A History of Antique Furniture Styles

Jacobean (1600 - 1690) - View Our Jacobean items

An English style of furniture, which is medieval in appearance with straight lines, rigid designs, sturdy construction, ornate carvings and a dark finish. Much of the early Oak was still the timber used during the reigns of James I and Charles I. The furniture retained many Elizabethan characteristics but the ornament gradually became less prominent.The ornamentation became smaller, lighter with flatter carving, and carpets were now being introduced. The changing of women's fashion, in particular their dresses, led to the development of chairs without arms, and upholstery became popular.Chests disappeared and were replaced with chests of drawers, which often had applied mouldings mitred around the drawer front. This was to cover the dovetail joints which were being used for the first time to construct the drawers. Previously drawers were always hidden behind doors. The gate leg table was introduced. Knobs and drawer pulls were often carved.Many wealthy left England when the civil war broke out in 1642. The building of great houses halted and many of the household staff left for the battlefield.Until 1660 and the restoration of the monarchy, furniture had been made under the Puritan rule and lacked inspiration and reflected increased simplicity. Plain bobbin turning became popular and upholstery reverted to plain leather that was usually held by heavy brass studs.Farthingale Chair -this was developed because ladies wore farthingale hooped skirts, a chair was required for the women to be able to sit down.

·Gate Leg Table - circular, elliptical and rectangular tables made their appearance. ·Bulbous became oval and left plain before disappearing altogether. ·Chest of drawers developed with geometrically designed applied mouldings. ·Families became less wealthy. ·Simple panel beds. ·"x" chairs with crossed legs were also common. ·Bible box has legs added to become a writing desk.

Early American (1640-1700)

Rudimentary utilitarian furniture made from local woods. It was brought from or modeled after European furniture styles, particularly from England, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Spain.

William and Mary (1690-1725)

Named after William and Mary of England (1689-1694). It has Dutch and Chinese influences and is characterized by trumpet turned legs terminating in a ball or Spanish foot, padded or caned chair seats, and Oriental lacquer-work.

Queen Anne (1700-1755)

Named after Queen Anne of England who reigned from 1702-1714. The Queen Anne style is a refinement of the William and Mary style with a moderately proportioned, graceful appearance. It is characterized by cabriole legs terminating in a pad or drake foot, fiddle-back chair back, and bat wing shaped drawer pulls. The gracious and comfortable furniture from the Dutch influence continued and the English craftsman were developing their own skills.

They had learned the foreign techniques and started to create a distinct English style. As the room sizes were now much smaller the pieces of furniture were less massive than those of previous centuries and the comfort was provided for in the chairs.The chair is the single item that most typifies any one period and there is no exception with this period. The Queen Anne Chair is very well known and still popular today.Queen Anne Chair c. 1715, note the escalloped shell on the knee and the well proportioned shape.It features curved lines with the top rail flowing into the back legs with no obvious joints. Stretcher rails were omitted, as they were now unnecessary with cabriole legs. Walnut was still the most popular timber being used for furniture making, most of these articles featured cross-grained mouldings, rounded friezes and with many veneered surfaces, marquetry was replaced with fine carving. The cross-grained moulding was a feature that was exclusive to walnut work. It was not practical to make short-grained mouldings in the solid, so a thin layer of cross-grained walnut was glued to a long grained backing. Time was then allowed for shrinkage and any splits were then filled in.A greater leisure time saw the demand for small tables for tea, games etc. The Windsor chair dates from this period also.

·Pembroke table pivot top and drawer in end. ·Dressing mirrors designed to sit on toilet table, or writing table was the beginning of the dressing table. ·Tall boy - the extension of the chest of drawers, formed by placing one on top of the other. ·Graduation of drawers was purely English. ·Writing desk with sloping front and lopers to support. ·Twin pedestal desk has its origin in the knee hole writing table. ·The secretaire similar to the bureau in having a vertical front and bracket feet. ·Oyster pattern veneer. ·Cock beads, protection for veneer. ·Queen Anne Chair ·Furniture relied on its graceful well-proportioned shapes. Carving almost disappeared or only on the escalloped shell on the knee. ·Unbroken curved lines. ·Urn or vase shape splat shaped to fit the back (spooned). ·Chair backs were considerably narrower at the back. ·Stuffed over seats or drop in. ·Wing chairs to protect user from draughts. ·Cabriole legs, sometimes terminated with a claw and a ball. ·Windsor chair with shaped seat. ·Most early Windsor chairs has front cabriole legs. ·Smaller folding tables including concertina tables with cabriole legs increased in popularity due to tea and card games. ·Difficulty in veneering large tops led to folding tables and four way matching. ·Bureau (secretaire) no drawers

Colonial (1700-1780)

Combined the furniture style characteristics of William and Mary, Queen Anne, and Chippendale. Colonial furniture tended to be more conservative and less ornate than English and European furniture of the same style period.

Georgian (1714-1760)

Named after George I and George II who reigned England from 1714-1760. Georgian furniture is a more ornate version of Queen Anne. It is characterized by heavier proportions, elaborately carved cabriole legs terminating in a pad or ball-and-claw foot, ornate carvings, pierced back splats, and the use of gilding.

Pennsylvania Dutch (1720-1830)

A simple, utilitarian American country style of furniture with Germanic influences. It is characterized by colorful folk painting on case pieces.

