FRENCH AND ENGLISH FURNITURE
[Illustration: LOUIS XIII INTERIOR]
FRENCH AND ENGLISH FURNITURE
DISTINCTIVE STYLES AND PERIODS DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED
[Illustration]
BY
ESTHER SINGLETON
AUTHOR OF THE FURNITURE OF OUR FOREFATHERS
ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL SOURCES
BY
H. D. NICHOLS
NEW YORK
McCLURE PHILLIPS & CO
MCMIII
Copyright 1903
BY MCCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO.
Published December, 1903. N
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
[Illustration]
PREFACE
_The purpose of this work is to provide all who are interested in
French and English furniture since the Renaissance period with a
comprehensive and detailed view of the various periods or styles. A
chapter is devoted to each period, and the chapters naturally vary in
size, in accordance with the importance and length of the different
periods. So far as I have been able to discover in my researches,
there is no work precisely of the same aim and scope as this one in
existence. Many books have been written about furniture as a whole,
and the history of furniture,—especially the French styles; but I do
not know of one that enables the student to learn with slight
expenditure of time and energy all that is necessary to know in order
to fit up a room in any given style. Anyone who wants to furnish and
decorate a Louis XV. boudoir properly, or a Heppelwhite dining-room,
or an Empire bedroom, can find all about it in the following pages.
The collector, the student, the cabinet-maker, the upholsterer, and
even the architect will find ready at hand valuable material gathered
from many sources. The ceilings, wall-decorations and chimney-pieces
proper to each period are described from contemporary authorities and
illustrated from contemporary pictures and prints. The furniture is
described from specimens existing in many collections and museums; and
frequently in the words of the great makers and designers themselves._
_In many instances the collector is forced to buy the survivals of
whatever period he fancies, instead of being able to select for
reproduction the more artistic specimens that have perished, and his
rooms are filled with anachronisms because he cannot find articles to
complete his set of furniture. The reproduction of a beautiful model
will give more pleasure to a person of taste than a piece of furniture
whose only recommendation is that it is an “antique”; and I think many
persons will sympathize with me in my desire to see correct
reproductions of beautiful models of furniture multiplied, as well as
the textiles that accord with them._
_In all periods people have given much thought not only to beautifying
their homes, but to achieving the correctness of style that contributes
elegance and dignity to an establishment, unconsciously following the
opinion that Sir Henry Wootton gave about 1600: “Every man’s proper
mansion house and home being the Theatre of his Hospitality, the seat of
his self-fruition, the Comfortablest part of his own Life, the noblest
of his Son’s Inheritance, a kind of Private Princedom—nay, the
Possession thereof an Epitome of the whole World, may well deserve by
these attributes, according to the degree of the Master, to be
delightfully adorned.”_
_In order to give an even more thorough understanding of the appearance
of the rooms, I have included many partial inventories of representative
homes and many descriptions of separate sumptuous beds and other pieces
of furniture typical of the style. Upholstery has received minute
attention. Any one can learn here how to drape a bed, or a window; what
valances, curtains, lambrequins, cords and tassels are appropriate, and
what materials, braids and nails may be used._
_The characteristics of the decorative art of each period are set forth
with some detail, and the motives of carving of the woodwork are clearly
defined in the numerous line drawings and details of the many plates._
_I have carefully selected the illustrations from the designs of the
recognized representatives and leaders of the styles. Besides going to
these fountain-heads, I have not hesitated to adopt the views and
translate in many cases the words of the recognized modern authorities
on French furniture. These include Alexandre, Jacquemart, Havard,
Deville, and others. In the Chippendale, Heppelwhite and Sheraton
styles, these writers speak for themselves._
_I wish to express my thanks to Mr. Arthur Shadwell Martin for his
valuable assistance in my researches for both pictures and text._
_E. S._
_New York, December, 1903._
[Illustration]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
LOUIS XIII. PERIOD 1
Frontispiece and Plates I.–IV.
JACOBEAN PERIOD 35
Plates V.–XI.
LOUIS XIV. PERIOD 63
Plates XII.–XVII.
QUEEN ANNE PERIOD 107
Plates XVIII.–XXIII.
EARLY GEORGIAN PERIOD 133
Plates XXIV.–XXVIII.
LOUIS XV. PERIOD 157
Plates XXIX.–XXXVI.
CHIPPENDALE PERIOD 219
Plates XXXVII.–XLII.
LOUIS XVI. PERIOD 249
Plates XLIII.–XLVIII.
ADAM PERIOD 287
Plates XLIX.–LII.
HEPPELWHITE PERIOD 307
Plates LIII.–LVII.
SHERATON PERIOD 329
Plates LVIII.–LXIII.
EMPIRE PERIOD 365
Plates LXIV.–LXVIII.
LOUIS XIII. PERIOD
[Illustration]
LOUIS XIII. PERIOD
In decorative art, the form of Renaissance known as Henri II., which
owed so much to the taste and influence of Diana of Poitiers, lasted for
three quarters of a century. There was practically no change till the
regency of Marie de’ Medici, when she invited Rubens to Paris. In 1625,
he had completed his Luxembourg works, and the commencement of his visit
is generally regarded as the date of the beginning of the pure Louis
XIII. style. Flemish influence, therefore, is the keynote of this
modified Renaissance style. Marie de’ Medici called many of her own
countrymen from Italy to design the new works, and Rubens himself had
spent eight years in Mantua, and therefore Italian taste is often
apparent in the Louis XIII. style, but is quite secondary to that of
Flanders. The great fame that Rubens enjoyed and his splendid reception
in Paris gave his work unquestioned authority with the contemporary
French decorative artists. His painting affected furniture with its
luxuriant, robust and somewhat heavy qualities.
