2½ feet wide, therefore nearly filling up the niche. It was covered with
a square of green taffeta, to which were attached three valances of gold
and green damask ornamented with gold braid and fringe. The two pillows
and bolsters were covered with the same damask, ornamented with gold
braid, fringe and tassels. A coverlet, crimson satin on one side and
green satin on the other, was invitingly ready for the lounger.
The _Garde-robe_ behind the bed was hung with crimson damask of a small
pattern, trimmed with gold braid. The _portière_ was of the same. Here
stood a _tabouret_ covered with red velvet ornamented with gold and
silver fringe.
The hangings of the Grand Cabinet on the Arcade consisted of thirty-one
lengths of gold brocade with flowers in gold thread, and thirty-one
lengths of red damask of small design. The length was 2¼ ells. This was
also used to decorate the space over the chimney. The frames of the
seats were painted red picked out with gold. These comprised a
_fauteuil_ and eight _tabourets_ covered with crimson velvet ornamented
with gold braid and fringe, two small and twelve large folding-stools
covered with crimson damask. In this room stood also a large sofa with
two backs of gilded wood, known in that day as _canapé à cremaillères_
(sofa with adjustable back). It was furnished with a mattress, covered
on both sides with crimson velvet ornamented with gold braid, and
valances of red velvet ornamented with gold braid and fringe. Its two
round bolsters and two square pillows were similarly covered and
decorated with gold tassels. The dimensions of this species of _lit de
repos_ were 7 feet, 2 inches long and 2½ feet wide. The window curtains
were of red taffeta. Red taffeta was also used to line a handsome
_armoire_ here (7 feet, 9 inches high, 5 feet wide, and 3 feet, 2 inches
deep) in which there were two shelves also draped with the said taffeta.
The top of the _armoire_ and the spaces over the doors were also covered
with crimson taffeta. The two mirrors and the chandelier were supplied
with cords and tassels of gold. In this sumptuous room were three superb
pieces of marquetry—two desks and a cabinet—a walnut _bureau_, and about
ten tables, most of which were card tables of various kinds; and one, a
little walnut table used for meals in bed.
The _Garde-robe en suite_ had a window curtain of white cotton and a
small curtain of white taffeta. It contained a small upholstered bed,
with a pavilion of red serge. The two small folding-seats, the frames of
which were painted red picked out with gold, were covered with red
velvet trimmed with a narrow gold braid.
[Illustration: PLATE XVII]
Mademoiselle d’Aumale’s chamber at Versailles (1708) contained both a
bed and a _lit de repos_, besides two _fauteuils_, five folding-seats, a
small chair, a screen, two tables, the lower part of an _armoire_ and a
_bureau_. The bed 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 6 feet, 3 inches high,
was hung with crimson and white damask of small pattern, and trimmed
with a braid and fringe of red, white, and black silk. One _fauteuil_
and the five folding-stools, the frames of which were painted red picked
out with white, were covered with the same crimson and white damask, and
the same fringe as the bed. The same fringe decorated a small chair with
a back that was covered with red damask. The other _fauteuil_ was
covered with red linen. Its frame was painted green picked out with
gold. The _lit de repos_ was upholstered in crimson damask; two of its
pillows were of the same, and two of red velvet, trimmed with gold
braid. The window curtains were of white damask, trimmed with a braid
and fringe of gold and silver. The screen, 3 feet 2 inches high, was of
four leaves, and was covered with red velvet, trimmed with gold and
silver braid. One of the tables, 3 feet, 3 inches long by 2 feet wide,
was of beech, and was covered with a carpet of red London serge falling
to the floor on all sides, the other was a walnut table, 25 inches by 18
inches, with a folding leg. The lower part of the _armoire_ was also
covered with a cloth of red London serge. The bureau was of marquetry of
cherry-wood, inlaid with green ebony in foliage design. It had
compartments, four drawers, and a door, and stood on eight legs of
term-shaped pillars of the same marquetry, the bases and capitals being
of gilded wood. This piece of furniture was 2 feet 9 inches long, and 1
foot 9 inches wide.
