(1906) Chats on Old Furniture

8/9/2019 (1906) Chats on Old Furniture

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PREFACEThis volume has been written to enable those whohave a taste for the furniture of a bygone day toarrive at some conclusion as to the essential points ofthe various styles made in England.An attempt has been made to give some lucid

historical account of the progress and developmentin the art of making domestic furniture, with especialreference to its evolution in this country.

Inasmuch as many of the finest specimens of oldEnglish woodwork and furniture have left the countryof their origin and crossed the Atlantic, it is timethat the public should awaken to the fact that the

7


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8 PREFACEheritages of their forefathers are objects of envy toall lovers of art. It is a painful reflection to knowthat the temptation of money will shortly denude theold farmhouses and manor houses of England oftheir unappreciated treasures. Before the hand ofthe despoiler shall have snatched everything withinreach, it is the hope of the writer that this littlevolume may not fall on stony ground, and that thepossessors of fine old English furniture may realisetheir responsibilities.

It has been thought advisable to touch uponFrench furniture as exemplified in the nationalcollections of such importance as the Jones Bequestat the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the WallaceCollection, to show the influence of foreign art uponour own designers. Similarly, Italian, Spanish, andDutch furniture, of which many remarkable ex-amples are in private collections in this country,has been dealt with in passing, to enable thereader to estimate the relation of English art tocontemporar)- foreign schools of decoration anddesign.The authorities of the Victoria and Albert Museum

have willingly extended their assistance in regard tophotographs, and by the special permission of the


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PREFACE 9Board of Education the frontispiece and other repre-sentative examples in the national collection appearas illustrations to this volume.

I have to acknowledge generous assistance andcourteous permission from owners of fine specimensin allowing me facilities for reproducing illustrationsof them in this volume.

I am especially indebted to the Right HonourableSir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane, G.C.B., I.S.O., and tothe Rev. Canon Haig Brown, Master of theCharterhouse, for the inclusion of illustrations offurniture of exceptional interest.The proprietors of the Connoisseur have generously

furnished me with lists of prices obtained at auctionfrom their useful monthly publication, Auction SalePrices, and have allowed the reproduction of illus-trations which have appeared in the pages. of theConnoisseur.My thanks are due to Messrs. Hampton, of Pall

Mall, for their kind permission to include as illustra-tions several fine pieces from their collection ofantique furniture. I am under a similar obligationto Messrs. Waring, who have kindly allowed me toselect some of their typical examples.To my other friends, without whose kind advice


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10 PREFACEand valuable aid this volume could never haveappeared, I tender a grateful and appreciativeacknowledgment of my indebtedness.

ARTHUR HAYDEN.

CROMWEI.I.IAN CHAIR.Carved oak legs and stretcher. Leather scat and b.-ick.


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Sfaniih C/ust.

CONTENTS

PREFACELIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSBIBLIOGRAPHY .GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED

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131923

CHAPTERI. THE RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT. , . 31'II. THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE . . 57III. STUART OR JACOBEAN (SEVENTEENTH CENTURY) 79IV. STUART OR JACOBEAN (lATE SEVENTEENTH

century) . . . . .109v. queen anne style . . -133vi. french furniture. the period of louis xiv. 1 55

II


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12 CONTKNTSCHAITER PAGEVII. KKKNCH KURNITL'KK. THE PKRIOD OF LOUIS XV. 169vm. KKKM H KLRN'ITUKK. THE PERIOD OF LOUIS XVI. 189IX. FRENCH n'RN'nrUE. THE FIR.ST E.MI'IRE STVLK 20IX. CHIPPENDALE AND HIS .STVI.K . 211

.\l. SHERATON, ADAM, AND HEPPELWHITE STYLES . 239Xll. HINTS TO COLLECTORS . . . 257

INDEX -'75

ChiffiiiJalt f>uitau Btfkeast


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Jacobean Oak Cabinet ; decorated with mother-of-pearl,ebony, and ivory. Dated 1653. {By permission of theBoard of Education) .... Frontispiece

Carved Wood Frame ; decorated with gold stucco. SixteenthCentury. Italian ..... Title pageCkomweluax Chair .... Preface, p. 10

Chapter I. The Renaissance on the Continent. PagePortion of Carved Cornice, Italian, Sixteenth

Century . . . .33Frame of Wood, with female terminal figures, Italian,

late Sixteenth Century . . -35Front of Coffer, Italian, late Fifteenth Century . 38Bridal Chest, Gothic design, middle of Fifteenth

Century . . . . . -39Front of Oak Chest, French, Fifteenth Century . 44Walnut Sideboard, French, middle of SixteenthCentury . . . . -45Cabinet, French (Lyons), second half of Sixteenth

Century . . . . . .4813


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It LIST OF TTJJ'STTJ ATTOXSCnAPTEK i Thk Renaissance on the Cuntinest {continued).PACK

EuoNY ANU Ivory Makqietry Caiunet, French,middle of Sixteenth Century -50

Spanish Cabinet and Stand, carved chestnut, firsthalf of Sixteenth Century . . 5'

Spanish Chest, carved wahuit, Sixteenth Century . 52

Chapter II The English Renaissance.Carved Oak Chest, English, Sixteenth Century 59Bench of Oak, French, about 1500 .60Portion of Carved Walnut Virginal, Flemish, Six-

teenth Century . .61Carved Oak Coffer, French, showing interlaced

ribbon-work . .61Fireplace and Oak Panelling, "Old Palace," Bromley-

by-Bow. Built in 1606 . .64Elizabethan Bedstead, dated 1593 . .66Panel of Carved Oak, English, early Sixteenth

Century 68Mirror, in oak frame, English, dated 1603 71Court Cipboard, carved oak, English, dated 1603 73

carved oak, early Seventeenth Cen-tury . . . .74

., about 1580 . . .75Elizabethan Oak Table . . . 78

Chapter HIStuart or Jacobean. Seventeenth Century.Gate-leg Table . 81Oak Chair, made from Sir Francis Drake's ship, the

Golden Hind 83Oak Table, dated 1616, bearing arms of Thomas

Sutton . . . . 85


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 15Chapter III.Stuart or Jacobean. Seventeenth Century

{continuecf).

Chair used by James I. .Jacobean Chair, at KnoleJacobean Stool, at KnoleCarved Walnut Door (upper half), French, show

ing ribbon-work .....Oak Chair, with arms of first Earl of Strafford .Italian Chair, about 1620High-back Oak Chair, Early Jacobean, formerly in

possession of Charles I. . . .Jacobean Chairs, various types .Ebony Cabinet, formerly the property of Oliver

Cromwell .....Jacobean Carved Oak Chairs, Yorkshire and Derby

shire types .....Jacobean Oak Cupboard, about 1620Jacobean Oak Chairs ....Carved Oak Cradle, time of Charles I., dated 1641

PAGE878990

919394

9597

99

lOIlOI105107

Chapter IV.Stuart or Jacobean. Late SeventeenthCentury.

Interior of Dutch House, latter half of SeventeenthCentury . . . . . . mCabinet of time of Charles II., showing exterior . 112 showing interior . 113

Portuguese High-back Chair . . 115Oak Chest of Drawers, late Jacobean . . .117

)i >! ,, . . . 119Charles II. Oak Chair..... 120Charles II. Open High-back Oak Chair . . 121Charles II. Chair, cane back and seat . . . 122


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16 LIST OF TTJ.rSTHATIOXSCHAITKR IV.STUAKT OK Jacohkan. Latk Skventeenth

Century {coiilitiuc(i). PAOKJames II. Chair, cane back and scat . . 123Wii.i.iAM AND Mary Chaik 125Portucl'kse Chair-hack (uitkr i-oktion), cut leather

work ....... 128Chaptkr v.Qi'EEN Anne Style.

Queen Anne Chair . . . .133Queen Annf Oak Settle , . .135Queen Anne Mirror Frame, car\ed walnut, gilded . 137Oak Desk, dated 1696 . . .139Oak Cupboard ...... 140Queen Anne Cabinet, bun-walnut panel . . 141Queen Anne Chairs, various types . . .143Dutch Marqietry Cabinet . . . .147Queen Anne Clock . . .148Queen Anne Settle, oak, d.iiid 1705 . . 149Old Lac Cabinet . . .150Lac Cabinet, middle of Eighteenth Century . . 151

showing doors closed . .152 chased brass escutcheon . 154

Chapter VI.French Furniture. The Period ofLouis XIV.

Cassette, French, Seventeenth Century . . .157Chair of Period of Louis XIII. . , 159Pedestals, showing boulc and counter-boule work . 163BouLE Cabinet, or Armoire . . .165

Chapter VII.French Furniture. Louis XV.Commode, by Cressent . . . . .171Commode, formerly in the Hamilton Collection . . 173


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.^ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 17Chapter VII.P'rench Furniture. Louis XV. {con tin mil).

I'AGECoMMOuK, by Cafiieri . . . . 175Escritoire a Toii.kttk, formerly in possession of

Marie Antoinette ..... 179Secretaire, by Riesener . . . .181" BiRKAU DU Koi," tlie niaslerpiece of Kiesener . 183

Chapter VIII. French Furniture. Louis XVI.Jewel Cabinet, "J. H. Kiesener," Mounts by Gouthiere 193Commode, by Riesener ..... 197

Chapter L\.French Furniture. The First Empire.Empire Chair . . . . . .201Portrait of Madame Recamier, after David . . 203Detail of Tripod Table found at Pompeii . . 20sServante, French, late Eighteenth Century . . 206Jewel Cabinet ok the Empress Marie Louise . 207Armchair, rosewood, showing Empire influence . 210

Chapter X. Chippendale and his Style.Table made by Chippendale .... 213Oliver Goldsmith's Chair . . . .215Chippendale Settee, walnut, about 1740 . .217

oak, about 1740 . . , 219Chippendale Chair-back, ribbon pattern . . 222Ribbon-backed Chippendale Chair, formerly at

Blenheim . . . . . .221Chippendale Corner Chair, about 1780 . . 224Gothic Chippendale Chair-back . . . 225Mahogany Chippendale Chair, about 1740 . 226

H .. ,, about 1770 . , 2272


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BIBLIOGRAPHYGENERAL.

