DURING the reign of the last Henry so many foreign features were introduced into English furniture that inexperienced people frequently assign a Continental origin to almost every piece of this date. A common mistake is to attribute anything not quite understood to Italian provenance. Italian design, however, does not necessarily mean Italian origin, for the influence of that country pervaded our own English productions as well as those of our Continental neighbours. The styles of the greater part of Europe were revolutionized as a consequence of the French victories in Italy, and in a great measure nations ceased to think for themselves. As Victor Hugo, speaking of the Renaissance, so neatly put it, 'Instead of being Gallican, European, indigenous, Art becomes Greek and Roman; instead of being true and modern, it is pseudo-antique. And yet, while being led, so to speak, each nation expressed itself by subtle differences. To discover signs of decoration in the Italian taste on furniture of the sixteenth century by no means proves that the article had even a Continental origin.

British nationality in such pieces may be decided by many things - for example, by the handling of the carver, boldness of execution often degenerating into roughness; by the shape of the structure itself; and frequently by the pertinacity with which our craftsmen adhered to the ponderous Gothic styles. There is no doubt that a great many foreigners were employed in this country up to the end of Henry VIII.'s reign, and their influence on the works of the period is conspicuous; yet it is quite possible to distinguish between the furniture made by Englishmen and that produced by foreign workmen residing in this country, although proceeding on almost exactly the same lines. Along with the increased skill of English craftsmen, the agitation against foreigners, which had made itself manifest from time to time in attempts to drive them from their employment in this country, grew, and so, after the first half of the century, we do not find Continental influence nearly so marked in English productions, which in many respects possess an originality of their own, quite unlike anything of Continental make.

It is worthy of remark that the known names of the makers of furniture in England previous to the eighteenth century are very few, and by far the greater number are foreign.

Examples of English furniture of the first half of the sixteenth century are by no means common. To a great extent they had lost neither their Gothic outline nor certain Gothic elements in their decoration. In a way the art of the locksmith would appear to have 3 lagged behind, for chests, cupboards, and other receptacles made during the Early Renaissance often have locks and lock-plates of a distinctly anterior type attached. The custom which prevailed during Gothic and Early Renaissance times of stretching or pinning scarlet cloth under the hinges and other ironwork of coffers and cupboards deserves notice. A similar practice which obtained as regards the external doors of buildings is said by some to have originated in the gruesome custom which at one time prevailed of exhibiting the flayed skins of invading Danes or other unhappy beings, the iron scrollwork being applied not only to affix, but also to preserve, the ghastly trophy. Whether there is any connection between the two fashions or not can now only be a matter of conjecture.

It is certain, however, that the application of red material in the manner described to locks and hinges of cupboards and chests became in the fifteenth century pretty general all over the Continent, and there are innumerable specimens of ancient receptacles in French, Flemish, and German museums on which fragments of red cloth and velvet may yet be seen showing through the pierced ironwork.

The interlacing of the late Gothic and Early Ranais-sance styles is perhaps most strikingly shown in some French and Flemish articles of furniture, in which decoration in the new style is lavishly applied to the old Gothic outline. Such curiously beautiful examples of fitted furniture as the parclose screen, in Holbeton Church, Devonshire, or the screen in the cathedral at Evreux, could be studied with much profit; whilst an immense fund of information on the blending of the styles may be derived from a survey of the Church of St. Eustache, in Paris. Not only did the styles blend, but, whilst in the history of art differing styles have frequently been practised simultaneously during a period of transition, in the case of the Renaissance this dual fashion was very strongly marked. We have evidence of this in the illustrated literature of the times. Two instances may be cited: firstly, in Sir Anthony Fitzherbert's 'Boke of Surveying,'printed by Thomas Paston and dated July 15, 1523; amongst other woodcuts is a representation of a tenant paying rent.

Although a round-top doorway appears in the background of this picture, the furniture of the room, a settle and a table, is of Gothic character, the settle being surmounted by a poppy-head. To balance this, we find that in Henry VIII.'s own Psalter is a painted illustration which depicts with the greatest minuteness the monarch, using as a rest for his harp a classic coffer of the Italian cassone type, evidently the newest thing in the taste of the time. In each of these illustrations the artist doubtless drew precisely the sort of furniture which he was accustomed to see every day amongst the surroundings he represented. The illustrations to the Psalter were executed by a Court painter, and hence the obvious difference between the appointments shown in the two scenes, fashion, as ever, moving with the wealthy Court. It may be argued that the furniture in the rent-collector's office was drawn from articles actually belonging to an earlier period, but it is well known that medieval artists always represented the fashion of their times, or, at least, the fashion of the circle in which they moved.