The cabinet of Madame la Maréchale de Rochefort (1708) contained a _lit
de repos_, a _fauteuil_, four chairs with backs, two _banquettes_, and a
table. The lounge with its two round bolsters and two square pillows,
and the chairs were covered with aurora-coloured and blue damask,
trimmed with gold and silver braid, the wood painted red picked out with
aurora. The window curtains, each containing six lengths (2⅓ ells each)
were of white damask, trimmed with a braid of gold and silver, and there
were also two small curtains of white taffetas, and a _portière_ of
Venetian brocatelle of blue background with flowers of aurora, white,
and black, lined with aurora-coloured serge. The table, 2 feet 7 inches
long by 23 inches wide, was of violet wood, inlaid with ebony and white
wood. It contained a drawer, and was supported on four termed pillars
with gilt bases and capitals.
The chamber of Mlle. Gaudry (1708) had in it a bed, a _fauteuil de
commodité_, five folding-seats, and two _bureaux_. The bed, composed of
three outside hangings, three large curtains, two _bonnes grâces_,
valances, and pommes, was draped in crimson Lyons damask, trimmed with a
braid of aurora-coloured silk. The seats were upholstered in red velvet,
trimmed with red and aurora-coloured silk. One of the _bureaux_ was
covered with a carpet of red leather, lined with red serge; the leather
carpet of the other was lined with green serge.
The apartments of the Duke of Orleans at Versailles in 1708 consisted of
an antechamber, a chamber, a cabinet and a _garde-robe_ beside the
chamber.
The antechamber was hung with gold leather on a red background, the
designs representing branches and masques of gold, and children and
birds in natural hues. An eight-leaved screen, seven feet high, a form
covered with red moquette and the lower part of an _armoire_ furnished
this room.
The chamber contained a bed, four _fauteuils_, three chairs with backs,
six folding-stools, two screens, a table, a _bureau en commode_, two
_guéridons_, a _fauteuil de commodité_ and six _tabourets_. The
window-curtains were of white damask, trimmed with gold fringe, but the
room was hung with red velvet of a design of small branches, trimmed
with gold braid. The _portières_, lined with taffeta, were also of this
material. The outside draperies of the bed, which was 6½ feet long, 6
feet, 3 inches wide and 10 feet, 10 inches high, were of the same red
velvet, trimmed with gold braid and fringe, but the inside curtains,
headboard, etc., were of gold watered silk. In the centre of the
headboard was a cypher and a _fleur-de-lis_. The canopy was decorated
with four red velvet _pommes_, upon each of which was a bunch of white
feathers. The frames of all the seats were painted red picked out with
gold. One of the screens had a gilded frame and was covered with red
velvet; the other, covered with red damask with a design of crowns and
gold and silver flowers, ornamented with gold braid and a double fringe
of gold and silver, was supported by a stem of gilded wood on three
console feet. The _bureau en commode_ was of walnut, as was also the
small table. The latter was inlaid with ebony, contained a drawer and
stood on four twisted columns. This had two table carpets, one of red
velvet, lined with taffeta and trimmed with gold braid and gold fringe
trailing over the floor; the other, of leather, lined with serge and
trimmed with gold braid. The _bureau en commode_ had two large drawers
with iron rings. The two tables were of black Chinese lacquer ornamented
with gold. They were each 3 feet, 5 inches high, the leg of each resting
on three women’s heads of gilt bronze. The _fauteuil de commodité_ was
of crimson damask, trimmed with gold and silver fringe, and its frame
painted red picked out with gold. The wood of the six _tabourets_ was
also red picked out with gold, the legs being term-shaped. These were
covered with red damask, having a design of crowns and gold and silver
flowers.
The cabinet contained a _lit de repos_, four _fauteuils_ and four
folding-stools, all upholstered in red velvet ornamented with gold braid
and gold fringe. The window curtains were of white damask, trimmed with
gold fringe. In this room were also two _bureaux_ of marquetry, and a
small walnut table, 27 inches long by 17 wide, standing on four turned
pillars. The cover for this was green serge bordered with an
aurora-coloured braid.
Having seen the apartments of the Duke of Orleans at Versailles, let us
look at those of the Duchess there in the same year (1708). The
antechamber was rich with a “set of tapestry hangings,”—gilt leather on
a white background; and here were also represented festoons of fruits
and garlands of flowers in red, green and gold. It was, moreover,
enriched with figures of Bacchus, women, children, harpies and gold
birds.