H. Shaw. Quaritch. 1836.1876.

1889.

Allen

Ancient Furniture, Specimens of.;^io los., now wortli 3 3s.

Ancient and Modern Furniture. B. J. Talbert. Batsford.32s.

Antique Furniture, Sketches of. W. S. Ogden. Batsford.I2S. 6d.

Carved Furniture and Woodwork. M. Marshall. W. H.1888. z.Carved Oak in Woodwork and Furniture from Ancient Houses.W. B. Sanders. 1883. 31s. 6d.

Decorative Furniture, English and French, of the Sixteenth,Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. W. H. Hackett.7s. 6d.

Ecclesiastical Woodwork, Remains of. T. T. Bury. Lockwood.1847. 21S.

French and English Furniture. E. Singleton. Hodder. 1904.Furniture, Ancient and Modern. J. W. Small. Batsford. 1883.21S.

Furniture and Decoration. J. A. Heaton. 1890-92.Furniture and Woodwork, Ancient and Modern. J. H. Pollen.Chapman. 1874-5. 21s. and 2s. 6d.Furniture and Woodwork. J. H. Pollen. Stanford. 1876. 3s. 6d.Furniture of the Olden Time. F. C. Morse. Macmillan. 12s. 6d.Gothic Furniture, Connoisseur. May, 1903.History of Furniture Illustrated. F. Litchfield. Truslove. 25s.Marquetry, Parquetery, Boulle and other Inlay Work. W. Bemrose.

1872 and 1882.Old Furniture, English and Foreign. A. E. Chancellor. Batsford.

153.19


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20 niDLKKiHArilVOld Kuruiluic fitiin Twclflli to Kijilitccntli Cfiitiny. Wymau. 1883.

los. Od.Style in Furniture and Woodwork. K. Bruok. Privately printed.

l88y. 2IS.

PARTICULAR.ENGUSH. Adam K'. & J.. The Architecture, Decoration and

Furniture of K. & J. Adam, selected from works published1 778- 1 822. London. 1880.

Adam, The brothers. Coiiuoisseiir. May, June and Aujjust, 1904..Ancient Wood and Iron Work in Cambridge. W. B. Kedfcrn.Spalding. 18S7. 31s. ()d.Chippendale, T. Cabinet Makers' Directory. Published in 1754,

1755 and 1762. (The best edition is the last as it contains 200plates as against 161 in the earlier editions. Its value is about

Chippendale and His Work. Contioisscur, January, July, August,September, October, November, December, 1903, January, Kp^.

Chippendale, Sheraton and Heppelwhite, The Designs of.Arranged by J. M. Bell, ityoo. Worth 2 2s.

Chippendale's Contemporaries. Connoisseur, March, 1904.Chippendale and Sheraton. Connoisseur, May, 1902.Coffers and Cupboards, .Ancient. Fred Roe. Methuen & Co.

1903- 3 3s.Engli'^h Furniture, History of. Percy Macquoid. Published by

Lawrence & Bullen in 7s. 6d. parts, the first of whichappeared in November, 1904.

English Furniture and Woodwork during the Eighteenth Century,T. A. Strange. 12s. 6d.Furniture of our Forefathers. E. Singleton. Batsford. ^ 15s.Hatfield House, History of. Q F. Robinson. 1883.Hardwicke Hall, History of. Q. F. Robinson. 1835.Heppelwhite, A., Cabinet Maker. Published 1788, 1789, and J794,

and contains about 130 plates. Value ;^8 to 12, Reprintissued in 1897. Worth 2 los.

Ince and Mayhew. Household Furniture. N.d. (1770). Worth20.

Jacobean Furniture. Connoisseur, September, 1902.Knole House, Its State Rooms, &c. (Elizabethan and other Furni-

ture.) S. J. Mackie. 1858.Manwaring, R., Cabinet and Chainnaker's Real Friend. London.1765.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY 21Mansions of England in the Oidcn Time. J. Nash. 1839-49.Old English Houses and Furniture. M. B. Adam. Ratsford.

1889. 25s,Old English Oak Furniture. J. W. HurreJI. Batsford. 2 2s.Old English Furniture. Frederick F"cnn and I'>. Wyllic. Ncwnes.

7s. 6d. net.Old Oak, The Art of Collecting. Connoisseur, September, 1901.Sheraton, T. Cabinet Maker's Drawing Book. 1791-3 edition

contains iii plates. Value 1^. 1794 edition contains 119plates. Value ;^io.

Sheraton T. Cabinet Directory. 1803.Staircases and Handrails of the Age of Elizabeth. J. Weale. i860.Upholsterer's Repository. Ackermann. N.d. Worth _^5.FRENCH.Dictionnaire de I'Anieublemeiit. H. Havard. Paris.

N.d. Worth ;^5.Dictionnaire Raisonnc. M. Viollet-le-Duc. 1858-75. 6 vols.

Worth ;^io.French Furniture. Lady Dilke. Bell. 1901.French Eighteenth Century Furniture, Handbook to the. Jones

Collection Catalogue. 1881.French Eighteenth Century Furniture, Handbook to the. Wallace

Collection Catalogue. 1904.History of Furniture. A. Jacquemart. Chapman. 1878. 31s. 6d.

Issued in Paris in 1876, under the title Histoirc dii Mobilier.Le Metible en France an XVI Sieclc. E. Bonnaffe. Paris. 1887.Worth los.JAPANESE.Lacquer Industry of Japan. Report of Her Majesty's

Acting-Consul at Hakodate. J. J. Quin. Parliamentary Paper.8vo. London. 1882.

SCOTTISH.Scottish Woodwork of Sixteenth and SeventeenthCenturies. J. W. Small. Waterston. 1878. ;^4 4s.SPANISH.Spanish and Portuguese. Catalogue of Special LoanExhibition of Spanish and Portuguese Ornamental Art. i88r.


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GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED

Armoire.A large cupboard of French design of thedimensions of the modern wardrobe. In thedays of Louis XIV. these pieces were made inmagnificent style. The Jones Collection at theVictoria and Albert Museum has several fineexamples. (See illustration, p. 165.)

Baroque.Used in connection with over ornate andincongruous decoration as in rococo style.

Bombe.A term applied to pieces of furniture whichswell out at the sides.

Boule.A special form of marquetry of brass andtortoiseshell perfected by Andre Charles Boulein the reign of Louis XIV. (See Chapter VI.,where specimens of this kind of work areillustrated.) The name has been corrupted intoa trade term Buhl, to denote this style ofmarquetry. Boule or Premiere partie is a metalinlay, usually brass, applied to a tortoiseshellbackground. See also Counter-boule.

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21 GLOSSAK'Y OF TKUMS TSKDBureau.A cabinet with drawers, and having' a drop-

down front for use as a writin


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GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED 25beeswax. It is composed of shellac dissolvedin methylated spirits with colouring matteradded.

Gate-leg table.This term is self-explanatory. Thelegs of this class of table open like a gate. Theybelong to Jacobean days, and are sometimesspoken of as CromwelHan tables. An illustra-tion of one appears on the cover.

Gothic. This term was originally applied to themediaeval styles of architecture. It was used asa term of reproach and contempt at a time whenit was the fashion to write Latin and to expect

. it to become the universal language. In wood-carving the Gothic style followed the architec-ture. A fine example of the transition betweenGothic and the oncoming Renaissance is given(p. 44).

Inlay.A term used for the practice of decoratingsurfaces and panels of furniture with wood ofvarious colours, mother-of-pearl, or ivory. Theinlay is let into the wood of which the pieceinlaid is composed.

Jacobean.Strictly speaking, only furniture of thedays of James I. should be termed Jacobean.But by some collectors the period is held toextend to James II.that is from 1603 to 1688.Other collectors prefer the term Carolean for aportion of the above period, which is equallymisleading. Jacobean is only a rough generali-sation of seventeenth-century furniture.


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20 GLOSSARY OF TERMS USEDLacquer. Lac.A transparent varnish used in its

perfection by the Chinese and Japanese. (See"Consular Report on Japanese Lacquered Work."in BibHography.) Introduced into Hollandand France, it was imitated with great success.Under Louis XV. Vernis-Martin became therage (^.t;.).

Linen Pattern.A form of carving panels to representa folded napkin. This particular design waslargely used in France and Germany prior to itsadoption here. (See illustration, p. 60.)

Marquetry. Inlays of coloured woods, arranged withsome design, geometric, floral, or otherwise, areclassed under this style. (See also Parquetry^)

Mortise.A term in carpentry used to denote thehole made in a piece of wood to receive the endof another piece to be joined to it. The portionwhich fits into the mortise is called the tenon.

Oil Polish.0\d furniture, before the introduction ofvarnishes and French polish and other inartisticeffects, was polished by rubbing the surface witha stone, if it was a large area as in the case of atable, and then applying linseed oil and polishingwith beeswax and turpentine. The fine toneafter centuries of this treatment is evident in oldpieces which have a metallic lustre that cannotbe imitated.

Parquetry. Inlays of woods of the same colour aretermed parquetry work in contradistinction tomarquetry, which is in different colour. Geo-


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GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED 27metric designs are mainly used as in parquetryfloors.

Reeded.This term is applied to the style of decora-tion by which thin narrow strips of wood areplaced side by side on the surface of furniture.

