is adapted for table linen, etc.

PLATE LVII

“They are often made to fit into a recess, but the general custom is to make them from 5½ to 7 feet long, 3 feet high, and 28 to 32 inches wide.”

He also gives designs for “sideboards without drawers; the ornaments to the front of which may be carved, painted, or inlaid with various coloured woods.” This kind is merely the old sideboard table.

Of pedestals he writes:

“Pedestals and vases are much used in spacious dining-rooms, where the last-described kind of sideboards are chosen; at each end of which they are placed. One pedestal serves as a plate-warmer, being provided with racks and a stand for a heater; and is lined with a strong tin; the other pedestal is used as a pot cupboard.

“The vases may be used to hold water for the use of the butter, or iced water for drinking, which is inclosed in an inner partition, the ice surrounding it; or it may be used as knife-cases, in which case they are made of wood, or of copper japanned. The height of the pedestal is the same as the sideboard and 16 or 18 inches square; the height of the vase about 2 feet, 3 inches.”

Of the knife-case, he says:

“The universality of this piece of furniture renders a particular description not necessary. It may be made of mahogany inlaid, or of satin or other wood at pleasure.”

Four designs of vase knife cases are given. “They are usually made of satin, or other light-coloured wood, and may be placed at each end on the sideboards, or on a 322pedestal; the knives, etc., fall into the body of the vase, the top of which is kept up by a small spring which is fixed to the stem, which supports the top; may be made of copper, painted and japanned.”

One of these is shown on Plate LV., No. 4.

“Cellerets,” he tells us, “called also gardes de vin, are generally made of mahogany, and hooped with brass hoops lacquered; the inner part is divided with partitions, and lined with lead for bottles; may be made of any shape. These are of general use where sideboards are without drawers.”

Plate LIII. shows all of these articles except the celleret. The sideboard is similar to that on Plate LIV. and upon it stand knife boxes and a lustre. Pedestals supporting the vases described above stand on either side. Above is an ornate mirror.

“Candlestands are very useful in large suits of apartments, as the light may be placed in any part at pleasure—in drawing-rooms, in halls and on large staircases, they are frequently used. These designs may be executed in mahogany or wood japanned.” A very graceful example appears as No. 6 on Plate LV. It has five branches, three of which only are shown in the sketch here. This is to be made in mahogany or japanned wood and the branches are lacquered brass.

No. 1 on Plate LIV. represents a little urn-stand “to set the teapot on.” This is about 26 inches high and can be painted or varnished or inlaid with various coloured woods.

The “Pole fire screen,” a specimen of which is shown on Plate LV., No. 5, “may be ornamented variously, 323with maps, Chinese figures, needlework, etc. The screen is suspended on the pole by means of a spring in the eye, through which the pole goes.” These articles are made of mahogany or japanned wood.

The Horse fire-screen is supported by uprights standing on feet. The screen slides up and down in grooves in these uprights. The framework is usually of mahogany and the screen is covered with green silk needlework, etc. Heppelwhite’s lamps are often ornamented with brass work. He gives, however, a square one to be made in mahogany. Of great importance are his mirrors with sconce arms, which he calls “Girandoles,” and remarks: “This kind of ornament admits of great variety in pattern and elegance; they are usually executed of the best carved work,—gilt and burnished in parts. They may be carved and coloured suitable to the room.” A very graceful example is shown as No. 3 on Plate LV. The mirror fills the entire oval. Girandoles also hang on the walls of the room shown as Plate LIII.

Pier-glass frames are “almost invariably of good carved work, gilt and burnished.” The square shape is most fashionable, Heppelwhite says, and directs that “they should be made nearly to fill the pier. They must be fixed very low, and the panels of the sides are frequently made of various coloured glass.” What he means by this will be understood by referring to the large mirror over the sofa in Plate LIII.

Pier tables “are made to fit the pier and rise level with, or above the dado of the room, nearly touching the ornaments of the glass.”

“Tables in general,” we learn, “are made of the best 324mahogany. Their size is various but their height should not exceed 28 inches.”

“Card-tables may be either square, circular or oval: the inner part is lined with green cloth; the fronts may be enriched with inlaid or painted ornaments; the tops also admit of great elegance.”

Specimen card-tables are shown on Plate LIV., Nos. 2 and 3. Pembroke tables are the most useful of this species of furniture; they may be of various shapes. The long, square and oval are the most fashionable. These articles admit of the greatest elegance in the workmanship and ornaments. The tops “are inlaid, painted or varnished.” A beautiful example is shown on Plate LV. This table is supplied with a drawer below the top, the leaves of which fall at the two sides of the drawer.

Heppelwhite made a great variety of other tables, such as “tambour writing tables,” “night-tables” shaving-tables, and dressing-tables of all kinds. His dressing-tables were the result of much thought. In them we see the convenient mechanical and folding arrangements that Sheraton carried so far in his various devices. In one of Heppelwhite’s dressing-tables, the drawer is divided into compartments for pins, combs, essences, etc., and the looking-glass rises from the drawer on hinges, or it can be made to lie flat. “Rudd’s Dressing Table” also appears, which Heppelwhite says is “the most complete dressing-table ever made, possessing every convenience which can be wanted; or mechanism, or ingenuity supply. It derives its name from a once popular character, for whom it was reported it was 325invented.” Here the drawers can be made to swing around in any desired position, and the looking-glasses also swing on pins after they are elevated.

Another ladies’ dressing-table is a simple table, the slab of which lifts up or can be opened out. In the centre of it is the dressing-glass which can be made to rise and stand. Around it are little compartments for articles of the toilet. Then he makes also what he calls dressing-drawers. This is an “ordinary chest-of-drawers, one drawer of which is fitted up as a dressing-drawer.” Some varieties have serpentine fronts. Two of his mahogany bason-stands appear as Nos. 1 and 2 on Plate LV. Hanging-shelves for books or china are made of mahogany and are suitable for ladies’ rooms.

Commodes are often richly inlaid; some of them indeed are made of satin-wood and are shaped like half a drum. Chests-of-drawers, double chests-of-drawers and wardrobes are of the plainest forms and made of plain mahogany with a simple ring handle or knob.

The long bookcase of the type on Plate XXXIX. Heppelwhite calls library case. Describing these, he says: “They are usually made of the finest mahogany; the doors of fine waved or curled wood. May be inlaid on the panels, etc., with various coloured woods. The ornamental sash bars are intended to be of metal which, painted of a light colour, or gilt, will produce a light, pleasing effect.” The dimensions are determined by the place where it is to stand.

The dimensions of Heppelwhite’s desk and book-case are length, 3 feet, 6 inches; depth, 22 inches; height of desk, 3 feet, 2 inches, including 10 inches for the inside 326of the desk; total height about 6 feet; depth of bookcase, about 12 inches. These are “usually made of good mahogany. The drawers and internal conveniences admit of much variation. The designs show three different ways of making them: the patterns of the book-case doors may also be very much varied. On the top, when ornamented, is placed between a scroll of foliage, a vase, bust, or other ornament which may be of mahogany, or gilt, or of light-coloured wood.”

A tambour writing-table and bookcase appears on Plate LVII. This requires little explanation except to note that it has three drawers and a cylinder tambour shutter that rolls back and reveals all the pigeon-holes, nests of drawers and writing-table, while the upper part consists of shelves enclosed by two doors.

Of the latter, Heppelwhite says: “Tambour writing-table and bookcase, the doors to which are intended to be made of and ornamented with metal frames; these painted of a light, or various colours, produce a lively and pleasing effect. The reeds are here drawn forward to shew the appearance when shut.”

The library table is from 3 to 4 feet long and 3 feet deep. It is of mahogany, and covered on top with leather or green cloth. Some of them have cupboards in front for books, papers, etc.

The room on Plate LIII. is an arrangement of Heppelwhite’s own plan, regarding which he remarks: “Having gone through a complete series or suit of Household Furniture, we were strongly advised to draw out a plan, which should shew the manner of properly disposing of the same: with this intent, aided by the 327advice of some experienced friends, we here shew, at one view, the necessary and proper furniture for a Drawing-room, and also for a Dining-room or Parlour, subject to the following variations: If the object of this plan was a Drawing-room only, on each side of the chimney-piece there should be a sofa, and on the opposite side, instead of a sofa, should be a confidante: the sideboard also should be removed, and an elegant commode substituted in the place. The remaining space may be filled up with chairs. For a dining-room, instead of the pier-tables, should be a set of dining-tables. The rest of the furniture, and the general ordonnance of the room is equally proper, except the glass over the sofa, which might be omitted; but this is mere opinion, many of the Dining Parlours of our first nobility having full as much glass as is here shewn.”

The proper furniture for a Drawing-room and for a Dining-room or Parlour, being thus pointed out, it remains only to observe, that the general appearance of the latter should be plain and neat, while the former, being considered as a State-room, should possess all the elegance embellishments can give.”

The side of the room which the reader cannot see contains four windows, furnished with window stools and lambrequins; and, between each window, pier-glasses and pier-tables stand. These semi-circular tables were used, when necessary, to extend the square table in the centre of the room: one being placed at each end, for the extension table had not come into fashion.

THE SHERATON PERIOD

331

Thomas Sheraton, an English journeyman cabinet-maker, settled in London about 1790. From that date until his death in 1806, he seems to have stopped working at his trade and to have spent his time writing practical books on furniture. His first publication, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book, appeared in 1791; but he had previously published eighty-four Designs for Furniture. In 1803, he issued The Cabinet Dictionary; and in 1804–7, The Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer and General Artist’s Encyclopædia appeared.

How many of the models in Sheraton’s books are his own it is hard to tell. He claims very few of them, and remarks in the Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book that “it is intended to exhibit the present taste of furniture and at the same time to give the workman some assistance in the manufacture of it.” Sheraton, like Chippendale, whose “designs,” he says, “are now 332wholly antiquated and laid aside, though possessed of great merit according to the times in which they were executed,” and like Heppelwhite also, therefore exhibits the fashions of his time—fashions that came from France. From what he himself writes, it would seem that he gathered designs from various sources and worked for popularity. He says:

“In conversing with cabinet-makers, I find no one individual equally experienced in every job of work. There are certain pieces made in one shop which are not manufactured in another, on which account the best of workmen are sometimes strangers to particular pieces of furniture. For this reason, I have made it my business to apply to the best workmen in different shops to obtain their assistance in the explanation of such pieces as they have been most acquainted with. And, in general, my request has been complied with, from the generous motive of making the book as generally useful as possible.”

He then informs the reader of “the difficult task I have had to please all.... I find some have expected such designs as never were seen, heard of, nor conceived in the imagination of man; whilst others have wanted them to suit a broker’s shop, to save them the trouble of borrowing a bason-stand to shew to a customer. Some have expected it to furnish a country wareroom, to avoid the expense of making up a good bureau and double chest-of-drawers, with canted corners, etc., and though it is difficult to conceive how these different qualities could be united in a book of so small a compass, yet, according to some reports, the broker himself 333may find his account in it, and the country master will not be altogether disappointed; whilst others say many of the designs are rather calculated to shew what may be done, than to exhibit what is or has been done in the trade. According to this, the designs turn out to be on a more general plan than what I intended them, and answer, beyond my expectation, the above various descriptions of subscribers. However, to be serious, it was my first plan, and has been my aim through the whole, to make the book in general as permanently useful as I could, and to unite with usefulness the taste of the times.”

This taste changed gradually from the Louis XVI. style to that of the Empire. Sheraton, consequently, covers these two periods. Sheraton had his own tastes and his own ideas, however, and his books are full of his individual fancies and instructions. He was a great admirer of carving. When we read: “Having possessed a strong attachment and inclination for carving in my youth, I was necessarily induced to make attempts in this art, and on succeeding in some degree, I was employed in the country occasionally in it,” this explains the many graceful designs that he gives for carved splats and bannisters of chairs. He was also fond of inlaid and painted furniture, and greatly liked the new fashion of inlaying with brass, especially for black woods. Satin wood, too, particularly of a “fine straw colour,” which has a “cool, light and pleasing effect in furniture,” he also admired, and thought tulip-wood and zebra-wood (of the “scarce brown and white streaked variety”), beautiful for cross-banding.

334Mahogany he uses for dining-room, library and bedroom furniture, and for chairs with carved backs. He brightens much of his mahogany with such brass ornaments, as handles, key-plates, columns, rails and claw-feet, and often inlays it with a few small lines of brass, as he does rosewood. Rosewood he recommends for choice pieces, such as work-tables, secretaries, etc. Brass beads is another form of ornament that he likes to use. The straight line appears in the forms of the Sheraton furniture. The chair leg is frequently reeded, or turned and decorated with twisted flutes and fillets. The tambour shutter Sheraton makes much use of, and he likes to introduce all kinds of mechanical devices into his furniture.

Among his favourite ornaments are the husk, or bell-flower, the swag, or festoon, the column, the lyre, the lotus, the acanthus, the urn, the vase and the patera, the latter being used especially to hide the screws of beds and joining of chair-frames (see Plate LXIII. and Nos. 10 and 11, Plate LXII.). Like Chippendale, he gives an immense number of book-case doors composed of panes arranged in ornamental designs, and behind these he flutes green silk curtains. During his last period, the wire door appears for commodes, cabinets and other pieces.

Sheraton’s drawing-room furniture was of white and gold, of satin-wood, wood painted and japanned, or of rosewood. The coverings for the drawing-room chairs were silk or satin, the designs being stripes or the oval medallion. In 1803, he advocates cane.

Sheraton has very little to say about textiles or colours. He speaks of printed cottons, and silks and taffeta 335of all colours, plain, striped, checked, flowered and mixed with gold and silver. The only colour about which he has any thing to say is blue: “Blue and white, blue and black, very light blue and yellow will harmonize. Blue kills some colours; and on which account before any be used to join with another colour, they should be compared together; and if the more brilliant colour to which it is joined becomes therefore less vivid, some other colour should be chosen.”

He gives many directions, however, regarding the arrangement of rooms.

“As the entrance, or hall, of any well built house ought always to be expressive of the dignity of its possessor, so the furniture ought to be designed in a manner adapted to inform the stranger, or visitant, where they are, and what they may expect on a more general survey of every apartment.

