The History of Furniture

During the reign of Louis XVI,  furniture makers are looking back into the classical designs and forms. That is the second time, since a Renaissance period, when inspiration is coming from the past. Discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum brings Antiquity back into fashion. This "turn - back " was sort of reaction to Baroque and Rococo with their curves and ornaments. Symmetry, taste for nature and harmony is taking place in furniture forms. In France, Georges Jacob founds a dynasty of Cabinet -makers. In Germany, David Roentgen in his factory, hiring about 100 workers, as a first was able to create series of furniture - sort of production line known in today's modern factories.

New creations of that period are: roll top desk, Secretaries and chest- of -drawers combined, Chiffoniers, half moon chests of drawers, chest of drawers and sideboard combined, chest of drawers and dumb waiters combined - just mentioning a few. Directiore style -  a transition from Louis XVI   to Empire style,  following revolution brings more freedom and fantasy. Expedition of Egypt makes it fashionable. New elements are long hinges - used in armoires, Phrygian Caps, arrows, rhombs and also porcelain plaques and claw shaped legs. Negative change - abolition of Guilds gives more freedom, but workmanship becomes less carefull. Empire furniture are heavier, with straight lines and flat surfaces. Typical ornaments are related to Napoleon's ambitions - Letters " L ", lions paws, Caryatids, eagles - made of gilded bronze. Characteristic pieces are: Cheval mirrors, washstands, boat - shaped beds, mirror wardrobes, knee -hole writing desks, flower stands and three- legged or one legged pedestal table - just naming a few.

With Antiquity- being persistent source of inspiration, even higher soberness in "majesty" can be observed. Angles are square -edged, less carvings or mouldings and straight outlines.

First attempt of "moving" Empire furniture to interiors other than palaces was made in Austria. An effect - a new style was called Bidermeier ( from the name of  a German satiric person - in the poetry book Bidermeiers Kinderlust - by L. Eichbrodt), or style of Austrian middle class. Construction of  that furniture is logical and well combined. Pieces are made with a functionality in mind. In 1825, spring coils were invented, and changed the design of upholstered pieces. Higher, thicker upholstery was possible to make.

Under CharlesX, the School of the Duchess de Berry brought production of charming, inlaid pieces of furniture, made of light colored woods with a kingwood marquetry, or Brazilian rosewood with a light marquetry. This romantic school inspired a neo Gothic manner - Troubadour style - a beautiful accent in furniture history, because from now we gonna witness growing cheap production and lack of originality and inventiveness. After Napoleon's fall, a new style was introduced. We call it a New Rococo, or Louis Philippe. Furniture factories are more industrialized, more pieces are mass produced and start being more clumsy and dull. They are massive, undecorated. A few ideas are borrowed from medieval and renaissance, however often distorted. The end of the "Golden age" was marked by a deterioration in styles. Regency period, covering 1800 - 1820 was represented by a medley of styles based on Roman Greek and Egyptian and flavored with Gothic and Chinese influence - to complete the mixture. Japanned finishes, brass inlays, legs and arms carved in the forms of animal's heads and legs, winged female figures are novelties of that period.

Victorian period is often described as a period of confusion, search for novelties and mix of Gothic, Empire, Chinese and Japanese influence causing more - less ugliness and lack of taste. Lower standards were due to the increasing use of machinery in woodworking factories and causing a mass production of solid -built, but ill designed pieces.The days of designer seemed to have passed. About 1860, William Morris tried to restore some individuality and sanity to - what remained of the standards of design. This was an inspiring, but unequal fight against commercialization of the crafts. He become a master craftsman, designing and making tapestries, weaving and printing, working in wood and metal, trying to restore some pride in hand crafts and regain some respects for them. He didn't realized, that it was no point, fighting against the machine, which was more widely used and tighter allied with any form of industry and art. As we can see now, browsing furniture stores, that "bond" of art and industry has become so tight, that is increasingly harder to find an art in the furniture created almost entirely by machines. Due to a much higher demand, furniture making trade become almost completely industrialized. Solid wood has been replaced with particle board, glued with a formaldehyde based adhesives, releasing its "fumes" into our homes, precise joints - with 90 degrees (Roman) joints, secured with a drop of glue and a few staples. With a strict attention to the to the function ( not necessary well executed) all forms of fussy ornament are absent. Hardware used instead, beside being functional, lacks originality and often seems to be -too simple. But most of all, we wont be able to pass them to our kids, or a grand-kids from a simple reason - they wont last. Most of the furniture made now, is not gonna be admired a 100 years from now, the way we can admire some of the pieces from previous centuries. This is a reason, why more and more people is turning into restoring an old wooden desk, commode, or buffet rather than shopping for a new one. Sometimes is a sentimental value, when piece has been in family, but when we are looking for an old pieces in barns or garage sales, there is no other value, but belief, that they will last much longer than anything we can buy in the store and also, they are part of our past, our history, which little piece is represented by our new found treasure. It doesn't have to be a Queen Anne  high boy, purchased on the auction for a few hundred big ones, or more, it might be as well a small painted washstand, which restored will be cherished by us for many years instead being piled up on the curb couple years later.

The history, which I tried to wrap in couple of pages might be uncompleted and I omitted some names and events. The whole idea was about general trends, inspirations and characteristics, focused on Classical forms and their influences used properly and balanced, or, in other cases mismatched and caricatured. Effects were either - a new styles and well balanced forms, or plagiarized fake copies. I didn't include a dates and many other details, or variations of styles in different countries, it didn't suppose to be a history book, just my reflection over the past and what we can learn from. Reflection about those early furniture makers, their workshops, simple tools and achievements in comparison to many modern factories, equipped with laser guided and computerized machinery...................................and?

I would like to apologize for a style or perhaps grammar of my writing. English is not my "first" language and I am aware that may include some mistakes and "roughness".  I hope You can just ignore them. Thank You.