Renaissance.The style which was originated in Italyin the fifteenth century, supplanting the Mediaevalstyles which embraced Byzantine and Gothicart ; the new-birth was in origin a literary move-ment, but quickly affected art, and grew withsurprising rapidity, and affected every country inEurope. It is based on Classic types, and itsinfluence on furniture and woodwork followed itsadoption in architecture.

Restored.This word is the fly in the pot of ointmentto all who possess antiquarian tastes. It oughtto mean, in furniture, that only the most neces-sary repairs have been made in order to preservethe object. It more often means that a con-siderable amount of misapplied ingenuity hasgone to the remaking of a badly-preservedspecimen. Restorations are only permissibleat the hands of most conscientious craftsmen.

Rococo.A style which was most markedly offensivein the time of Louis XV. Meaningless elabora-tions of scroll and shell work, with rocky back-grounds and incongruous ornamentations, are itschief features. Baroque is another term appliedto this overloaded style.

Settee.An upholstered form of the settle.


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28 GLOSSARY OF TKHMS USEDSettle.A wooden seat with back and arms, capaljlc

of seating three or four persons side by side.Splat.The wooden portion in the back of a chair

connecting the top rail with the seat.Strapivork.This is apphed to the form of decoration

employed by the Elizabethan woodcarvers inimitation of Flemish originals. (See p. 68.)

Siretelier.The rail which connects the legs of achair or a table with one another. In earlierforms it was used as a footrest to keep the feetfrom the damp or draughty rush floor.

Tenon.'' Mortise and Tenon joint." (See Mortise.)Turned Work. The spiral rails and uprights of

chairs were turned with the lathe in Jacobeandays. Prior to the introduction of the lathe allwork was carved without the use of this tool.Pieces of furniture have been found where themaker has carved the turned work in all itsdetails of form, either from caprice or fromignorance of the existence of the quicker method.

l/cicer.A method of using thin layers of wood andlaying them on a piece of furniture, either asmarquetry in different colours, or in one woodonly. It was an invention in order to employfiner specimens of wood carefully selected in theparts of a piece of furniture most noticeable. Ithas been since used to hide inferior wood.

Vernis-Martin (Martin's Varnish). The lacqueredwork of a French carriage-painter named Martin,


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GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED 29who claimed to have discovered the secret of theJapanese lac, and who, in 1774, was granted amonopoly for its use. He applied it successfullyto all kinds of furniture, and to fan-guards andsticks. In the days of Madame du PompadourVernis-Martin had a great vogue, and panelsprepared by Martin were elaborately paintedupon by Lancret and Boucher. To this dayhis varnish retains its lustre undimmed, andspecimens command high prices.

Woods used in Furniture.High-class Work. Brazil wood, Coromandel,

Mahogany, Maple, Oak (various kinds),Olive, Rosewood, Satin wood, Sandalwood,Sweet Cedar, Sweet Chestnut, Teak, Walnut.

Commoner Work.Ash, Beech, Birch, Cedars(various). Deals, Mahogany (various kinds),Pine, Walnut.

Marquetry and Veneers. Selected specimensfor fine figuring are used as veneers, and formarquetry of various colours the followingare used as being more easily stainedHolly, Horsechestnut, Sycamore, Pear,Plum Tree.

Woods with Fancy Names.King Wood, Partridge Wood, PheasantWood, Purple Wood, Snakewood, TulipWood.

These are more rare and finely-marked foreignwoods used sparingly in the most expensive furni-


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30 GLOSSAIiY OF TERMS USEDture. To arrive at the botanical names of these isnot an easy matter. To those interested a list ofwoods used by cabinet-makers with their botanicalnames is given in Mr. J. ITungerford I'ollen's" Introduction to the South Kensington Collectionof Furniture." At the Museum at Kew Gardens andin the Imperial Institute are collections of rare woodsworth examination.


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I

THE RENAISSANCEON THECONTINENT


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Portion of carved cornice of pinewood, from the Palazzo Bensi Ceccini, VeniceItalian ; middle of sixteenth century.(Vitlon'a and Albeit Museum.)

CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE

THE RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENTItaly. Flight of Greek scholars

to Italy upon capture ofConstantinople by the Turks1453.Rediscovery of Greek art.Florence the centre of theRenaissance.Leo X., Pope (1475-1521).Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1520). Raphael (1483-1520).Michael Angelo (1474-1564).

France. Francis I. (1515-1547).Henry IV. (1589-1610).Spain. The crown united under

Ferdinand and Isabella(1452-1516).Granada taken from theMoors1492.Charles V. (1519-1555).Philip II. (1555-1598).

Germany. Maximilian I., Em-peror of Germany (1459-1519)-Holbein (1498-1543).

In attempting to deal with the subject of oldfurniture in a manner not too technical, certainbroad divisions have to be made for convenience

3 ^


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34 CHATS OX OLD FURNITUREin classification. The general reader docs not wantinformation concerning the iron bed of Og, Kingof Bashan, nor of Cicero's table of citrus-wood,which cost i^9,ooo ; nor are details of the chair ofDagobert and of the jewel -chest of Richard ofCornwall of much worth to the modem collector.

It will be found convenient to eliminate muchextraneous matter, such as the early origins offurniture and its development in the MiddleAges, and to commence in this country with theTudor period. Ikoadly speaking, English furniturefalls under three headsthe Oak Period, embracingthe furniture of the sixteenth and early seventeenthcenturies ; the Walnut Period, including the lateseventeenth and carl)- eighteenth centuries ; theMahogany Period, beginning with the reign ofGeorge III. It may be observed that the names ofkings and of queens have been applied to variousstyles of furniture as belonging to their reign. EarlyVictorian is certainly a more expressive term thanearly nineteenth century. Cromwellian tables, QueenAnne chairs, or Louis Seize commodes all have anespecial meaning as referring to styles more or lessprevalent when those personages lived. As there isno record of the makers of most oi the old Englishfurniture, and as a piece of furniture cannot be judgedas can a picture, the date of manufacture cannot beprecisely laid down, hence the vagueness of much ofthe classification of old furniture. Roughly it may inl^ngland be dealt with under the Tudor, the Stuart,and the Georgian ages. These three divisions donot coincide exactly with the periods of oak, of


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Frame of wood, carved with floral scrollwork, with female terminal figures.Italian ; late sixteenth century.

(Victoria and Albert Museum.)


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THK NEW YORKPUBUC UBRARYASTOR, LENOXITILDE-N FOTi#DATI0rS


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 37walnut, and of mahogany, inasmuch as the oakfurniture extended well into the Stuart days, andwalnut was prevalent in the reigns of George I.and .George II. In any case, these broad divisionsare further divided into sub-heads embracing styleswhich arose out of the natural development in taste,or which came and went at the caprice of fashion.The formation of a definite English character in

the furniture of the three periods must be examinedin conjunction with the prevailing styles in foreignfurniture showing what influences- -w-ere- at work.Many conditions governed the intrdductioh- of-foreignfurniture into England. Renaissance art made achange in architecture, and a corresponding changetook place in furniture. Ecclesiastical buildingsfollowed the continental architecture in form anddesign, and foreign workmen were employed by theChurch and by the nobility in decorating and em-bellishing cathedrals and abbeys and feudal castles.The early Tudor days under Henry VII. saw thedawn of the Renaissance in England, Jean deMabuse and Torrigiano were invited over the seaby Henry VII., and under the sturdy impulse ofHenry VIII. classical learning and love of the finearts were encouraged. His palaces were furnishedwith splendour. He wished to emulate the chateauof Francis at Fontainebleau. He tried to entice theFrench king's artists with more tempting terms.Holbein, the great master of the German school,came to England, and his influence over Tudor artwas very pronounced. The florid manner of theRenaissance was tempered with the broader treat-


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38 CITATS OX OLD FrKXITUREmcnt of tlic northern school. The art, too, of the

I'^iemishwoodcarversfound sympatheticreception in thiscountry, and the har-monious blending ofthe designs of theRenaissance crafts-men of the Italianwith those of theFlemish school re-sulted in the growthin I^ngland of thebeautiful and charac-teristic style knownas Tudor.The term Renais-sance is used in re-gard to that periodin the history of artwhich marked thereturn to the classicforms employed bythe Greeks and Ro-mans. The changefrom the Gothic orMediaeval work tothe classic feelinghad its origin inItal)', and spread, at

first gradually but later with amazing rapidity andgrowing strength, into Germany, Spain, the Nether-lands, France, and finally to Fngland.

->


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a!DHZauSzH

OQQ

^

I


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i'HB NEW ycRi:PUBLIC LIBRARYA8T0R, LENOX


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 41The Renaissance was in origin a literary move-

ment, and its influence in art came through hterature.The enthusiasm of the new learning acting on crafts-men already trained to the highest degree of technicalskill produced work of great brilliance.

Never did the fine arts rise to such transcendentheights as in Italy from the fourteenth to themiddle of the seventeenth centuries. The late JohnAddington Symonds, in his work on "The Renaissancein Italy," deals in a comprehensive manner with thismemorable period, during which every city in Italy,great or small, was producing wonderful works of art,in painting, in sculpture, in goldsmiths' work, in wood-carving, in furniture, of which npw every civilisedcountry struggles to obtain for its art collections thescattered fragments of these great days. "Duringthat period of prodigious activity," he says, " theentire nation seemed to be endowed with an instinctfor the beautiful and with the capacity for producingit in every conceivable form."