“As the hall is a general, or ought to be a general opening to all the principal apartments, it should be furnished so as not to be mistaken for the most superb division of the structure, or where they may expect to meet the nobler person who resides in it. The furniture of a hall should therefore be bold, massive and simple: yet noble in appearance and introductory to the rest.”

It is interesting to note that the Adam stucco-work has had its day and that there is a return to the Boucher treatment of the ceiling. Sheraton remarks: “Plastered ceilings are supposed to be more common in Britain than in other countries. The manner of finishing ceilings has been various, at different times, in this country. 336A sort of very heavy ornamented plaster work was formerly introduced, together with pannelled work in heavy mouldings. Within about thirty years since, this kind of ceiling work has been composed in a much lighter style, and variegated with painted panels, often from the heathen mythology, or other poetical subjects. At present some of the most elegant rooms have no plastered ornaments in their ceilings, but are painted to imitate an open sky, with some faint scattering of clouds.”

The walls were hung with paper.

The window generally reached to the floor, with small panes of glass, from four to eight in a sash. The window was also furnished with a blind. “The most fashionable blinds,” Sheraton assures us, “are of wood painted green all except the frame which is of mahogany. The blind part is either composed of upright or horizontal narrow laths ⅛ of an inch thick painted a bright green and which move by means of a lever to any position for admitting more or less light.”

The cornice was painted and japanned, or carved and gilded, and from it hung the draperies.

“Festoon window-curtains,” says Sheraton, “are those which draw up by pullies, and hang down in a swag. These curtains are still in use in bedrooms, not withstanding the general introduction of the French rod curtain in most genteel houses. A festoon window-curtain consists generally of three pulls, but when a window is extensive they have four or five.”

PLATE LVIII

An example of the French rod is shown on Plate LIX., No. 1, dated 1803. Sheraton says: “The French 337window rod is made of brass about ¾ of an inch diameter, having a pulley at the left end and two at the right, one of which is fixed on a pin perpendicular to the rod. At present, they frequently make the French rods of satin wood two to a window to lap past each other about three inches in the centre; so that the curtain draws half on each side separately, or only half of it may be drawn at once; and when they are both drawn out they lap over each other.” The chimney is invariably furnished with a glass. Sheraton says:

“In elegant rooms, the chimney-glass is usually carried to the under side of the cornice of the ceiling; but to reduce the expense of the plate, sometimes a broadish panel is introduced at the top of the glass with a frieze and cornice above all, included in the frame of the glass.

“The most generally approved pilasters for chimney and pier-glasses are those of 3, 5, or 7 reeds, worked bold; but which, in my opinion, still look better by being parted with a ground one-third of the width of the reed which may be matted to relieve the burnished reeds. It is not unusual to have a twisting branch of flowers, or a ribband round the reeds rising upwards, and terminating in some sort of Composite, Corinthian, or Ionic capital. The panel above the glass is sometimes made quite plain and covered with silk as a ground for drapery, tacked under the cornice of the glass to match that of the windows.”

“Glasses for chimney-pieces run various, according to the size of the fire-place, and the height of the wall above. To save expense, they are sometimes fitted up in 338three plates, and the joints of the glass covered with small gilt mouldings or pilasters. At other times with the naked joint only. When they are of one plate, the frame in general is made bolder and more elegant.”

The floor is completely covered with a carpet having a border which has to be neatly mitred at the corners.

“The kitchen, the hall, the dining-parlour, the ante-room, the dining-room, the library, the breakfast-room, the music-room, the gallery of paintings, the bedroom and dressing apartments, ought to have their proper suits of furniture, and to be finished in a style, that will at once, show, to a competent judge, the place they are destined for.

“The library should be finished in imitation of the antiques; and such prints as are hung in the walls ought to be memorials of learning, and portraits of men of science and erudition.

“The music-room may be conducted in a more gay style; and the paintings or prints of the muses and masters of music may consistently make a part of furnishing; and chairs and stools of a richer variety of colours may be admitted with propriety.”

“The ante-room is an introduction to the drawing-room and partakes of the elegance of the apartment to which it leads, serving as a place of repose before the general intercourse be effected in the whole company. Here may be placed a number of sofas of a second order with a pianoforte or harp or other matters of amusements till the whole of the company be collected.

“The tea-room, or breakfast-room, may abound with 339beaufets, painted chairs, flower-pot stands, hanging bookshelves or moving libraries and the walls may be adorned with landscapes and pieces of drawings, etc., and all the little things which are engaging to the juvenile mind.

“The lodging-room admits of furniture simply necessary, but light in appearance, and should include such pieces as are necessary for the accidental occasions of the night. Here should be a small book-shelf with such books as should tend to promote our pious resignation of body and soul to the care of the great author of the universe and divine superintendent of human happiness.

“The dressing-room exhibits the toilet-table and commode with all the affairs requisite to dress as bason stands, stools, glasses, and boxes with all the innocent trifles of youth.

“The drawing-room is to concentrate the elegance of the whole house, and is the highest display of richness of furniture. It being appropriated to the formal visits of the highest in rank, and nothing of a scientific nature should be introduced to take up the attention of any individual, from the general conversation that takes place on such occasions. Hence, the walls should be free of pictures, the tables not lined with books, nor the angles of the room filled with globes; as the design of such meetings are not that each visitant should turn to his favourite study, but to contribute his part towards the amusement of the whole company. The grandeur then introduced into the drawing-room is not to be considered as the ostentatious parade of its proprietor; but the respect he pays to the rank of his visitants.” He also informs us that:

340“The furniture used in a drawing-room are sofas, chairs to match, a commode, pier-tables, elegant fire-screens, large glasses, figures with lights in their hands and bronzes with lights on the cap of the chimney-piece, or on the pier-tables and commodes, and sometimes a mirror with lights fixed at the end of the room, or the side, as may best suit for the reflection or perspective representation of the room, on the surface of the mirror.”

“A drawing-room is of that sort which admits of the highest taste and elegance; in furnishing of which, workmen in every nation exert the utmost efforts of their genius. To assist me in what I have here shewn, I had the opportunity of seeing the Prince of Wales’s, the Duke of York’s, and other noblemen’s drawing-rooms. I have not followed any one in particular, but have furnished my ideas from the whole, with such particulars as I thought best suited to give a display of the present taste in fitting up such rooms.”

“In the drawing-room here (see Plate LVIII.), everything will appear easily understood to a workman in town, who is accustomed to see such apartments; but for a stranger, and those workmen who reside in the country, it will be proper to point out a few particulars.

“The pier tables have marble tops and gold frames or white and gold. The glasses are often made to appear to come down to the stretcher of the table; that is, a piece of glass is fixed in behind the pier table, separate from the upper glass, and by reflection makes the table appear double. The small piece of glass may be fixed either in the dado of the room, or on the frame of the table.

PLATE LIX

341“The arches above the windows are merely artificial, being only wooden frames put up, strained with canvas; after which the same kind of stuff which the curtains are made of is formed to appear like a fan, and drapery tacked on to it.

“Panelling on the walls are done in paper with ornamental borders of various colours.

“The figures above the glasses are paintings in clare-obscure. The sofas are bordered off in three compartments, and covered with figured silk or satin. The ovals may be printed separately, and sewed on. These sofas may have cushions to fill their backs, together with bolsters at each end. In France, where their drawing-rooms are fitted up in the most splendid manner, they use a set of small and plainer chairs, reserving the others merely for ornament.

“The commode opposite the fire-place has four doors; its legs are intended to stand a little clear of the wings; and the top is marble to match the pier tables. In the frieze part of the commode is a tablet in the centre made of an exquisite composition in imitation of statuary marble. These are to be had of any figure, or on any subject, at Mr. Wedgewood’s, near Soho Square. They are let into the wood, and project a little forward. The commode should be painted to suit the furniture, and the legs and other parts in gold to harmonize with the sofas, tables, and chairs.”

“The dining-room is one of the principal apartments of a house, and ought always to be of a bold and an accommodating proportion. In noblemen’s dining-rooms, where the windows are all on the side opposite 342to the fires, there may then be a recess at each end of the room in which a sideboard may stand, with columns before it placed at the extremities, which produces a very august appearance and renders the service considerably more easy at dinner than where there is but one sideboard. The furniture of a dining-room ought to be bold, substantial and magnificent, in proportion to its dimensions.

“The dining-parlour must be furnished with nothing trifling, or which may seem unnecessary, it being appropriated for the chief repast, and should not be encumbered with any article that would seem to intrude on the accommodation of the guests. The large sideboard, inclosed or surrounded with Ionic pillars; the handsome and extensive dining-table; the respectable and substantial-looking chairs; the large face glass; the family portraits; the marble fire-places; and the Wilton carpet are the furniture that should supply the dining-room.”

The Prince of Wales’s dining-parlour in Carlton House is recommended as a good type.

“The Prince’s has five windows facing St. James’s Park. His windows are made to come down to the floor, which opens in two parts as a double door, leading to a large grass plot to walk in. If I remember right, there are pilasters between each window, but this is intended to have grass. In his is a large glass over the chimney-piece. To these glass frames are fixed candle branches. At each end is a large sideboard, nearly twelve feet in length, standing between a couple of Ionic columns, worked in composition to imitate fine 343variegated marble, which have a most beautiful and magnificent effect. In the middle are placed a large range of dining-tables, standing on pillars with four claws each, which is now the fashionable way of making these tables. The chairs are of mahogany, made in the style of the French, with broad top rails hanging over each back foot; the legs are turned, and the seats covered with red leather.”

PLATE LX

The curtains are “of the French kind.”

“Many dining-rooms of the first nobility have, however, only two columns and one sideboard, and those of less note have no columns.”

Correct drawing-room seats are shown on Plate LXII. The central one is purely Louis XVI. in style, painted in any colour and is covered with silk, but Sheraton recommends that the chair-frame be “finished in burnished gold, the seat and back covered with printed silk. In the front rail is a tablet with a little carving in its panels. The legs and stumps have twisted flutes and fillets done in the turning, which produce a good effect in the gold.”

Another parlour arm-chair, which he says can be made of carved mahogany or of black rosewood and gold, “will produce a lively effect,” particularly if “a brass beading is put round the stuffing to hide the tacks.” Specimen backs of chairs that may be of carved mahogany or painted are shown on Plate LXII., Nos. 1 to 9. These are dated 1792, Nos. 10 and 11 are specimen chair legs.

“It appears from some of the latest specimens of French chairs, some of which we have been favoured 344with a view of, that they follow the antique taste, and introduce into their arms and legs various heads of animals; and that mahogany is the chief wood used in their best chairs, into which they bring in portions of ornamental brass; and, in my opinion, not without a proper effect, when due restraint is laid on the quantity.”

Of the sofa shown on Plate LXII. Sheraton says it may be “done in white and gold, or japanned. The loose cushions at the back are generally made to fill the whole length, which would have taken four; but I could not make the design so striking with four, because they would not have been distinguished from the back of the sofa by a common observer. These cushions serve at times for bolsters, being placed against the arms to loll against. The seat is stuffed up in front about three inches high above the rail, denoted by the figure of the sprig running longways; all above that is a squab which may be taken off occasionally. If the top rail be thought to have too much work, it can be finished in a straight rail, as the design shews.”

“Our sofas are never covered with a carpet, but with various pattern cottons and silks.”

When the commode is decorated with wire-doors, Sheraton insists that green, white or pink silk shall be fluted behind them. The cabinet on Plate LX. is treated in this way.

“As pier tables are merely for ornament under a glass, they are generally made very light, and the style of finishing them is rich and elegant. Sometimes the tops are solid marble, but most commonly veneered in rich satin or other valuable wood, with a cross band on the outside, 345a border about two inches richly japanned and a narrow cross band beyond it, to go all round. The frames are commonly gold or white or burnished gold. Stretching-rails have of late been introduced to these tables, and it must be owned that it is with good effect, as they take off the long appearance of the legs and make the under part appear more finished; besides they afford an opportunity of fixing a vase or basket of flowers, which, with their reflection when there is a glass behind, produce a brilliant appearance.

“Some, in place of a stretcher, have a thin marble shelf with a brass rim round it, supported by a light frame; in which case the top ought to be of marble also.”

There are horse fire-screens, pole screens and tripod screens.

Pole Fire-Screens “may be ornamented variously, with maps, Chinese figures, needlework, etc. The screen is suspended on the pole by means of a spring in the eye, through which the pole goes; the feet of the two outer ones are loaded with lead to keep them steady; may be made of mahogany, but more frequently of wood japanned.”

The framework of Horse Fire-Screens should be of mahogany; the screen may be covered with green silk, needlework, etc., at pleasure.

Tripod Fire Screens he made in white and gold, mahogany or japanned. “The rods of these screens are all supposed to have a hole through them and a pulley let in near the top on which the line passes, and a weight being enclosed in the tassel, the screen is balanced to 346any height. The rods are often made square, which indeed best suits those which have pulleys, while those that are made round have only rings and springs.

“Such screens as have very fine prints or worked satin, commonly have a glass before them. In which case a frame is made, with a rabbet to receive the glass, and another to receive the straining frame, to prevent it from breaking the glass; and to enclose the straining frame a bead is mitred round.”

There were various sorts of dining-tables in use. “The common useful dining-tables are upon pillars and claws, generally four claws to each pillar, with brass castors. A dining-table of this kind may be made to any size, by having a sufficient quantity of pillar and claw parts, for between each of these there is a loose flap, fixed by means of iron straps and buttons, so that they are easily taken off and put aside; and the beds may be joined to each other with brass fork or strap fastenings.”

“The sizes of dining-tables for certain numbers may easily be calculated by allowing 2 feet to each person sitting at table; less than this cannot with comfort be dispensed with. A table 6 feet by 3, on a pillar and claws, will admit of eight persons, one only at each end and three on each side. By the addition of another bed, twelve, with four times the room in the centre for dishes; but if a third be joined, with the insertion of two flaps of 30 inches each, there will be agreeable room for twenty persons.” He recommends a “dining-table for eight persons to be 5 feet by 4 at which two upon each side may sit, but if reduced to 4 feet, 8½ inches long 347and 3 feet, 10 wide, it will dine the same number, and take the same quantity of wood as a table 6 feet by 3.”

