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Antique
Terminology
The
following is an alphabetical list of common terms and styles
of antiques used in the antiques world. Please
keep in mind that the terms are sometimes used a bit
differently in various areas of the world.
A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X Y
Z
A
Acanthus:
A
classical decorative motif based on the leaves of the
acanthus plant.
Adam:
A
classical revival principally inspired by Robert Adam (1728
- 1792).
Anthemion:
A
formalized decorative motif based on honeysuckle,
particularly popular from the late 18th century.
Arabesque:
A
repetitive, intricate pattern derived from Arab designs
based originally on plant and flower motifs.
Armoire:
A cupboard
of great size, with doors.
Art
Nouveau: A
design movement from the late 1800's, inspired greatly by
the work of Japanese Meiji period artists.
B (back to top)
Bachelor's
Chest: A
small chest of drawers with a fold-over top supported by
slides.
Baroque:
A
style originating in Italy in the early 17th century. Extravagantly ornate, florid and
convoluted in character or style.
Basin
Stand: An
18th century term describing a variety of washstands.
Basically a tripod stand or small square stand with a molded
ring to hold the basin, small drawers below the frieze and a
shelf for an ewer beneath.
Basket
Stand: Variation
on a worktable, usually a tripod stand with two tiers of
open gallery-work for holding knick-knacks.
Bergère:
An
upholstered armchair modeled on a French design, fashionable
from 1725. Often with crane work sides, back and seat.
Biedermeier:
A
style of furnishings common in German-specking areas in the
early to middle 19th century, generally a simplification of
the French Directoire
and Empire styles,
Blind
Fret: Fretted
decoration applied to the surface of solid wooden furniture.
Boiserie:
A French term for carved wooden paneling to rooms,
including doors, frames, cupboards and shelves which were
part of the paneling.
Boulle:
A technique developed by Andre-Charles Boulle
(1642-1732) of inlaying brass with tortoiseshell and,
sometimes, pewter, fashionable and highly prized in France
throughout the 18th century. Usually made in Paris, the
second commode, table or cabinet was in "
contre
boulle"; the reverse version with tortoiseshell inlaid
with brass. English
boulle
was first popular during the Regency Period. Rarely of as
high a quality as the French, it was increasingly debased as
machine techniques enabled a similar effect to be achieved
during the Victorian Period.
Buffet:
A
16th-century serving or side table, frequently with two or
three tiers. In the late 17th and 18th-centuries there were
cupboards beneath the serving surface and an elaborate
superstructure above.
Bureau
a
Cylindre:
A late 18th-century desk with curved quarter-circle
front in solid wood which, when lifted, swung up beneath the
underside of the top.
Bureau
Plat: A
French writing table of substantial proportions with a flat
surface.
Butterfly
Table: A
tavern table made in America in the late 17th and 18th
centuries.
The name arises because of the wing-shaped extended
fly-brackets that supported the flaps
instead of the more common gate leg. The legs were canted
outwards to achieve a more elegant shape.
C (back to top)
Cabochon:
Oval
convex decorative ornament frequently found on knees of
cabriole legs.
Cartouche:
Oval,
occasionally rectangular decorative tablet. The term is most
frequently used for the decorative surround to an armorial
bearing.
Caryatid:
Correct
term for carved female figures or half-figures supporting an
entablature instead of columns. See also Atlantes.
Cellaret:
A
wine cooler with a lockable lid, usually fitted with a
bottle rack.
Champlevé:
Technique
of enameled decoration where the metal base is channeled or
cut out to receive the enamel.
Chippendale,
Thomas (1718-1779):
A furniture designer, cabinet-maker and interior
decorator.
Cloisonné:
A
technique of enameling using fine strips of metal soldered
to the base to divide one color of enamel from another.
Credenza:
An
early Italian serving table or sideboard with canted
corners, two or three cupboards in the base and drawers in
the frieze.
Cross
banding: A
strip or band of veneer laid across the grain.
D (back to top)
Directoire:
Pertaining to the style of French furnishings and
decorations of the mid-1790's, characterized by an
increasing use of Greco-Roman forms along with an
introduction, toward the end, of Egyptian motifs.
E (back to top)
Ebéniste:
In
France, a general-term for a cabinet-maker as opposed to
makers of seat furniture. The ancient guild of menuisiers-ebénistes
protected their members from cheaper work by foreign
craftsmen and from 1741 ordered them to sign their work,
which was then passed by the Jure des menuisiers-ébénistes,
who approved and stamped each piece "JME".
Ebonizing:
Close-grained
wood, such as beech or birch, stained and polished to
resemble ebony, much used in the 18th century,
particularly for chairs.