A period of magnificence and lavish expenditure by art-lovers had begun.
Richelieu at the beginning almost rivalled in luxury Mazarin and Fouquet
at the end of this period. The Cardinal employed Simon Vouet and other
artists on the decoration of his magnificent Palais Royal and the Castle
of Rueil; and his expenditures in art collecting attracted such
undesirable public attention that he presented a great part of his
treasures to the King in 1636. Among these was a great silver buffet
weighing about 1625 pounds.
Vouet, during this period, occupied a somewhat similar position to that
held by Le Brun during the Louis XIV. period. It is interesting to note
the importance now held by goldsmiths in decorative art. A great deal of
the furniture of the day was designed by them. Architects also regarded
furniture as an integral part of the interior decoration of their
apartments, and therefore designed the important pieces. For instance,
Crispin de Passe (1570–1642) shows, besides his chimney-pieces (which
being the most important architectural feature in the room, always
received careful artistic treatment from the architects), chairs and
bedstead. The latter still retains a good deal of Renaissance feeling,
with carved posts, open-carved colonnade in the high foot-board and bulb
feet. It is somewhat reminiscent of Du Cerceau’s design.
[Illustration: PLATE I]
Besides the names already mentioned, the goldsmiths, Gideon Legare and
Carteron, the armorial designer, Jacquard, and particularly Abraham
Bosse, Picart, Stella, and Lepautre’s master Adam Philippon have left
stamps or engravings that how the Louis XIII. style in all its details
and characteristics. The goldsmiths, engravers and designers of this
period were Audran, Barbet, Berton, Betin, Betou, Biard, Bignon,
Blosset, Bouquet, Boutemie, Boyceau, Brebiette, Brosse, Caillard,
Callot, Carterson, Chrestollien, Collot, Cotelle, Daubigny, David, De la
Barre, Dorigny, Faber, Firens, Francard, Fornazoris, Gandin, Gautrel,
Hedouyns, Heince, Hennequin, Huret, Hurtu, Jacquard, Jardin, Jousse, La
Fleur, La Houe, Langlois, Le Clerc, Lefebvre, Le Mercier, Le Rou, Le
Roy, Levesville, Lionnais, Loriot, Lorris, Marchant, Mellan, Menessier,
Messager, Millot, Montcornet, Moriet, Mortin, Nolin, Picart, Pierretz,
Piquot, Pompeus, Rabel, Rivart, Roussel, Sordot, Tavernier, Testelin,
Thomassin, Torner, Tortebat, Toutin, Vignon, Vivot, Vouet and Vovert.
Rabel’s ornaments are formed by a species of _rinceaux_ of quite a
particular kind, which look like the curves of an ear. Many artists of
this period were certainly inspired by this part of the human body. It
is impossible to imagine more strange productions; the _genre_
(auricular style) lasted only a short time in France, and was carried to
its apogee by the Germans and Flemings.
The age of Louis XIII. saw the transformation of Paris, and the
application of the decorative arts to private life. The new manners in
this period finally break with the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It
is a transitory, but decisive, period with its own originality; a period
which announces the splendours of the age of Louis XIV.
Paris was so embellished, and so many houses were rebuilt and new finer
ones built, that rents rose greatly, and the authorities published five
abortive ordinances regulating the excessive rents between 1622 and
1649. The new luxury had to be paid for. Under Marie de’ Medici and
Richelieu, a new city with characteristics of utility, beauty and
magnificence arose. Corneille’s _le Menteur_ (1642) notes the wonderful
change:
“_Paris semble à mes yeux un pays de romans;
J’y croyais ce matin voir une île enchantée;
Je la laissai deserte et la trouve habitée.
Quelque Amphion nouveau sans l’aide des maçons
En superbes palais a changé ces buissons._
* * * * *
_Toute une ville entière avec pompe bâtie,
Semble d’un vieux fossé par miracle sortie._”
So Corneille tells us that the striking change in Paris was one to pomp
and grandeur.
Even more than the magnificence of the dwellings, the change to comfort
is to be observed. Far from increasing during the reigns of the Valois
kings, comfort had suffered. Viollet le Duc says: “The excessively
laboured refinement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries and the
internal luxury of the apartments of the beginning of the Sixteenth had
been lost or laid aside during the long religious wars of the close of
the Sixteenth Century, and the furniture of a great lord under Louis
XIII. would have appeared barbarous and coarse to one of Charles VII.’s
vassals. Perhaps it was better to live under the reign of Louis XIV.
than under that of Charles V.; but certainly Charles V. and the nobles
and middle classes of his time had better lodgings and were more
comfortably furnished than the lords and common people were under the
reign of the Great King.”
However barbarous an interior of the Louis XIII. period might have been
in comparison with one of the age of Charles VII., it certainly was
changing for the better. Convenience was being sacrificed less for
magnificence. There was an attempt to combine usefulness with elegance.