PLATE LXI

The cellaret sideboard and sideboard with drawers which became fashionable under Heppelwhite are still more developed in Sheraton’s early period; but in his last period there seems to be a return to the old “sideboard table” without drawers. The cellaret sideboard was always supplied with a partitioned place for bottles of wine. “In large circular sideboards,” Sheraton tells us, “the left-hand drawer has sometimes been fitted up as a plate-warmer, having a rack in the middle to stick the plates in, and lined with strong tin all round, and on the underside of the sideboard top, to prevent the heat from injuring it. In this case the bottom of the drawer is made partly open, under which is fixed a small narrow drawer, to contain a heater, which gives warmth to the plates, the same as in a pedestal.

“In spacious dining-rooms the sideboards are often made without drawers of any sort, having simply a rail a little ornamented, and pedestals with vases at each end, which produce a grand effect. One pedestal is used as a plate-warmer, and is lined with tin; the other is a pot cupboard, and sometimes it contains a cellarette for wine. The vases are used for water for the use of the butler, and sometimes as knife-cases. They are sometimes made of copper japanned, but generally of mahogany.

“There are other sideboards for small dining-rooms, made without either drawers or pedestals; but have generally a wine-cooler to stand under them, hooped with brass, partitioned and lined with lead, for wine-bottles, the same as the above-mentioned cellarette drawers.”

348On Plate LX., No. 3, is a pattern of a “sideboard table” which has four marble shelves at each end. “These shelves,” he explains, “are used in grand sideboards to place the small silver ware on.”

“It is not usual to make sideboards hollow in front, but if a sideboard be required 9 or 10 feet long, as in some noblemen’s houses, and if the breadth of it be in proportion to its length, it will not be easy for a butler to reach across it.” A hollow front, Sheraton thinks, would “obviate the difficulty and take off the appearance of great length. Besides, if the sideboard be near the entering door, the hollow front will sometimes secure the butler from the jostles of the other servants.”

“The pedestal is used to signify that part in cabinet furniture made nearly to the proportion and figure of a pedestal in architecture. These are generally placed at the end of sideboards, and are designed for holding plates for dinner; for which purpose there are two wooden racks, generally made of oak, in which the plates are placed. The plinth part of these pedestals is generally formed with a drawer, containing an iron stand and heater, which diffuses a warm air to the plates and keeps them in proper temperature at the time of dining. These pedestals are lined with tin completely over on the inside to prevent the heat from injuring the wood. And it may be necessary further to observe, that when there are two pedestals to a sideboard, one of them is generally fitted up in the inside, either with plain drawers or as a cupboard. On such pedestals is generally placed a vase.” This vase is usually a knife or spoon case. On Plate LXI. a sideboard with pedestals is shown. The pedestal 349parts are made separately and screwed to the sideboard, and the top is one large piece screwed to the pedestal. Under the long drawer of the front is a cupboard enclosed by a tambour shutter. The ornament at the back is of brass “intended as a stay for silver plate, and has branches for three candles.” If preferred the centre “may have a glass lustre hung within it as an ornament.”

PLATE LXII

Sheraton gives two designs for knife-cases, one concave, the other convex. In one of them the corner pilasters have “small flutes of white holly or other coloured wood let in, and the middle pilasters have very narrow cross bands all round, with the panels japanned in small flowers. The top is sometimes japanned, and sometimes has only an inlaid pattern. The half-columns of the right-hand case are sometimes fluted out, and sometimes the flutes are let in. The feet may be turned and twisted which will have a good effect.”

“Cellaret amongst cabinet-makers denotes a convenience for wine, or a wine cistern.” These were mostly in the form of a sarcophagus, “an imitation of the figure of ancient stone coffins.” They are adapted to stand under a sideboard, some of which have covers, and others without. Sheraton gives one design supported by dolphins, whose heads form the foot, while the tails curve upwards. The other design is supported on lions’ paws, and ornamented with lions’ heads. He recommends rings at each end of the cellaret, so that the servants can conveniently move these pieces about. “The rings and heads should be cast in brass and lacquered, and also the dolphins and lions’ paws.”

350“Buffet, anciently an apartment separated from the rest of the room by small pillars or balusters. Their use was for placing china and glass ware, with other articles of a similar nature. In houses of persons of distinction in France, the Buffet is a detached room, decorated with pictures suitable to the use of such apartments, as fountains, cisterns, vases, etc. These ancient buffets seem in some measure superseded by the use of modern sideboards, but not altogether, as china is seldom, if ever, placed upon them: and we therefore think that a buffet may, with some propriety, be restored to modern use, and prove ornamental to a breakfast room, answering as the repository of a tea equipage. Under this idea, we have given a design of one intended to be executed in the following style. The lower part is to be inclosed with doors, having silk curtains, with worked brass or wire before them. The upright border on the top of the lower part is of brass, together with those round the china shelves. These shelves are supported at each end with four brass columns, made very light. The lights on each side are of brass, and may be unscrewed and taken away occasionally. As these buffets would suit well to be placed one on each side of the fireplace of a breakfast room, they might very conveniently hold such branches with the addition of one on the top, which may be screwed into a socket; or a small figure holding a light may be placed upon it. Under the cornice is a Gothic drapery and fringe above it.” This design, dated 1803, is represented on Plate LIX.

“There are three kinds of dumb waiters, but they are all made of mahogany, and are intended for the use 351of the dining-parlour, on which to place glasses of wine and plates, both clean, and such as have been used.” The one represented on Plate LXI., No. 3, is “partly from the French taste, on the top of which, where the glass is represented, is a slab of thin marble, which not only keeps cleaner, and looks neater than mahogany, but also tends to keep the wine cool, when a bottle for present use is placed upon it. The shelves below are for plates and a knife tray. The holes for the decanters have cases of tin fit into them, and are japanned white, which shows through the front panel in the rail, and makes it look lighter.”

Another dumb waiter that Sheraton recommends is a table similar in general form to No. 1 on Plate LX. The drawers are used for knives, etc. In the centre a shelf or waiter rises on a stem, and below it are four trays for decanters, glasses and small plates. The drawers are lined with “a tin case to fit loose in and japanned white, to have the plate trays with the balusters. These are easily taken out, and may be cleaned and replaced when necessary. And the workman must observe that the waiters turn round on the pillars; for the under pillow has a beechnut let into it, and the upper part screws itself home into it, so as to admit the waiter to turn.

“The plate trays ought to be 11 inches in diameter in the clear, and the opening for the hand 4½ inches. There is a turned astragal for the top rail and the baluster.”

A supper tray called a “Canterbury,” Sheraton says is “made to stand by a table at supper, with a circular end, and three partitions crosswise, to hold knives, forks 352and plates at that end, which is made circular on purpose.” An Archbishop of Canterbury is said to have invented this piece of furniture.

Sheraton made a great variety of beds. They include French beds, state beds, dome, canopy, alcove, and sofa beds. The former are very intricate. He describes them as follows: “Beds of this kind have been introduced of late with great success in England. The dome is supported by iron rods of about an inch in diameter, curved regularly down to each pillar where they are fixed with a strong screw and nut. These iron rods are covered and entirely hid by a valance, which comes in a regular sweep, and meets in a point at the vases on the pillars. Behind this valance, which continues all round, the drapery is drawn up by pulleys and tied up by a silken cord and tassels at the head of the pillars. The headboards of these beds are framed and stuffed, and covered to suit the hangings, and the frame is white and gold, if the pillars and cornice are. The bed-frame is sometimes ornamented, and has drapery valances below. Observe that grooves are made in the pillars to receive the headboards, and screwed at the top, by which means the whole is kept firm, and is easily taken to pieces. Square bolsters are now often introduced, with margins of various colours stitched all round. The counterpane has also these margins; they are also fringed at bottom, and have sometimes a drapery tied up in cords and tassels on the side.”

PLATE LXIII

Of the large bed on Plate LXIII. Sheraton says:

“This design requires no explanation, except that which relates to the tester. The cove of the tester is 353to be formed by the ribs; one at each mitre, and other short ones joined to them with the rest about five inches apart from each other. At the upper part of the cove is a square tester into which the ribs are fixed. On the edge of this tester, which is made very light, is fixed a small moulding mitred all around. The cove being formed, the ribs may be covered with strong board-paper, both inside and out, which may either be japanned to match the furniture, or it may be covered with the furniture itself. The circular part above the cove is nothing more than a straight board fixed on to the upper tester. For the sake of easy conveyance, the cove may be made in four parts, mitering at each corner, and the ornament intended to be at each mitre on the outside running entirely up to the feathers, will hide the joint.

“The swags of silk that appear on the drapery should be fastened to the back part of the cornice in order that they may hang easy. The pillars are to be japanned. The panel that hides the screws are made to slip into a groove at the bottom, and being bevelled off behind at the top, when raised up a little from their place, by pressing the finger on the front, can easily be taken away to come at the screws. The valance and drapery both together slip on to a lath as in common.” It may be interesting to note that Sheraton preferred a “firm bed” to the soft down or feather. He recommends first a straw mattress covered with a flock mattress, upon which are placed a feather bed and then a hair mattress.

“The alcove, or recess,” he writes, “is used in Spain for seats and sometimes for beds of state. The English have imitated these by sometimes fitting up the end of 354long rooms in this style; which may answer both for ornament and to bring any apartment of undue length into proportion. In forming such an alcove for a place of retirement to rest on, a couple of Corinthian columns may be placed on each side of the room, so as to leave a spacious entrance into the alcove. The columns should not be placed less than six feet from the end of the room, nor more than nine, except in extraordinary cases. The seats are made low to receive their cushions, and drapery valances are fixed to the under edge of the frame. From surbase height the walls are covered with silk quilted, or disposed into uniform panels, in any other manner to suit the rest of the room. In the space between the surbase are placed back cushions, or a stuffed back, framed to fit all round and screwed to. From the frieze of the cornice below the ceiling is fixed draperies, either with or without tails: such alcoves when properly applied have a pleasing effect. When they are fitted up for beds, it will add to the effect if the bed be placed on a double plinth, in the form of two steps, laid with a carpet to suit the rest, and the effect will still be heightened, if a drapery be fixed, parting from the centre of the entrance and flowing down each side of the inner columns.

“There is a curtain under the drapery which slides on a rod, and may be brought forward to cover the whole bed. The other tied up may be considered as a fixed drapery, but may be taken down occasionally. The tester and cornice need not project more than twenty inches, and the length of the bed, including the volutes, about eight feet.”

355“Duchess, a kind of bed composed of three parts, or a chair at each end and stool between them. They are only intended for a single lady, and are therefore not more than about 30 inches wide. The chair ends, when apart, have the appearance of large arm or fauteuil chairs, and the middle part may be used as a stool.” The tester is made to fold. The arms of the chair part are dolphins, and an acanthus spray ending in a scroll ornaments the back. The duchess is covered with a striped material, a square or round cushion is at each end, and the drapery is composed of two curtains falling from a kind of dome (ornamented by a pineapple or pomme), while a scarf is slipped through rings and forms a swag in front of the dome and two festoons at each side. An illustration of Sheraton’s duchess is given on Plate LIX., No. 2.

Of camp or field-bedsteads there is a great variety. They all have folding tester laths, either hexagonal or elliptical shaped, and hinged so as to fold close together. In size they run about 6 feet long and 3 feet, 6 or 9 inches in width, and between 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet high to the crown of the tester. “Suitable for low rooms for servants or children, they receive their name on account of their being similar in size and shape to those really used in camps.”

“A sofa-bed,” which is really the lit anglais that was so fashionable in France, appears on Plate LXIII., No. 1. Both of its ends are alike, and, of course, it is supplied with two bolsters. Sheraton’s general directions regarding the “sofa-bed” are as follows:

“The frames of these beds are sometimes painted in 356ornaments to suit the furniture. But when the furniture is of very rich silk, they are done in white and gold, and the ornaments carved. The tablets may each have a festoon of flowers or foliage, and the cornice cut out in leaves and gilt has a good effect. The drapery under the cornice is of the French kind; it is fringed all round, and laps on to each other like unto waves. The valance serves as a ground, and is also fringed. The roses which tuck up the curtains are formed by silk cord, etc., on the wall, to suit the hangings; and observe that the centre rose contains a brass hook and socket, which will unhook so that the curtains will come forward and entirely enclose the whole bed. The sofa part is sometimes made without any back, in the manner of a couch. It must also be observed that the best kind of these beds have what the upholsterers call a fluting, which is done by a slight frame of wood, fastened to the wall, on which is strained in straight puckers, some of the same stuff of which the curtains are made.”

On Plate LXIII. No. 2 appears what Sheraton calls a “Grecian squab.” The frame is of white and gold or mahogany. The end not visible in the sketch turns up with a scroll. The back extends no further than shown. It is a kind of chaise longue, which Sheraton calls “a long chair, couch or squab.” The “chaise longue,” according to him, “has a stuffed back and arm on each side with a bolster and its use pretty much the same as the Grecian squabs or couches.” In another place he says “their use is to rest or loll upon after dinner.”

A novelty is the “Turkey sofa,” which has been “introduced into the most fashionable homes.” They are 357“an imitation of the Turkish mode of sitting,” and are, therefore, “made very low, scarcely exceeding a foot to the upper side of the cushion. The frame may be made of beech and must be webbed and strained with canvas to support the cushions.”

Sheraton seems to have taken a particular pleasure in all the convenient articles for the use of ladies, and these comprehend everything from dressing and work tables to tiny comb and pin trays. The work-table was generally a writing-desk as well, with compartments of all kinds arranged with the greatest economy of space. No. 2 on Plate LX. is a good specimen of a work-table dated 1793. The legs are lyre-shaped and the top rises for writing. When let down it locks into the frame and secures the bag where the work is kept. The work-bag is hidden by a drapery that is tacked to a rabbet at the under edge of the frame all around. The legs are lyre-shaped. No. 4 on the same Plate is a “Pouch-table” dated 1803. The work-bag is attached to a frame which pulls forward. In this bag ladies “deposit their fancy needlework.” “When required to be elegant,” Sheraton remarks, “black rosewood is used; otherwise they may be made very near of mahogany.” The example on Plate LX. has a brass rail around each end. Sometimes the top is finished as a chess-board. The “French work-table” was generally made of satin-wood with a brass moulding round the edge of the rim. The tambour shutter is often introduced into the work-table.

