INTD 301 FURNITURE & FITTINGS

History of Furniture Design- Medieval & Renaissance

PREPARED BY: JOSHIMA V.M., UNIVERSITY OF NIZWA, OMAN

Middle ages Islamic Romanesque

Gothic

Emergence of Islamic Furniture circa 610 • Roots of Islamic furniture can be traced back to

pre-Islamic and Persian societies

• Most of the earlier ones were functional and simple furniture that later developed into more artistic and complex designs.

• Use of ornamentation appeared in woven textiles and carved and inlaid chests.

• Calligraphy, vegetal patterns and geometric patterns were later referred to as arabesque.

• Besik – cradle

▫ the first bed of a child. A rocking bed with a holding bar above.

• Kavukluk- shelf

▫ mounted on a wall in a home at the height of an average person. To either support the head piece of a cleric or lighting equipment.

• Rahle- support for Koran.

▫ Designed for a person to read Koran. A small and often folding support in X-shape wood panels.

• Sandik- a chest

▫ to store goods, clothes etc. Has locking systems and compartments.

• Sedirs- divans for sitting-

▫ early form of mattresses developed into divans.

▫ Sehpas- portable stools.

▫ Kept next to the divans and carry food. Circular, Hexagonal or octagonal.

Romanesque

• Marked by the spread of Christianity as a unifying culture throughout Europe.

• Most of the furniture were for the wealthy; people often

sat on rugs, simple stools and platforms. • Classical furniture lost its main features and became

more rougher during the Romanesque period. • Furniture became more portable and mobile.

Furniture types

• Seating furniture

• The most common seats were benches with or without backrests.

• Two typical chairs were:

▫ Faldstools & Cathedra

▫ made of iron or bronze used in churches.

▫ Shows authority for the person sitting on it.

Furniture types

• From the 13th century Beds started having canopy used by the noble men.

• Always had fabric coverings and upholstery.

Furniture types

• Armoire a large stationary piece of furniture popular during medieval period in Europe.

• Initially fabricated for holding armor and weapons.

• Over time this developed into domestic furniture for storing textiles.

Gothic

• Gothic furniture were more ornamented.

• It had pointed arches, rosettes and garlands.

Gothic

• Most of them were religious furniture.

• Novelty of furniture was in food storage with holes in doors for ventilation.

Types of Furniture

• Characteristics of Romanesque

chair: ▫ Boxlike shape with emphasis on

verticality.

▫ Paneling was done on its back, arms and underneath the seat.

▫ Storage under the seat.

▫ Panels were carved or textiles were draped.

Types of Furniture

• Storage pieces: ▫ Freestanding or built-in

▫ Some for display and for closed storage.

▫ Buffet shelves were also introduced.

Materials

• Wood was the primary material for furniture.

▫ Oak, Deal and chestnut- England

▫ Walnut- France

• Carving, painting and textiles were primary means of decoration.

• Ivory and iron was also used.

Characteristics of Furniture design

• Verticality, tracery designs, specific motifs, ogee arch, lancet arch, crockets, motifs of religious symbolism etc.

• English and French furniture was similar in its

simplicity of form- rectangular, vertical, bulky and sturdy.

• French furniture were highly finished and showed

greater skill with more impressive aesthetic character.

• Furniture purposes: Utility and Hierarchal position

▫ Chest for utility and Chair was used to express status.

Renaissance furniture

• Renaissance period in Europe began in early 15th century.

• Renaissance period witnessed entirely new ideas in decoration and styles.

• The age is known as the golden age for furniture.

• Renaissance began in Italy.

• Renaissance furniture was most purely expressed in Florence, Rome and Venice.

Characteristics

• Renaissance furniture strived for beauty and proportions.

• Science, engineering, mathematics, human anatomy, perspective drawing and new materials fueled the rebirth.

• Characterized by naturalness, individuality and delicate majesty.

• Vertical construction of meddle ages were replaced by more horizontal lines of classical balance.

• Furniture were for common man than for religious purposes.

Materials

• Basic material was wood.

• Iron was used for ornamentation works.

• Other popular materials were leather, velvet and brocade.

Italian Renaissance 1460-1600

• Renaissance started in Florence, Italy in 15th century. • Rich heritage of Roman arts provided the base and

inspiration. • Classical antiquity was the main fascination during the

period. • Factors responsible for this were:

▫ Treatise on Architecture by Vitruvius ▫ Readily available models of classical antiquity.