In the middle of the fourteenth century the Re-naissance style in woodwork was at first more evidentin the churches and in the palaces of the nobility inthe Italian states. Some of the most magnificentexamples of carved woodwork are preserved in thechoir-stalls, doorways and panelling of the churchesand cathedrals of Italy. The great artists of the daygave their talents to the production of woodwork andfurniture in various materials. Wood was chieflyemployed in making furniture, usually oak, cypress,ebony, walnut, or chestnut, which last wood is verysimilar in appearance to oak. These were decorated


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12 CHATS OX OLD FrRXTTFREwith gilding' and i)aintings, and were inlaid with otherwoods, or agate, lapis-lazuh', and marbles of varioustints, with ivory, tortoiseshcll, inoiher-of-pearl,or withornaments of hammered silver.The Victoria and Albert Museum contains some

splendid examples of fourteenth and fifteenth centuryItalian Renaissance furniture, which illustrate wellthe magnificence and virility of the great art move-ment which influenced the remainder of Europe. Inparticular, carved and gilded frames, and marriagecoffers {cnssoni) given to brides as part of theirdowry to hold the bridal trousseau, are richly andeffectively decorated. The frame of carved wood(illustrated p. 35), with fine scroll work and femaleterminal figures, is enriched with painting andgilding. The frame on the title-page of this volumeis of carved wood, decorated with gold stucco. Boththese are sixteenth-century Italian work. In fact, thestudy of the various types and the different kinds ofornamentation given to these cassoui would be aninteresting subject for the student, who would findenough material in the collection at the Victoria andAlbert Museum to enable him to follow the Renais-sance movement from its early days down to thetime when crowded design, over-elaboration, andinharmonious details grew apace like so many weedsto choke the ideals of the master spirits of theRenaissance.The front of the late fifteenth-century coffer

(illustrated p. 38) is of chestnut wood, carved witha shield of arms supported by two male demi-figures,terminating in floral scroll work. There are stilltraces of gilding on the wood.


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 43At first the lines followed architecture in character.

Cabinets had pilasters, columns, and arches resemblingthe old Roman temples. The illustration of a portionof a cornice of carved pinewood appearing as theheadpiece to this chapter shows this tendency. Themarriage coffers had classic heads upon them, butgradually this chaste style gave place to rich orna-mentation with designs of griffins and grotesquemasks. The chairs, too, were at first very severe inoutline, usually with a high back and fitted with astretcher between the legs, which was carved, as wasalso the back of the chair.

In the middle of the fifteenth century Gothic arthad attained its high-water mark in Germany beforethe new art from Italy had crossed the Alps. We re-produce a bridal chest, of the middle of the fifteenthcentury, from the collection in the Munich NationalMuseum, which shows the basis of Gothic art inEngland prior to the revival and before further foreigninfluences were brought to bear on English art (p. 39).The influence of Italian art upon France soonmade itself felt. Italian architects and craftsmenwere invited by Francis I. and by the Princessesof the House of Medici, of which Pope Leo X.was the illustrious head, to build palaces andchateaux in the Renaissance style. The Tuileries,Fontainebleau, and the Louvre were the result ofthis importation. Primaticcio and Cellini foundeda school of sculptors and wood-carvers in France, ofwhich Jean Goujon stands pre-eminent. The furni-ture began gradually to depart from the old Gothictraditions, as is shown in the design of the oak chest


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II CHATS ON OLD FUIJXITUREof the late fifteenth centuiy preserved in the DublinMuseum, which we illustrate, and commenced toemulate the gorgeousness of Italy. This is a parti-cularly instructive example, showing the transitionbetween the Gothic and the Renaissance styles.The French Renaissance sideboard in the illustra-

FRONT Ol- OAK CHEST. FRKNXH ; FIFTEENTH CENTURY.{^Dublin Museum.)

tration (p. 45) is a fine example of the middle of thesixteenth century. It is carved in walnut. Themoulded top is supported in front by an arcadingdecorated with two male and two female terminalfifiures. which are enriched with masks and floralornament. Behind the arcading is a table supportinga cupboard and resting in front on four turned


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By permission ofT. Foster Shattock, Esq.

WALNUT SIDEBOARD.FRENCH; MIDDLE OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY.


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FUUUC I IBRARYASTO, LSNOXnLDKN FO^* :j\ttons


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 47columns ; it is fitted with three drawers, the fronts ofwhich, as well as that of the cupboard, are decoratedwith monsters, grotesque masks, and scroll work.The impulse given by Francis I. was respon-sible for much decorative work in the early period ofthe French Renaissance, and many beautiful ex-amples exist in the churches and chateaux of Franceto which his name has been given. It is noticeablethat the chief difference between the Italian andthe French Renaissance lies in the -foundation ofGothic influence underlying the new^er" Renaissanceornament in French work of the period. i^Tamboyantarches and Gothic canopies were frequently retainedand mingled with classic decoratiqn. - T4ie Frenchclung to their older characteristics with moretenacity, inasmuch as the Renaissance was a suddenimportation rather than a natural development ofslower growth.The French Renaissance cabinet of walnut illus-

trated (p. 48) is from Lyons, and is of the laterpart of the sixteenth century. It is finely carvedwith terminal figures, masks, trophies of ornaments,and other ornament. In comparison with the six-teenth-century ebony cabinet of the period ofHenry IV., finely inlaid with ivory in most refinedstyle, it is obvious that a great variety of sumptuousfurniture was being made by the production of suchdiverse types as these, and that the craftsmen werepossessed of a wealth of invention. The range ofEnglish craftsmen's designs during the Renaissancein this country was never so extensive, as can beseen on a detailed examination of English work.


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18 CIIATS ().\ OLD Fl K'NirrKKIn Spain the Italian feeling became acclimatised

more readiK' than in I'rance. In the sixteenth

CABINET OK WALNUT-FRENCH (LYONS); SECOND HALF OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

Carved with terminal figures, masks, and trophies of arms.( Victoria and Albert Museum.

century the wood carving of Spain is of exceeding


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 49beauty. The decoration of the choir of the cathedralat Toledo is held to be one of the finest examples ofthe Spanish Renaissance. In furniture the cabinetsand buffets of the Spanish craftsmen are of perfectgrace and of characteristic design. The older Spanishcabinets are decorated externally with delicate iron-work and with columns of ivory or bone painted andrichly gilded, exhibiting Moorish influence in theircharacter. Many of the more magnificent specimensare richly inlaid with silver, and are the work ofthe artists of Seville, of Toledo, or of Valladolid.The first illustration of a cabinet and stand is a typi-cally Spanish design, and the second illustration of thecarved walnut chest in the National Archa^loeicalMuseum at Madrid is of the sixteenth century, whenthe Spanish wood-carvers had developed the Re-naissance spirit and reached a very high level intheir art.

Simultaneously with the Italianising of French arta similar wave of novelty was spreading over theNetherlands and Germany. The Flemish Renais-sance approaches more nearly to the English in theadaptation of the Italian style, or it would be moreaccurate to say that the English is more closelyallied to the art of the Netherlands, as it drew muchof its inspiration from the Flemish wood-carvers. Thespiral turned legs and columns, the strap frets cut outand applied to various parts, the squares betweenturnings often left blank to admit of a little ebonydiamond, are all of the same family as the Englishstyles. Ebony inlay was frequently used, but theFlemish work of this period was nearly all in oak.

4


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50 CHATS OX OI.D FT'RXTTrnEMarquetcrie of rich design was made, the inlay beingof various coloured woods and shaded. Mother-of-pearl and ivory were also employed to heighten theeffect.The Italian Renaissance laid a light hand upon the

Flemish artists, who, while unavoidably coming underits influence, at first copied its ornalcness but subse-

FRENCH CABIM.T.Ebony and ivory marquetry work.

MIDDLE OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY.(From l/u collection of M. EmHe Peyre.)

quently proceeded on their own lines. Much quaintfigure work, in which they greatly excelled, was usedby the Flemish wood-carvers in their joinery. It isgrotesque in character, and, like all their work, boldlyexecuted. The influx of foreign influences upon the


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 51Netherlands was in the main as successfully resistedas is the encroachment of the sea across their land-

SPANISH CABINKT AND STAND. CARVED CHESTNUT ;FIRST HALF OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY.Width of cabinet, 3 ft. 2 in. ; depth, i ft. 4 in. ; height, 4 ft. 10 in.{Victoria and Albert Museum.)

locked dykes. The growth of the Spanish powermade Charles V. the most powerful prince in Europe.


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52 CHATS OX OLD FrKXTTrREFerdinand of Spain held the whole Spanish peninsulaexcept Portui^al. with Sardinia and the island ofSicily, and he won the kingdom of Naples. Hisdaughter Joanna married Philip, the son of Maxi-milian of Austria, and of Mary the daughter ofCharles the Bold. Their son Charles thus inheritedkingdoms and duchies from each of his parents and

SPANISH CHEST ; CARVED WALNUT.SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

{JII the National Museum, Madrid.)

grandparents, and besides the dominions of Ferdinandand Isabella, he held Burgundy and the Netherlands.In 1 5 19 he was chosen lu-ni)eror as Charles V.Flooded with Italian artists and Austrian and Spanishrulers, it is interesting to note how the national spiritin art was kept alive, and was of such strong growththat it influenced in marked manner the Englishfurniture of the late sixteenth and early seventeenthcentury, as will be shown in a subsequent chapter.


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 53RECENT SALE PRICES.^

s, d.Chest, Gothic, carved with parcheminpanels, with a wrought-iron lock,from Nureinburg Castle, German,about 1500. Christie, January 29,1904 31100

Cabinet, walnut wood, of architectural de-sign, with folding doors above andbelow and small drawers, carved witharabesque foliage and scrolls in relief,and with columns at the angles, 69 in.high, 38 in. wide, French, middle ofthe sixteenth century. Christie,April 12, 1904 21 o o

Coffer, oak, the front divided by six but-tresses, the steel lock pierced withtracery, 65 in. long, 46 in. high,French, late fifteenth century. Christie,May 6, 1904 126 o o

Coffer, large walnut wood, the whole ofthe front and sides carved in lowrelief, the lock is rectangular, andpierced with flamboyant tracery,French (provincial), early part of thefifteenth century, 84 in. wide, 36 in.high. Christie, May 6, 1904 . . 50 8 o

* By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoissemthese items are given from their useful monthly publication,Auction Sale Prices.