Chippendale (1750-1790)

Named after British designer and cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale, who published his furniture designs in "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director" in 1754. The Chippendale style can be classified into three types: French influence, Chinese influence, and Gothic influence. In the United States, the Chippendale style was a more elaborate development of the Queen Anne style with cabriole legs, ball-and-claw foot, and broken pediment scroll top on tall case pieces.

Robert Adam (1760-1795)

Named for architect Robert Adam who studied ancient architecture in Italy. While in England, he designed furniture with classical details that would fit the character of his classically designed homes. The Adam style was limitedly reproduced by cabinetmakers in the United States. Adam interior millwork and woodwork was reproduced in South Carolina.

Hepplewhite (1765-1800)

Named after English designer and cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite whose designs in "The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide" were published posthumously in 1788. The Hepplewhite style is neoclassic and was reproduced in the United States particularly in the Carolinas, Maryland, New England, New York and Virginia. It is characterized by a delicate appearance, tapered legs and the use of contrasting veneers and inlay.

Federal (1780-1820)

Combined the neoclassic furniture style characteristics of Hepplewhite and Sheraton. It is characterized by graceful straight lines, light construction, tapered legs, and the use of inlay, and contrasting veneers.

Sheraton (1780-1820)

Named for English designer Thomas Sheraton who published his designs in "The Cabinet Makers and Upholsterers Drawing Book" in 1791. It is a neoclassical style characterized by delicate straight lines, light construction, contrasting veneers and neoclassical motifs and ornamentation. The Sheraton style was the most reproduced style in the United States during the Federal.Duncan Phyfe (1795-1848)

Named after American cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe. The Duncan Phyfe style is considered by some art historians as more of an adaptation and refinement of Adam, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Empire than a style in itself. It is characterized by carved or reeded legs and neoclassic motifs.

American Empire (1800-1840)

Patterned after French Empire with classical influences. It is moderate in proportion with classical ornamentation, coarse carving, and a dark finish.

Shaker (1820-1860)

A simple and utilitarian style produced by the religious group, the United Society of Believers, in self-contained communities within the United States. It is characterized by straight tapered legs, woven square chair seats and mushroom shaped wooden knobs.

Victorian (1840-1910)

Named for Queen Victoria of England who reigned from 1837-1901. The Victorian style draws its influence from gothic forms with heavy proportions, dark finish, elaborate carving, and ornamentation. The Victorian period was the first furniture style of mass production.

Arts and Craft (1880-1910)

The Arts and Craft is characterized by simple utilitarian design and construction. Arts and Craft style furniture is also referred to as Mission.

Art Nouveau (1890-1910)

Art Nouveau - French for "The New Art." An international art movement and style of decoration and architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, characterized particularly by the curvilinear depiction of leaves and flowers, often in the form of vines. These might also be described as foliate forms, with sinuous lines, and non-geometric, "whiplash" curves. Gustav Klimt. (Austrian, 1862-1918), Alphonse Mucha (Czechoslovakian, 1860-1939), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1861-1901), Aubrey Beardsley (English, 1872-1898), Antonio Gaudí (Spanish, 1852-1926), and Hector Guimard (French, 1867-1942) were among the most prominent artists associated with this style. The roots of Art Nouveau go back to Romanticism, Symbolism, the English Arts and Crafts Movement and William Morris (English, 1834-1896). In America, it inspired, among others, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). The name is derived from "La Maison de l'Art Nouveau," a gallery for interior design that opened in Paris in 1896. Art Nouveau is known in Germany as Jugenstil and in England as Yellow Book Style, and epitomizes what is sometimes called fin de siècle style. It reached the peak of its popularity around 1900, only to be gradually overtaken by art deco and other modernist styles.

Biedermeier

A naturalistic style characterized by intricately detailed patterns and curving lines.Biedermeier - A style of painting, furniture, and other crafts, prominent in Germany and Austria from 1815 to 1848, popular especially among the middle classes. It was a simplified adaptation of the French Empire style, which preceded it. The name is derived from two fictional bourgeois characters, Biedermann and Bummelmeier, in the satirical verses of Ludwig Eichrodt. (pr. bee"der-my´er)art deco - An art movement involving a mix of modern decorative art styles, largely of the 1920s and 1930s, whose main characteristics were derived from various avant-garde painting styles of the early twentieth century. Art deco works exhibit aspects of Cubism, Russian Constructivism and Italian Futurism -- with abstraction, distortion, and simplification, particularly geometric shapes and highly intense colors -- celebrating the rise of commerce, technology, and speed.The growing impact of the machine can be seen in repeating and overlapping images from 1925; and in the 1930s, in streamlined forms derived from the principles of aerodynamics.The name came from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes, held in Paris, which celebrated living in the modern world.It was popularly considered to be an elegant style of cool sophistication in architecture and applied arts which range from luxurious objects made from exotic material to mass produced, streamlined items available to a growing middle class.Empire style - A neoclassical style , primarily in clothing and the decorative arts, prevalent in France during the first part of the nineteenth century, obtaining its name from the "First Empire" of France (1804-1815), in which Napoleon I (Napoleon Buonaparte, 1769-1821) was the emperor.

Art Deco

Art Deco was a popular design movement from 1920 until 1939, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design , and industrial design , as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts , and film. This movement was, in a sense, an amalgam of many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Bauhaus , Art Nouveau, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked during the Roaring Twenties. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, functional, and ultra modern.