The manner of building-up the two pillars at the foot end is, of course, Italian in origin, but it is the Italian idea filtered, so to speak, through the "Francois-Premier" mind; while the "strap-work" enrichment of the upper part of the shaft partakes of both the "Henri-Deux" and Flemish spirits. The generous proportions of the two rotund, bulbous members of the turning clearly bespeak the English taste of that day. It will be seen, then, that the complete scheme is a real melange of different styles; but it must be observed, at the same time, that all these styles, which spring from the same source, are in perfect accord, notwithstanding the many variations of detail to be noted.

What the quaint semblances of animals, glowering from the four corners of the canopy, or "tester," are intended to represent, I would not venture to suggest: they can hardly have symbolised the "four angels," whose safe guardianship has assured slumber to many generations for centuries past. All the rest of the carving of that section of the structure is, in conception and spirit, thoroughly Italian - the true Italian of the "Cinque-Cento." In the four smaller carved panels in the upper part of the foot we have again "scraps" of "Henri-Deux," which might have come straight from the wall-panelling of the beautiful ball-room in the Chateau at Fontainebleau; but, in the carving beneath, the mark of the sixteenth-century English carver appears most unmistakably. He had not yet been able to acquire the spirit of the styles which were even then comparatively new to France and Italy, the lands of their origin.

In this last carving we have the early beginnings of that type of panel in which more or less crude leafage of a nondescript character, outlined by an interlacing "strap," or plain "fillet" or edging of wood, is arranged geometrically - generally as a quatrefoil. In the course of our study we shall meet with this frequently. Finally, as regards this bedstead, the panelling at the head, in the semi-circular arches, is another medley of Italian and less pure "Elizabethan."

I have fixed upon this truly magnificent old example for consideration at the outset on account of the fact that it would. be difficult to find another piece so exhaustively representative of every one of the essential factors of the style with which we are now dealing; it conveys, moreover, a remarkably adequate impression of the richness of the domestic belongings indulged in by the wealthier classes of this particular era.

So much space has been devoted to the discussion of this one piece, and to the endeavour to trace each individual item of detail to its proper source, that my remarks on other examples, dating from about the same period, and partaking in a greater or less degree of the same character, may be very materially curtailed. If the bedstead illustrated in Fig. 1, Plate I., be studied in conjunction with that which we have been analysing, and a careful comparison be made of the various parts, detailed comment upon it may be dispensed with. Before passing, however, to articles of furniture in this style, but of another type, yet one more bedstead calls for notice, and that is the one portrayed in the interior represented on Plate IV. This is a study in sixteenth-century designing which many would describe as "Early Elizabethan" - which, as regards date, it really is; but, so far as style is concerned, it would be far more correctly classified under the heading "Italian," pure and simple. The detail in every part is just such as we find in the fifteenth and sixteenth century Italian work, unaffected by the foreign influences which came into play at a later period.

"Elizabethan." IV. Plate 4

Panelled Room, Formerly In Sizergh Castle, Westmoreland. Now In The Victoria And Albert Museum, South Kensington - Reference in Text. See pages 26, 33, 34, 54, 77

Of the date of the chest of drawers illustrated by Fig. 3, Plate I., I cannot speak with any degree of certainty, as I have not had the piece itself before me; neither can I vouch for the authenticity of the tables Fig. 6, Plate II., and Fig. 6, Plate III.; but in style they are as typical "Elizabethan" in every respect as we could possibly wish to find. In all three the "strap-work" element is pronounced, and this should be noted particularly, for it is a distinguishing feature, and one most particularly favoured by the English designers and craftsmen of this period. It is, indeed, rarely absent altogether from true "Elizabethan" creations.

I have suggested that this "strap-work," as found in the style under consideration, was largely inspired by the "Henri-Deux," but must again refer to the fact that the predominance of that class of enrichment in both the architecture and the woodwork of the Flemish and Dutch Renaissance must also be accounted responsible in a very large measure for its extensive employment in this country. There were other details as well introduced from the Netherlands which must be borne in mind; but fuller reference to them will be made presently.

The old cabinet makers of the Elizabethan era did not devote any very great amount of attention to the design or manufacture of articles of furniture specially intended for the comfort of the literarily inclined, but the primitive desk form - the simple box with a sloping lid - was well known to, and produced by, them, though examples are extremely rare.

Sometimes it was elevated to a convenient height for writing purposes by being placed upon a table-like base or support, such as we find in Fig. 4, Plate I, and was thus raised, in more ways than one, to a position of some importance in the furnishing of the home. I may here remind the reader that it was no uncommon thing during the sixteenth century, and even earlier, for other cabinet work of the smaller kind - boxes, chests, and the like - to be provided with independent supports from which the box or chest could be removed expeditiously and at will; and the intention of that arrangement is clear. When so supported, they constituted apparently stable, and not unimportant, additions to the furnishing of any room. But, in the days when such impedimenta as "Gladstone" bags and leather travelling trunks were unknown, these articles often accompanied their possessors from place to place; it was therefore essential that they should be more or less portable: hence the adoption of this form of construction. The upper part could be easily carried about - in earlier examples holes were bored through the sides or ends for ropes or cords to pass through - and the stand was left at home for the reception of its burden on its safe return.