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:a chats ox old m.-xiTi in-:i^ s. d

Coffer, walnut wood, the front and sidesdivided into arch-shaped jjanels con-taining Gothic tracery, 86 in. wide,32 in. h'\g;h, French, fifteenth century.Christie, May 6, 1904 . . 52 lO O

Chair, walnut wood, with semicircularseat, the back composed of six up-right rectangular panels, each con-taining various forms of Gothictracery ; below is a longitudinalpanel of tracery, 27 in. wide, 29 in.high, French or Flemish, fifteenthcentury. Christie, May 6, 1904 . 91 7 o

Credence, oak, with folding doors anddrawers above and shelf beneath, thecorners are returned, the various doorpanels, &c., carved in low relief; atthe back below is linen fold panelling,54 in. wide, 62 in. high, probablyFrench, early sixteenth century.Christie. May 6, 1904 . . . 336 o o

Cabinet, walnut-wood, in two parts, ofrectangular form, with folding doorsabove and below, and two drawers inthe centre, carved with grotesqueterminal figure and gadrooned mould-ings, strapwork and duplicated rosettes,French work, early seventeenth cen-tury, 78 in. high, 48 in. wide. Christie,May 6, 1904 no 5 o


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RENAISSANCE ON THE CONTINENT 55 s. d.

Cabinet, walnut-wood, in two parts, ofrectangular form, with folding doorsbelow and door above ; at the sidesare terminal male and female figures,the centres of the doors carved, 92 in.high, 49 in. wide, French work (LyonsSchool), second quarter of sixteenthcentury. Christie, JMay 6, 1904 . 99 15 O


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II

THE ENGLISHRENAISSANCE


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Bv pennissioyt 0/Messrs. Hampton & SonsCARVED OAK CTIEST.

ENGLISH; SIXTEENTH CENTURY.Panels finely carved with Gothic tracery.

II

THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCEHenry VIII.Edward VI.Mary . .Elizabeth

I 509-1547.1547-1553-I 553-1 558.1558-1603.

1525. Hampton Court built.1666. Increased commercial

prosperity. Foundation ofRoyal Exchange by SirThomas Gresham.

1680. Drake comes home fromthe New World with plun-der worth half a million.

1585. Antwerp captured by theDuke of Parma ; flight ofmerchants to London.Transfer of commercialsupremacy from Antwerpto London. Beginning ofcarrying trade, especiallywith Flanders.

The opening years of the sixteenth century sawthe beginnings of the Renaissance movement in

iS)


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60 CHATS OiN OLD FURNITLKEEiifrland. The oak chest had become a settle withhigh back and arms. The fine example of an earlysixteenth-century oak chest illustrated (p. 59) showshow the Gothic style had impressed itself on articlesof domestic lurnilure. The credence, or tastinc;

BKNCH OF OAK. FRENCH; ABOUT 1 5OO.With panels of linen ornament Seat arranged as a cotier.

(Formerly in the collection of M. Emile Peyre.)(fioyal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.)

buffet, had developed into the Tudor sideboard,where a cloth was spread and candles placed. Withmore peaceful times a growth of domestic refinementrequired comfortable and even luxurious surroundings.The royal palaces at Richmond and Windsor werefilled with costly foreign furniture. The mansions


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rOKTION OF CARVED WALNUT VIRGINAL.FLEMISH ; SIXTEENTH CENTURY.( Victoiia and Albert Mmeuin.)

TJ

' y

FRENCH CARVED OAK COFFER.Showing interlaced ribbon work.

SECOND HALF OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY.(Height, 2 ft. I in. ; width, 3 ft. i in.)( Victoria and Albert Museum.)


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Iti NEW '{'i^fFOBUC liBRARYA5T0R, L2N0XriLDEN FOIJ#.DATIONS


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 63which were taking the place of the old feudal castlesfound employment for foreign artists and craftsmenwho taught the English woodcarver. In the earlydays of Henry VHI. the classical style supplantedthe Gothic, or was in great measure mingled with it.Many fine structures exist which belong to thistransition period, during which the mixed style waspredominant. The woodwork of King's Colleo-eChapel at Cambridge is held to be an especiallynotable example.The Great Hall at Hampton Court dates from1 53 1, or five years after Cardinal^Wolsey had givenup his palace to Henry VHI. Its grand proportions,its high-pitched roof and pendants, display the art ofthe woodcarver in great excellence. This hall, likeothers of the same period, had an open hearth in thecentre, on which logs of wood were placed, and thesmoke found its way out through a cupola, or louvre,in the roofThe roofs of the Early Tudor mansions were

magnificent specimens of woodwork. But the oldstyle of king-post, queen-post, or hammer-beam roofwas prevalent. The panelling, too, of halls androoms retained the formal character in its mouldingsand various " linen " patterns were used, so calledfrom their resemblance to a folded napkin, an orna-mentation largely used towards the end of thePerpendicular style, which was characteristic ofEnglish domestic architecture in the fifteenthcentury. To this period belongs the superb wood-carving of the renowned choir stalls of Henry VII.'sChapel in Westminister Abbey.


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64 CHATS ON OLD FURNIXrREThe bench of oak illustrated (p. 6o) shows a

common form of panel with linen ornament, and isFrench, of about the > ear 1500. The seat, as willbe seen, is arranged as a locked coTer.

HkliPLACK AND OAK PANELLING FROM THE "OLD PALACEAT BROMLEY-BY-BOW. BUILT IN 1606.

( Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Elizabethan woodcarver revelled in grotesquefigure work, in intricate interlacings of strapwork,borrowed from the Flemish, and ribbon ornamenta-tion, adapted from the French. He delighted in


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 65massive embellishment of magnificent proportions.Among Tudor woodwork the carved oak screen ofthe Middle Temple Hall is a noteworthy example ofthe sumptuousness and splendour of interior decora-tion of the English Renaissance. These screenssupporting the minstrels' gallery in old halls areusually exceptionally rich in detail. Gray's Inn(dated 1560) and the Charterhouse (dated 1 571) areother examples of the best period of sixteenth-centurywoodwork in England.

Christ Church at Oxford, Grimsthorp in Lincoln-shire, Kenninghall in Norfolk, Layer Marney Towersin Essex, and Sutton Place at Guildford, are allrepresentative structures typical of the halls andmanor houses being built at the time of the EnglishRenaissance.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum has beenre-erected a room having the oak panelling from the" Old Palace " at Bromley-by-Bow, which was builtin 1606. The massive fireplace with the royal coat ofarms above, with the niches in which stand carvedfigures of two saints, together with the contemporaryiron fire-dogs standing in the hearth, give a picture ofwhat an old Elizabethan hall was like.Under Queen Elizabeth new impulses stirred the

nation, and a sumptuous Court set the fashion ingreater luxury of living. Gloriana, with her merchant-princes, her fleet of adventurers on the high seas, andthe pomp and circumstance of her troop of foreignlovers, brought foreign fashions and foreign art intocommoner usage. The growth of luxurious habits inthe people was eyed askance by her statesmen

;

5


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66 CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE" England spendeth more in wines in one year," com-plained Cecil, " than it did in ancient times in four

ELIZABETHAN BEDSTEAD. DATED 1 593.Carved oak, ornamented in marquetry.

(Height, 7 ft. 4 in ; length, 7 ft > '" : width, 5 ft. 8 ia)(Victoria and Alhni .)fuseum.)

years." The chimney-corner took the place of theopen hearth ; chimneys were for the first time familiar


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 67features in middle-class houses. The insanitary rushfloor was superseded by wood, and carpets came intogeneral use. Even pillows, deemed by the hardyyeomanry as only fit " for women in child-bed," founda place in the massive and elaborately carved Eliza-bethan bedstead.The illustration of the fine Elizabethan bedstead (on

p. 66) gives a very good idea of what the domesticfurniture was like in the days immediately succeedingthe Spanish Armada. It is carved in oak ; withcolumns, tester, and headboard showing the classicinfluence. It is ornamented in marquetry, and bearsthe date 1593.

All over England were springing up town halls andfine houses of the trading-classes, and manor housesand palaces of the nobility worthy of the peopleabout to establish a formidable position in Europeanpolitics. Hatfield House, Hardwick Hall, AudleyEnd, Burleigh, Knole, and Longleat, all testify to theRenaissance which swept over England at this time.Stately terraces with Italian gardens, long gallerieshung with tapestries, and lined with carved oak chairsand elaborate cabinets were marked features in thedays of the new splendour. jMen's minds, led byRaleigh, the Prince of Company Promoters, and firedby Drake's buccaneering exploits, turned to the NewWorld, hitherto under the heel of Spain. Dreams ofgalleons laden with gold and jewels stimulated theambition of adventurous gallants, and quickened thenation's pulse. The love of travel became a portion ofthe Englishman's heritage. The Italian spirit hadreached England in full force. The poetry and


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68 CHATS ON OLD FUUNITUKEromances of Italy afTectcd all the Elizabethan men ofletters. Shakespeare, in his " Merchant of Venice "and his other plays, plainly shows the Italian in-fluence. In costume, in speech, and in furniture, itbecame the fashion to follow Ital\-. To Ascham itseemed like " the enchantment of Circe brought outof Italv to mar men's manners in England."

PANKI. OK CARVED OAK.ENGLISH ; EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

Showing interlaced strapwork.(Victoria and Albert Museum.)

