(_Formerly in the Hamilton Palace Collection. Purchased (Wertheimer) £6,247 10s._) LOUIS XV. PERIOD.] [Illustration: PART OF A SALON. Decorated in the Louis Quinze style, shewing the carved and gilt Console Table and Mirror, with other enrichments, _en suite_.] The gilt bronze mountings of the furniture of this time became less massive and much more elaborate; the curled endive ornament was very much in vogue; the acanthus foliage followed the curves of the commode; busts and heads of women, cupids, satyrs terminating in foliage, suited the design and decoration of the more fanciful shapes; and Caffieri, who is the great master of this beautiful and highly ornate enrichment, introduced Chinese figures and dragons into his designs. The amount of spirit imparted into the chasing of this ormolu is simply marvellous--it has never been equalled, and could not be excelled. Time has now mellowed the color of the woodwork it adorns; and the tint of the gold with which it is overlaid, improved by the lights and shadows caused by the high relief of the work and the consequent darkening of the parts more depressed, while the more prominent ornaments have been rubbed bright from time to time, produces an effect which is exceedingly elegant and rich. One cannot wonder that connoisseurs are prepared to pay such large sums for genuine specimens, or that clever imitations are extremely costly to produce. [Illustration: BUREAU DU ROI. Made for Louis XV. by Riesener. Collection of "Mobilier National." (_From a pen and ink drawing by H. Evans._) PERIOD: LOUIS XV.] Illustrations are given from some of the more notable examples of decorative furniture of this period, which were sold in 1882 at the celebrated Hamilton Palace sale, together with the sums they realised; also of specimens in the South Kensington Museum, in the Jones Collection. We must also remember, in considering the _meubles de luxe_ of this time, that in 1753 Louis XI. had made the Sêvres Porcelain Manufactory a State enterprise; and later, as that celebrated undertaking progressed, tables and cabinets were ornamented with plaques of the beautiful and choice _páte tendre_, the delicacy of which was admirably adapted to enrich the light and frivolous furnishing of the dainty boudoir of a Madame du Barri or a Madame Pompadour.