GUIDE TO ENGLISH ANTIQUE FURNITURE PERIODS AND STYLES
English furniture styles developed in ways broadly in line with those of mainland Europe, but were interpreted in a distinctive fashion. There were also many regional variations within the British Isles — a term that once encompassed England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
In England itself, regional accents are marked by the differences between, say, North Country chairs and those of the West Country; Salisbury and Norwich were noted centres of production at an early date.
Wales retained the dresser and the press cupboard as status symbols long after they had ceased to be fashionable in England, and further distinctions are to be drawn between those of North and South Wales.
In late-18thC Scotland, Edinburgh was producing sophisticated furniture, some of it with distinctive differences from that of London.
In the mid-18thC, Irish furniture was so extravagant in its use of richly carved mahogany — especially for side tables on cabriole legs — that a whole class is described as ‘Irish Chippendale’.
The following summary concentrates, in common with the rest of the book, on the mainstream.
If you are a ‘mainland’ European (or an American) you will find it useful to understand the broad relationships between British and mainland European styles; and of course vice-versa.
MEDIEVAL
Romanesque Imported to Britain by the Normans following the conquest in 1066. Rounded arches — a typical Romanesque feature — occur on chests as late as the 17thC, but the few examples still in existence which date from earlier than 1300 are simply constructed and mostly carved with roundels bearing little relation to Romanesque architecture.
Gothic About 1300 to 1550. The change from Romanesque was gradual. Panelled construction from about 1480, the panels often carved with linenfold. The coronation chair at Westminster Abbey has a back with a pointed arch; made in 1296 by Master Walter of Durham, it was the first English piece firmly attributable to a named maker. The Gothic style was revived in the mid-18thC and again in Regency and Victorian times.
ELIZABETHAN
Renaissance When Elizabeth I came to the
throne in 1558, most furniture was functional and plain. After 1570, a version of Renaissance style owing more to France and the Netherlands than to Italy found expression in fat turnings surmounted by Ionic capitals, solid inlay, carved caryatids, strapwork, split baluster turnings.
JACOBEAN
Strictly speaking, the reign of James I, 1603-25 but also used to cover that of Charles I (162549). Geometric mouldings, split balusters, bobbin-turnings; popular until about 1720.
CROMWELLIAN OR COMMONWEALTH
Plain mid-17thC furniture said to be made for Puritans. Square-backed chairs on turned legs,
with leather upholstery fixed with large-headed nails; so-called ‘refectory’ tables on turned legs. Wood is generally oak, but solid walnut occurs.
RESTORATION
Sometimes known as Carolean, in reference to Charles 11, restored to the throne in 1660. Also covers the reign of James II, 1685-9. Dominant style is baroque but more Franco-Dutch than Italian. Twist legs, carved scrolls, caned seats, veneering, floral marquetry, japanning. Skilled French workers sought refuge in Britain when Louis XIV of France ceased to protect Protestants, 1685.
Japanned oriental cabinet oil gilded stand, about 1670- 1680.
WILLIAM AND MARY
More foreign craftsmen (Dutch and French) arrived in Britain following the accession of William of Orange and his wife Mary, the daughter of James II, in 1689. Fine cabinet-William & Mary walnut bureau on stand, about 1690.
Carted and panelled oak coffer, about 1650, making, walnut and ebony veneers, floral and `seaweed’ marquetry. Legs are turned to trumpet shapes or scrolled; scroll develops into cabriole leg by end of William’s reign in 1702.
QUEEN ANNE
During her reign, 1702-14, the cabriole leg dominated; surfaces were veneered with walnut, but marquetry became less evident. English craftsmen, having acquired foreign skills, adapted these to their own style.
Queen Anne walnut ta Ilboy, 1710-1720.
EARLY GEROGIAN
George I and early years of George II until about 1730; mainly a continuation of the Queen Anne style, but rather heavier. Clawand-ball feet became the fashionable termination of the cabriole leg. Architect William Kent designed Italianate baroque furniture as a dramatic contrast to cool Palladian interiors.
MID-GEORGIAN
George 11, 1730-60 and the first years of George 111. Mahogany replaced walnut as the fashionable wood. In 1754, Chippendale’s designs appear; Ince and Mayhew’s, 1759-62. Ribbon-back chairs, ornate gilt mirrors and console tables expressed the English interpretation of rococo. Some designs closely followed French (Louis XV) fashions. Chinoiseries popular. Gothic style revived.
LATE GEORGIAN
The George III period lasted from 1765 to 1800, but the term is sometimes extended back to 1730. First came the neo-classical style led by Adam – vertical lines, ovals, circles, columns, urns, disciplined carving, gilding and painting related to the Louis XVI style. Designs by Hepplewhite appear 1788, those of Sheraton 1791-4, providing a domestic, middle-class version of neo-classicism.
Gilded side-table in the style of William Kent, about 1750.
Mid-Georgian Chippendale-style mahogany chair, about 1750.
Sotheby , Late-Georgian Hepplewhite-style mahogany chair, about 1780.
REGENCY AND GEORGE IV
About 1800-30. Sometimes included with Late Georgian. Furniture has much in common with French Empire style. Greek, Roman and Egyptian models used — sabre legs on chairs, lion monopodia, sphinx mounts. Thomas Hope and George Smith head the list of designers, some featuring a second Gothic revival; also Chinese and Indian styles.
Regency rosewood secretaire, in French Empire style, about 1820.
WILLIAM IV AND EARLY VICTORIAN
Much furniture made 1830-50 was still neoclassical, but heavier than Regency; some affinity with Charles X (French Restauration), Biedermeier in Austria and Germany. Parallel with this are the Gothic revival led by Pugin and the rococo revival by commercial manufacturers making balloon-back chairs, asymmetrical chaises longues on cabriole legs. Increasing use of machines.
MID-VICTORIAN
The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace, 1851, brought Continental exhibitors to London, stimulating an eclectic taste for revivals of almost all historic styles, and imitated in poorer quality, mass-produced furniture. Massive dining and bedroom suites; but parlour pieces more elegant, with some sofas and chairs fringed and deep-buttoned in Napoleon III style. There were serious attempts at reviving medieval craftsmanship by reformers, such as Morris, Burgess, Talbert.
Godwin experimented with Japanese concepts.
Mid-Victorian rococo-style mahogany extending table, about 1860.
LATE VICTORIAN, ART NOUVEAU AND EDWARDIAN
Heavy Victorian styles persisted until about 1910, along with reproductions of English, French and Italian historic types, but the Arts and Crafts Movement, led by Mackintosh, Ashbee, Baillie Scott and Voysey introduced new ideas in sympathy with some aspects of European art nouveau, to which are often married commercial products that are partly an offshoot of the Edwardian revival of Sheraton styles in mahogany with inlaid decoration.
Oak buffet by M.N. Baillie :Scott, about 1897.
MODERNIST AND ART DECO
The period between the two world wars, marked by genuine desire for greater simplicity and honest, economically made furniture of the type produced by Heal and Russell, but in competition with mass-produced junk on the one hand and finely made but expensive products on the other. The term Art Deco — like most stylistic labels — was unknown at the time the furniture was being made. It derives from the 1925 Arts Decoratifs exhibition in Paris, and only came to be applied to the style in the 1960s.