The result of this wave of fashion on the domesticfurniture of England was to impart to it the eleganceof Italian art combined with a national sturdiness ofcharacter seemingly inseparable from English art atall periods. As the reign of Queen Elizabeth ex-tended from the year 1558 to the year 1603, '^ '^


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 69usual to speak of architecture and furniture of thelatter half of the sixteenth century as Elizabethan.A favourite design in Elizabethan woodwork is theinterlaced strapwork (see illustration p. 68), whichwas derived from similar designs employed by thecontemporary stonecarver, and is found on Flemishwoodwork of the same period. The panel of asixteenth-century Flemish virginal, carved in walnut,illustrated, shows this form of decoration. Grotesqueterminal figures, half-human, half-monster, supportedthe front of the buffets, or were the supporting terminalsof cornices. This feature is an adaptation from theCaryatides, the supporting figures used instead ofcolumns in architecture, which in Renaissance daysextended to woodwork. Table-legs and bed-postsswelled into heavy, acorn-shaped supports of massivedimensions. Cabinets were sometimes inlaid, as wasalso the room panelling, but it cannot be said that atthis period the art of marquetry had arrived at agreat state of perfection in this country.

It is noticeable that in the rare pieces that areinlaid in the Late Tudor and Early Jacobean periodthe inlay itself is a sixteenth of an inch thick, whereasin later inlays of more modern days the inlay isthinner and flimsier. In the Flemish examples ivorywas often used, and holly and sycamore and boxseem to have been the favourite woods selected forinlay.

Take, for example, the mirror with the frame ofcarved oak, with scroll outline and narrow bandsinlaid with small squares of wood, alternately lightand dark. This inlay is very coarsely done, and


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70 CHATS ON OLD FUliXlXrKEunworthy to compare with Itahan marquetry of con-temporarj' date, or of an earh'er period. The uprightsand feet of the frame, it will be noticed, arc baluster-shaped. The glass mirror is of nineteenth-centurymanufacture. The date carved upon the frame is1603, the first year of the reign of James I., and it isstated to have come from Derby Old Hall.The Court cuj)board, also of the same date, begins

to show the coming style of Jacobean ornamentationin the turning in the upright pillars and supports andthe square baluster termination. The massive carvingand elaborate richness of the early Elizabethan periodhave given place to a more restrained decoration.Between the drawers is the design of a tulip inmarquetr}', and narrow bands of inlay are used todecorate the piece. In place of the chimericalmonsters we have a jjortrait in wood of a lady, forwhich Arabella Stuart might have sat as model.The da)-s were apjiroaching when furniture wasdesigned for use, and ornament was put aside if itinterfered with the structural utility of the piece.The wrought-iron handle to the drawer should benoted, and in connection with the observation broughtto bear by the beginner on genuine specimens in theVictoria and Albert Museum and other collections, itis well not to let any detail escape minute attention.Hinges and lock escutcheons and handles to drawersmust not be neglected in order to acquire a soundworking knowledge of the peculiarities of the differentperiods.

In contrast with this specimen, the elaboratelycarved Court cupboard of a slightly earlier period


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MIRROR.Glass in oak frame with caned scroll outline and narrow bands inlaid

with small squares of wood. The glass nineteenth century.ENGLISH. r),\TEn 1603.

(Il'itoria and A.'/h-it Mn^etiin.)


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idE IfEW YORKPUBLIC LIBRARY

.VSTOn, LENOXn.r.DEN --oi ^. D t:o:i5


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 73should be examined. It bears carving on every avail-able surface. It has been "restored," and restoredpieces have an unpleasant fashion of suggesting that

COURT CUPBOARD, CARVED OAK.ENGLISH. DATED 1603.

Decorated with narrow bands inlaid, and liaving inlaid tulipbetween drawers.(Vuion'a and Albert Altiseum.)

sundry improvements have been carried out in theprocess. At any rate, as it stands it is over-laboured,and entirely lacking in reticence. The elaboration ofenrichment, while executed in a perfectly harmonious


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71 CHATS ON i)\A) FUKMTUHEmanner, should convey a lesson to the student offurniture. There is an absence of contrast ; had por-tions of it been left uncarved how much moreeffective would have been the result! As it is it

COURT CUPBOARD, CARVED OAK.AllOUT 1580. (RESTORED.)

(I'iitoriii and Albert Museum.)

Stands, wonderful as is the technique, somewhat of awarning to the designer to cultivate a studied sim-plicity rather than to run riot in a profusion ofdetail.


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 75Another interesting Court cupboard, of the early

seventeenth century, shows the more restrained stylethat was rapidly succeeding the earlier work. Thispiece is essentially English in spirit, and is untouchedsave the legs, which have been restored.

By kind pertntssion ofT. E. Price Stretche, Fsq.

COURT CUPBOARD, EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.With secret hiding-place at top.

The table which is illustrated (p. 78) is a typicalexample of the table in ordinary use in Elizabethandays. This table replaced a stone altar in a churchin Shropshire at the time of the Reformation.

It was late in the reign of Queen Elizabeth thatupholstered chairs became more general. Sir JohnHarrington, writing in 1 597, gives evidence of this in


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76 CHATS OX OLD KURNITllU:the assertion that " the fashion of cushioned chayrs istaken up in every merchant's house." Wooden seatshad hitherto not been thought too hard, and chairsimported from Spain had leather seats and backs offine tooled work richly gilded and decorated. In thelatter days of Mlizabcth loose cushions were used forchairs and for window seats, and were elaboratelywrought in velvet, or were of satin embroidered incolours, with pearls as ornamentation, and edgedwith gold or silver lace.The upholstered chair belongs more properly

to the Jacobean period, and in the next chapterwill be shown several specimens of those used byJames I.

In Elizabethan panelling to rooms, in chimney-pieces, doorwaj's, screens such as those built acrossthe end of a hall and supporting the minstrels'gallery, the wood used was nearly always Englishoak, and most of the thinner parts, such as thatdesigned for panels and smaller surfaces, was obtainedby splitting the timber, thus exhibiting the beautifulfigure of the wood so noticeable in old examples.

RECENT SALE PRICES.' s. d.Chest, oak, with inlaid panels under

arches, with caryatid figures carvedin box-wood, English, temp. Eliza-beth. Christie, January 29, 1904 . 40 9 O

' By the kindness of the proprietors of the Connoisseurthese items are given from their useful monthly publication.Auction Sale Prices.


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THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 77 s. d

Tudor mantelpiece, with elaborately^carved jambs, panels, brackets, sides,and cornice, 6 ft. by 7 ft. 3 in. high.Herbert Wright, Ipswich, February19, 1904 ......

Old oak panelling, in all about 60 ft. run \i55 o oand 6 ft. 6 in. high, with 17 carvedpanels and 3 fluted pilasters fittedin same, part being surmounted by acornice. Herbert Wright, Ipswich,February 19, 1904 . . . ./

Credence, walnut-wood, with a cupboardand drawer above and shelf beneath,the corners are returned, the centralpanel has carved upon it, in lowrelief, circular medallions, piercedsteel hinges and lock, 36 in. wide,50 in. high, early sixteenth century.Christie, May 6, 1904 . . . 346 o o

Bedstead, Elizabethan, with panelled andcarved canopy top, supported byfluted and carved pillars, inlaid andpanelled back, with raised figures andflowers in relief, also having a carvedpanelled footboard. C. W. Provis& Son, Manchester, May 9, 1904 . 22 10 o

Bedstead, oak Elizabethan, with carvedback, dated 1560, and small cupboardfitted with secret sliding panel, andfurther having carved and inlaidpanelled top with inlaid panels, the


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78 CHATS ON OLD FrRNITrRE s. d.

whole .surinouiited with heavy cornice.C. W. Provis & Son, Manchester,May 9, 1904 33 o o

Sideboard, Eh'zabethan old oak, 6 ft. 2 in.wide by 7 ft. 6 in. high, with carvedcanop)' top ; also fitted with galleryshelf, supported by lions rampant.C. W. Provis & Son, Manchester.May 9, 1904 60 o o

By kindnfis cfT. B Prtit Strtlihf. if

ELIZABETHA.N OAK TABLE.


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Ill

STUART ORJACOBEAN.SEVENTEENTH CENTURY


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fly permission ofMessrs. H^arm^. GATE-LEG TABLE.

IllSTUART OR JACOBEAN. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

James 1 1603-1625.Charles 1 1625-1649.The Commonwealth 1649-1660.

1619. Tapestry factory estab-lished at Mortlake, underSir Francis Crane. Banqueting Hall added toWhitehall by Inigo Jones.

1632. Vandyck settled in Londoron invitation of Charles I.

1651. Navigation Act passedaimed blow (1572-1652) atDutch carrying trade. Allgoods to be imported inEnglish ships or in ships ofcountry producing goods.

With the advent of the House of Stuart the Englandunder James I. saw new fashions introduced infurniture. It has aheady been mentioned that the

6 8'


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82 CHATS OX OF. I) FrRXTTT'REgreater nuinbcr of old houses which are now termedTudor or ICh/.abcthan were erected in the days ofJames I. At the beginning of a new monarchyfashion in art rareh' changes suddenly, so that theearly pieces of Jacobean furniture differ very littlefrom Elizabethan in character. Consequently theCourt cupboard, dated 1603, and mirror of the sameyear (illustrated on p. 70), though bearing the dateof the first year of the reign of James, more properlybelong to Tudor days.

In the Bodleian Library at Oxford there is pre-served a chair of fine workmanship and of historicmemory. It was made from the oak timbers of theGolden Hitui, the ship in which Sir Francis Drakemade his adventurous voyage of discovery round theworld. In spite of many secret enemies " deaminghim the master thiefe of the unknowne world," QueenElizabeth came to Deptford and came aboard theGolden Hind and " there she did make Captain Drakeknight, in the same ship, for reward of his services ;his armes were given him, a ship on the world, whichship, by Her Majestie's commandment, is lodged in adock at Deptford, for a monument to all posterity."