Mme. de Rambouillet was one of the heads of this movement; and,
according to Tallement des Réaux, was the originator of it. She
established her salon as early as 1608. Tallement says that she was the
first to arrange suites of rooms through which guests could move easily.
“Being dissatisfied with the plans submitted to her (it was in the
Maréchal d’Ancre’s time) for at that time they only knew how to make a
hall on one side, a chamber on the other, and a staircase in the middle,
one day, after long reflection, she cried: ‘Quick! some paper! I have
found how to do what I wanted.’ She drew the plan, and it was followed
exactly.... She it was who taught people how to put the staircases to
one side, so as to have a large suite of rooms, to make high windows
from the floor up and to make high and broad doorways opposite one
another.”
The decorative motives and accessories characteristic of this style are
clearly defined. An analogy has been traced between the general lines of
the furniture and the contemporary costume. In the latter, as shown in
Abraham Bosse’s engravings, the waist line is set unusually high, giving
an appearance of a short bust. This division of the figure into two
unequal parts, the upper one being disproportionately short, is carried
into the furniture. The characteristic chair of the period (see Plate
I.) is short in the back. The larger pieces of furniture follow the same
general form, being divided into two bodies by a horizontal cornice,
shelf, or other line at above half the total height of the piece of
furniture. The cabinets, architectural in form, have greater width than
height, and rest on a frame or table with legs turned spirally and
connected. This style of cabinet was introduced early in the period.
One of the important decorative details and ornaments is the cartouche
which also follows the prevailing taste: it is wider than it is high,
and its field has always a somewhat exaggerated convex curve. The
rounded form also predominates in the cut-work fringing the frame, and
protuberance is also a noticeable feature of the balusters that are made
use of in the various parts of furniture that require columns or
supports. The vases also are very corpulent in form, which effect is
exaggerated by their very small bases. The faces of the mascarons are
very chubby, and are unusually lacking in expression. The decorative
garlands, which are composed almost exclusively of leaves and fruits,
very seldom of flowers, are arranged in heavy swags, almost always
disposed in a semi-circle. Pears, and more especially apples, are the
fruits most frequently met with. They are usually accompanied with short
leaves without serrated edges. The garlands are of uniform thickness
throughout; they are quite heavy. Cornucopias symmetrically disposed are
often found on the frontons. It is a peculiarity of these cornucopias
that notwithstanding the considerable size and quantity of the fruits
overflowing their mouths, they are so slender that they might almost be
taken for curved trumpets. Though rich and very abundant in detail, this
ornamentation does not show much relief, because the composition, as a
rule, does not present any important or dominant motive. In the
decoration it is seldom that the living form plays more than an entirely
accessory part. The bold round mouldings now dispense with the ornaments
and details of preceding styles. In many cases, these mouldings frame
panels in which the square form predominates. When the square is
extended into a rectangle, its dimensions are always greater
horizontally than vertically. The hexagon, so much employed in the Henri
II. style, is now supplanted by the octagon, which is frequently to be
noticed.
Having now gone over the general characteristics and decorative features
of this period, we may proceed to describe the separate pieces of
furniture that are appropriate for a room of the Louis XIII. style.
First let it be said, however, that it is a mistake to suppose that a
Louis XIII. room need be in any sense bare, cheerless, or lacking in
comfort or convenience. The impression gained from the charming
engravings of Abraham Bosse is one of cosiness as well as elegance.
The only sense of severity of this period in the interiors is produced
by the massive chimney-pieces and the somewhat monumental forms of
wardrobes, presses, cabinets, _armoires_, etc. These are usually in two
tiers, the lower one usually being solid, as on Plate II., No. 4. The
frame, or open lower part, however, was winning its way into favour. A
good example of the latter appears on Plate III., No. 1, and the more
curious and ornate transitional form in No. 4 of the same plate. Another
example of the _armoire_ of this period, having drawers between two
compartments of doors is shown on Plate IV., No. 4, the details of which
are purely characteristic of this period. The full drawing on the same
plate shows a smaller cabinet with drawers beneath the two doors. This
is a very handsome example of marquetry work. The patterns of the inlaid
wood under the cornice are very effective. It will be noticed that
panelling plays a most important part in the decoration of these pieces
of furniture. Many of them had pediments of an architectural character.
These pediments were frequently broken, and in the centre on a pedestal
stood an allegorical figure, or similar ornament, such as that of
Justice shown in Plate II., No. 2. The panels were frequently richly
carved with characteristic Louis XIII. ornaments, or with Biblical,
allegorical or mythological subjects, such as Juno and the peacock,
Judith with the head of Holofernes (Plate IV., Nos. 2 and 1), and Paris
with the golden apple (Plate II., No. 3). The important part played by
pillars, whether straight or twisted, in the decorative scheme is
readily seen by a glance at the pieces of furniture on Plates III. and
IV. No. 4 (Plate III.), called a credence, has three varieties of
columns on the same tier. The flat bulb foot, plain or carved, so
typical of this period, is also shown on Plates II., III. and IV. The
buffet credence (Plate IV., No. 4) shows a peculiar combination of
straight and twisted column. The shield in its broken pediment is
flanked by the peculiar ear decoration characteristic of this period
which has already been referred to (page 5). The winged cherub, which is
so often found as a decorative accessory, appears to splendid effect on
the mirror on Plate II., under the cornice of No. 4 on the same plate
and on Plate III., No. 4. Several varieties of mascarons also appear on
Plates II. and III.