The Lady’s Cabinet dressing-table on Plate LIX. is composed of an ordinary commode, upon the top of which is a case or nest of drawers “when the washing 358drawers is in, a slider which is above it may be drawn out to write on occasionally. The ink and stand are in the right-hand drawer under the centre dressing-glass. Behind the drapery, which is tacked to a rabbet and fringed or gimped to cover the nails, is a shelf on which may stand any vessel to receive the dirty water. Above the drapery are tambour cupboards, one at each end, and one in the centre under the drawer. Above the tambour at each end are real drawers, which are fitted up to hold every article necessary in dressing. The drawers in the cabinet part are intended to hold all the ornaments of dress, as rings, drops, etc. Behind the centre glass is drapery; it may be real to suit that below, or it may only be painted in imitation of it. This swings to any position, on centre pins fixed on the shelf above the candle branches. The side glasses fold in behind the doors, and the doors themselves, when shut, appear solid, with ovals in the panels and ornamented to suit the other parts.”

Sheraton devotes many plates to articles that appeal to gentlemen. His shaving-stands and dressing-glasses are marvels of convenience. The tambour shutter appears in many of the night-tables, bason-stands, etc., etc., and when it is not employed, little silk curtains hang down across the shelves or doors. No. 5 on Plate LX. is a “corner bason stand.” The bowl or bason fits into the hollow and the water-jug stands in the centre of the straining-rails.

The Pembroke Table differed little from Heppelwhite’s. It is “used for a gentleman or lady to breakfast on. The style of finishing these tables is very neat, 359sometimes bordering upon elegance, being at times made of satin wood, and having richly japanned borders round their tops with ornamental drawer fronts.”

The Harlequin Pembroke Table “serves not only as a breakfast table, but also as a writing table, very suitable for a lady.” This was equipped with “ingenious machinery,” and contained a “nest of drawers” that could be “raised to any height.”

A design particularly associated with Sheraton is the “kidney library table.” Of the one appearing as No. 3 on Plate LIX., Sheraton writes: “This piece is termed a kidney-table on account of its resemblance to that intestine part of animals so called. The drawers are strung and cross-banded with mahogany laid up and down. The pilasters are panelled or cross-banded, and the feet are turned.” This is intended for a writing-table. The French call this shape haricot. The secretary and book-case was popular throughout the whole Sheraton period. Two examples are shown on Plate LXI. One is a full drawing, which needs no description, except to say that silk, preferably green, is fluted behind the glass doors. The other, appearing as Nos. 1 and 2, Sheraton thus describes.

“The use of this piece is to hold books in the upper part, and in the lower it contains a writing-drawer and clothes-press shelves. The design is intended to be executed in satin-wood, and the ornaments japanned. It may, however, be done in mahogany; and in place of the ornaments in the friezes, flutes may be substituted. The pediment is simply a segment of a circle, and it may be cut in the form of a fan with leaves in the centre. 360The vases may be omitted to reduce the work; but if they are introduced, the pedestal on which the centre vase rests is merely a piece of thin wood, with a necking and base moulding mitred round, and planted on the pediment. The pilasters on the bookcase doors are planted on the frame, and the door hinged as usual. The tops of the pilasters are made to imitate the Ionic capital.” The cylinder desk and bookcase was also in use. “The style of finishing them is somewhat elegant, being made of satin-wood, cross-banded and varnished. This design shows green silk fluting behind the glass, and drapery put on at the top before the fluting is tacked to, which has a good look when properly managed. The square figure of the door is much in fashion now.” The rim around the top is brass.

A good library table is No. 1, on Plate LX.

No. 1 on Plate LX. Sheraton calls very modern (1803). He recommends it to be made of mahogany. “The toes and casters are of one piece cast in brass. The nest of drawers in the centre rise, by two small springs placed opposite to each other, which are constructed on the model of baize door springs, which cannot but be understood by any workman who is acquainted with hanging a door of that kind. In this table, there are four real drawers made with square sides.” For card-tables, he says: “The ornaments may be japanned on the frames and tongued in the legs.”

Turning now to smaller articles, we find that convex and concave mirrors with gilt frames and branches for candles and standing tripods bearing lights are very fashionable. Brackets for lamps are made usually of brass 361and sometimes of mahogany. They are often screwed to the handrail of the staircase. Brackets are also especially designed for clocks. Clocks are also placed upon the chimney-piece and upon the commode. In Sheraton’s Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterers Drawing-Book there are a number of tall clock-cases painted and japanned with ovals and arabesques and fanciful pictures; but in 1803 Sheraton writes that the tall clock-case is “almost obsolete in London,” and from what he says we gather that no fashionable person would think of having one in his house. The footstool is stuffed with hair and covered generally with needlework. Its frame is oval, square, or octagon, with turned legs. Its height without stuffing is 6 or 6½ inches; its length 9½ to a foot, and its width 7 to 8 inches.

A group of three or four tables with very light frames made to draw out and inclosed within each other when not wanted are known as quartette and trio tables. These are used at entertainments, like the “rout chairs,” which are “small painted chairs with rush bottoms let out by cabinet-makers for hire for routs and other entertainments, whence their name.”

Among Sheraton’s latest chairs there is an arm-chair with a movable desk, having branching candle-sconces,—useful for the library; another is a “hunting-chair,” with a square back and wings “stuffed all over except the legs which are of mahogany and having a slide out frame in front to make a resting-place for one that is fatigued, as hunters usually are.” There is also a “tub easy chair,” “stuffed all over and intended for sick persons, being both easy and warm; for the side wings 362coming quite forward keep out the cold air.” Another is a bergère with a caned back and seat, supplied with loose cushions. “The stumps and legs are turned and the frames are generally painted.”

This bergère is dated 1803, when Sheraton recommends cane of “a fine light straw colour.” He writes: “Caning cabinet work is now more in use than it was ever known to be at any former period. About 30 years since, it was gone quite out of fashion. But on the revival of japanning furniture, it began to be brought gradually into use, and to a state of improvement, so that at present it is introduced into several pieces of furniture, which it was not a few years past, as the ends of beds framed in mahogany, and then caned for the purpose of keeping in the bed clothes. Sometimes the bottom of beds are caned. Small borders round the backs of mahogany parlour chairs which look neat. Bed steps are caned.

“The commonest kind made of one skain only is called bead-work and runs open. The best work is termed bordering and is of three skains, some of which is done very fine and close with the skains less than a sixteenth broad, so that it is worked as fine apparently as some canvas.”

Two of Sheraton’s original designs show the Empire influence. One is the curricle which appears on Plate LXII., No. 12. Sheraton named these chairs “from their being shaped like that kind of carriage. These may claim entire originality, and are well adapted for dining-parlours, being of a strong form easy and conveniently low affording easier access to a dining-table 363than the commonest kind. The size of the front may be two feet over all and nearly that from back to front.”

His other original design is the “Herculaneum,” “which I have so named on account of their antique style of composition.” They are for “rooms not only fitted up in the antique taste, but where apartments are appropriated for the purpose of exhibiting ancient or modern curiosities; and we particularly recommend them for the use of music-rooms.”

He also presents “conversation chairs,” which are exactly the voyeuse. (See pages 32 and 278.)

THE EMPIRE PERIOD

367

We have already seen in the Louis XVI. period indications of the approaching Empire style; and noted that Lalonde leads directly into the models of Percier and Fontaine. There was, however, a short transitional period covering the years 1795 to 1799, when, after the Reign of Terror, the Directoire endeavoured to restore order in France. It was but natural that a society that held in high reverence the memories of the ancient republics of Greece and Rome should develop the “antique taste” under the guidance of “philosophic artists.”

As early as 1790, a writer exclaims: “We have changed everything; liberty, now consolidated in France, has restored the pure taste of the antique, which must not be confounded with the old Gothic taste. Hide yourselves, Boulle marquetry, knots of ribbon and rosettes of gilt bronze or moulu, bright and shining! Hide yourselves, hide yourselves, marvels of Bernard! Now 368is the hour when objects must be made to harmonize with circumstances!” “The boudoir,—the very sanctuary of coquetry—became a political cabinet,” says de Goncourt, who goes on to inform us that the charming pictures of Boucher, Fragonard, Lawrence, and Lagrenées had to give place to caricatures and revolting prints of the hour, while pictures of the destroyed Bastille supplanted graceful mythological subjects.

“France,” he continues, “wished to dwell in the scenery of a tragedy, with a Spartan body, in Etruscan chairs made of mahogany whose backs were in the form of shovels, or two trumpets and a thyrsus bound together. After these chairs she reclined in antique arm-chairs whose framework was coloured bronze. She heard the hours strike from that civic clock representing the federative altar of the Champ de Mars with columns of marble and gilded bronze, and attributes of liberty. She slept in ‘patriotic beds.’ In the place of the bunches of feathers, caps were now placed on top of the fasces of lances that formed the bed-posts; beds represented the triumphal arch erected in the Champ de Mars^[26] on the day of the Confederation. She also slept in the ‘lit à la Fédération,’ of four columns in the form of fasces grooved and painted in greyish white varnished, with the stems of the fasces gilded, as well as the axes and iron supports of the canopy.”

Caffieri no longer designed the lustres and sconce-arms of or moulu; the candelabra were now of porcelain, and represented Apollo and Daphne. These figures were flesh-coloured. The body of Daphne was half 369covered with the bark of the laurel, her head with green leaves, and her two hands turning into branches supported two gilded sconces.

PLATE LXIV

The geometrical panels of the new drawing-rooms were coloured that deep brown, mingled with several other colours, which received the name genre étrusque. Listen to these discords: “On the ceiling is a reddish-brown rosette in the form of a parasol; a sky-blue frieze is sprinkled with white cornucopiæ. On the sides of the mirror, sky-blue pilasters are bordered with violet and white grape-leaves for ornament. Large and small light brown panels with violet borders are ornamented with little green parasols, and cameos with blue background with white figures and brown and red ornaments. And in that loud chocolate colour where some reds and greens try to recall to your mind the forsaken hues of the past are mingled three shades of rose, amaranth, blue, lilac, grey, emerald-green, moss-green, aventurine, citron, straw and sulphur. That gentle scale that sang so sweetly on the furniture and walls of by-gone days! that gentle scale that miserable taste has forsaken for the tri-colour, and for wall-paper printed with the distinctive signs of equality and liberty, from Dugoure’s Republican Manufactory, place du Carrousel at the so-called Hôtel de Longueville. Then the taste of the Revolution runs after the factory of the rue Saint Nicaise, place de la Réunion, to find some pictures with the civic inscription ready for each citizen to place above his door bearing these words: ‘Unity, Indivisibility of the Républic, Liberty, Fraternity or Death.’”^[27]

370The Parisian hôtels that were remodeled and newly furnished for the newly rich could not suggest the slightest reminiscence of the aristocratic life that they had witnessed. The artists, therefore, were forced to go to Greece and Rome for their models and motives. After Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, the sphinx is frequent as a decoration, although it had long been familiar. The chairs, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 on Plate LXVIII., are from a periodical of the Directoire period 1793 and 1796; also the couch No. 2, Plate LXV. These show that the so-called Empire style was in process of formation before Napoleon attained power.

The most important cabinet-maker of the period was Jacob Desmalter. He was the son of Georges Jacob, who, during the reign of Louis XVI., was famous for his furniture of gilded wood. His two sons worked together in the rue Meslée; and, in 1793, got the order to make the furniture for the Convention. This brought them into relation with Percier, who had been commissioned to furnish the designs. About 1804, the younger Jacob disappears from business and the elder added the name Desmalter to his own, and soon removed his workshop to the rue des Vinagriers. Desmalter’s fame became wide-spread: he made furniture for the courts of Spain and Russia, and many pieces found their way also to England.

The famous workers in metal were Thomire, J. B. C. Odiot and Biennais.

The Recueil de Décorations Intérieures, composed by C. Percier and P. F. L. Fontaine (Paris, 1812), is the recognized authority on the Empire style. The authors 371speak of the influence engraving has had in extending an acquaintance with styles, and say they will make use of it to exhibit “those of our works in the nature of furniture, which, by the importance of the places they were destined for, or the rank of those who ordered them, may be regarded as appropriate to attest the correct way of seeing things, composing them and ornamenting them at the present period. This style does not belong to us; it is entirely the property of the ancients and as our only merit is to have understood how to conform our inventions to it, our true aim in giving these to the public is to do all that is within our power to prevent innovations to corrupt and destroy the principles which others will doubtless use better than we.

“The decoration and furnishing of houses are to houses what clothes are to people: everything of this nature becomes old, and in a very few years seems to be superannuated and ridiculous. The industrial arts, which concur with architecture in the embellishment of buildings, receive the same impulse from the spirit of fashion, and no kind of beauty or worth possessed by these articles of taste can assure them any longer existence than the interval of time necessary to find a new taste to replace them. To do everything according to reason in such a way that the reason may be perceived and justifies the means used,—this is the first principle of architecture. However, the first principle of fashion is to do everything without reason and never to do otherwise. The form and needs of the body give no reason for the forms of clothes; because people do not dress to cover themselves, but to adorn themselves. Furniture 372does not make a virtue of necessity with regard to the forms. We pass from the straight line to the tortuous, from the simple to the composite and vice versâ. This is only too well exemplified in the history of modern architecture and its vicissitudes.”

The true inspiration of this period was David, the painter; and it has been aptly said that Desmalter did little but “translate into furniture the Greco-Roman dreams of the painter of the Sabines.” Prudhon was another artist of influence. The most famous decorative artists and designers were Percier and Fontaine.

