The Old Furniture Book, with a Sketch of Past Days and WaysMoore, N. Hudson
History
The Old Furniture Book, with a Sketch of Past Days and Ways
Moore, N. Hudson
Furniture
China-Cases, China-Shelves, and Book-Shelves, Candle-Stands and
Terms for Busts, Stands for China Jars and Pedestals, Cisterns
for Water, Lanthorns, and Chandeliers, Fire-Screens, Brackets
and Clock-Cases, Pier-Glasses and Table-Frames, Girandoles
Chimney-Pieces and Picture-Frames, Stove-Grates, Boarders, Frets,
Chinese-Railing and Brass-Work for Furniture."
[Illustration: Figure 19. CHIPPENDALE CHAIRS]
At this period the best room or "saloon" was wainscotted chair high,
and the remainder prepared for wall-paper, or battened for hangings of
silk or tapestry. Chippendale drew many beautiful designs, which he
calls "borders for paper-hangings," and which were used as finishings
at the top of the paper. Some of them were also employed as patterns
for carving, or work in stucco painted and gilded.
It must be remembered that Chippendale was par excellence a carver
of wood, and so we find him working almost exclusively in "solid
mahogany," as we have come to call it, which wood had been introduced
into England about the time of Raleigh (1595), though it was not used
to any extent as a material for furniture until about twenty-five years
before Chippendale published his book. Indeed it seems to have been
used in America for this purpose quite as soon as in England, although
there are in that country a few detached pieces of mahogany furniture
made late in 1600, showing that some wood had been imported before
Raleigh caused it to be brought in more freely, along with "tabac" and
the potato, which latter vegetable was first grown at Sir Walter's
estate called "Youghal," near Cork, Ireland. Sir Walter did not use
the new wood in his own beautiful house, but had splendidly carved oak
chimney-pieces and furniture made by men whom he brought from Flanders
for that purpose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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