The woods of which these massive cabinets, chests-of-drawers, etc., were
made were oak, walnut, chestnut and sometimes ebony. The Dutch were
bringing great quantities of new exotic woods from the Far East, and the
Spaniards were also introducing beautiful woods from the Central and
South American forests and the West Indies. Mahogany, however, was
scarcely known as yet in France, and was not generally used till a
century later. The French, Germans, and especially Netherland
cabinet-makers, however, were making full use of the advantages offered
by the beautiful grains and tints of the new imported woods for the
purposes of marquetry. Ebony, of course, was also extensively used for
inlay and in the cheaper work blacked pear-wood was substituted. Ebony
was too costly except for the richest kind of work. France was procuring
it from Madagascar; the most highly-prized varieties, however, came from
Ceylon, from which island green and yellow varieties were brought as
well as the black. The workers of ebony gave their name to the whole
craft of cabinet-making; the word _ébéniste_ becomes generally used
about this time.
In many of the larger pieces of furniture, the severe, rectangular and
geometric character, the antique columns, pediments, broken pediments,
garlands, pagan gods and goddesses, heroes, caryatides, grotesque
figures, arabesques, vegetable and animal forms, imaginary beings half
animal and half vegetable issuing from foliage, terms, and heads are
ornaments and characteristics of the preceding reigns which have been
carried over into the Louis XIII. period. The importation of Florentine
and other Italian artists and workmen by Marie de Medici is clearly
discernible in the great cabinets of this period. Not only were they
inlaid with exotic woods, but also incrusted with precious metals and
semi-precious stones. A cabinet of the Louis XIII. period made by a
Florentine artist frequently exhibits the most astonishing prodigality
of material as well as workmanship. One of more than usual sumptuousness
is described as being composed of three tiers and being entirely covered
with shell, inside and outside. An aspect of extraordinary richness is
produced by pilasters of lapis-lazuli, cornaline ornaments, plates of
embossed silver, paintings and miniatures, framings of delicately
_repoussé_ and gilded copper and a top enriched with stones and silver
figurines. Such a cabinet by its elaborate workmanship required the
services of many craftsmen,—the cabinet-maker, the smith, the engraver,
the lapidary, the mosaic-worker, the miniaturist, the sculptor and the
ivory-worker.
[Illustration: PLATE II]
We should naturally expect to find fine examples of Italian-made Louis
XIII. cabinets among the possessions of the magnificent Cardinal
Mazarin. In fact, the inventory of his goods mentions many such. One is
thus described: “An ebony cabinet having a little moulding on the sides,
quite plain outside, the front being divided into three arcades, in the
middle of which are six niches, in four of which, in the lower row, are
four virgins of ebony bearing bouquets of silver, the said doors being
ornamented with eight columns of veined lapis-lazuli, the bases and
capitals of composite order in silver, the fronts of the doors and the
rest of the cabinet being ornamented with various pieces, viz.,
cornalines, agate and jasper, set with silver; and above the arcades are
three masks in jasper and twelve roses of the same mixed with six oval
cornalines; the remainder is ornamented with silver let into the ebony
in cartouche and leaf-work.”
Another cabinet owned by Cardinal Mazarin was of ebony, the cornice
ornamented with copper gilt, resting on four copper lions silver gilt,
the base of lapis-lazuli with a dome between two pilasters ornamented
with ten miniatures. In the centre on the door, Apollo was represented;
on the front of the drawers, the Nine Muses; and, on the four corners of
each drawer, a medal showing portraits of two ancient and two modern
poets. These were covered with Venetian crystal and enclosed in a little
cornice with festoons of copper, silver gilt. The cabinet was of two
sections and stood on eight columns of pear-wood stained black. It was 3
feet, 1 inch high; 3 feet wide; and 1 foot, 2 inches deep.
Two other ebony cabinets, both known by the name of “_Cabinet de la
Paix_,” also belonged to the Cardinal. One of these was made by Dominico
Cussey. This was of ebony inlaid with metal and was almost entirely
covered with jasper, lapis-lazuli and agates. In front, it was enriched
by four figures representing heroes, of bronze gilt on a background of
lapis-lazuli. In the centre, there was a portico supported by two
columns of lapis-lazuli with base and capitals of gilt bronze, having on
the frontispiece the arms of France crowned and supported by two
angels,—all in gilt bronze on a background of lapis-lazuli. In the depth
of the portico, there was a statue of Louis XIII. seated and holding in
his left hand a shield with the device of His Majesty. Beneath his feet,
there were a carpet and a cushion,—all in gilt bronze. In the top part
of the cabinet there was a little niche which contained the figure of
Peace that gave the cabinet its name. The cabinet stood upon a gilded
wooden base supported in front by two pilasters on an azure background,
and four figures representing “the four principal rivers of the world.”
The whole was 8 feet high; 5 feet, 3 inches wide; and 19 inches deep.
The companion cabinet of the same dimensions and proportions was
likewise in two parts (_à double corps_); and likewise incrusted with
jasper, lapis-lazuli and agates. In the large portico, the figure was
that of Queen Marie Thérèse of Austria dressed as Pallas, and above were
the arms of France and Spain supported by two angels. On the sides were
four figures of the Virtues in relief, standing on a base of sculptured
and gilded wood, which, instead of rivers, as in the companion piece,
represented the four geographical divisions of the world.
