Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present TimeLitchfield, Frederick
History
Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present Time
Litchfield, Frederick
Furniture -- History
There is in the South Kensington Museum a carved oak chest, with a centre
panel representing the Adoration of the Magi, about this date, 1615-20; it
is mounted on a stand which has three feet in front and two behind, much
more primitive and quaint than the ornate supports of Elizabethan carving,
while the only ornament on the drawer fronts which form the frieze of the
stand are moulded panels, in the centre of each of which is a turned knob
by which to open the drawer. This chest and the table which forms its
stand were probably not intended for each other. The illustration on the
previous page shows the stand, which is a good representation of the
carving of this time, i.e., early seventeenth century. The round backed
arm chair which the Museum purchased last year from the Hailstone
collection, though dated 1614, is really more Elizabethan in design.
There is no greater storehouse for specimens of furniture in use during
the Jacobean period than Knole, that stately mansion of the Sackville
family, then the property of the Earls of Dorset. In the King's Bedroom,
which is said to have been specially prepared and furnished for the visit
of King James I., the public, owing to the courtesy and generous spirit of
the present Lord Sackville, can still see the bed, originally of crimson
silk, but now faded, elaborately embroidered with gold. It is said to have
cost £8,000, and the chairs and seats, which are believed to have formed
part of the original equipment of the room, are in much the same position
as they then occupied.
In the carved work of this furniture we cannot help thinking the hand of
the Venetian is to be traced, and it is probable they were either imported
or copied from a pattern brought over for the purpose. A suite of
furniture of that time appears to have consisted of six stools and two arm
chairs, almost entirely covered with velvet, having the X form supports,
which, so far as the writer's investigations have gone, appear to have
come from Venice. In the "Leicester" gallery at Knole there is a portrait
of the King;, painted by Mytens, seated on such a chair, and just below
the picture is placed the chair which is said to be identical with the one
portrayed. It is similar to the one reproduced on page 100 from a drawing
of Mr. Charles Eastlake's.
[Illustration: Seats at Knole. Covered with Crimson Silk Velvet. Period:
James I.]
In the same gallery also are three sofas or settees upholstered with
crimson velvet, and one of these has an accommodating rack, by which
either end can be lowered at will, to make a more convenient lounge.
[Illustration: Arm Chair. Covered with Velvet, Ringed with Fringe and
studded with Copper Nails. Early XVII. Century. (_From a Drawing of the
Original at Knole, by Mr. Charles Eastlake._)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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