Although the console is known during the reigns of Henri II. and III., it is in the reign of Louis XIII. that the phrase _table en console_ appears in the inventories. The console was derived from the credence, and was even in its earliest form a large table with a marble top, jutting out like a bracket and serving to support a bust or vase. The three visible faces of the console were in the early days frequently supported with chimæras, fauns, etc. The word table was gradually dropped and the article was known as console. A variety of table, known as the _guéridon_, was also popular. This is a small round table mounted on a stem or baluster that ends in three legs (Plate III., No. 2). It was made of various woods, sometimes of pear-wood stained black and sometimes painted. It was of great convenience. Sometimes it was used for cards; but more often it held a lamp, or candelabra, or a refreshment tray. The chandeliers were usually of brass and hung from the centre of the room. Of course, candles were inserted in the arms. Candelabra and small candlesticks were also used to give light, and sconces were frequently attached to the walls. Pictures were framed and hung directly over the tapestries, as shown in the Frontispiece. Their frames differed but slightly from the frames of the mirrors, specimens of which appear on Plate II. as a full drawing and as No. 1. Another frame appropriate for either a picture or a mirror is seen on Plate IV., No. 3. THE JACOBEAN PERIOD [Illustration: PLATE V] [Illustration] THE JACOBEAN PERIOD The Jacobean Period covers almost a century (1603–1690). In its earlier stages, therefore, it is still Elizabethan in spirit, and in its old age it is largely influenced by the taste of the dominant French court. During the reign of James I., the styles of furniture and interior decoration are still strongly Tudor in character, but the intimate connection with the Low Countries, and the friction with Spain and her Western possessions have their effect in making the wealthy classes of England thoroughly acquainted with the best products of Spanish, Dutch, and Flemish workmanship. The Tudor mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles was gradually modified under the influence of Inigo Jones, “the English Palladio.” The political ties between England and the Low Countries, based on mutual interests of a mercantile and religious nature, were still further strengthened by dynastic alliances. In Norfolk and Suffolk, the population was largely composed of natives or descendants of natives of the Low Countries. Flemish and Dutch art and manufactures, therefore, were extremely influential in forming what is known as the Jacobean style.