Another of Mazarin’s cabinets that had formerly belonged to his great
predecessor, Richelieu, is described as being decorated with wavy
mouldings (guilloches) and compartments ornamented with various flowers,
masques and half figures, the frieze bearing marine monsters and the
middle of the doors having an octagonal panel in which is an Amphion on
a dolphin. It rested on a base of four ebony columns united in front,
and four pear-wood pilasters behind; and between the columns was a
cartouche bearing the arms of the deceased Cardinal Richelieu. This
cabinet was 5 feet in length; 1 foot, 7 inches in depth; and 5 feet, 10
inches in height. This was evidently an excellent typical specimen of
pure Louis XIII. work, since it was made for Richelieu.
These rare cabinets were undoubtedly the origin of the Boulle furniture
of the next reign, and they existed in great numbers until destroyed
during the Revolution. The few that survived the ravages of the mob are
preserved in museums and private collections.
The _cabinets à porte_ (cabinets with doors) were, as a rule, more
severe than the sumptuous articles just described. They depend far more
upon the architectural form and talent displayed by the cabinet-maker
and designer than upon the skill and art of the decorator. The first
_cabinets à porte_ date from the Renaissance, and received their name at
the moment when one kind of _bahut_, placed on four feet, contested
popularity with another kind that stood on a base with doors, and
foreshadowed the form of those pieces of furniture called _à deux
corps_. The construction of these pieces, no matter how fine the
execution of their mouldings, panels, and doors, was as a rule massive,
and was the work of the joiners and carvers instead of the _ébénistes_
and _marqueteurs_.
One of these double cabinets is shown on Plates II. and IV., the upper
part appearing in No. 2 on Plate II., and the lower in No. 2 on Plate
IV. A carved oak _bahut_ is shown on Plate IV., No. 1. Another walnut
double cabinet is shown on Plate II., No. 4. A cabinet of another
variety appears on Plate III., No. 1. This is made of oak and cedar
inlaid with rosewood, and has two doors in front with projecting panels,
and an oval moulding in the centre and one outside drawer with brass
drop handles.
The cabinet-makers of Southern Germany also excelled in their art, and
their _Kunstschranken_ were sought for presents to princes. The most
famous piece of furniture of this class is known as the “Pomeranian Art
Cabinet,” now in the Chamber of Arts in Berlin. It was made between 1611
and 1617 for Philip II., Duke of Pomerania. Philip Heinhofer of Augsburg
designed it and it was made in that town by Baumgartner. The
elaborateness of this cabinet may be appreciated from the great number
of workmen employed in its construction. These included three painters,
one sculptor, one painter in enamel, six goldsmiths, two clock-makers,
an organ-maker, a mechanician, a modeller in wax, a cabinet-maker, an
engraver upon metal, an engraver of precious stones, a turner, two
locksmiths, a binder and two sheath-makers. This cabinet is 4 feet, 10
inches high, 3 feet, 4 inches wide, and 2 feet, 10 inches deep. It is
made of ebony with sandal-wood drawers lined with red morocco, and
mounted with silver and _pietra dura_ work. It is supported on four
griffins with heads and manes of silver gilt but the real weight is
borne upon a large scroll. The base is inlaid with small panels of
lapis-lazuli, jasper, cornelian and agate, with plates of chased silver
between them. The upper and lower friezes are composed of fruit, and
other ornaments consist of female figures and boys playing musical
instruments. There are also medallions of silver and Limoges enamel.
A fine example of a cabinet of the Seventeenth Century was owned by
Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill. This was 5 feet high and 3 feet wide,
composed of ebony, rosso antico columns, lapis-lazuli and bloodstone
panels, with settings of _or moulu_ and precious stones. Neptune was
represented in the central niche and on either side Tritons and sea
nymphs sported. Beneath these were serpents and shells, horses,
griffins, lions, bulls and dogs. In the panels above children were
fishing with nets and rods. The whole was supported on four ebony legs
ornamented with gold. Tables of the period were also most ornate.
Vasari speaks of a “splendid library” table made by Bernardo
Buontalenti, at the order of Francesco de’ Medici. It was “of ebony
veneered with ebony divided into compartments by columns of heliotrope,
oriental jasper, and lapis-lazuli, which have the vases and capitals of
chased silver. The work is furthermore enriched with jewels, beautiful
ornaments of silver, and exquisite little figures interspersed with
miniatures and terminal figures of silver and gold in full relief united
in pairs. There are besides other compartments formed of jasper, agates,
heliotropes, sardonyxes, carnelians, and other precious stones.”
The _armoire_ did not lose its importance until the end of the
Seventeenth Century, when it was relegated to the _Garde-Robes_; but the
_armoires_, called _placards_, hidden under the panels of the room,
remained. Mazarin had an _armoire_ in his _Garde-Robe_ 7 feet high and 5
feet 3 inches wide.
In the inventory of Madame de Mercœur, the _garde-robe_ contains
armoires, a bed and seats, and gives a hint of the dressing-table by “a
table with drawer, having a _housse_ of red serge d’Aumalle.”
The feature of a Louis XIII. room that formed one of its chief
attractions was its tapestries and other hangings. Wherever the
furniture would admit of it, a gay cloth was spread or hung. The
parquet, boarded, or tiled floor also was partly covered with rugs from
the Levant.