The entire room was hung with this (18⅓ ells being required to cover the
walls, and 3½ ells were required for the space above the mantel). The
furniture included an eight-leaved screen 7 feet high, two forms covered
with red flowered moquette, a folding-stool with painted red frame and
covered with red linen, and a couch.
The chamber was furnished with a bed, four _fauteuils_, four chairs with
backs, six folding-seats, twelve _tabourets_, a bureau-table, two tables
and a screen. The bed was superb. It was 6 feet wide, 6 feet, 9 inches
long and 11 feet high. It was mi-party (i. e., divided half and half),
of red damask and gold _moiré_, lined with white _moiré_ and trimmed on
the seams and all around the base and top of both valances and curtains
with gold braid and gold fringe. The three outside top valances, three
lower valances, two _bonnes grâces_, two _cantonnières_ and four
curtains were of the red and gold _moiré_; the headboard, four interior
valances, _courtepointe_ and sheaths of the bed-posts were of silver
_moiré_; the four _pommes_ of red damask and gold _moiré_ carried
bunches of white feathers with aigrettes. The _fauteuils_, chairs and
folding-seats were of gilded wood, covered with gold _moiré_, trimmed
with a band of crimson damask, edged with gold braid and gold fringe.
The frames of the _tabourets_ were painted red; the covers were red
velvet, trimmed with red silk braid. There were two covers for the
walnut bureau-table: one of red damask and gold _moiré_, trimmed with
gold braid and fringe; the other of red leather, lined with taffeta and
trimmed with a gold braid and gold fringe. The frame of the screen was
gilded wood. It was covered with red damask, ornamented with narrow gold
braid. The windows were draped in white damask, trimmed with gold
fringe. Each curtain was 4⅓ ells long and contained six lengths of
material. The cord for the chandelier was of gold and silver and red
silk.
The _cabine_, or little chamber, had similar curtains at the windows.
Four _fauteuils_, four chairs with backs and ten folding-stools were
covered with green velvet, trimmed with gold braid and fringe, the
frames being painted green, picked out with gold. There was also a small
folding-stool, the frame of which was painted red, and the seat of red
velvet trimmed with gold and silver fringe. In this room stood a walnut
commode, a card-table and a large marquetry cabinet.
The prevalence of the fashionable hue of aurora is to be noted at Val.
The Salon was hung in Venetian brocatelle, aurora-coloured background
with trailing branches of blue. The space over the chimney-piece was
also adorned with this rich textile, although the spaces over the four
doors were covered with aurora taffeta. The nine _tabourets_ in this
room were upholstered with the rich Venetian brocatelle and trimmed with
a silk fringe of aurora and blue. The frames were painted blue picked
out with gold. The stools had also coverings of aurora taffeta.
The King’s Chamber was furnished in aurora and white damask, containing
the bed and customary seats. The _portières_ were lined with aurora
taffeta and trimmed with a braid and fringe of gold and silver.
The King’s Cabinet contained a _lit de repos_, six folding-stools, and
two square pillows. These were covered to match the draperies in a rich
damask of aurora-coloured flowers on a blue background. The _lit de
repos_ was somewhat unusual, as over it hung a kind of pavilion. The
mattresses, bolsters and pillows were upholstered with the damask just
described, but the pavilion was hung with a striped material of aurora,
white, blue and black arranged in three little curtains looped over a
large curtain which fell to the floor, but which was looped back. The
drapery was trimmed with a braid and fringe of gold and silver.
The Passage was draped in a blue silk damask with white woollen flowers
trimmed with a blue silk Flanders brocatelle with aurora and white
flowers.
In the Guard-room, the hangings were of red Flanders brocatelle with
woollen flowers of aurora and white, the borders of the hangings being
green brocaded with branches of aurora and white. There were six forms
in this room, covered with moquette of various colours edged with braid
and fastened to the frames with gold-headed nails.
The Square room was draped in green Genoa damask, which was also used
for the _portières_, lined with green taffeta, and the twelve tabourets.
The frames of the latter were painted green picked out with gold.
In the Oval room, the hangings were of Venetian brocatelle with aurora
background upon which large green bunches were outlined with white.