Edwardian:
Pertaining
to the rein of Edward VII.
Empire:
Characteristic
of or developed during the first French Empire, 1804 - 1815.
Enamel:
See
Cloisonné,
Champlevé.
Encoignure:
A French name for a standing corner cupboard,
usually made en suite with a commode, with a marble top and
ormolu or gilt metal mounts.
Etruscan
Style: A
style of decoration derived from ancient Greek, Roman and
Etruscan ornament.
F (back to top)
Fauteuil:
A
French name for an elegant, comfortable chair with open arms
and upholstered back and seat, dating from the mid-18th
century and originally covered in silk, satin, velvet or
damask, usually replaced in 19th century with tapestry.
Federal:
Pertaining
to the decorative arts and architecture in the United States
circa 1780 - 1830.
Figure:
A
generic term for the natural patterns revealed by skilful
cutting of veneer e.g. flame grain, Cuban curl, fiddle back,
oyster, etc.
Flambeau:
A
torch or flame, sometimes springing from an urn, used as a
decorative finial from the end of the 17th century and
throughout the 18th.
G (back to top)
Gadroon
/ Gadrooning:
A carved decoration to the
edges of tables, desks, shelves, etc., widely used from the
16th century onwards. Properly the term applies to silver,
and originated in the shape of clenched knuckles.
Georgian:
Pertaining
to the styles of architecture and furniture current in
England from 1714 - 1811.
Gesso:
Paste
composed of whiting or finely powdered marble dust mixed with
glue and water which sets hard and is easy to carve.
Used extensively in the 18th century as a base for
decorative gilding and embellishment of carved woodwork such
as mirror and painting frames.
Gilding:
Methods
of gilding wood have remained unchanged. The two main
techniques are still in current use: Water Gilding is the application of gold
leaf using water as the agent to cause the gold to 'stick'
to the gesso, some of which is then burnished. Oil Gilding is the
application of fine sheets of gold leaf on to a surface with
an oil size, a more lasting process but less lustrous.
Gilt-metal and gilded metal are achieved by fire-gilding
(also known as mercury gilding), when an amalgam of
mercury is applied to the metal to be gilded, which fuses on
being heated.
Girandole:
A
wall-mounted candelabrum of French inspiration, with one or
more candle branches set in a gilt wood or gilt-metal frame
surrounding a small asymmetric or convex mirror to reflect
the light of the flame.
Gothic:
Pertaining
to styles of architecture and decoration originating in
France in the middle of the 12th century and
existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of
the 16th century.
Grisaille:
Decorative
monochrome painting in tones of gray, in oil, gouache or
tempera, widely used for decorative panels for 18th-century
interiors and occasionally for furniture.
Guéridon:
A
general term for a lamp stand in France. The
"table en guéridon" was a small circular tea
table.
Guilloche:
A
decoration consisting of two bands twisted in a continuous
figure of eight.
H (back to top)
Hepplewhite,
George: (died
1786) A cabinet-maker and chair-maker, author of the Cabinet
Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1788, 1789 and 1794.
Highboy:
Quite
distinct from the English Tallboy, an American term
for a chest-on-stand or high chest derived from William and
Mary and Queen Anne furniture, but with more elaborate
bonnet top or decorative pediment. Highboys continued to be
made until the end of the 19th century.
Hutch:
From
the French
huche,
a chest. In America the term is sometimes used for
open dressers.
I (back to top)
Intaglio:
Cutting
a figure or design so that it is hollowed out; the opposite
of cameo.
Intarsia:
Inlaid
pictorial decoration loosely described as mosaic in wood.
The design is cut out of different colored woods and then
inset in panels.
J (back to top)
Jacobean:
Pertaining
to the style of architecture and furnishings prevailing in
England in the first half of the 17th century,
continuing the Elizabethan style with a gradual introduction
of Italian models in architecture and increased elaboration
of forms and motifs in furnishings.
Japanning:
In
imitation of lacquer work from Japan and the Far East, a
technique used in England from the late 17th century, which
was at its height in the late 18th century when the term was
usually applied to metal coated with layers of varnish,
dried and hardened by heat. Confusingly,
"japanning" became interchangeable with Lacquer
Work when applied to wood coated with a form of gesso and
then with layers of varnish.
K (back to top)
Kas:
From
the Dutch word kasse, a chest. A large two doored
cupboard or press made in North America by Dutch settlers in
the second half of the 17th century in the old state of the
New Netherlands, between the Delaware and Connecticut
rivers. Typically the kas has bun feet, two doors, a heavily
decorated cornice and grisaille paintings of fruit, flowers,
etc. in the panels.
