Illustrated History of Furniture, fifth ed.: From the Earliest to the Present TimeLitchfield, Frederick
History
Illustrated History of Furniture, fifth ed.: From the Earliest to the Present Time
Litchfield, Frederick
Furniture -- History
"The movables of the saloon consist of chairs, stools, and tables; made
sometimes of rosewood, ebony, or lacquered work, and sometimes of bamboo
only, which is cheap, and, nevertheless, very neat. When the movables are
of wood, the seats of the stools are often of marble or porcelain, which,
though hard to sit on, are far from unpleasant in a climate where the
summer heats are so excessive. In the corners of the rooms are stands four
or five feet high, on which they set plates of citrons, and other fragrant
fruits, or branches of coral in vases of porcelain, and glass globes
containing goldfish, together with a certain weed somewhat resembling
fennel; on such tables as are intended for ornament only they also place
the little landscapes, composed of rocks, shrubs, and a kind of lily
that grows among pebbles covered with water. Sometimes, also, they have
artificial landscapes made of ivory, crystal, amber, pearls, and various
stones. I have seen some of these that cost over 300 guineas, but they
are at least mere baubles, and miserable imitations of Nature. Besides
these landscapes they adorn their tables with several vases of porcelain,
and little vases of copper, which are held in great esteem. These are
generally of simple and pleasing forms. The Chinese say they were made two
thousand years ago, by some of their celebrated artists, and such as are
real antiques (for there are many counterfeits) they buy at an extravagant
price, giving sometimes no less than £300 sterling for one of them.
"The bedroom is divided from the saloon by a partition of folding doors,
which, when the weather is hot, are in the night thrown open to admit
the air. It is very small, and contains no other furniture than the bed,
and some varnished chests in which they keep their apparel. The beds are
very magnificent; the bedsteads are made much like ours in Europe--of
rosewood, carved, or lacquered work; the curtains are of taffeta or gauze,
sometimes flowered with gold, and commonly either blue or purple. About
the top a slip of white satin, a foot in breadth, runs all round, on which
are painted, in panels, different figures--flower pieces, landscapes, and
conversation pieces, interspersed with moral sentences and fables written
in Indian ink and vermilion."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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