It is an age of rich textiles: not only do we find tapestry with its
mythological, Biblical, allegorical, historical and floral pictures, but
damasks, silks, velvets, brocades, serges and Oriental goods occur in
bewildering variety. Their designs have never been surpassed in effect
and elegance. When the materials were of one solid colour, they were
usually ornamented with embroidery, braids, passementerie and gold and
silver lace in addition to fringes. The latter existed in great number.
They were of various widths and materials as well as designs. Sometimes
fringes of two widths were used on the same drapery, and it was not
infrequent that a fringe of gold was placed directly above one of
silver, or the reverse. One of the most popular fringes was the
_crespine_, a very narrow fringe composed of slender threads placed
close together and sometimes tufted. This was used for trimming the
bed-curtains, tablecloths and chairs (see Frontispiece). Another
favourite fringe was the _Milanaise_ or _Napolitaine_, composed of two
kinds of threads, frequently silver and a coloured silk rolled together
in the form of a spiral.
The window curtains and _portières_ were also trimmed with braid and
fringe. They hung from cornices of oak or walnut, carved to accord with
the rest of the furniture. The centre of the cornice was decorated with
a cartouche; or a figure of some kind, very frequently a mascaron, and
beneath this hung the curtain or the lambrequin. The curtains were of
tapestry, brocade, brocatelle, lampas (a kind of brocade), Genoa velvet
or damask lined with silk or serge and bordered with braid, lace and
fringe of gold, silver or silk, or worsted. The lambrequin used toward
the end of the period consisted of a series of denticulated scallops or
square flaps, shaped like those that bordered the tops of tents and
pavilions, or in the form of the housings on which the knights’ arms
were emblazoned.
The bed is highly decorative. It is almost solely dependent upon its
furniture for its effect, as the wood is seldom, or never, visible. The
typical bed of the period is known as the _lit en housse_. It is the one
that appears in Abraham Bosse’s engravings. We may note in passing that
the word _housse_ has the some origin as the _housse_ or housings
applied to the coverings of the horses in the Middle Ages.
The wooden framework is of comparatively little importance, after the
correct proportions have been assured. The _ciel_, or canopy, which is
supported by four posts must never quite touch the ceiling of the room.
The posts are covered with the same material as the curtains, or painted
in harmony, and occasionally they are left plain. Iron rods surround the
canopy beneath the valance for the support of the curtains, which may be
drawn up or down by means of cords and pullies. When closed, the _lit en
housse_ has the appearance of a square box. The _lit en housse_ consists
therefore of the four posts, the canopy or _ciel_, the headboard and the
base around which the lower valance is fastened. The canopy is always
lined and surrounded by a valance, which is repeated around the base.
The straight curtains that hang from the canopy in rigid lines behind
the headboard (or bolster if there is no headboard) are known as _bonnes
grâces_. From the canopy and underneath the valance hang the three
outside curtains. The counterpane, called _courtepointe_, or _couverture
de parade_, is generally of the same material as the curtains or their
linings. The bolster is always long and round. Pillows never occur.
[Illustration: PLATE III]
The _lit en housse_ is particularly easy to reproduce. It is merely
necessary to be sure of the correct proportions and the appropriate
materials. As we have already remarked in the days of Louis XIII., there
was a great variety of rich textiles. A _lit en housse_ was covered with
any material from tapestry, brocade, damask, silk and velvet, to serge,
or cloth, or even linen, or East Indian goods. The fringe, galloons,
braids, laces, tassels, etc., for the ornamentation of the curtains and
counterpanes are legion. When tapestry or striped goods were not
employed, the silk, velvet, serge, or damask, etc., was usually
decorated with handsome braid put on in the form of stripes, or squares,
as shown in our Frontispiece and on Plate III., No. 3. The linings of
the bed-curtains were, as a rule, of different material, and frequently
of different hue from the curtains. The valance was of the same material
as the curtains; but the lining of the canopy, the covering of the
headboard (if there was one) and the _bonne grâces_ matched the linings
of the outside curtains. The braids preferably were gold or silver lace
with gold or silver fringe to edge the curtains, the upper and lower
valances and the rich counterpane. The valance and curtains may be
arranged as shown on Plate III., No. 3, or as in the Frontispiece; but,
in all cases, the four corners must be decorated with a bunch of plumes
or _panache_, a “bouquet,” of silk ornaments, or a carved or turned
wooden knob, the “_pomme_.” The _courtepointe_, or counterpane, must
cover the entire mattress and fall to the floor on the three sides. The
beds, to which we have just referred, also show the peculiar square and
rigid shape of the bed when made and the long round bolster that always
adorns the head of the _lit en housse_. The bed may stand lengthwise or
“_vu de pied_.” A _lit en housse_ of later date appears as a full
drawing on Plate III. This is represented “_vu de pied_” and is
furnished with a headboard. The latter is upholstered.
For the sake of suggestions for those who might wish to reproduce a _lit
en housse_, we give a few descriptions of beds taken from some French
inventories of the day. One of Cardinal Mazarin’s beds is described as a
“green taffeta bed” and fortunately the dimensions are given. It was 6½
feet long and equally wide, so that it was a perfect square. It was 7
feet, 3 inches high. The _housse_ was furnished with three curtains of
cloth of Holland green lined with taffeta and garnished at the base with
gold and silver fringe. A smaller fringe ornamented the sides. The
head-board and the cases for the bed-posts were of cloth of silver lined
with green. The four knobs decorating the tops of the bed-posts were
covered with velvet and trimmed with lace, and each of these was
surmounted by a “bouquet” of gold and silk on wire.