Italian Renaissance 1460-1600 • Humanism permeated the Renaissance; man as

the highest form of creation was stressed. • Emphasis was given to symmetry and

horizontality. • Renaissance theory of beauty was enhanced by

calculating mathematical ratios mainly based on measure of human body.

Furniture

• Furniture styles were mostly rectilinear with horizontal emphasis.

• Exceptions were those with strong structural curves.

• Style was imposing, dignified, massive and varied range of ornamentation.

• Main Wood for furniture was walnut, others were pine, cypress, chestnut, elm and poplar.

Decorative works

• Decorative techniques gained more importance. ▫ inlay, veneer application and carving, some had relief

works. ▫ Intarsia : inlay of multi colored woods. ▫ Certosina: using bone or ivory as inlay material. ▫ Incised carving: wood is cut from around the figures

which result in low relief. ▫ Pastiglia: ornament was casted in molds and then

applied to surfaces.

• Turning also became a popular decoration technique.

Furniture Types

• Savonarola and Dante chairs were the principal types of the 15th century. ▫ X-type with strong and structurally

curved supports of curule form.

▫ Back rest for Dante chair was of leather or velvet.

▫ Savonarola chair was made of a series of interlaced wooden strips.

▫ Cushion was often used for seat.

Dante chair

Savonarola chair

• Sgabello- armless back stool.

▫ Octagonal seat with solid trestle support

▫ Back rest was fan shaped

▫ Highly ornamented by the late renaissance.

• Rectilinear chair with tall back became popular in 16th century.

• Seat and back was upholstered.

• Cassone- storage chest ▫ Body were of three types-

rectangular forms, convex (boat-shaped) or contoured.

▫ Inlay techniques or high relief carvings were used.

▫ Continuous carving was done on the surface.

▫ Framed panels or pilasters were used to separate the shelves.

French Renaissance 1450-1600

• French Renaissance marked its beginning in 1495 through the military expedition of Charles VIII into Italy.

• Italian artists were brought to France for employment.

• France had strong Gothic influence on furniture styles.

• New decorative motifs were applied on top of medieval styles during the transitional period.

Furniture

• Transportable Folding chairs and beds were produced in early ages.

• Comfort, elegance and artistic tastes were given importance later on.

• Furniture of French Renaissance can be divided into 2 phases: Francis I & Henry II.

Furniture Types

• Francis I: Rectilinear high panel-back chair, with or without storage under seat, represents the medieval form of furniture still being used in French Renaissance.

• Henry II: Light weight furniture

with minimal decorations, simple and rectangular.

• Henry II: storage pieces became more architectural.

• Features such as entablature, columns or pilasters were carved with reeding or fluting.

English Renaissance 1500-1660 • English renaissance took place during the throne

of Tudor and Stuart.

• Pattern books and migration of craftsmen to England were the foreign influences.

• Inigo Jones is credited for bringing a pure Italian style to England.

• Work was done with strict principles of order and proportion regardless of the material used.

Furniture Design

• Furniture designs were influenced by foreign sources like publications.

• Emphasis on design was on display and comfort.

• Upholstery gained importance.

Ornamentation

• Oak was used for darker values, holly and poplar was used for lighter values and stained wood.

• Checkered ornamentation was capitalized on this contrast.

• Inlay, carving, turning and painting were important decorative techniques.

• Farthingale chair was an upholstered , armless chair designed to accommodate the width of women dress.

• Upholstery was velvet or turkey works.

• Draw table was the improved design during English Renaissance. ▫ Draw tables can be fully

extended by pulling out two under leaves attached to a pair of extended arms.

▫ Fully extended tabletop becomes its original length.

▫ Base of the table was highly ornamented.

▫ Table legs were heavy and exaggerated.

• Two types of cupboards dominated during the period.

▫ Court cupboard and press cupboard.

• Court cupboard was primarily for display with open shelves or one level of enclosed storage space.

• Press cupboards had fully enclosed storage on two or three tiers.

• Beds were large and elaborately decorated. ▫ Canopy became supported by

posts at the foot and by the head board.

▫ Columns had low or tall pedestals sometimes paneled. Columns had fluting or strap works.

▫ An entablature was decorated with carvings or inlay designs.

▫ Realistic paintings were sometimes used.

▫ Textiles were hung from the canopy in some cases.