A

Acanthus

The conventionalized leaf of the acanthus plant.

Anthemion

A Greek form of ornament made from the conventionalized flower of the honeysuckle.

Apron

The ornamental wooden piece extending between the legs of a table, below the body frame.

Applied ornament

One which is carved or sawed separately and fastened upon the surface.

Armoire

The French term for cupboard.

B

Bail

The part of a handle, in ring or hoop shape, which is taken hold of. Bandy or Cabriole leg. One which is made in a double curve. Banister back. A chair back made of vertical pieces of wood extending between an upper and lower rail. Baroque. A term applied to a style of extravagant over-ornamentation. Bead or Beading. A small convex moulding, sometimes divided and cut like beads. Beaufat or Bowfatt. A corner cupboard, extending to the floor. Bergere. A French chair with a very wide seat. Bible box. A box, usually of oak, for holding the Bible. Block front. A term applied to the front of a desk or chest of drawers, to indicate the blocked shape in which the drawer fronts are carved or sawed.

Bombe

Kettle-shaped.

Bonnet top

A top made with a broken arch or pediment.

Bracket

The piece of wood of bracket shape, used in the angle made by the top and the leg. Bracket foot. A foot in bracket form. Broken arch or Pediment. One in which the cornice is not complete, but lacks the central section. Buffet. A sideboard, or piece of furniture used as a sideboard. Buhl. A form of inlaying engraved brass upon a thin layer of tortoise shell, over a colored background. Named from its inventor, Buhl, or Boulle. Bureau. In early time, and even now in England, a desk with a slanting lid. Now used chiefly to indicate a chest of drawers. Bureau-table. A small chest of drawers made like a desk, but with a flat top. Butterfly table. A small table with turned legs and stretchers and drop leaves, which are held up by swinging brackets with the outer edge curved like a butterfly wing.

C

Cabinet

The interior of a desk, fitted with drawers and compartments. Cabriole leg. Bandy leg, curved or bent. Capital. The upper part of a column or pillar. Carcase. The main body of a piece of furniture. Cellaret. A low, metal-lined piece of furniture, sometimes with the interior divided into sections, used as a wine cooler. Chaise longue. The French term for a day bed or couch. Chamfer. A corner cut off, so as to form a flat surface with two angles. Claw-and-ball foot. The termination of a leg with a ball held in a claw, usually that of a bird. Comb back. A Windsor chair back, with an extension top, shaped like a comb. Commode. A chest of drawers.

Console table

One to be placed below a looking-glass, sometimes with a glass between the back legs.

Court or Press cupboard

A very early cupboard with doors and drawers below and a smaller cupboard above, the top being supported by heavy turned columns at the corners.

D

Day bed or Chaise longue

A long narrow seat used as a couch or settee, usually with four legs upon each side, and a chair back at the head. Dentils. An architectural ornament made of a series of small detached cubes. Desk. A piece of furniture with conveniences for writing. Desk box. A box similar to a Bible box, made to hold books or papers. Diaper. A small pattern or design, repeated indefinitely on a surface. Dish top. A table top with a plain raised rim. Dovetail. Fastening together with mortise and tenon. Dowel. A wooden pin used to fasten sections together. Dresser. A set of shelves for dishes. Dutch foot. A foot which spreads from the leg in a circular termination.

E

Egg and dart

A form of ornament made of egg-shaped pieces with dart-shaped pieces between. Empire style. A style which became popular during the First Empire, largely formed upon Egyptian styles, found by Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign.

Later the term was applied to the heavy furniture with coarse carving, of the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Escritoire. A secretary. Escutcheon. The metal plate of a key-hole.

F

Fan back

The back of a Windsor chair with the spindles flaring like an open fan.

Fender

A guard of pierced metal, or wire, to place before an open fire. Field bedstead. One with half high posts which uphold a frame covered with netting or cloth. Finial. The ornament which is used at the top of a pointed effect as a finish. Flemish foot or leg. An early scroll form with one scroll turning in and the other turning out; found upon Jacobean furniture. Fluting. A series of concave grooves. French foot. In Chippendale's time, a scroll foot terminating a cabriole leg; in Hepplewhite's time, a delicate form of a bracket foot. Fret-work. A form of ornament in furniture, sawed or carved in an open design.

G

Gadroon or Godroon

A form of ornament consisting of a series of convex flutings, chiefly used in a twisted form as a finish to the edge.

Gallery

The raised and pierced rim upon a table top, usually in Chinese fret-work.

