| Furniture Glossary A to B ADAM STYLE - British neoclassical style that predominated from about 1760 to 1790. It was established by Architect Robert Adam and his brother, James. A reaction to the more fanciful rococo style of the 1750s, it is characterized by slender, graceful lines, refined shapes, and restrained ornamentation. ARMCHAIR - Seating that has both a backrest and armrests ARMOIRE - Tall, upright cupboard or wardrobe that does not contain drawers and may or may not contain shelves. It closes with a door or doors at the front. ART DECO - Derived from an historic Paris exposition in 1925 that celebrated the marriage of art and industry in denunciation of Art Nouveau. It introduced simple, streamlined forms that were majestically interpreted in exotic woods and materials. American designers of the 1930s took this look further, using asymmetry, arcs, sleek lines, and geometric shapes not only in furniture, but also in architecture and a wide range of household objects. ART NOUVEAU - Style based, literally, on the "new art" of Europe in about 1875. Flowing, nearly freeform shapes from nature were carved and painted on furniture. An elongated, slightly curved line that ends in a more abrupt, nearly whiplike second curve is its most characteristic design. ARTS AND CRAFTS - Both a furniture style and a movement that emerged in England toward the end of the 19th century in reaction to the excesses of the Victorian era and the Gay Nineties. It glorified craftsmanship in deliberately simple shapes with exposed joinery and spare ornamentation. William Morris and John Ruskin were among its proponents in England. Based on their beliefs and designs, Gustav Stickley pioneered a similar movement in America, before it waned with the onset of World War I. BALL-AND-CLAW FOOT - Carved-foot motif that depicts a crane's claw gripping a ball or an egg. While it is most associated with 18th-century English and American furniture, it originated in China as a dragon's claw clutching either a crystal ball or a pearl or other jewel. BALUSTER - Small turned, square, or flat column that supports a rail; also used to form chair backs. BAROQUE - Name given to the 17th-century exaggerated style that originated in Rome. Massive and heavily decorated, it is an extension of ornamental Renaissance style and is characterized by a lack of restraint manifested in large, irregular, even fantastic curves, twisted columns, elaborate scrolls, and oversize moldings. BASSINET - Bed for a baby, originally basket shaped. BENTWOOD - Wood that is bent while wet into curved chair parts. Michael Thonet (1796 - 1871) of Vienna is the best-known producer of bentwood furniture and a pioneer in mass production. Bentwood is not related to molded plywood, a 20th-century innovation.BERGÈRE - Armchair in which the sides, from the seat to the armrests, as well as the seat and back, are upholstered. BIEDERMEIER - A furniture style of German derivation in the first half of the 19th century and named after "Papa Biedermeier," a cartoon character that represented the well-to-do, uncultured middle class. The furniture is often plain and blocklike in form and borrows freely from many styles, particularly French Empire, adding strength and comfort at the expense of grace and refinement. BLOCK FOOT - The square end of an untapered leg.BOMBÉ - Chest or commode with a bulge or swollen, convex shape on the front and sides.BUFFET - Sideboard or "dresser" for the dining room, designed to hold platters and serving dishes. |
| Furniture 101 |
CABRIOLE - Curved shape that resembles the leg of an animal, such as a goat ("cabriole" in Spanish). Its double curve turns in at the "knee" and flares out at the foot. It came into widespread use in the late seventeenth century. CAMEL BACK - Triple-curved chairback frame with a raised central curve. A pierced-shield design, such as honeysuckle or anthemion, spans the back from the seat to the high curve. CAMPAIGN FURNITURE - Portable furniture that folds, collapses, or is made of flat components that can be assembled or disassembled. It also often has handles. Initiated for military use, it is most associated with colonialism. CARD TABLE - Folding table that originated in late-17th-century England to accommodate the nobility's passion for gambling. CHAISE LONGUE - Literally, "long chair," a sofa or daybed with an upholstered back, designed for reclining. Today it is usually a single piece, but early versions encompassed a bergère with a large stool or two armchairs and a center stool. CHANNEL BACK - A chair back with grooves or fluting as decoration. CHESTERFIELD - Overstuffed couch or sofa with upholstered ends and no exposed wood. Back and arms are usually of one continuous curve. CHEST-ON-CHEST - Chests of drawers in two sections, one on top of the other. CHINA CABINET - Cabinet with glass fronts, created to display and store fine china. The sides may or may not be of glass. CHIPPENDALE - English rococo style of the mid-18th century, named after Thomas Chippendale. The graceful proportions and delicate decoration of this furniture were refined adaptations from late Baroque, rococo, Louis XV, and Georgian periods. Two variations, Chippendale Gothic and Chinese Chippendale, attest to the famous cabinetmaker's influence and ability to borrow styles. COLONIAL - In America this style dominated from the earliest settlements to the Revolution of 1776. Here as elsewhere it represents styles that are rooted in mother countries but adapted to the materials and uses of the colonies, primarily Africa, India, the Americas, and the Caribbean. COMMODE - Initially a French chest of drawers on legs; now loosely defined as any type of low chest containing doors or drawers. CONSOLE - Term originally applied to a bracket that supported cornices or shelves and later used to describe tables that were affixed to a wall and supported with legs only at the front. Today it describes all types of tables used along a wall. CREDENZA - Serving table with a cupboard below the surface. It originated in the 15th century; in the 16th century, an upper, recessed tier was added. DAYBED - Any type of elongated seating, including the chaise longue, designed for resting rather than sleeping. It usually has a raised end. DIRECTOIRE - Style of French furniture that spanned the end of the French Revolution and Napoleon's conquest in 1799. It is named for the Directory government that replaced Louis XVI and called for designs of smaller scale and less ostentation along with the elimination of regal references. DROP LEAF - Hinged flap or panel that can be raised, then supported in order to increase the surface area of a table. The term now applies to such a table. ELIZABETHAN - Large furniture of severe form and style that emerged initially during the reign of Elizabeth I in England from 1558 to 1603. It was revived in the 1820s and is characterized by heavy carving as well as massive size. EMPIRE - Neoclassical style dictated by Napoleon in France between 1804 and 1815. It is based on imperial forms from Greece, Rome, and Egypt and was designed to draw parallels between Napoleon's realm and the great ancient empires. Furniture was consciously majestic, made of rich woods and metals, and decorated with emblems, including bees, crowns, laurel leaves, mythological figures, and the letter N. ÉTAGÈRE - A series of open shelves supported by slender columns and used to display curios. More |
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