The general characteristics of the Empire style are stiffness, severity and coldness. The forms are cubic and rectangular, without projections or carvings. Round tables on tripod legs, sofas and beds with heavily-scrolled ends, secretaries and desks with secret arrangements of drawers, etc., and a great use of metal ornamentation are among the prominent details of this style. The decorative motives are rosettes, allegorical figures, mahogany columns of cylindrical shafts, without flutings and surmounted by the Doric capital (and often with a bronze gilt bracket), fasces, sphinxes, wreaths of laurel, and the swan used upon the arms of chairs and sofas, the sides of beds and for the feet of tripods. No. 1 on Plate LXV. is an interesting example of the use of the swan. The sphinx was also used for decorating the arm of a chair, as shown on Plate LXV., No. 3, and on the double chair on Plate LXVIII. Its use as a table leg is exhibited on Plate LXV., and as a support for candles on Plate LXVII. Clocks and candelabra are decorated with heroes from ancient history in preference to divinities 373and allegorical figures. A little clock supported by an eagle appears on Plate LXV. This is one of Percier and Fontaine’s designs.

PLATE LXV

The greater number of the designs on Plates LXV., LXVI., LXVII., and LXVIII. are taken from Percier and Fontaine. Plate LXIV. is a reproduction of one of Percier and Fontaine’s bedrooms. “The ornaments that decorate this room,” they say, “are painted in oil upon plaster; they fill, without being of any determined subjects, various compartments; and among them are pictures of fruit, fragments of ordinary objects, painted in grisaille on a light background.” All the furniture—the table opposite the bed, the tripod, the toilet, the bed and the frame over the mantel-piece—is covered with bronzes, enamelled paintings and incrustations of various kinds of wood. The isolated pedestal at the head of the bed is an armoire, which contains conveniences for the night. On the top of the tall column is a winged goddess under which statue the letters “La bonne déesse,” appear. The bed is of the form of the large drawing that is shown on Plate LXVI. The two chairs on either side of the mantel-piece the designers tell us were made by Jacob. The detail No. 3, on Plate LXVII. is an enlargement of part of the mantel-piece, the fire-back of which represents the forge of Vulcan. The open-worked grate is copper gilt. The designs on Plates LXVI. and LXVII. are all by Percier and Fontaine, No. 1. on Plate LXVI., they say, is an arm-chair to stand in front of a desk; No. 2. is a lustre made of rock-crystal and bronze; No. 3 is a sofa-bed, and below it is a large sofa bed that was designed for a patron who was fond of 374war and sport. The hangings and the decorations of the wall behind the bed are therefore repeated here. The frame of the mirror is of gilded bronze. The glass swings forward. The rich commode with drawers on Plate LXVII. is an excellent example of the Percier and Fontaine work; above it, No. 2, is another commode and above that No. 1 the end of a bureau. Of the secretary on the same plate, they say: “This little piece of furniture, designed to preserve books, papers and money, has a clock in the upper part; below are secret drawers; in the centre a rolling cylinder and writing table. Chimæras on each side of the table support girandoles for lights. The whole is made of different kinds of wood ornamented with bronzes.”

The rich sofa, or “double chair,” and the sofa-bed, on Plate LXVIII. are also by these designers. Of the tea-table on Plate LXV., they tell us: “The design of this table was sent to Russia so that it might be executed there in porcelain and bronze; the compartments and ornaments that decorate the table have to be painted in colour with the background and the parts that stand out in relief of gold. The principal subject is the birth of Amphitrite, who is surrounded by Tritons and dolphins.”

PLATE LXVI

The cornice and lambrequin are unknown to the Directoire period; a pole ending in an arrow, or thyrsus, supports two curtains of calico, or silk. These curtains are relieved by a Greek border. The Empire taste demands a little more. Satins and velvets are added to the above. The drapery becomes very ample and beneath them are thin muslin curtains embroidered in 375dots, stars and squares. Sometimes two rods are used at each window to support the inner and outer curtains. A very fashionable method of furnishing the window was to have two curtains of silk and two of muslin. Decorative borders were used for these. The cornice is restored, and consists of the palm, the thyrsus, a bow, or a laurel wreath in gilded bronze, or painted wood. The colours of these draperies are limited. There are but five strong hues—crimson, green, blue, yellow and white—and there are no shades of these.

There was a tendency for patterns to become smaller; damask was ornamented with little figures, or stripes; Gobelin tapestries were supplanted by designs in grisaille on a red, blue, or green background. These many printed stuffs had pictures derived from Greek, Egyptian, or Roman subjects, or mythology, and appeared as if printed on paper.

The bed used during the Directoire was larger than the Louis XVI. bed.

Generally speaking, the beds were low; and were furnished with one or two mattresses. Some of them had head and footboards of equal height; others had only one headboard. During the Empire, the beds, most frequently of mahogany, were ornamented with gilded bronze trimmings. The frames were also painted with decorations painted in bronze effects. Some of the beds were rounded, or scrolled at the ends, some had pans à bateau and some had pilasters supporting vases, busts and even statuettes. The curtain was used. For some styles of beds, the curtains were cast negligently over an arrow. Beds were also made in forms appropriate to the calling 376of their owners. Some of the shapes seem to have been inspired by the models of Du Cerceau and Bérain in the days of Louis XIV.; for instance, the boat and shell. In 1792, we hear of a bed shaped like a shell, with blue and white curtains. Lafayette had a bed like this.

The beds often had ends of heavy scrolls and most of them had the headboard and footboard of equal height. The round bolster appears at each end, or a cushion that follows the form of the scroll, as shown in the full drawing on Plate LXVIII. The canopy was frequently in the shape of a crown, and from it hung the curtains. The heavy curtain was not unfrequently accompanied with a thin diaphanous curtain that was formally draped.

The dining-room is decorated in stucco, or painted in imitation of marble. The furniture is mahogany. The chairs are covered with leather. The window-curtains are of “Persian” taffeta, cloth or cotton, trimmed with ball fringe. The dining-table is round or oval, and is often supported on the pillar-and-claw.

The dining-room table also is round, and stands on four feet decorated with lions’ heads or chimæras; or again it is supported by the pillar-and-claw. The drawing-room table is frequently finished with a marble top, or it is covered with a cloth. Upon it stands a lamp with its shade.

A very ornate tea-table of porcelain brightened with gold and bronze appears on Plate LXV. Above it is shown the decorative top. This is by Percier and Fontaine. No. 6, on the same plate is another table; No. 3777 is a tea-table; and No. 5 is another table. All of these are by Percier and Fontaine. Another kind of table designed by Percier was the table à fleurs, or jardinière. Some of his models, which were made by Jacob Desmalters, are quite ornate. One of these is in the shape of a vase, supported by sphinxes, and filled with growing plants. Upon this stands another basin for growing flowers, or gold-fish, and above this again is a decorative figure. Another design is a round basin or vase for flowers supported by columns, on either side of which are smaller vases.

The console was a large square table decorated with sphinxes, or other ornaments in gilded bronze. Often a mirror was placed at the back framed by the legs.

The commode, like all the rest of the furniture, became more rigid in form and decoration. It was made of walnut or mahogany; and during the Directoire few were supplied with metal ornaments. Indeed, many of them had neither rings nor handles on the drawers. The form of the commode became still heavier during the Empire; but it was enlivened by ornate metal trimmings. A richly decorated commode by Percier and Fontaine appears as No. 2 on Plate LXVII. The chiffonnière, which had come into fashion during the last years of the Louis XVI. period, increased in popularity. It was generally a lady’s article containing drawers for writing and needlework. The marble top was often surrounded by a railing or gallery.

During the Empire, a set of drawing-room furniture consisted of one or two sofas, six arm-chairs, six chairs, two bergères and two tabourets. The sofas were placed 378on either side of the chimney-piece. One of the favourite varieties of the sofa was the canapé pommier, introduced during the Directoire. Its back was square and quite low, and was extended around the sides to take the place of arms. Sometimes the seat was garnished with fringe, and sometimes the wood was left plain.

The many varieties of the draped sofa disappeared. The Directoire and the Empire demanded that the forms of the settee, sofa, and chaise longue should be severe to accord with the arm-chairs. The back of the sofa was stuffed, but not the sides or wings. At each end was placed a feather pillow covered with the same material as the sofa. The most popular sofa had a square back that was carried around the seat, forming wings at each side instead of the elbow or arm. The new sofas were called Méridienne and canapé pommier. Tapestry, figured satin, worsted damask or printed cloth, put on with braid, were used for coverings. At the end of the Empire period, the divan was introduced. This seat was suggested by the Eastern travellers.

The banquette was covered with velvet trimmed with gold or silk braid and fringe. The most fashionable chaise longue was of the kind upon which Madame Récamier is lounging in David’s celebrated portrait. Both ends of this piece were alike. One end of a similar piece of furniture appears as No. 2 on Plate LXV. The bergère en gondole was also popular. Its back was lower and more rounded than that of the bergère on Plate XLVIII., No. 3. Gondola-shaped chairs and bar-backed chairs and the heavy scrolled arm-chair were the favourites, also the double arm-chair.

PLATE LXVII

379The framework of chairs was generally mahogany, or painted and bronzed, and, for very rich homes, gilded wood. The square form was preferred, especially for the arm-chair, which rarely had cushions. Sometimes the front feet were in the sabre, or glaive shape. The shield shape too was used for the back and was ornamented with military trophies and laurel wreaths. The back and seat were stuffed, and braids and borders framed the cushions. The material used for covering was generally of a solid colour with a design printed on it. Silk velvet, damask, or satin was used. The design was often golden yellow. Sometimes back and seat were sprinkled with rosettes or stars. Braids were used to hide the nails. Printed cottons and worsted damasks were also used for cheaper upholstery work. Ball fringe was much used to go around the back.

Desk chairs kept somewhat to the rounded and gondola form. The seats were often a half circle, the feet turned or in the console shape. Sometimes they were even carved in the shape of chimæra or lions whose heads came up to the level of the arms. The back, too, was frequently curved in the shape of a half circle. The top rail was sometimes covered like the seat,—in leather. Some of these turning up in the centre of the back like a cocked hat gave to them the name fauteuils Bonaparte. Mahogany was chiefly used for the frames, though oak and walnut were sometimes employed.

During the Directoire, the legs of the arm-chair were often X-shaped and the arms ended in a lion’s head. The open-backed chair was very popular. The one on Plate LXVIII., No. 2, is dated 1793; and Nos. 3801, 3, and 5 are of the year 1796. The “Trafalgar” that persisted for so long was a development of No. 1. The chairs No. 1 and 3 on Plate LXV. are by Ch. Normand (b. 1765; d. 1830), who also designed the chaise longue, No. 2, on the same plate. Normand’s earlier work bridges the gulf between the styles Louis XVI. and the Empire.