Another bed of the period is exquisite. It was of old rose velvet
embroidered with grotesque figures of animals, festoons and cartouches.
On the _ciel_ underneath the “dais” were five oval medallions,—one at
each corner and one in the centre. In these the story of David and Saul
was embroidered in silk illuminated with gold threads.
The Château de Turenne in 1615 contained two green velvet beds, one of
which had its posts covered with green velvet; the other had a double
valance of green velvet trimmed with gold and silver lace, a fringe of
green silk and a fringe of gold and silver. The head was ornamented with
a fringe of green silk mixed with gold and silver and a fringe of violet
silk mixed with gold and silver.
The Château de Chenonceau contained a number of beds of this kind. One
was a bed of green damask, _en housse_, the bottom and the headboard
trimmed with a narrow fringe of green silk, while a deep fringe
surrounded the valance. The curtains were fastened at the corners with
shank buttons of green silk. Another was of green Carize, or kersey,
ornamented with green silk lace and trimmed with a narrow fringe of
green silk. A third was of violet Carize trimmed with a narrow fringe of
violet silk; and a fourth of dun-coloured Carize trimmed with a fringe
of dun-coloured silk. Then there were four beds of black and white
_drugget_, trimmed with a fringe of black and white worsted. There were
also many hangings for beds _en housse_. One was of needlework of many
colours ornamented with a fringe of red, yellow and green worsted. Two
hangings of tapestry, representing trees and flowers, were trimmed with
a deep fringe of red and yellow worsted.
Another tapestry for bed-hangings represented all sorts of flowers. The
fringe that ornamented it was of red, green and yellow worsted. Another
tapestry, representing fountains and savages, had a deep fringe of green
and red worsted. Another depicted foliage, roses, grapes and wild
beasts, and was ornamented by a deep fringe of green, red and yellow
worsted. Another had a greenish-brown background on which all kinds of
flowers were thrown, and it was ornamented with red, white and green
fringes. Another was of blue tapestry sown with yellow fleur-de-lis. One
of needlework was composed of squares of blue, white and flesh colour;
the headboard and bottom valance were also like the curtains. The
worsted fringes were yellow, white, blue and red.
A very handsome bed was entirely made of crimson velvet lined with
crimson taffeta. The canopy was also of crimson velvet lined with
crimson taffeta, and so were the curtains, which were fastened down the
sides by forty-two buttons and buttonholes. The hangings, the valance,
the headboard, and the curtains were all ornamented with gold and silver
lace applied in the conventional stripes. Deep and narrow fringes of
crimson silk, _crespines_ of gold and silver, and small fringes of gold
and silver contributed further decoration. The fringe was put on double,
that is to say, the crimson silk fringe was covered by the smaller
fringes of gold and silver. The ornamental counterpane was of crimson
velvet lined with taffeta, and ornamented with a _crespine_ of gold and
silver. It was fastened tightly to the base of the bed by means of
forty-four shank buttons and buttonholes, and the whole length of the
buttons there was a little fringe of crimson silk covered with a fringe
of gold. Each curtain required five lengths of velvet.
Another bed with its valance on three sides, its valance around the base
and its _bonnes grâces_ was of cloth-of-gold mingled with blue,
decorated with squares formed of raised crimson velvet, and bordered
with black velvet ornamented with gold and silver and tinsel. The
valance was lined with white taffeta garnished with fringes of blue silk
with a gold _crespine_; the curtains were lined with crimson taffeta and
edged with little fringes of gold and blue silk; and the lower valance
was ornamented with fringes of gold and blue silk. The ornamental
counterpane was made of squares of crimson silk, trimmed with gold
braid, ornamented with a deep fringe of crimson silk, and headed by a
gold _crespine_. The outside curtains of crimson silk, each three
lengths and a half, were ornamented with gold braid and a narrow fringe
of crimson silk and gold.
The valances and curtains of another were of green and gold velvet with
bars of crimson satin bordered with gold. The valances were lined with
white satin, trimmed with a fringe of crimson silk and a gold
_crespine_. The _bonnes grâces_ were of crimson taffeta with narrow
fringes of gold and crimson silk. The lower valance was garnished with
fringes of gold and silk.
Another, was of cloth-of-silver of Milan, damasked with flesh-coloured
silk, and trimmed with silver tinsel, flesh-coloured silk, and a
_crespine_ of gold and silver. The bed-posts were covered with the same.
The curtains and valances were of flesh-coloured and white damask,
trimmed on the seams with a fringe of flesh-coloured silk, covered by a
narrow fringe of silver.