Gate-legged, hundred-legged, or forty-legged table. An early table with drop leaves and stretchers between the legs, of which there are six stationary upon the middle section, and one or two which swing out to hold up the drop leaves.

Girandole

A mirror with fixtures for candles.

Gueridon

A stand to hold a candelabra, - a candle-stand.

Guilloche

An ornamental pattern formed by interlacing curves.

H

High-boy

A tall-boy or chest of drawers upon high legs. Hood. The bonnet top of a high-boy.

Husk

The form of ornament made from the bell-flower, much used by Hepplewhite.

J

Jacobean

A term applied to furniture of the last quarter of the seventeenth century, although properly it should apply to the period of James I.

Japanning or Lacquering

In the eighteenth century a process copied from the Chinese and Japanese lacquer; in Hepplewhite's time a method of painting and gilding with a thin varnish.

K

Kas or Kos

A Dutch high case with drawers and doors, made to hold linen, and extending to the floor, from which it was sometimes held up by large balls. Kettle front or bombe. A form of chest of drawers or secretary, in which the lower drawers, toward the base, swell out in a curve. Knee. The term applied to the upper curve, next the body, of a bandy leg. Knee-hole desk. A desk with a table top, and an open space below with drawers at each side.

L

Lacquer

A Chinese and Japanese process of coating with many layers of varnish. Ladder back. A chair back of the Chippendale period, with horizontal carved or sawed pieces across the back. Low-boy. A dressing-table, made to go with a high-boy.

M

Marquetry

Inlay in different woods.

Mortise

The form cut in a piece of wood to receive the tenon, to form a joint. Mounts. The metal handles, escutcheons, or ornaments fastened upon a piece of furniture.

O

Ogee

A cyma, or double curve, as of a moulding. Ormolu. Mountings of gilded bronze or brass, used as ornaments.

P

Pie-crust table

A table with a raised edge made in a series of curves. Pier-glass. A large looking-glass. Pigeon-hole. A small open compartment in the cabinet of a desk or secretary. Patina. The surface of wood or metal acquired by age or long use. Pediment. The part above the body of a book-case or chest of drawers, with an outline low at the sides and high in the middle, similar to the Greek pediment. Pembroke table. A small table with drop leaves, to use as a breakfast table.

R

Rail

The horizontal pieces across a frame or panel.

Reeding

Parallel convex groovings.

Ribband or Ribbon-back

A chair back of the Chippendale period, with the back formed of carved ribbon forms. Rococo. A name derived from two words, rock and shell applied to a style of ornamentation chiefly composed of scrolls and. shells, used in irregular forms, often carried to extremes. Roundabout or Corner chair. An armchair, the back of which extends around two sides, leaving two sides and a corner in front.

S

Scroll-top

A top made of two curves broken at the center, a bonnet top. Secretary. A desk with a top enclosed by doors, with shelves and compartments behind them.

Serpentine or Yoke front

A term applied to drawer fronts sawed or carved in a double curve. Settee. A long seat with wooden arms and back, the latter sometimes upholstered. Settle. A seat, usually for two, made with high wooden arms and back, to stand in front of a fire. Often the back turned over upon pivots to form a table top. Slat-back. A chair back very commonly found, with plain horizontal pieces of wood across the back in varying numbers. Spade foot. A foot used by Hepplewhite and Sheraton, the tapering leg increasing suddenly about two inches from the end, and tapering again forming a foot the sides of which are somewhat spade-shaped. Spandrels. The triangular pieces formed by the outlines of the circular face of a clock and the square corners. Spanish foot. An angular, grooved foot with a scroll base turning inward. Spindle. A slender, round, turned piece of wood. Splat. The upright wide piece of wood in the middle of a chair-back. Squab. A hard cushion. Stiles. The vertical pieces of a panel, into which the upper and lower rails are set, with mortise and tenon. Strainers or Stretchers. The pieces of wood extending between the legs of chairs or tables to strengthen them, and in early times to rest the feet upon, to keep them from the cold floor. Swell front. A front curved in a slightly circular form.

T

Tambour

A term applied to a door or cover made from small strips of wood glued to a piece of cloth which is fastened so that it is flexible.

Tenon

The form of a cut which fits into a mortise so as to make a firm joint. Torchere. A candle stand.

V

Veneer

A very thin piece of wood glued upon another heavier piece. Vernis Martin. A French varnish with a golden hue, named for its inventor.

W

Wainscot chair

An early chair, usually of oak, with the seat and back formed of solid panels.