PLATE LXVIII

INDEX

383

• A
• Adam, James, 289, 292
• ——, Robert, 289, 292
• ——, James and Robert, apartments planned by, 299–303
• ——, colours used by, 294
• ——, decorations at Osterley Park, 304–305
• ——, decorations at Sion House, 301–303
• ——, dislike of Gothic, 294
• ——, furniture at Sion House, 297
• ——, opinion of British architects, 294–296
• ——, ornaments of the, 298
• ——, social position of, 291, 292
• ——, taste of, 294–296
• Adam style, the, 289, 291, 293–294
• ——, designers in the, 289–290
• Adam, William, 292
• Addison, quotations from, 116–117
• Æsop’s Fables, 205, 225, 244, 245
• Ahasuerus, beds of King, 67
• Alcove, the, 90–91, 154, 353–354
• —— bed, the, 154, 198–199
• Amaranth, 63, 68
• Analysis of Beauty, quotation from, 247–248
• Ancient furniture, 67
• Angola, quotations from, 166–167
• Ante-chamber, first, 168–169
• ——, second, 169
• Ante-room (Sheraton), 338
• Anthemion, definition of, 73
• Apartment, definition of, 168
• —— (Louis XV.) 168–169
• —— (Adams), 299–303
• Architects in decorative art, 4
• Architecture, changes in domestic, 114–116
• —— (Early Georgian), 137–138
• ——, taste for classic, 135, 138
• Arm-chair. See Fauteuil.
• Arm-chairs (Louis XV.), 204–205, 208
• —— (Louis XVI.), 276, 277–278
• Armoire (Boulle), 75–76
• —— (Louis XIII.), 9–10, 17
• —— (Louis XIV.), 87
• —— (Louis XV.), 203
• Arrangement of rooms, (Sheraton), 335
• Arras, 42
• Artist decorators (Louis XIII.), 4–5
• Assyrian furniture, 66
• Aubert, 164
• Aubusson tapestry, 205, 277
• Aumale, apartments of Mlle. d’, 96–97
• Auricular style, 5
• Aurora, 68
• Avril, 267
• B
• Babel, 164
• Babin 164
• Bachelier, 164, 257
• Baillon, J. B., 215
• Ballin, Claude, 66
• Banc à lit, 80
• Banquette (Empire), 378
• Banquettes, (Louis XV.), 204
• Barjier Chairs, 316
• Bason-stands, (Chippendale), 241
• Bathroom, (Louis XV.), 183–184
• Bazanne, 280
• Beaufait, 130–131
• Beauvais, 257, 263, 277
• Bed, alcove, 154, 198–199
• ——, Mlle. d’Aumale’s, 78
• ——, à bateau, 375
• ——, camp, 355
• ——, Chinese, 228–229
• 384——, couch, 230–231
• ——, Cromwell’s, 55
• ——, duchess, 355
• ——, field, 154, 229, 318–319, 355
• ——, French, 352
• ——, Gothic, 228
• ——, Hogarth, 152
• ——, Lafayette’s, 376
• —— (Louis XIII.), 19
• ——, Madame de Maintenon’s, 78
• ——, Marie Leczinska’s, 196
• ——, by Marot, 120–121
• ——, Mazarin’s, 77–78
• ——, Mme. de Pompadour’s, 187–188
• ——, press, 319
• ——, (Queen Anne), 120–121
• ——, rhymes about the, 56
• ——, by Schübler, 199
• ——, shell-shaped, 376
• ——, sofa, 355–356
• ——, tent, 229
• ——, truckle, 56
• ——, Tudor, 55–56
• ——, of Ware, Great, 55
• ——, see Lit
• ——, curtains (Jacobean), 57–58
• Bedroom, description by Shakespeare, 53–54
• —— (Early Georgian), 154, 155
• —— (Empire), 373
• ——, furniture (Jacobean), 58
• —— (Jacobean), 54–55
• ——, Mme. de Pompadour’s, 186–189
• ——, spangled, 55
• Bedrooms (Louis XV.), 170–171, 183, 185–186
• Beds (Chippendale), 227–231
• —— (Directoire), 368, 375
• —— (Early Georgian), 153–154
• —— (Empire), 375–376
• —— (Heppelwhite), 317–319
• —— (Jacobean), 56–57
• —— (Louis XIII.), 19–29
• —— (Louis XIV.), 76–80
• —— (Louis XV.), 185–186, 189–190, 193–194, 196–200
• —— (Louis XVI.), 267–270
• ——, patriotic, 368
• —— (Sheraton), 351–356
• ——, sofa, 267
• Bellicart, 257
• Beneman, 262, 267
• Bérain, Jean, 66, 68, 73, 84
• Bergère (Empire), 378
• ——, fauteuil (Louis XVI.), 278
• ——, en gondole, 378
• —— (Louis XV.), 208
• —— (Louis XVI.), 279
• —— (Sheraton), 362
• Bernard, 166
• Berquin, 252
• Bertren, 257, 263
• Biennais, 370
• Billiard room, 176
• Bimont, quotation from, 196
• Blanchard, 165
• Blenheim, Pope’s satire on, 138
• Blondel, 164
• ——, quotation from, 174–177
• Boffrand, Germain, 164, 178
• Bombé form, 74
• Bonheur du jour, 214
• Bonnes grâces, 20, 89–90
• Bookcase (Chippendale), 241–242
• —— (Heppelwhite), 325–326
• —— (Louis XV.), 213
• Book of Designs in Cabinet and Chair-Work, 224
• Bosse, Abraham, 4, 7, 9, 19, 60
• Bouchardon, 164
• Boucher, 164
• Boucher, J. F., fils, 257, 261
• Boudin, 166
• Boudoir, 177–178
• —— (Louis XV.), 180–181, 184–185
• Boulanger, 257
• Boulle, André Charles, 66, 74
• ——, clocks, 88
• ——, furniture, 74–76
• Bourgogne, Duc de, clock of, 215
• Boyle, Richard, 135
• Brackets (Chippendale), 244
• —— (Sheraton), 360–361
• Braids (Empire), 379
• —— (Louis XV.), 201, 205
• —— (Louis XVI.), 277
• Brass mounts (Chippendale), 227
• Bridgman, 136
• Brisseux, 164
• Breakfast-room, 338–339
• British architects, Adam on, 294–296
• Bufet, 130–131
• Buffet (Queen Anne), 130–131
• —— (Louis XV.), 169–170
• —— (Sheraton on), 350
• ——, credence, 10
• Buontalenti, Bernardo, 17
• Bureau (Jacobean), 59
• ——, Mme. de Gaudry’s, 85
• ——, Mme. de Maintenon’s, 85
• ——, Duchess of Orleans’s, 85
• ——, Duke of Orleans’s, 85
• ——, cylinder, 212
• ——, à la Kaunitz, 212
• ——, Louis XV.’s, 212–213
• ——, table (Louis XV.), 212
• Bureau. See Desk
• Bureaux (Louis XVI.), 275
• Burjair, 208
• Burlington, Earl of, 135, 137
• Burlington House, Piccadilly, 137
• Buroe dressing-tables (Chippendale), 239
• C
• Cabinet, 10, 172
• —— (Jacobean), 49–50
• 385—— (Louis XIV.), 87–88
• —— (Louis XV.), 182
• —— (Queen Anne), 128
• ——, en niche, 175
• ——, à la Poudre, 202
• Cabinet des Modes, furniture in, 284–285
• Cabinet Dictionary, The, 331
• Cabinet-maker’s Real Friend and Companion, The, 224
• Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book, The, 331
• Cabinet-maker, Upholsterer and General Artists’ Encyclopædia, 331
• Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, The, 309–310
• Cabinet-makers, Arms of English, 120
• Cabinet-makers (Louis XV.), 165–166
• Cabinet-makers (Louis XVI.), 267
• Cabinet-making, books on, 223–224
• Cabinets, 12–17
• —— (Louis XIV.), 87–88
• —— (Louis XIII.), 12
• —— (Queen Anne), 128
• ——, à portes, 15
• Cabriole chair, 314
• Cabriolet, the, 204
• —— (Louis XV.), 205
• —— (Louis XVI.), 276
• Caffieri, Jacques, 165
• ——, bras de lumière by, 194–195
• ——, commodes by, 202
• Calembour wood, 127
• Callimanco, 58
• Camaïeux, 204
• Camlet, 154
• Campbell, 295, 296
• Canapé confident, 209
• —— (Louis XIV.), 81–82
• —— (Louis XVI.), 278–279
• —— (Meissonier), 209
• ——, Pommier, 378
• Canapé. See sofa
• Candelabra (Louis XIII.), 34
• Candlestands (Chippendale), 245
• —— (Heppelwhite), 322
• Candlesticks (Jacobean), 45
• —— (Louis XV.), 212
• —— (Sheraton), 360
• Cane, 334
• Caning, Sheraton on, 362
• Canterbury, the, 351–352
• Cantonnière, 89
• Canuc, 165
• Carlin, 267
• Carpet (Sheraton), 338
• ——, bedside, 58
• ——, foot, 44
• ——, table, 52
• Carter, J., 290
• Cartouche (Louis XIII.), 8
• Carving, 38, 39
• Case-of-drawers, 49, 59, 154
• ——, double, 154
• Causerie, 270
• Cauvet, 257, 262, 263
• Cavendish, quotation from, 46
• Caylus, 164
• Ceiling (Sheraton), 335–336
• Ceilings, Ware on, 139, 140, 141
• Celadon, 253
• Celleret (Heppelwhite), 322
• —— (Sheraton), 349
• Chair, cabriole, 314
• ——, conversation, 363
• —— “Cromwell,” 29, 60
• ——, crown-back, 153
• ——, curricle, 362–363
• ——, double, 62
• ——, Herculaneum, 363
• ——, Hogarth, 152
• ——, hunting, 361
• ——, low leather, 29
• ——, saddle check, 314
• ——, Trafalgar, 380
• ——, tub easy, 361–362
• ——, Voyeuse, 32, 278, 363
• —— (Chippendale), 232–237
• Chairs (Chinese Chippendale), 235–236
• ——, dining-room (Louis XVI.), 278
• —— (Directoire), 379–380
• ——, drawing-room (Sheraton), 343
• —— (Empire), 379–380
• —— (French Chippendale), 233, 234
• ——, Garden, 234–235
• ——, gondola (Louis XV.), 207
• —— (Gothic Chippendale), 135
• ——, hall (Chippendale), 234
• —— (Heppelwhite), 312–315
• —— (Jacobean), 60–62
• ——, japanned, 314
• —— (Louis XIII.), 29–32
• —— (Louis XIV.), 81–84
• —— (Louis XV.), 204–209
• —— (Louis XVI.), 275–276
• —— (Marot), 119
• —— (Meissonier), 209
• ——, painted, 314
• —— (Queen Anne), 118–120
• ——, rout, 361
• —— (Sheraton,) 343–344, 361–363
• ——, at Versailles (Louis XV.), 205–207
• Chaise longue, 32, 81, 279, 380
• —— (Chippendale), 232
• —— (Empire), 378
• —— (Jacobean), 53
• —— (Louis XV.), 209
• —— (Sheraton), 356
• Chaises cacquetoires, 29, 31–32
• ——, comfortables (Louis XV.), 208
• ——, meublantes, 29
• ——, perroquets, 29
• Challe, Simon, 257, 263
• Chamber, The, 170
• ——, The Great, 41
• 386Chambers, Sir William, 149
• Chambers, Sir William, quotation from, 148
• Chambre en alcove, 173–174
• ——, en niche, 173, 176
• ——, de parade, 171
• Chandeliers (Chippendale), 245
• —— (Louis XIII.), 34
• Chardin, 161
• Charpentier, 285
• Charton, 257, 263
• Chedel, 164
• Cherub, 11
• Chest (Jacobean), 59
• ——, trussing, 58
• Chests-of-drawers, 59, 325
• Chests-of-drawers (Heppelwhite), 325
• —— (Queen Anne), 128–129
• Chest-upon-chest, 154
• Chest-with-drawers, 59
• Chevillon, 164
• Chesterfield, Lord, quotation from, 137
• Chiffonnière, 372, 377
• ——, secrétaire, 266
• Chimney-back (Jacobean), 44
• Chimney-glass (Sheraton), 337–338
• Chimney-piece (Carter’s), 290–291
• —— (Chippendale), 245–246
• —— (Jacobean), 44
• —— (Louis XIII.), 9–10
• —— (Louis XIII.-Louis XIV.), 67–68
• —— (Queen Anne), 116
• ——, Ware on, 146–147
• China as a decoration, 116–117
• China cases (Chippendale), 237–239
• Chinamania, The, 116–117, 237
• China-shops in England, 113
• Chinese designs (Chippendale), 228, 229, 231, 235–236, 237–239, 242
• Chinese fad, The, 148
• Chinese furore, 135
• Chinese style, craze in England for, 138
• Chinese subjects, 141
• Chinese subjects, designers of, 142
• Chinese art, taste for, 73, 114, 166–167, 221
• Chinoiserie, 73, 161
• Chintz, 43, 154
• Chippendale, Thomas, 135, 142, 149
• ——, carver and decorator, 225
• ——, Chinese designs, 228, 229, 231, 235–236, 237–239, 242
• ——, fondness for japanned furniture, 225
• ——, fondness for Louis XV. style, 226–227
• ——, furniture, 222
• ——, Gothic designs, 228, 235, 241–243
• ——, little known about, 223
• ——, ornaments, 227, 229–230, 237, 247
• ——, style erroneously understood, 221
• ——, taste of, 225
• ——, theft from Meissonier, 226–227
• ——, use of brass mounts, 227
• ——, use of mahogany, 225
• Choffart, 257
• Cipriani, 292, 305
• Cisterns, 246
• City and Country Builder’s and Workman’s Treasury of Designs, The, 142
• Classic architecture, love of, 135, 138
• Claw-and-ball foot, 118
• Clock, Regency, 214
• ——, tall, 154
• Clocks (Chippendale), 246
• —— (Empire), 372–373
• —— (Louis XIV.), 88
• —— (Louis XV.), 214–217
• —— (Marot), 120
• —— (Queen Anne), 119–120
• —— (Sheraton), 361
• ——, at Versailles, 215–217
• Cochin, 164
• ——, quotation from, 162
• ——, reply to, 163
• Colbert, 66, 69
• Colbert, industrial system of, 69
• Colours (Directoire), 369
• —— (Louis XIV.), 68, 70
• —— (Louis XV.), 200
• —— (Sheraton), on, 335
• Columbani, Pietro, 290
• Comfort, increase in, 7
• Commode, 84–85
• —— (Empire), 377
• —— (Louis XVI.), 271–272
• —— (Sheraton), 344
• —— (Boulle), 74
• —— (Chippendale), 239–240
• —— (Cressent), 201–202
• —— (Heppelwhite), 325
• —— (Louis XV.), 188, 190, 201–203
• Confidante (Heppelwhite), 316
• Console, 33
• —— (Empire), 377
• —— (Louis XIV.), 87
• —— (Louis XVI.), 272–273
• ——, for porcelain (Louis XV.), 211
• ——, tables (Louis XV.), 212
• Conversation chairs, 363
• Corneille, quotation from, 6
• Cornices (Chippendale), 229–230
• —— (Heppelwhite), 318, 319–320
• —— (Louis XVI.), 271
• —— (Sheraton), 336
• Cornucopias, 8–9
• Couch (Jacobean), 53
• —— (Marot), 120
• —— and Squab, 53
• Counterpane, 20
• Courtepointe, 20
• Courture, l’ainé, 263
• Couverture de parade, 20