There were four lounges in this room and eight oval tabourets. The
frames of the latter were painted green picked out with gold. They were
trimmed with gold fringe.
The Round room was adorned with a similar brocatelle, but the branches
on the aurora-coloured background were red outlined in white. The four
lounges here were 4½ feet long, and their frames were painted red picked
out with gold.
The Octagon room was hung in crimson damask from Genoa. The seats were
eight octagonal tabourets, painted red picked out with gold, and covered
with crimson damask nailed to the wood.
In 1675, a little cabinet at Val was furnished with a _lit de repos_
with one back, two chairs, two _fauteuils_ and two _tabourets_. These
were all covered to match the hangings with a brocade of gold and silver
on a green satin background and trimmed with gold and silver fringe.
There was a curtain of green taffeta and a curtain of white taffeta, and
there were slip covers of green taffeta for all the seats. The entire
furnishings were given by the King to Madame la Princesse de Conty.
The Salon (Plate XII.) is of fine proportions and gives an idea of the
rich frame required for the kind of furniture we have been describing.
The doors with two wings are of great importance. Their panels may be
decorated with carved motives, or cartouches. The ornaments may be
painted, if preferred. The chimney-piece is rarely of white marble: red
marble, green marble and _breccia_ were the kinds most frequently
employed in Louis XIV.’s time. The slabs of the tables and consoles
should be of the same, unless they are of mosaic. Upon the
chimney-piece, a Boulle clock, or one with a carved and gilded, or
bronze frame, may stand. The candelabra, on either side, containing
several arms, are carved and gilt. Andirons in the form of chimæra
complete the furnishings of the chimney-piece, where a wood fire should
blaze.
_Torchères_ should also be placed in the corners of the room, whose
branching arms help to illuminate and decorate the room. The chandelier,
in the centre of the room, is crystal and gilt bronze. The walls are
arranged in panels for the reception of tapestry, or hangings of some
rich nature. The mouldings surrounding the materials are often carved
and covered with dull, or burnished gold. The hangings are frequently
pictures of tapestry, as shown in Plate XII., or they are of damask,
brocade, velvet, or silk. The wall space below the hangings should be
wainscotted; it must never, however, attract attention.
Over the chimney-piece a mirror is placed; and directly opposite is
another mirror of similar frame. Beneath the latter, a console may
stand.
The floor is of parquetry, and in winter is covered with a large Persian
or Smyrna rug, or it may have a velvet Aubusson or Savonnerie rug of
sober colour, so as not to detract from the hangings.
The ceiling is usually made into _caissons_, or compartments, painted to
harmonize with the draperies. Sometimes, however, these are painted
white and gold, a deep oak, aurora, or a lilac grey. The window curtains
match the hangings; sometimes they are of tapestry, sometimes of
brocade, or damask, or silk, and beneath these heavy curtains white
curtains of muslin or silk are hung. In the evening, the heavy curtains
are always drawn. They are rarely suspended below a cornice. Sometimes
the silk or brocade curtains are trimmed with braid and fringe, and
sometimes with a wide border of silk or velvet forming a kind of frame
all around the hanging. If _portières_ are used they are usually like
the rest of the draperies. If lambrequins are used, they are cut and
arranged in the shapes shown on Plate XIX, No. 1 and No. 4.
-----
Footnote 10:
Metal furniture, however, was known to the ancients. To quote a single
example, in the palace of King Ahasuerus, “the beds were of gold and
silver upon a pavement of red and blue and white and black marble.”
The Assyrian furniture was of gold, silver, and bronze, and splendid
furniture of gold, silver, and bronze, likewise adorned the Egyptian
and Roman palaces and villas. The _Romans d’aventure_ of the Middle
Ages contain descriptions of such rich furniture, inspired by Oriental
luxury.
Footnote 11:
In the anthemion, the springing point is the base, and the units
arrange themselves on either side of a central member, and form a
bi-symmetrical figure. This anthemion type of form is met with in
almost every style and period of art. The anthemion is sometimes
called the honeysuckle pattern. It is an old dogma that the decorative
form was suggested by this plant; but its more or less remote
resemblance to the buds of the honeysuckle is accidental, not
incidental; and the charm, both in nature and in art, is the inherent
beauty of a mass of radiating and upspringing forms, instinct with the
suggestion of vitality and growth. Hulme, _The Birth and Development
of Ornament_. London, 1893.
