The framework of chairs was generally mahogany, or painted and bronzed, and, for very rich homes, gilded wood. The square form was preferred, especially for the arm-chair, which rarely had cushions. Sometimes the front feet were in the sabre, or glaive shape. The shield shape too was used for the back and was ornamented with military trophies and laurel wreaths. The back and seat were stuffed, and braids and borders framed the cushions. The material used for covering was generally of a solid colour with a design printed on it. Silk velvet, damask, or satin was used. The design was often golden yellow. Sometimes back and seat were sprinkled with rosettes or stars. Braids were used to hide the nails. Printed cottons and worsted damasks were also used for cheaper upholstery work. Ball fringe was much used to go around the back. Desk chairs kept somewhat to the rounded and gondola form. The seats were often a half circle, the feet turned or in the console shape. Sometimes they were even carved in the shape of chimæra or lions whose heads came up to the level of the arms. The back, too, was frequently curved in the shape of a half circle. The top rail was sometimes covered like the seat,—in leather. Some of these turning up in the centre of the back like a cocked hat gave to them the name _fauteuils Bonaparte_. Mahogany was chiefly used for the frames, though oak and walnut were sometimes employed. During the Directoire, the legs of the arm-chair were often X-shaped and the arms ended in a lion’s head. The open-backed chair was very popular. The one on Plate LXVIII., No. 2, is dated 1793; and Nos. 1, 3, and 5 are of the year 1796. The “Trafalgar” that persisted for so long was a development of No. 1. The chairs No. 1 and 3 on Plate LXV. are by Ch. Normand (b. 1765; d. 1830), who also designed the _chaise longue_, No. 2, on the same plate. Normand’s earlier work bridges the gulf between the styles Louis XVI. and the Empire. ----- Footnote 26: _Journal de la Mode_, 1790. Footnote 27: De Goncourt, _La Société Française pendant la Révolution_. Paris, 1854. THE END [Illustration: PLATE LXVIII] INDEX [Illustration] INDEX _A_ Adam, James, 289, 292 ——, Robert, 289, 292 ——, James and Robert, apartments planned by, 299–303 ——, colours used by, 294 ——, decorations at Osterley Park, 304–305 ——, decorations at Sion House, 301–303 ——, dislike of Gothic, 294 ——, furniture at Sion House, 297 ——, opinion of British architects, 294–296 ——, ornaments of the, 298 ——, social position of, 291, 292 ——, taste of, 294–296 Adam style, the, 289, 291, 293–294 ——, designers in the, 289–290 Adam, William, 292 Addison, quotations from, 116–117 Æsop’s Fables, 205, 225, 244, 245 Ahasuerus, beds of King, 67 Alcove, the, 90–91, 154, 353–354 —— bed, the, 154, 198–199 Amaranth, 63, 68