L (back to top)
Lacquer
Work: Originating
in the Far East, the method consisted of coating wood or
paper-mâche with layers of pigmented resin, the surface of
which could then be painted. The composition of early
European lacquer was different from the Oriental models and
the techniques of application and decoration were rarely as
fine.
Lazy
Susan: A
late 18th-century American version of the dumb waiter - a
revolving tray sometimes with compartments on a low stand,
placed in the center of a dining table.
Library
Steps: Made
in a variety of forms in the 18th century, some resembling Bed
Steps but with fitted compartments for books and papers,
some as chairs which, with the seat hinged over, transformed
into a set of three or four steps. The most ingenious opened
like a fan from a single pole into a miniature ladder of
three or four treads.
Line
Inlay: An
American term for Stringing.
Louis
XIII: Pertaining
to the styles in France 1610-1643.
Louis
XIV: Pertaining
to the styles in France 1660-1710.
Louis
XV: Pertaining
to the styles in France 1715-1774.
Louis
XVI: Pertaining
to the styles in France 1774-1792.
Lowboy:
In
America, a term for a dressing table, usually with one long
drawer and three short ones, made en suite with a Highboy.
The term is also used for English Queen Anne period dressing
tables.
M (back to top)
Marquetry:
A
form of decorative veneering in which exotic and contrasting
woods were cut and fitted together like a jigsaw to form
intricate patterns which were then applied as panels of
veneer. There were basically two types: arabesque or seaweed
marquetry using box or holly with walnut, and floral
marquetry using fruitwoods, burr-walnut, ivory, ebony, etc.
Marquise
Chair: A
broad chair to accommodate two people, made in France
towards the end of the 17th century.
N (back to top)
Neoclassical:
Pertaining
to the revival of classical styles characterized by the
introduction and widespread use of Greek orders and
decorative motifs in the late 17th to the mid-19th
centuries.
Night
Table / Stool: An
18th-century bedside stool designed to conceal its function,
with a tray top and mock drawer supported on two legs which
pulled out, accommodating a seat and fitted pan.
O (back to top)
Ogee:
A
double curved molding, convex above, concave below.
Ormolu:
In
France, a highly specialized craftsman made gilded metal or
"bronze dorée" for which special alloys of bronze
and brass were made, for furniture mounts, clocks,
girandoles, etc. In England ormolu was never considered a
great art, and was commonly plain brass, cast and gilded.
Oyster
veneer: Of
Dutch origin, introduced into England in the late 17th
century, a form of veneering which used the cross-sections
of small branches of walnut, olive, laburnum and other woods
cut at 45 degrees.
Overstuffed:
Chairs
and seat furniture with the padding and covering taken over
the wooden frame of the seat and seat rails, being more
comfortable than padded drop-in seats with the seat frame
exposed.
P (back to top)
Palmette:
A
classical motif similar to a fan or stylized palm leaf,
often used in conjunction with a lotus.
Parcel
Gilt: Literally
partially gilded.
Parquetry:
A
decorative geometrical inlay using contrasting grain of
different woods. Most prevalent in late 17th century and
early 18th century walnut veneered furniture.
Pennsylvania
Dutch: Plain,
sturdy furniture in cherry wood, pine and local woods, often
painted with tulips, hearts and birds, made by German and
Swiss immigrants to America.
Pietra
Dura: An
inlay of semi-precious stones such as agate, chalcedony,
lapis lazuli, porphyry, sardonyx; the technique was at its
height in Italy around 1600, but the result was so expensive
that the cheaper Scagliola process came to dominate.
Press:
A
term used in America to describe a late 16th-century
cupboard similar to a Court Cupboard and known in
England as a hall cupboard. Also known as a linen cupboard.
Q (back to top)
Quartering
/ Quarter Veneer: Veneer
cut and laid in four pieces, usually with grain at right
angles, most frequently found on early English pieces from
the end of the 17th century.
Quatrefoil:
A
common design element consisting of four symmetric lobes
around a center.
Queen
Anne Style: Pertaining
to the style of architecture and furnishings prevailing in
England in the early 18th century, characterized
by simplicity and refinement if forms, with increased
attention to French and Italian models.
R (back to top)
Reading
Chair: A
chair with a saddle-shaped seat and curved back fitted with
adjustable book rest on which the occupant sat astride. Made
from the early 18th century and sometimes called Library
Chairs there were sometimes small candle-trays hinged
below the arms or attached to the book rest. A 19th-century
version of the reading chair has an adjustable book rest
along with a writing surface on one arm.
