Beech (Fagus Sylvatica)

A native tree of Britain the wood of which is light brown in colour, hard, of close texture and fairly durable. It is used for simple furniture and especially for chairs of the farmhouse or kitchen type.

Bell-Flower, Or Husk Ornament

A conventionalized form of a bell-shaped flower or catkin (Garrya Eliptica), often used as a carved ornament on furniture, in the form of a chain or pendant.

Bellows

This familiar article of domestic furniture for creating a blast of air, sometimes called a pair of bellows, was made in this country in Saxon times and received much attention at the hands of decorative artists from the Renaissance onwards. The two boards and handles were often elaborately carved and gilded, and the nozzle cast in metal in various and often fantastic designs. Owing to the improved construction of the modern stove bellows are less frequently used than formerly.

Bench

A long stool or seat, sometimes provided with an unimportant back.

Jean Berain (1638-1711)

A famous artist in arabesque forms who designed much of the ornament for the inlaid work of Andre Charles Boulle. Although not always remarkable for originality his designs are exceedingly graceful and attractive. He was succeeded as "Dessinateur de la Chambre et du Cabinet du Roi" by his son Jean (1678-1726), whose work is often difficult to distinguish from that of his father. Claude, the brother of the elder Berain, achieved minor distinction in the same direction.

Bergere

The French name for an arm-chair with upholstered sides as distinguished from the fanteuil which has open sides with elbow-pads on the arms. The word has sometimes been spelt "Barjier" and "Burjair."

Bevel

A sloping edge, as on a bevelled mirror. It was characteristic of the early mirrors that the bevelled edge was very shallow. See Mirror.

Bible-Box

A shallow portable reading and writing desk for the table with a sloping lid. It was used for the safe keeping of the Scriptures, a valuable possession in Tudor and Stuart times, and supporting them while being read. This, however, was only one, and probably the least frequent, of its uses, and the name is, to a great extent, a misnomer.

Birch (Betula Alba)

A tree growing in England and other countries. The wood is used for the common class of furniture and sometimes as a veneer. It is of a pale yellowish tint when polished and is valued for its toughness.

Black Wood (Acacia Melanoxylon)

An Australasian wood, partaking of the character of mahogany, which came into use in the last decade or so of the eighteenth century ; but examples are rare.

Block-Foot

A foot in the shape of a cube, generally used with a square untapered leg. When the foot is tapered, it is called a spade, therm, or taper foot.

Block-Front

A development in the late eighteenth century of the broken-front on more ornamental lines. The front of the cabinet or other piece of furniture is broken into convex and concave surfaces separated by fillets. It is sometimes called a "tub" front.