Footnote 12:
“A _cantonnière_ is a piece of material almost always of Gobelin or
Aubusson tapestry, which, hanging flat in the manner of a lambrequin,
has two hangings or tails falling down the sides and forming a kind of
frame for the curtains beneath. Sometimes these two hangings are held
back by hooks which give the effect of curtains; _cantonnières_ for
the decoration of beds are also made. The richness, the delicacy and
the good design of tapestry can give much value to this kind of
decoration. The narrow curtains of less fullness that are called
_bonnes grâces_ are an imitation of the _cantonnières_, an imitation
that is demanded by economy rather than the principles of decoration.”
Deville, _Dictionnaire du Tapissier_, Paris, 1878–1880.
Footnote 13:
In 1726, these curtains were used to upholster some furniture for the
Queen’s apartments at St. Cyr.
Footnote 14:
All of the draperies of this niche, like the alcove curtains already
described, were used in 1726 to cover a chair, a _lit de repos_ and
four folding-seats as well as three _portières_ for the Queen’s
apartment at St. Cyr.
QUEEN ANNE PERIOD
[Illustration]
QUEEN ANNE PERIOD
The Queen Anne period is interesting on account of the favour in which
it has been held of late years, particularly by a class that knows
nothing at all about it. Queen Anne furniture, Queen Anne silver, Queen
Anne cottages have been in great demand, in England particularly. When,
however, the student asks the Queen Anne devotee for a list of objects
that may fitly be included in an interior of that style, he usually
meets with a bewildering jumble. Charles II. oak-framed cane chairs
jostle others with cabriole legs and jar-shaped splats made of mahogany;
marquetry escritoires, spindle-legged walnut tables, Frisian clocks,
brass fenders, steel fire-irons and four-posted bedsteads are all
brought together to produce the proper contemporary flavour. The result
is certainly unsatisfactory for the searcher after truth.
Looking only at the manifest transitional features of the beginning and
end of this short period, some scoffers have even gone so far as to deny
that there is any Queen Anne style at all, but this is an extreme and
unjustifiable view. The Queen Anne period, short as it was, possessed
special characteristics.
First let us recall the dates. The easy-going lady who succeeded Dutch
William occupied the throne for only twelve years, dying in 1714,—one
year before Louis XIV. At this date, therefore, we are on the threshold
of the Regency, the characteristics of which in decorative art are
already established. For the beginnings of the Queen Anne style,
moreover, we must revert to a date prior to her actual succession. This
date is 1690, when the Glorious Revolution placed the Prince of Orange
on the throne of England. William used England as a weapon of defence of
the Netherlands against the aggression of Louis XIV., and on her
accession Anne carried on his policy. England, therefore, from 1690 to
the fall of Marlborough in 1711, might almost be regarded as a Dutch
province. Considering the close dynastic, political, mercantile and
religious ties between the two countries, it would be strange if Dutch
taste did not predominate in England. It was a Dutch taste, however,
tempered with French art. The French forced the highest development of
the Louis XIV. style on England and the Low Countries by the Revocation
of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. In consequence of that edict, many
thousands of the best workmen in the French arts and crafts were forced
to go into exile, taking refuge in England, Germany and Holland. There
they were welcomed by their co-religionists, and their labours had a
great and immediate influence on the native styles. The artist who
exerted the greatest influence in forming the Queen Anne style was
Daniel Marot, who left France in 1686 and went to Holland. There he
found immediate employment in the service of the Stadtholder, and when
the latter became King of England in 1690, he appointed Marot his chief
architect and master of works. Till his death in about 1718, Marot
designed the interior decorations and furniture for many mansions and
palaces in England and Holland. The names of many joiners, carvers and
goldsmiths (who at that day designed many minor pieces of furniture) are
to be found in the lists of Huguenot refugees in London. In that city,
French artists and designers found ready employment. Among others we
find J. B. Monnoyer (Baptiste), who died in London in 1699. Samuel
Gribelin also found much encouragement in England. He had published
three books of ornamental design before 1700. Thus, what the French call
“_le style refugié_,” crossed the Channel.