Récamier:
Directoire
chaise
longue
or daybed in the Grecian manner with upward curving ends.
Régence:
Pertaining
to the style of French furnishings and decorations of
1700-1720, in which a transition occurs from the Baroque
Style of Louis XIV to the Rococo Style of Louis XV.
Regency:
Pertaining
to the style of architecture, furnishings and decoration of
the British Regency, somewhat similar to the French Directiore and
Empire styles and characterized by close imitation of
ancient Greek forms as well as by less frequent and looser
adaptations of ancient Roman, Gothic, Chinese, and ancient
Egyptian forms.
Rocaille:
A term first used to describe the artificial
grottoes of Versailles and believed to be the origin of the
word "rococo", it is accurately used to describe
the shell and rock motifs in rococo ornament.
Rococo:
Pertaining
to the style of architecture, furnishings and decoration
originating in France about 1720. It evolved from Baroque
types and is distinguished by its elegant refinement in
using different materials for a delicate overall effect and
by its ornament of shell work, foliage, etc. From the French
word 'rocaille'.
S (back to top)
Sabot:
A
French term for the metal foot to which casters were
affixed.
Scagliola:
Imitation marble composed of plaster-of-Paris,
isinglass, chips of marble and coloring, most popular in 17th
and 18th centuries for console tables, commode
tops and small pieces of furniture. See also Pietra Dura.
Sconce:
A wall fitting with candle branches made in a
wide variety of materials, shapes and designs, in use from
medieval times, frequently with polished metal back plates
to reflect the light, and later with panels of mirrored
glass. See also Girandole.
Secrétaire
a
abattant:
A French fall-front writing desk.
Strapwork:
Interlaced
geometric and arabesque decoration in low relief, often
applied in fretted strips to Elizabethan and Jacobean
furniture and made up from patterns in Dutch pattern books.
Stuart:
English
style from 1600-1650
Stump
Work: English
relief work embroidery
T (back to top)
Tabouret:
A low upholstered stool, originally used at court
during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Tallboy:
An
English chest-on-chest with two small drawers at the top and
six wide ones below. Sometimes incorporated a secrétaire
drawer in the top of the base section. In America its
equivalent is the Highboy but the terms are not
interchangeable.
Tambour:
Sliding
doors or curving pull-down fronts for desks made from thin
reeded convex strips of wood glued to a linen or canvas
backing and running in grooves. Used on small night tables,
pot cupboards, commodes and later developed into the
roll-top for desks.
Tavern
Table: An
American term for a plain country-made rectangular table
with carved support at either end and a stretcher in
between, mainly 17th and 18th centuries.
Tête
a Tête Seat: Generally
describes an S-shaped seat for two people to sit decorously
side by side without touching, made in England and America
in the 19th century.
Tole
/ Tole
Peinte:
A decorative applied painted metal panels.
Toleware:
An
American term for tinplate and tinware.
Tudor:
Pertaining
to or characteristics of the periods of the reins of the
Tudor Sovereigns, 1500-1550.
U (back to top)
V (back to top)
Vernis
Martin: A
brilliant translucent lacquer technique perfected by the
French Martin brothers who were granted a monopoly in 1730
and by mid-century ran three lacquering factories. The
family, originally coach painters, produced many variations
of lacquer work, the most highly prized being a green
flecked with gold, used on furniture and small decorative
objects.
Verre
Eglomise:
A
technique of painting glass on the underside and backing it
with silver or gold-colored metallic foil. Jean-Baptiste
Glomy, collector and art dealer, revived the technique for
framing prints in the second half of the 18th century and
gave it his name.
Victorian:
Concerning
the architecture, furnishings and decorations of English
speaking countries between 1840 and 1900. Characterized by
rapid changes of style as a consequence of aesthetic and
philosophical controversy, technological innovations and
changes of fashion, by the frequent presence of ostentatious
ornament.
Vitruvian
Scroll: Bands
of undulating scrolls like waves, also called a wave
scroll..
Volute:
The
helix-like ornamental scroll terminating Ionic capitals.
W (back to top)
Welsh
Dresser: A
recent term for a kitchen dresser that has a rack of shelves
over a dresser base that may be variously composed of
drawers, cupboards and a potboard. They are by no means all
of Welsh origin and many regional versions exist.
William
and Mary: An
American style from 1680-1720.
William
IV: Pertaining
to the style of furnishings during King William IV reign
over Britain and Ireland 1830-1837.
Wine
Cistern: A
wine cooler, of the open type, to be distinguished from the
lockable Cellaret. Also known as a wine cooler.
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