It remained for many years at Deptford dockyard,and became the resort of holiday folk, who mademerry in the cabin, which was converted into aminiature banqueting hall ; but when it was too fardecayed to be repaired it was broken up, and asufficient quantity of sound wood was selected fromit and made into a chair, which was presented to theUniversity of Oxford. This was in the time ofCharles 11., and the poet Cowley has written some


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By permission o/ thefroprietars of the "Connoisseur.OAK CHAIR MADE FROM THE TIMBER OF THE GOLDEN HIND.COMMONLY CALLED "SIR FRANCIS DRAKE'S CHAIR."

{At the Bodleian I.ibfary.)


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ms NEW ^rnxPCJBUC LljB*AaTASTOIR, LENOXITLDEN FOT>'DANIONS


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 85lines on it, in which he says that Drake and hisGolden Hind could not have wished a nnore blessedfate, since to " this Pythagorean ship "

"... a seat of endless rest is givenTo iier in Oxford, and to him in heaven ''

By permission of theMaster of the Charterhouse.

OAK TABLE, DATED 1616, BEARING ARMS OF THOMAS SUTTON,FOUNDER OF THE CHARTERHOUSE HOSPITAL.which, though quite unintentional on the part of thepoet, IS curiously satiric.The piece is highly instructive as showing the

prevailing design for a sumptuous chair in the lateseventeenth century. The middle arch in the back ofthe chair is disfigured by a tablet with an inscription,which has been placed there.Of the early days of James I. is a finely carved oak

table, dated i6i6. This table is heavily moulded and


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86 f'TIATS ON OLD II'irNITrHEcan-ed with garlands between cherubs' heads, andshields bearing the arms of Thomas Sutton, thefounder of the Charterhouse Hospital. The upperpart of the table is supported on thirteen columns,with quasi-Corinthian columns and enriched shafts,standing on a moulded H-shaped base. It will beseen that the designers had not yet thrown off thetrammels of architecture which dominated much ofthe Renaissance woodwork. The garlands are notthe garlands of Grinling Gibbons, and althoughfalling within the Jacobean period, it lacks the charmwhich belong to typical Jacobean pieces.At Knole, in the possession of Lord Sackville, there

are some fine specimens of early Jacobean furniture,illustrations of which are included in this volume.The chair used by King James I. when sitting to thepainter Mj'tens is of peculiar interest. The cushion,worn and threadbare with age, is in all probability thesame cushion used by James. The upper part of thechair is trimmed with a band of gold thread. Theupholstering is red velvet, and the frame, which is ofoak, bears traces of gilding upon it, and is studdedwith copper nails. The chair in design, with thehalf circular supports, follows old Venetian patterns.The smaller chair is of the same date, and equall)-interesting as a fine specimen ; the old embroidery,discoloured and worn though it be, is of strikingdesign and must have been brilliant and distinctivethree hundred years ago. The date of these piecesis about 1620, the year when the " Pilgrim Fathers "landed in America.From the wealth of Jacobean furniture at Knole it


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Hy permission of theproprietors of the "Connoisseur.CHAIR USED BY JAMES I.

In the possession of Lord Sackville.


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-iA' pffiiw roRfcx'UBLiC UBRAKTA8T0R, LENOXriLDEN i-OT>'DAT'TOK';|


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 89is difficult to make a representative selection, but thestool we reproduce (p. 90) is interesting, inasmuch as

By permission 0/ theproprietors 0/ the "Connoisseur.

JACOBEAN CHAIR AT KNOI.E.In the pofisession of Lord Sackville.

it was a piece of furniture in common use. Thechairs evidently were State chairs, but the footstool


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90 CHATS 0\ OT.D FriJNITUREwas used in all likelihood by those who sat below thesalt, and were of less significance. The stuffed setteewhich finds a place in the billiard-room at Knoleand the sumptuous sofa in the Long Gallery, with itsmechanical arrangement for altering the angle at the

By fermiiiicH of thefrtfruttrs 0/ tfu " Canneisttur.'JACOBEAN STOOL AT KNOLE.In tlu' possession of Lnrd Sackville.

head, are objects of furniture difficult to equal. Thesilk and gold thread coverings are faded, and theknotted fringe and gold braid have tarnished underthe hand of Time, but their structural design is soeffective that the modern craftsman has made luxu-rious furniture after these models.


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 91Carved oak chests were not largely made in

Ulil-.K HALF OF CAK\ED WAI.NLil DuOR.Showing ribbon worlc.

FRENCH ; LATTER PART OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY.(Height of door, 4 ft. 7 in. ; width, i ft. 11 in.)

{Victoria and Albert Museum.)Jacobean daysnot, at any rate, for the same purposeas they were in Tudor or earlier times. As church


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92 CHATS ON OLD FrHNimiEcofTcrs they doubtless continued to be required, but forarticles of domestic furniture other than as linen cheststheir multifarious uses had vanished. Karly Jacobeancoffers clearly show the departure from Elizabethanmodels. They become more distinctly En^'lish infeelint;, though the interlaced ribbon decoration, sofrequently used, is an adaptation from French work,which pattern was now becoming acclimatised. ThePVench carved oak coffer of the second half of thesixteenth century (illustrated p. 6i) shows from whatsource some of the English designs were derived.

In the portion of the French door which we give asan illustration (on p. 91), it will be seen with whatgrace and artistic excellence of design and with whatrestraint the French woodcarvers utilised the runningribbon. The ribbon pattern has been variously usedby designers of furniture ; it appears in Chippendale'schair-backs, where it almost exceeds the limitations ofthe technique of woodcarving.

Art in the early days of Charles I. was undimmed.The tapestry factory at Mortlake, established byJames I., was further encouraged by the " WhiteKing." He took a great and a personal interest inall matters relating to art. Under his auspices thecartoons of Raphael were brought to England tofoster the manufacture of tapestry. He gave hispatronage to foreign artists and to foreign craftsmen,and in every way attempted to bring English artworkers into line with their contemporaries on theContinent. Vandyck came over to become " Principalpainter of Their Majesties at St. James's," keepingopen table at Blackfriars and living in almost regal


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STUART OR JACOBEANHis grace and distinction and the

93style. His grace and distinction and the happycircumstance of his particular style being coincidentwith the most picturesque period in English costume,have won him a place amongthe world's great painters. Fineportraits, at Windsor and atMadrid, at Dresden and atthe Pitti Palace, at the Louvreand in the Hermitage at Peters-burg, testify to the Europeanfame of the painter's brilliantgallery representing the finestflower of the English aristo-cracy, prelates, statesmen, cour-tiers and beautiful women thatwere gathered together at theCourt of Charles I. and hisQueen Henrietta Maria.

In Early Stuart days theinfluence of Inigo Jones, theSurveyor of Works to CharlesI., made itself felt in woodworkand interior decorations. Hewas possessed with a great loveand reverence for the classic-ism of Italy, and introducedinto his banqueting hall at '^''''^"'"^^'"^'"'' ^'593-164.Whitehall (now the UnitedService Museum), and St. Paul's,Covent Garden, a chaster style, which was taken upby the designers of furniture, who began to abandonthe misguided use of ornament of later Elizabethan

OAK CHAIR.CHARLES I. PERIOD.

With arms of Thomas Wentwoilh,

[ Victoria and AlbertMuseum.


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94 ("HATS ON OTJ) FrnXTTrREdays. In the Victoria and Albert Museum is an oakchair with the arms of Thomas Wentworth, firstKarl of Stafford, which, in addition to its historic

ITALIAN CHAIR, ABOUT 162O.Thence introduced into England.

{Vu(oria and Albert Museum.)

interest, is a fine example of the chair of the periodof Charles I. (illustrated p. 93).

It is certain that the best specimens of Jacobeanfurniture of this period, with their refined lines and


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 95well-balanced proportions, are suggestive of thestately diction of Clarendon or the well-turned lyricsof Herrick.In the illustration of a sixteenth-century chair incommon use in Italy, it willbe seen to what source theJacobean woodworkers lookedfor inspiration. The fine,high-backed oak Stuart chair,elaborately carved with boldshell and scroll foliage, hav-ing carved supports, stuffedupholstered seats, and loosecushion covered in old Spanishsilk damask, is a hii^hl)' in-teresting example. It waslong in the possession of theStuart MacDonald family, andis believed to have belongedto Charles I. By pertnission ofThe gate-leg table, some- '''"'" """f"" ^ ^'times spoken of as Crom- high-back oak chair.

wellian, belongs to this Middle "^^^^^ Jacobean.Jacobean style. It cannot be ^'^''TndtcroTfoliS' ^''''said with any degree of aCCU- (Formerly in the StuartMacOonald^ *.Ui. i-U r^ lii family, and originally in the pos-racy that in the Commonwealth session of King'^charies i.)days a special style of furniturewas developed. From all evidence it would seemthat the manufacture of domestic furniture went onin much the same manner under Cromwell as underCharles. Iconoclasts as were the Puritans, it isdoubtful whether they extended their work of de-


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on niATs o\ OT.D FT'KxrrrHEstruction to articles in general use. The bigot had" no starch in his hncn, no gay furniture in hishouse." Obviously the Civil War very largely inter-fered with the encouragement and growth of the finearts, but when furniture had to be made there is nodoubt the Roundhead cabinetmaker and the Ana-baptist carpenter produced as good joinery andturning as they did before Charles made his historicdescent upon the House in his attempt to arrest thefive members.There is a style of chair, probably imported from

Holland, with leather back and leather seat which istermed " Cromwellian," probably on account of itssevere lines, but there is no direct evidence that thisstyle was peculiarly of Commonwealth usage. Theillustration (p. 97) gives the type of chair, but thecovering is modern.That Cromwell himself had no dislike for the fine

arts is proved by his care of the Raphael cartoons,and we are enabled to reproduce an illustration ofa fine old ebony cabinet with moulded front, fittedwith numerous drawers, which was formerly theproperty of Oliver Cromwell. It was at OliversStanway, once the residence of the Eldred family.The stand is carved with shells and scrolls, and thescroll-shaped legs are enriched with carved femalefigures, the entire stand being gilded. This piece ismost probably of Italian workmanship, and was ofcourse made long before the Protector's day, showingmarked characteristics of Renaissance style.The carved oak cradle (p. 107), with the letters

"G. B. M. B." on one side, and "October, 14 dai," on


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m

l

JACOBEAN CHAIR, CANE BACKARMCHAIR. DATED 1623.