• Credence, 10
• Credenza, 130
• Cremer, 166
• Crepy, 164
• Crespine, 18
• 387Cressent, Charles, 160, 161
• Cressent, commodes by, 201–202
• Cromwell Chair, 60
• Cromwell, Oliver, 55, 113
• Crunden, John, 290
• Cupboard, “bread and cheese,” 45
• ——, court, 45–47, 48–49
• ——, livery, 45–48
• ——, press, 59
• Curricle, 362–363
• Curtains, 20–21, 57
• —— (Directoire), 374
• —— (Empire), 374–375
• —— (Louis XIII.), 19, 20
• —— (Sheraton), 336
• Curve (Louis XIV.), 71
• Curve, the broken, 141
• Cushion, the, 44
• Cussey, Domenico, 13
• Cuvilliés, 164
• Cuvilliés, console table by, 212
• Cuvilliés, fils, 257, 261–262
• Cymbeline, quotation from, 53–54
• D
• Damask, 154
• Darly, M., 225
• Dauphine, the, 263
• D’Aviler, quotations from, 116, 118, 131, 169–170, 173, 174
• Debonnaire, 66
• Decker, Paul, 199–200
• ——, mirrors by, 210
• De Goncourt, quotation from, 369
• De La Cour, 165
• Delafosse, 257–258, 267
• De Lalonde, 257, 258–260, 277, 279
• Delany, Mrs., quotations from, 151–152
• Delaunay, 66
• Demarteau, 164, 257
• Demontigny, 256
• Designers of transitional style (Louis XV.—Louis XVI.), 256–257
• Designers (Louis XVI.), 257
• Desk (Jacobean), 59
• Desk and Bookcase (Heppelwhite), 325–326
• Desk. See Bureau.
• Desks (Louis XIV.), 87
• —— (Louis XVI.), 275
• Desmalter, Jacob, 370, 372, 377
• Desvoyes, 257
• Diana of Poitiers, 3
• Dining-parlour (Sheraton), 342
• ——, Prince of Wales’s, 342–343
• Dining-room (Empire), 376
• —— (Louis XV.), 177, 182
• —— (Sheraton), 341–342, 343
• Dining-table (Empire), 376
• —— (Sheraton), 346–347
• Directoire style, 285, 367, 370, 374, 375, 379–380
• Divan, the, 378
• Doré, 263
• Draperies (Louis XV.), 200–201
• —— (Louis XVI.), 270–271
• —— (Empire), 377–378
• Drawing-room (Sheraton), 339–341
• Drawing-table, 60
• Dressing-drawers, 325
• Dressing-room (Sheraton), 339
• Dressing-table (Chippendale), 240–241
• —— (Early Georgian), 154
• —— (Jacobean), 60
• —— (Heppelwhite), 324–325
• —— (Louis XIV.), 85–86
• —— (Queen Anne), 128–129, 129–130
• —— (Sheraton), 357–358
• Dubois, 164, 166
• Du Bois, quotation from, 115
• Du Cerceau, 4
• Duchesse, the, 209, 278, 279
• —— (Heppelwhite), 316–317
• Duchess bed, 355
• Dugourc, 262
• Dumb-waiter (Early Georgian), 153
• —— (Louis XVI.), 274
• —— (Sheraton), 350–351
• Dumont, 256
• Duplessis, 165, 213
• Duplessis, fils, 257, 263
• Dupuis, 263
• Dutch influence in England, 110
• Duvaux, 165
• Dyche, quotation from, 130
• E
• Ear motive in decoration, 5, 210, 212
• East, influence on furniture, 160–161
• Ebéniste, 11
• Ebénisterie, 66
• Ebony, 11, 38
• Edict of Nantes, Revocation of, 110
• Edwards and Darly, 148
• Eisen, 164
• Elizabeth, Queen, 46
• Empire style, characteristics of, 372–374
• ——, growth of the, 370
• ——, ornaments of, 372–374
• ——, wood used, 379
• Encoignure (Louis XV.), 212
• England, Dutch influence in, 110
• ——, French art in, 110–111
• ——, French workmen in, 110–111
• ——, relations with the Netherlands, 37–38
• Engravings, 155
• Escritoire (Hogarth), 152
• Evelyn, John, quotations from, 50–51, 112–113, 114–115
• F
• Falk, quotations from, 253–255
• Far East, commerce with, 111–112
• Fauteuil, 29–30, 81–82, 83
• —— (Louis XV.), 205
• ——, bergère, 207–208, 278
• 388——, de commodité (Louis XV.), 208–209
• ——, confessional, 278
• Fauteuils Bonaparte, 379–380
• Fay, 257, 264–265
• Feathers in decoration, 263
• Festoon window curtains, 336
• ——, Heppelwhite’s fondness for the, 312
• Floor (Jacobean), 44
• Folding chair-bed, 152–153
• Fonlanieu, 257
• Fontaine, P. F. L., 370
• Footstools (Sheraton), 361
• Forms (Louis XVI.), 203–204
• Forty, 257, 258
• Fossier, 257
• Fouquet, 4
• ——, alcove of, 91
• ——, entertainment of, 70
• Fragonard, 257, 258
• Fraisse, 142, 165
• Frames (Chippendale), 244
• —— (Early Georgian), 155
• Frederick the Great, 168
• French art in England, 110–111
• —— decoration, influence on Langley, 143
• —— furniture, most perfect period, 160
• —— style, craze in England for, 138
• —— style, Heppelwhite’s admiration of, 316
• —— rod, the, 336–337
• —— workmen, in England, 110–111
• Fringe, 18
• —— (Louis XIV.), 82–83
• —— (Louis XV.), 201
• Furniture (Chippendale), 222
• —— and costume, analogy between, 7–8
• —— (Louis XV.), descriptions of, 185–194
• ——, metal, 67
• ——, sets of, 89–90
• G
• Gachet, 263
• Gallery, 176
• Garde-robe, 168, 172, 176
• Gardes de vin, 322
• Garlands (Louis XIII.), 8
• Gamier, 166
• Gate-legged table, 51
• Gaudry, Mme. de, 85, 98
• Gay, quotation from, 137
• Genre étrusque, 369
• Gentlemen and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, The, 135, 222, 223, 224, 247
• Georgian (Early) Architecture, 137–138
• Germain, 164
• Germain, P., mirror by, 211
• Gibbs, 136, 295, 296
• Gilded wood, 67
• Gillot, 161
• Girandoles (Chippendale), 244, 245
• —— (Heppelwhite), 323
• Gobelin, 277
• Gobelins, manufacture des, established, 66
• Gobelins, artists and artisans employed at the, 66
• Gobelin tapestry, 205
• Godin, 216
• Goldsmiths, in decorative art, 4
• Gondola chairs, 207
• Gothic, Adam on, 294
• Gothic Architecture (Langley), 149
• ——, designs (Chippendale), 228, 235, 241–243
• ——, Mrs. Delany on, 150–151
• ——, Evelyn on, 114
• —— revival, 135
• ——, Langley’s influence, 150
• ——, Ware on, 149–150
• Gothic taste, the, 138, 221
• Gouthière, 266
• Gouvernet, La Marquise de, inventory of, 121–126
• Grate, 155
• Gravelot, 164
• Grecian squab, 356
• Gribelin, Samuel, 111
• Gros de Tours, 264
• Grotesque, Adam on 299–300
• Guéridon, 33
• Guiffrey, Jules, quotation from, 180
• Guimard, Mlle., apartments of, 282–284
• H
• Halfpenny, 148
• Hall, the, 40–41, 335
• Hampton Court, 46
• Hancock, wall-paper of, 141
• Handles (Jacobean), 59
• —— (Queen Anne), 130
• Hangings, leather, 42
• Harlequin Pembroke Table, 359
• Harrateen, 154
• Hatfield House, 46
• Havard, quotation from, 75
• Hearth furniture (Early Georgian), 155
• Heinhofer, Philip, 16
• Henri II. style, 3
• Hentzer, Paul, 55
• Heppelwhite, A. & Co., firm of, 309
• ——, characteristics of, 312
• ——, fondness for the straight line, 312
• —— furniture, 309–310
• ——, ornaments of, 312
• ——, quotations from, 310–311, 326–327
• —— room, 326–327
• Herculaneum, 352
• —— chair, 363
• Hervey, Lord, quotations from, 137
• Hervieux, 213
• Hexagon, 9
• High-boy, 154
• Huet, 161, 257, 265
• Huguenot refugees in England, 111
• Huquier, 164
• Hogarth chair, 152
• —— furniture, 152
• 389——, quotation from, 247–248
• ——, satire of Kent, 136–137
• ——, table by, 152
• Horse fire screens (Chippendale), 246
• Houdan, 257, 263
• Houel, 257
• House (Louis XV.), description of, 182–185
• Houses, decorated by the Adams, 292–293
• I
• Illumination (Jacobean), 45
• Ince and Mayhew, 224
• India houses 113
• Industrious Apprentice, escritoire in, 152
• J
• Jacob, Georges, 370
• Jacobean furniture. Tudor and Flemish mixture in, 37
• Jacquemart, quotations from, 178, 256
• Jacques, 263
• Janel, 257
• Janua Linguarum, quotation from, 45–46
• Japanese art, taste for, 166–167
• Japanned furniture, 154–155
• Jardinière (Empire), 377
• Jardinières, 273–274
• Jewels, Age of, 70
• Johnson, 148
• Jombert, 164
• Jones, Inigo, 37, 146, 295
• Journal de la mode, quotation from, 367–368
• Juhel, 215
• K
• Kauffman, Angelica, 292, 305, 306
• Kent, William, 135, 136, 295, 296
• Kent, Hogarth’s opinion of, 136
• Kenwood, Adam’s decorations at, 304
• Kidney library table, 359
• Knife cases (Heppelwhite), 321–322
• —— (Sheraton), 349
• Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, 38, 61
• ——, bed at, 57
• ——, bedrooms at, 54–55
• L
• La Barre, 66
• La Bruyère, 67
• La Collombe, 164
• Lacquered furniture, 154–155
• Lacquers, old, 168
• Lady’s Cabinet Dressing-table, 357–358
• Lafayette, bed of, 376
• La Joüe, 142, 164
• La Live de Juilly, 263
• Lalonde. See De Lalonde.
• Lamballe, Princesse de, 263
• ——, apartments of the, 280–282
• Lampas, 19
• Lambrequin (Louis XIII.), 19
• —— (Louis XV.), 200–201
• —— (Louis XVI.), 271
• Lamps (Heppelwhite), 323
• Lange, 164
• Langley, Batty, designs by, 142, 144–145
• ——, quotations from, 143–145, 149, 150
• ——, influence on Gothic revival, 150
• ——, Walpole opinion of, on, 151
• Lanthorns (Chippendale), 245
• La Rue, 257, 263
• Lassurance, 164
• Lauzan, Comte de, 112
• Law, John, 159
• Leather, use of, 192, 209, 313, 314
• Le Brun, 4, 66, 68, 69, 159
• Le Canu, 257
• Le Geay, 257
• Le Grand, 164
• Leland, quotation from, 43
• Leleu, 267
• Le Lorrain, 257
• Lepautre, Jean, 66, 72, 84, 91
• Le Prince, 257
• Le Roux, 164
• Levasseur, 267
• Liard, 257
• Library (Sheraton), 338
• —— table (Sheraton), 360
• Line, the straight, insistence of the, 253–254
• Lit d’ange, 77–78, 79–80, 196
• ——, à l’Anglaise, 267
• ——, d’Anglaise, 196
• ——, à arc, 197
• ——, de baldaquin, 27
• ——, en baldaquin, 197–198
• ——, à chassis, 198
• ——, à la Chinoise, 277
• ——, à couronne, 267
• ——, en dome, 79
• ——, à double tombeau, 197
• ——, à la duchesse, 77, 80
• ——, de duchesse, 196
• ——, à la fédération, 285, 368
• ——, à flèche, 197
• ——, en housse, 19–21, 76, 267
• ——, à impériale, 28
• ——, à l’Impériale, 80
• ——, en niche, 197
• ——, en ottomane, 197
• ——, à la polonaise, 196, 277
• ——, à pavillon, 77
• ——, de repos, 32, 81, 197, 198, 270, 279
• —— (Chippendale), 230
• —— (Louis XV.), 192
• ——, à romaine, 197
• ——, à tombeau, 197
• ——, à tulipe, 197
• ——, à la Turque, 197, 277
• ——, vu de pied, 77
• Lit. See Bed
• Livre de Légumes (Meissonier), 227
• Livre d’ornements (Meissonier), 227
• Lodging room (Sheraton), 339
• 390Loir, Alexandre, 66
• Loir, Guillaume, 66
• London, a dépôt for Oriental art, 112
• Louis XIII. style, beginning of, 3
• Louis XIV., magnificence of, 66
• ——, takes Court to Versailles, 65
• ——, style, characteristics of, 70–73
• ——, ornamentation, 71–73
• Louis XV. style, 195
• ——, transitional from, to Louis XVI., 195
• ——, great masters of the, 164
• ——, style, small masters of the, 164–165
• ——, ornaments of, 164
• Louis XVI. style, 195, 196, 251–252
• ——, cabinet-makers, 267
• ——, furniture of last years, 284–285
• ——, ornamentation of, 252–253
• Low-boy, 154
• Lucotte, 256
• Lutestring, 55
• Luti, Chevalier, 135
• Luxury, in reign of Louis XIV., 70
• Luynes, Duc de, quotation from, 196
• M
• Mademoiselle, La Grande, quotations from, 91, 111–112
• Mahogany, 11, 118, 334, 379
• Maintenon, Mme. de, 78, 80, 85, 86
• ——, apartments of, 92–96
• ——, tables of, 86
• Maisons de Plaisance (Blondel), 174
• Mansart, 65
• Marchand, 263
• Martinet, 164
• Martins, The, 167–168
• Marie Antoinette, 255, 263
• Marie Leczinska, bed of, 196
• Marillier, 257, 262
• Marot, Daniel, 91, 111
• ——, furniture by, 119, 120–121
• ——, use of china in decoration, 116
• Marquetry, 11, 50, 87
• Marquetry (Riesener’s), 265, 266
• Marquetry (Queen Anne), 127–128
• Marquise, The, 208
• Marriage à la Mode, Bed in, 152
• Marsenois, 165
• Marvye, 164
• Mascaron, 8, 120
• Mazarin, Cardinal, 4, 12, 13, 18, 21, 28, 30, 32
• ——, bed of, 77–78
• ——, fondness for Oriental art, 111–112
• ——, lottery of Oriental goods, 70, 112
• Medici, Francesco de’, 17
• ——, Marie de’, 3, 6, 12
• Meissonier, J. A., 160, 162, 163
• ——, canapé by, 209
• ——, chairs by, 209
• ——, curves of, 194
• ——, designs by, 226–227
• ——, exponent of the Louis XV. style, 164
• ——, ornaments, 227
• ——, pier-table by, 211
• Mercier, quotation from, 264
• Mercure de France, quotation from, 69
• Méridienne, The, 378
• Metal furniture, 67
• Mezzotints, 155
• Michel, 164
• Middle Ages, rich furniture of the, 67