Another, was formed of squares of cloth-of-gold (old gold) and squares
of cloth-of-gold and cloth-of-silver and violet, separated by strips of
crimson velvet covered with a braid of gold and silver, and trimmed with
a small fringe of gold and white silk. The valances were lined with
white taffeta, garnished with a deep fringe of white silk and a
_crespine_ of gold. The lining of the canopy and curtains was of
cloth-of-silver bordered with cloth-of-gold; the headboard was covered
with cloth-of-gold and silver damasked with black. The three curtains
and the _bonnes grâces_ of white damask were ornamented down the seams
with gold braid, but had no fringe. The bed-posts were covered with
cloth-of-gold (old gold) ornamented with narrow gold and silver braid. A
tasteful bed was of violet velvet and violet damask, the latter being
used to cover the head-board and for the _bonnes grâces_. The fringes
were violet silk, and the braid and _crespines_ of violet silk also. The
curtains were of violet damask, each four lengths, trimmed horizontally
with violet silk lace and a narrow violet silk fringe.
A bed of dun-coloured serge was trimmed with silk fringe of the same
hue, its _bonnes grâces_ being dun-coloured taffeta. The counterpane was
of dun-coloured serge trimmed horizontally with a deep fringe of
dun-coloured silk and forty-eight silk buttons and buttonholes. The four
posts were covered with serge ornamented with silk braid, and the four
“_pommes_” were also covered with serge ornamented with silk braid.
Another bed was of scarlet lined with red taffeta and trimmed with gold
braid and a deep fringe of common silk covered with _crespines_ of gold.
The curtains were decorated with gold braid and a narrow fringe of gold.
The four posts were covered with scarlet ornamented with gold braid.
Another bed was of flesh-coloured satin with squares of
cloth-of-gold-and-silver. The ornamental fringe was red.
Another, was of green satin embroidered in gold and silver. The fringes
were of green and white silk, both deep and narrow. The curtains were of
green damask.
Another, of violet velvet embroidered in gold and silver flames,
bordered with cloth of silver, was lined with violet taffeta. The
fringes were of violet silk.
Another, was of green velvet ornamented with gold and silver lace and
fringes of green silk covered with _crespines_ of gold and silver; the
headboard was of cloth-of-gold-and-silver ornamented with green silk
fringe; the lower valance was trimmed with gold and silver braid and a
fringe of violet silk covered with a fringe of gold and silver. The
curtains were green damask trimmed with gold and silver braid and silk
fringe, and the ornamental counterpane of green taffeta trimmed with
fringes of silk and gold.
Another bed was of cloth-of-gold striped with black and crimson satin;
the curtains were flesh-coloured taffeta ornamented with crimson fringe.
The bed-posts, as we have noted, are always surmounted by ornaments,
known, no matter what their form may be, as “_pommes de lit_.” The
following kinds are mentioned in the inventory of the Château de Turenne
in 1615:
“Four _pommes de lit_ of wood covered with crimson velvet ornamented
with gold and silver braid and garnished with bouquets of gold and
silver and varied coloured silks and little _egrettes_ of gold and
silver; four wooden _pommes de lit_ covered with cloth-of-silver and
green trimmed with gold lace, belonging to the bed of green velvet on a
gold background; four _pommes de lit_ covered with crimson velvet
trimmed with gold and silver lace and three grey plumes, belonging to
the crimson velvet bed; four _pommes de lit_ of wood painted violet and
gold, belonging to the violet velvet bed; twenty-eight _pommes de lit_
of gilded wood belonging to various beds, and twelve _pommes de lit_.”
Another bed that is characteristic of this period was the _lit de
baldaquin_. This is a bed with daïs of three sides. Its framework was of
natural wood, or wood carved and gilded, or covered with some rich
material. This bed that dismisses the columns or posts, was introduced
during this reign and carried into the next one. The _baldaquin_, which
replaces the canopy supported by posts, must be slightly smaller than
the bed it overshadows. Sometimes it is equipped with an arch that is
covered with the same material as the general drapery of the bed, and
this arch, which may be found in the old designs, following the curved
movement of the baldaquin is sometimes surmounted with a bunch of
feathers. When this arch contains a dome that surmounts the baldaquin,
it is called the “_Lit Impérial_.”
A _lit à impériale_ of the period was one of green velvet and gold and
silver, trimmed with a gold and silver _crespine_ and a little green
silk fringe covered with a gold and silver fringe. The curtains were of
green damask trimmed with gold and silver braid. Another was of cloth of
gold and yellow damask in squares with bands of white damask and a deep
fringe of white and blue. The valance was composed of squares, but the
head-board was in lengths.
This probably differed but slightly from the “_pavillon_” bed, of which
there are many descriptions in the old inventories. Mazarin, for
example, had two “_pavillon_” beds in red serge. In the Château de
Turenne there was a pavilion of crimson damask ornamented on the seams
with a wide braid of gold and silver. A braid of gold and silver also
surrounded the base, as well as a narrow fringe of crimson silk covered
with a fringe of gold and silver. The _chapiteau_ was of crimson velvet
ornamented with the same braid on every seam and also upon the bottom
with a deep fringe of crimson silk covered with a deep _crespine_ of
gold and silver. The _chapiteau_ was an ell in circumference. Upon the
top was a “_pomme_” painted red and silvered, to which was attached a
silk cord of red, yellow and white.
[Illustration: PLATE IV]
Another was of white gauze, upon the seams of which little tufts, or
tassels, of various colours were sewn. The “_pomme_” painted in various
colours, had attached to it a green silk cord; another was of crimson
and gold; and another of violet velvet trimmed with silk fringe of the
same hue. The “_pomme_” of the latter was painted violet and silver, and
the cord was of violet silk.