JACOBEAN CHAIRS.(By permission of T. E. Price Stretche, Esq.)

7

CROMWELLIAN CHAIR.ARMCHAIR. WITH INLAID BACK.


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^IJ^UC LIBRARY"ASTOR. LENOX"LDEN fOLV-DATIOI


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 99the other, and bearing the date 1 641, shows the type ofpiece in common use. It is interesting to the collectorto make a note of the turned knob of wood so often

By fiermission ofMessrs. Hampton & Sons,EBONY CABINET.

On stand gilded and richly carved.FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF OLIVER CROMWELL.

(From Olivers Stanway, at one time the seat of theEldred family.)

found on doors and as drawer handles on un-touched old specimens of this period, but veryfrequently removed by dealers and replaced by metal

485S:


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100 CHATS ON OLD FURNITUREhandles of varying styles, all of which may be pro-cured by the dozen in Tottenham Court Road, coarsereplicas of old designs. Another point worth}- ofattention is the wooden peg in the joinery, securingthe tenon into the mortice, which is visible in oldpieces. It will be noticed in several places in thiscradle. In modern imitations, unless very thought-fully reproduced, these oaken pegs are not visible.

In the j)age of Jacobean chairs showing the variousstyles, the more severe piece, dated 1623, is Earl\-Jacobean, and the fine unrestored armchair of slightlylater date shows in the stretcher the wear given bythe feet of the sitters. It is an interesting piece ; thestiles in the back are inlaid with pearwood and ebony.The other armchair with its cane panels in back is oflater Stuart days. It shows the transitional stagebetween the scrolled-arm type of chair, wholly ofwood, and the more elaborate type (illustrated p. 123)of the James II. period.

In addition to the finer pieces of seventeenth-century furniture to be found in the seats of thenobility, such as at Penshurst, or in the manor housesand homes of the squires and smaller landowners,there was much furniture of a particularly gooddesign in use at farmsteads from one end of thecountr\- to the other, in days when a prosperousclass of yeoman followed the tastes of their richerneighbours. This farmhouse furniture is nowadaysmuch sought after. It was of local manufacture, andis distinctly English in its character. Oak dresserseither plain or carved, were made not only in Wales" Welsh Dressers " having become almost a trade


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JACOBEAN CARVED OAK CHAIRS.Yorkshire, about 1640.

( Victoria and Albert Museum.)Derbyshire ; earlyseventeenth century.

By pfrmissicn oj theKc. Hon. Sir Spenctr Ponsonby-Fane, G.C.E., J S.O.

JACOBEAN OAK CUPBOARD. ABOUT 162O.


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THE ^iw yjpKPUbLlC LIBRARY

A8TOK, LENOXriLDEN FOU/-DATIONS


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 103termbut in various parts of England, in Yorkshire,in Derbyshire, in Sussex, and in Suffolk. They areusually fitted with two or three open shelves, andsometimes with cupboards on each side. The betterpreserved specimens have still their old drop-handlesand hinges of brass. It is not easy to procure fineexamples nowadays, as it became fashionable twoor three years ago to collect these, and in additionto oak dressers from the farmhouses of Normandy,equally old and quaint, which were imported tosupply a popular demand, a great number of modernimitations were made up from old woodchurchpews largely forming the framework of the dressers,which were not difficult to imitate successfully.The particular form of chair known as the " York-

shire chair" is of the same period. Certain localitiesseem to have produced peculiar types of chairs whichlocal makers made in great numbers. It will benoticed that even in these conditions, with a con-tinuous manufacture going on, the patterns were notexact duplicates of each other, as are the machine-made chairs turned out of a modern factory, where themaker has no opportunity to introduce any personaltouches, but has to obey the iron law of his machine.As a passing hint to collectors of old oak furniture,

it may be observed that it very rarely happens thattwo chairs can be found together of the same design.There may be a great similarity of ornament and aparticularly striking resemblance, but the chair withits twin companion beside it suggests that one, if notboth, are spurious. The same peculiarity is exhibitedin old brass candlesticks, and especially the old Dutch


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101 CHATS ()\ OLD FL'KxXITURKbrass with circular platform in middle of candlestick.One may handle fifty without finding two that areturned with precisely the same form of ornament.The usual feature of the chair which is termed

"Yorkshire" is that it has an open back in the formof an arcade, or a back formed with two crescent-shaped cross-rails, the decorations of the back usuallybearing acorn-shaped knobs either at the top of therail or as pendants. This type is not confined toYorkshire, as the)' have frequently been found inDerbyshire, in Oxfordshire, and in Worcestershire,and a similar variety may be found in old farm-houses in East Anglia.

In the illustration of the two oak chairs Cp. 105), theone with arms is of the Charles I. period, the other islater and belongs to the latter half of the seventeenthcentury.The Jacobean oak cupboard (illustrated p. loi) is

in date about 1620. At the side there are perfora-tions to admit air, which shows that it was usedas a butter cupboard. The doors have an inciseddecoration of conventional design. The lower partis carved in .style unmistakably Jacobean in nature.The pattern on the two uprights at the top is re-peatedly found in pieces evidently designed locallyfor use in farmhouse.s.

It is not too much to hope that enough has beensaid concerning Jacobean furniture of the early andmiddle .seventeenth century to show that it possessesa peculiar charm and simplicity in the lines of itsconstruction, which make it a very pleasing study tothe earnest collector who wishes to procure a few


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 105genuine specimens of old furniture, which, whilebeing excellent in artistic feeling, are not unprocurableby reason of their rarity and excessive cost. It shouldbe within the power of the careful collector, afterfollowing the hints in this volume, and after examin-

By pcytnission ofMessrs, Feiiioii & Sons. TACOBEAN OAK CHAIRS.Armchair, lime of Charles I. Yorkshire chair.Late seventeenth century.

ing well-selected examples in such a collection as thatat the Victoria and Albert Museum, to obtain, withoutunreasonable expenditure, after patient search, oneor two Jacobean pieces of undoubted authenticity.


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lOG CHATS ON oij) rriiXiTriiERECENT SALE PRICES.' s. d.

Cabinet, Jacobean oak, with two drawers,and folding doors below enclosingdrawers, decorated with rectangularpanels in relief, inlaid in ebony andivory, and with baluster columns atthe side48 in. high, 46 in. wide.Christie, November 27, 1903 . 44 2 o

Cabinet, Jacobean black oak, 5 ft. wide byC ft. 2 in. high, fitted with cupboardsabove and below, with sunk panelledfolding doors, carved with busts ofwarriors in high relief, the pilasterscarved with mask heads and carj-atidfigures, the whole carved with floralscrolls and other devices. Capes,Dunn & Pilcher, Manchester, De-cember 9, 1903 . . . . 57 o o

Chairs, set of three Jacobean oak, withcanework seats, and panels in thebacks, the borders carved with scrolls,and on scroll legs with stretchers.Christie, January 29, 1904 . . 52 10 O

Table, Cromwell, oak, on spiral legs.Dowell, Edinburgh, March 12, 1904 il 06

Elbow-chair, oak, Scotch, back havingcarved wheel, " A. R., 1663." Dowell,Edinburgh, March 12, 1904 . . 60 18 o

Bv the kindness of tlie proprietors of the Connoisseurthese items are given from their useful montlily pubhcation,Auction Sale Prices.


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STUART OR JACOBEANCabinet, Jacobean oak, with drawer and

folding doors below, with mouldedretangular panels and balusters inrelief, 50 in. high, 46 in. wide.Christie, July i, 1904

10^

35 14 o

Ai 'iiMwii jfenii^ft*iiBm*t.-?,CRADT.E, TIME OF CIIART.ES I.

CARVED OAK; WITH LETTERS G. B. M. B. DATED 164I.[Victoria and Albert Miiseuin.)


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IV

STUART ORJACOBEAN-LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY


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\After picture byCcisfar Netscker) INTERIOR OF DUTCH HOUSE.LATTER HALF OF SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

IVSTUART OR JACOBEAN. LATE SEVENTEENTHCENTURY

Charles II. . . ,James II. . . .William and Mars-William ..."

1660-1685.1685-1688.1689-1694.I 694-1702.

Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723)-Grinling Gibbons (1648-1726).

1660. Bombay became a Britishpossession. Importation ofIndo-Portutjuese furniture.

1666. Great Fire in London.Much valuable furnituredestroyed.

1675-1710. St. Paul's Cathedralbuilt under Wren's direc-tion.

1685. Edict of Nantes revoked.Spitalfields' silk industryfounded by French refu-gees.

After the Civil War, when Charles II. came into hisown again, the furniture of the Restoration period

tii


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112 CHATS ON OLD FUHXITUREmost certainly took its colour from the gay Court withwhich the Merry Monarch surrounded himself. 1 he

fly ffrnttnt^n 0f thi

CAIIINET OF THE TIME OF CHARLES 11.With exterior finely decorated with needlcworlc.

cabinet which we reproduce has the royal armsembroidered on the cover, and is a beautiful example


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STUART OR JACOBEAN 113of intricate cabinetma

(1906) Chats on Old Furniture

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Transcript of (1906) Chats on Old Furniture