• Milanaise fringe, 18–19
• Milton, Thomas, 290
• Mirabeau, 168
• Mirrors, 68
• —— (Chippendale), 244
• —— (Heppelwhite), 323
• —— (Jacobean), 45, 60
• —— (Louis XIII.), 34
• —— (Louis XIV.), 89
• —— (Louis XV.), 190, 210–211
• —— (Queen Anne), 119
• —— (Sheraton), 360
• Mississippi Bubble, The, 159
• Moithey, 257, 263
• Molière, alcove of, 91
• Mondon, 142, 164
• Monkeys in decoration, 141, 142, 161, 211
• Monnoyer, J. B., 111
• Montigny, P. C., 267
• Moreau le jeune, 257
• Moreau, 257
• Mortlake tapestry, 42
• Mouldings (Louis XIII.), 9
• Much Ado About Nothing, 42
• Murray, quotation from, 131
• Music-room (Sheraton), 338
• N
• Napolitaine fringe, 18–19
• Nest-of-drawers, 59
• Netherlands, influence of, on Jacobean furniture, 37
• Neufforge, 257
• Niche, 192
• Nicolet, 263
• Nile, Shipwreck of the, 168
• Nimeguen, Treaty of, 65
• Normand, C., 257, 263, 380
• Nottingham, Lord, quotation from, 113
• O
• Octagon, 9
• Odiot, J.B.C., 370
• Œben, 165
• ——, bureau, begun by, 212
• Olive-wood, 45, 60
• Ollivier, 166
• Oppenord, 160, 163
• Orfèvrerie, 66
• Orient, L’, 112
• Oriental art, Evelyn on, 112–113
• Oriental art, 111
• Orleans, Duchess of, 85, 87
• 391Orleans, apartments of the, 100–102
• Orleans, Duke of, 85, 86
• ——, apartment of the, 98–100
• Ornamentation (Elizabethan), 39–40
• —— (Louis XIV.) style, 71–73
• —— (Louis XVI.) style, 252–253
• —— (Queen Anne), 119–120
• Ornaments (Adam), 298–299
• —— (Chippendale’s), 227, 229–230, 237, 247
• —— (Empire), 372–374
• —— (Heppelwhite), 312
• —— (Louis XV. style), 164
• —— (Louis XIII.), 11–12
• —— (Meissonier’s), 227
• —— (Sheraton), 334
• Osterley Park, Adam decorations at, 304–305
• Ottoman à la reine, 279
• Oudry, 164
• P
• Pafrat, 166, 267
• Painted cloth, 42
• Palais de porcelaine, 73–74
• Palais Royal, The, 4
• Palais Soubise, 178–180
• Palladio, 135, 137
• ——, new edition of, 115
• Panache, 21
• Panelling (Jacobean), 41
• Panels (Early Georgian), 146, 147
• —— (Queen Anne), 117
• Pannier, 263
• Panseron, 257
• Parent, Aubert, 257
• Paris, changes in, 5–6
• ——, sets the fashions for Europe, 65
• Pariset, 257
• Parizeau, 257
• Parlour, the, 41
• —— (Jacobean), 52–53
• —— (Tudor), 52
• Parquetry, 68
• Passe, Crispin de, 4
• Pastoral subjects, 252, 253
• Pavilion bed, 28
• Pear-wood, 11, 38
• Péché Mortel (Chippendale), 232
• Pedestals (Heppelwhite), 321
• Pelham, Henry, 136
• Pembroke tables, 324
• —— (Sheraton), 358–359
• Pepys, quotations from, 43
• Perault, 263
• Percenet, 257, 263
• Percier, C., 370, 373
• Percier and Fontaine, 367, 372, 377
• ——, bedroom by, 373
• ——, examples from, 373–374
• ——, quotation from, 371–372
• ——, tables by, 376–377
• Percy, quotation from, 41–42
• Pergolesi, M. A., 292, 305–306
• “Persian,” 191
• Petite Maison, La, 181
• Petitot, 257, 261, 263
• Peyrotte, 164
• Philippon, Adam, 4
• Picau, 143
• Pictures (Louis XIII.), 34
• —— (Queen Anne), 118
• Pier-glass (Chippendale’s), 244
• —— (Heppelwhite), 323
• Pierre, J. B., 256, 263
• Pier-tables, 32
• Pier-table (Meissonier), 211
• —— (Sheraton), 344–345
• Pillement, 164, 263
• Pinaud, commodes by, 202
• ——, consoles for porcelain by, 211
• ——, console table by, 212
• ——, mirrors by, 210
• Pineau, 164
• Placards, 17
• Play-room, 175
• Pollen, quotation from, 255
• Pomeranian Art Cabinet, 16–17
• Pommes, 21, 27, 57, 196
• Pompadour, Mme. de, 165, 168, 264
• ——, bed of, 187–188
• ——, bedroom of, 186–189
• ——, fondness for Louis XVI. style, 252
• Pompeii, 252, 254
• Ponce, Gardette, 257
• Pope, quotation from, 136, 138
• Porcelain as a decoration for furniture, 256
• —— in decoration, 73–74
• —— in England, 113
• Portières (Louis XV.), 187, 191, 194
• Pouch table, 357
• Pouget, 257
• Poulleau, 165
• Press, 59
• Prevost, 164
• Prieur, 257, 262
• Principes de l’art du tapissier, quotation from, 196
• Principles of Gardening (Langley), 150
• Prudhon, 372
• Q
• Quartette tables, 361
• Queen Anne, 110–111
• ——, furniture, 121, 126
• ——, house, 121–126
• —— style, 109–110, 116, 118
• ——, characteristics, 119–120
• ——, ornamentation, 119–120
• ——, panels, 117
• ——, tapestry, 117
• Queen Mary, 113
• Queverdo, 257
• 392Quinze seize, 264
• R
• Radel, 277
• Raffle leaf, the, 290
• Rainceau, Adam’s definition, of, 300
• Rambouillet, Madame de, 7
• ——, blue parlour of, 68
• ——, Hôtel de, 91
• Ranson, 257, 260, 267, 279
• ——, examples from, 260
• Rebel, ornaments of, 5
• Récamier, Mme., 378
• Recueil, de Décorations Intérieures, 370
• Regency, The, 110
• ——, art of the, in America, 141
• ——, art of the, in England, 135, 141
• —— style, characteristics of the, 141–142
• ——, examples of, 211, 213–214
• Reign of Terror, 367
• Renaissance, The, 3
• Renard, 257
• Revolution, The Glorious, 110
• Ribband-back chairs, 232–233
• Richelieu, Cardinal, 4, 6, 14, 15
• Richardson, George, 289
• Riesener, J. H., 165, 213, 265–266, 267
• Robert, 257
• Rocaille, 162
• ——, decoration, 141
• Rochefort, Mme. la Maréchale, cabinet of, 97–98
• Rock-and-shell work, taste for, 221
• Rococo, 150
• Roentgen, David, 265, 266, 267
• Rohan, Anne Julie Charbot de, 178
• Rohan, Duc de, 178
• Romans d’aventure, 67
• Rose, Joseph, 304
• Rosewood, 225, 334
• Roubo, 166, 256
• Roumier, 142, 164
• Rousseau, J. J., 252
• Rubens, 3
• Rudd’s Dressing-table, 324–325
• Rueil, Castle, of, 4
• Ruins, fad for, 150
• ——, Langley on, 150
• S
• Saint Non, 257, 363
• Saint-Pierre, Bernardin de, 252
• Saint-Simon, quotation from, 31
• Salembier, 257, 261, 267, 277
• Salon, the, 168
• —— (Louis XIV.), 104–105
• —— (Louis XV.), 171–172, 174–175, 182–183
• ——, petit, 177–178
• Saly, 263
• Satin-wood, 334
• Saunier, 267
• Scagliola, 291
• Scheemakers, 263
• Schübler, J. J., 199–200
• Schwerdfeger, 267
• Screens (Chippendale), 246
• —— (Heppelwhite), 322–323
• ——, horse fire, 323, 345
• —— (Louis XIV.), 88–89
• ——, Pole fire, 322–323, 345
• ——, Regency, 211
• —— (Sheraton), 345–346
• ——, tripod fire, 345–346
• Screetore, 59
• Secretary and bookcase (Sheraton), 359–360
• Serre-papiers, 212, 213
• Settee (Jacobean), 62
• —— (Queen Anne), 119
• Shakespeare, quotations from, 38–39, 53–54, 55
• Shaving-tables (Chippendale), 241
• Shell in Cabinet-maker’s arms, 120
• Shell, decorative use of, 120
• Shelves (Chippendale’s), 237–239
• Sheraton, Thomas, 331
• ——, arrangement of rooms, 335
• ——, books by, 331
• ——, cane, use of, 334
• ——, carving, love of, 333
• ——, on Chippendale, 223–224
• ——, on colour, 335
• ——, ornaments of, 334
• ——, use of mahogany, 334
• ——, quotations from, 331–332, 332–333, 335, 335–336, 336–338, 338–342, 342–343, 343–344, 344–345, 345–346, 346–347, 348–349, 350, 350–351, 352–355, 357, 357–358
• ——, rosewood, use of, 334
• ——, rooms, 338–343
• ——, two periods, 333
• Siamese Embassy to France, 111
• Sideboard (Heppelwhite), 320–321
• —— (Sheraton), 347–349
• ——, cellaret, 347
• Sideboard tables (Chippendale), 245
• Silver buffet, 4
• Silver furniture, 67
• ——, at Knole, 38
• Singerie, 161
• Sion House, Adam decorations at, 301–303
• ——, Adam furniture at, 297
• Society of Antiquaries, 135
• Sofa, bar-back (Heppelwhite), 317
• ——, beds, 267, 355–356
• ——, bed à l’antique, 279
• —— (Chippendale), 226–227, 231–232
• —— (Directoire), 378
• —— duchesse, 209
• —— (Empire), 378
• —— (Heppelwhite), 315–317
• —— (Louis XIV.), 81–82
• —— (Louis XVI.), 278–280
• ——, pommier, 285
• —— (Sheraton), 344, 356–357
• ——, Turkey, 356–357
• ——. See Canapé.
• 393Soubise, Palais, 178–180
• Soubise, Prince de, 178
• Spangled bedroom, Knole, 55
• Spanish foot, The, 62
• Sphinx in decoration, 370, 372
• Spindle ornament, 40
• St. Aubin, 257
• Stockel, 267
• Stools (Heppelwhite), 315
• —— (Marot), 119
• —— (Queen Anne), 119
• Strawberry Hill, 149, 151
• Stripe, the, 263–264, 312
• Study, the, 43
• Sweeps for beds, 319
• T
• Table, breakfast (Chippendale), 246–247
• ——, “butterfly,” 52
• ——, card, 214, 274, 324
• ——, china, 246–247
• —— (Chippendale), 239–241, 240–241, 242–244, 246–247
• ——, tables, 274, 376
• ——, dressing, 240–241, 324–325
• ——, drawing-room, 273
• —— (Empire), 376–377
• ——, à fleurs, 377
• ——, flower, 273–274
• —— (Heppelwhite), 323–325
• —— (Jacobean), 51–52
• ——, library, 17, 326
• —— (Louis XIII.), 32–34
• —— (Louis XIV.), 86
• ——, Mme. de Maintenon’s, 86
• ——, Pembroke, 324
• —— (Queen Anne), 130
• —— (Regency), 213–214
• ——, servante, 274
• —— (Sheraton), 358, 360, 361
• ——, sideboard, 245
• ——, tambour writing and bookcase, 324–326
• ——, “thousand-legged,” 51
• ——, writing, 242–244, 274
• ——, work, 274
• Tabouret, 81–82
• Tallement des Réaux, quotation from, 7
• Talman, John, 135
• Talmont, Mme. la Princesse de, apartment of, 189–191
• Tambour writing-table and bookcase, 326
• Taming of the Shrew, quotation from, 38–39
• Tapestry, 18, 41–42, 117, 205, 277
• Taraval, 257
• Taste for the antique, 367–368
• Taste in England, Ware’s criticism of, 138–140
• Tavernier, 70
• Tea chests (Chippendale), 246
• —— kettle stands (Chippendale), 246
• —— room (Sheraton), 338–339
• —— table (Empire), 376–377
• —— trays (Chippendale), 246
• Textiles (Louis XIII.), 18
• —— (Louis XIV.), 68
• —— (Chippendale), 225
• Thomire, 370
• Thousand-legged table, 51
• Tibesar, 257
• Toile du Jouy, 264
• Toilet-glass (Early Georgian), 153
• —— table (Louis XV.), 203
• —— tables (Chippendale’s), 239–241
• Tolleverk, 216
• Torchère (Louis XV.), 212
• Trafalgar chair, the, 380
• Trio tables, 361
• Trunk, 59
• Tudor parlour, 52
• —— bed, 53–56
• —— home, Shakespeare’s description of a, 38–39
• Turkey sofa, 356–357
• Twelfth Night, quotation from, 55
• U
• Upholstery (Early Georgian), 153–154
• —— (Empire), 379–380
• —— (Heppelwhite), 313, 314–315
• —— (Jacobean), 57–58
• —— (Louis XIV.), 82–83
• —— (Louis XV.), 205
• —— (Louis XVI.), 276–277
• —— (Queen Anne), 119
• —— (Sheraton), 334–335
• Urn stand (Heppelwhite), 322
• V
• Val, apartments at, 102–104
• Vallance, petticoat, 318
• Vanburgh, 295, 296
• Van der Meulen, 68
• Vasari, 17
• Vase, form of (Louis XIII.), 8
• —— in decoration, the, 252–253, 262–263
• Vase-knife cases, 321–322
• Vases (Heppelwhite), 321
• Vassy, 164
• Vernis Martin, The, 168, 227, 273
• Versailles, magnificence of, 65
• Vervien, 164
• Vestibule, 169
• ——, 174
• Viaucourt, 66
• Vien, 263
• Viollet le Duc, quotation from, 6–7
• Voyelle, 277
• Voyeuse, the, 32, 278, 363
• Voltaire, 168
• Vouet, Simon, 4
• W
• Wailly, Charles de, 257, 263
• Wainscot (Early Georgian), 146, 147
• Wall decorations (Louis XV.), 173
• Wall-hangings, Ware on, 147–148
• 394Wall paper, 336
• Wallis, N., 290
• Walpole, Horace, 17, 149, 150
• ——, quotations from, 136, 149
• Wardrobes (Heppelwhite), 325
• Ware, Isaac, quotations from, 138–140, 145–148,
• 149–150
• Watelet, 256–263
• Watteau, 142, 161, 225
• ——, designs by, 205
• Weisweiler, 267
• William, King of England, 110
• Winant, 213
• Window (Jacobean), 43–44
• Window-blinds (Sheraton), 336
• Window-curtains (Early Georgian), 153–154
• —— (Louis XV.), 187, 200
• —— (Louis XVI.), 270–271
• —— (Sheraton), 336
• Windows, 43
• Window-seat, 44
• —— stools (Heppelwhite), 315
• Windsor chair, 152, 153
• Wine-cooler (Chippendale), 246
• Wolsey, Cardinal, 46
• Woods (Early Georgian), 153, 154
• —— (Empire), 379
• —— (Jacobean), 38
• —— (Louis XIII.), 11
• —— (Louis XVI.), 276
• Work-table (Sheraton), 357
• Wren, Christopher, 296
• Wressil Castle, 43
• Writing-tables (Louis XV.), 190
• Z
• Zucchi, Antonio, 292, 304, 305

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES