Chaise-Longue (Fr.)

Literally a long chair; but the term is used to describe a sofa made up of two or three separate pieces of furniture, two of which are chairs with the backs carried round the ends, and one is a stool or seat which stands between the two chairs, and the three form a lounging sofa. Sometimes there are only two pieces, with the centre seat omitted. They occurred in the furniture of the time of Louis XV and Louis XVI and of the First Empire.

Commode (Fr.)

A French word meaning a chest of drawers of a more or less ornate character, and therefore having a meaning entirely different from that of the English word "commode," which denotes an article of domestic furniture. Hugh Smollett speaks of "my French commode " in 17 71, and Horace Walpole writes in 1760 of "the cabinets, commodes, and tables." A connoisseur, art dealer, or auctioneer uses the term generally to describe one of those decorative chests of drawers with gilt bronze mountings of the Louis XIV, XV or XVI periods. We should also speak of the famous "Caffieri" commode, or the "Riesener" commode. It was a pair of Louis XV French marqueterie commodes which some time ago realized at Christie's 15,000 guineas at the sale of some of the Duke of Leeds' furniture from Hornby Castle.

Console (Fr.)

An ornamental bracket for the support of a pier table.

Encoignure (Fr.)

A small ornamental table made to fit into the corner of a room.

Escutcheon

A term applied to the ornamental brass plate or mount which covers the keyhole of a drawer or door of a cabinet or table, and is made in character with the other mountings of the piece.

Escritoire (Fr.)

A cabinet fitted with conveniences for writing. The words "upright" or "cylinder front" used as a prefix denote the shape of the escritoire. Both are familiar to the collector or dealer.

Etaglre (Fr.)

A piece of small ornamental furniture consisting of various stages supported by-small columns, forming a series of shelves for the display of china.

Fauteuil (Fr.)

An armchair of a French suite of furniture, which generally consisted of fauteuils, chairs, and a canape or settee. The arms of a fauteuil are free and open, and not enclosed with upholstered sides like those of a chaise bergere (q.v.).

Flutes

A "fluted column, pilaster, or leg of a chair or table is that which exhibits grooves cut lengthways. See also Husks. Flutes or flutings may be cut spirally or parallel, and they occur mostly in French furniture of the Louis XVI period.

Garderobe (Fr.)

Is a French word used in art catalogues as an alternative for wardrobe.

Girandole (Fr)

A candlestick with branches for groups of lights, sometimes constructed to resemble a bunch of flowers.

Glastonbury Chair

The chair said to have been first used by the abbots of Glastonbury during the reign of Henry VIII. The back, of panelled oak, slants backwards, the legs of X form and arms of a peculiar shape, are made so as to allow the cope or vestment worn by the priest to rest in the "dip" of the arms. Without some such contrivance the vestment, of stiff material, would "ride up " uncomfortably above the sitter's ears. This meaning does not appear in any dictionary, but it is believed to convey the idea of the inventor. Glastonbury chairs are now common in the chancels of our churches.

Gueridon (Fr.)

A carved and gilt stand for lamps or flowers, the reproduction of the antique candelabrum adapted to eighteenth-century usage.

Husk

Literally the outer covering of a nut or fruit. It is a favourite form of ornament in the enrichment of the Louis Seize furniture and frequently occurs in the schemes of decoration of that period. "Diminishing husks" are those which, commencing at the top of a pendant with a larger one, gradually diminish towards the bottom. One sees the fluted legs of Louis XVI tables relieved from plainness by flutes grooved in the leg, having husks in these flutes. See Flutes.

Intarsia Work (Ital.)

The decoration of woodwork by the inlay of bone or ivory, practised as early as the end of the thirteenth century in Venice and some other Italian cities. The patterns were of small pieces formed into geometrical designs. This work is sometimes called Tarsia or Certosina. The latter word is said to be derived from "Certosa," owing to the finest specimens of this kind of work being executed by the monks at the Certosa di Pavia (a Carthusian monastery now suppressed), where the panels of the high screen or backs of the stalls are famous examples of this work. They are said to be the work of Bartolomeo, an Istrian artist, and to date from 1486.

Lacquer Or Lac

Originally a Chinese and Japanese preparation of gum and other ingredients applied several times to woodwork until a thick coating covered the wood. This was decorated with gold, silver and aventurine, with the ornament worked in very slight relief in black, red and bronze-coloured grounds. Lacquer ware was imported into France during the reign of Louis XIV and subsequently, when it was made into furniture, or used for the ornamental panels of cabinets and tables. Later it was made in France, Holland and England. Small boxes of the finest kinds of lac or lacquer are of exquisite finish, and realize very high prices from collectors. See also Chapters III and V.

Lacquer is also a term for a coating of varnish composed of shellac and methylated spirits, to give the brass mounts of furniture the appearance of gold; it is of course very much cheaper than gilding.

Livery Cupboards

Cupboards in the first place fitted up by the house carpenters for holding the drinking vessels of the time, which were hung on hooks and replaced after use. They were made in oak, and first came into use about the time of Henry VIII. Further mention is made of them in Chapter I (Furniture Of The Renaissance). A specimen is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, and some of later date (seventeenth century) are in the Banqueting Hall of the Stationers' Company, close to Ludgate Hill. (An illustration of one of these is in "Illustrated History of Furniture.")

Loo Tables

See Tables.