Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
Acanthus: A decorative wood carving representing the ragged leaf of the acanthus plant, a motive of classic Greek and Roman origin.
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Acid cutting: Used for decorating glass; objects were coated with an acid-resistant substance, often wax. A design was scratched or carved in the wax, exposing the underlying glass, and the whole item dipped in acid, which fixes the design.
Anthemion: A stylized honeysuckle ornament, in the Classical style, with inwards curving petals.
Apron: Sometimes called a skirt, A length of wood found beneath the bottom framing of a drawer, table top, chair seat etc. usually shaped and often decorated.
Arcading: A series of arches, usually supported on columns.
Architrave: In Classical architecture, which is reflected in classic furniture, it's the horizontal
molding above a series of capitals, which is the lowest part of an entablature. It can also be the lowest part of a frieze. Most commonly, it's the
molded frame surrounding a door, window, mirror or Photo frame. They can sometimes be embellished with with projections of shoulders or ears at the corners.
Armoire: (ärm-wär“, ärm“wär) A large, often ornate cabinet or wardrobe.
Astragal: A narrow molding, semi-circular in profile, sometimes carved. It is used particularly for glazing bars and the closing edges of doors.
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Bail handle: The name given to an iron or brass loop handle which is suspended from a pommel at either end. Usually found on drawers, the bail handle and the pommel together form what most people would call the handle. [Photo]
Ball-and-claw foot: A carved decoration commonly found on cabriole legs from the early C18th, but used thereafter.
[Photo]
Ball foot: A ball-shaped foot, mainly late C17th.[Photo]
Baluster: A turned and shaped column, which swells out in the lower half, that's often used in the stem of a table. When the swelling is in the upper half, it's known as an inverted baluster.
[Photo]
Banister back chair: A chair with a back made of turned
upright banisters usually topped by a crest rail and supported by a lower cross
rail above the seat. [Photo]
Banding: An ornamental inlay, which is generally in contrasting wood, and laid either cross-grain or diagonally. It can often be found in other materials such as ivory, silver, pewter and brass. Can also be found in a herringbone pattern, which was popular on walnut furniture, from the early C18th.[Photo]
Balloon Seat: A chair seat where the front rail bows forward in a convex or horseshoe shape.
Barley twist: The turning of a leg or column etc. resembling a screw thread (also known as spiral twist or barley sugar twist).
[Photo]
Baroque: Originating in Italy, this architectural and decorative style spread through Europe in the C17th. It is
characterized by its exuberant grandeur with exaggerated and brilliant form.
Curvaceous forms, that sometimes tends towards heaviness and pomposity. Influenced William and Mary and Queen
Anne
styles.
BEAD. A small quarter or half round molding.
Batwing:18th century hardware that resembled a bat's wing.
Beading: Another name for Astragal, it can also refer to a molding
of small repeated roundels like beads, which is properly called Pearling, and not to be confused with gadrooning. See also Cockbead.
Bearer: Used in the construction of furniture, this horizontal member is used to support another part, for instance the leaves of a dining table. (See loper).
Bevel: A surface or edge cut at an angle, particularly applies to a panel, and commonly seen on glass and mirrors. When at 45 degrees, it's known as a chamfer.
Birdcage: A device used under a table top to mount it on the pedestal, which allows it to rotate and tip up. It takes the form of four columns, hence its name.
Blind Fret: See Fret
Block foot: A cube-shaped foot, a solid block of wood, which is used generally with a square
un-tapered leg. [Photo]
Block-front: The three section front of a case piece. Center section is concave and the outside sections are convex.
Bobbin-turning: Repeated bell-turning, in the form of bobbins, one on top of the other. It looks a bit like a stick made of balls and was much used on C17th furniture, on legs and stretchers.
[Photo]
Bolection molding: A raised and rebated molding, projecting beyond the face of the frame into which it is inserted, and which was often used to cover a joint between two surfaces.
Bombe: A style common on Dutch furniture, and cabinet furniture of the Rococo period, this is
characterized by the vertical swelling of concave and convex curves on the fronts and/or sides, giving a bulbous appearance.
[Photo]
Bonnet top: A pediment that covers the top of a case piece.
Boss: An ornament, generally carved and most often circular, which applied over joints or used decoratively at the top of legs etc.
Boulle work: Elaborate inlay of wood or other materials
used to embellish the surface. Often brass. Boulle work is called premiere-partie is used when the ground is brass, and contra-partie when it is tortoise-shell; such pieces were often made in
"pairs". Made fashionable in France (but not invented) by the French
woodcarver Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732).
Bow-front: So called because of the bow-like appearance the slightly convex or segmental shape gives to the front of a cabinet or chest In the C18th, this was often referred to as 'sweep-front'.
Bracket foot: A flat two-piece (usually symmetrical) foot, used on cabinet furniture, set at a corner (usually the front) and shaped like a right-angled bracket.
[Photo]
Braganza: A fancy name for an Inscrolled foot, also known as a Knurled foot, and a Spanish foot.
Break-front: A term usually applied to cabinets, chests, bookcases etc. of which the ends are recessed in relation to the middle, therefore making the middle part protrude. Where the
center is recessed, the piece is known as a Reverse break-front. (Also known as a Wing bookcase).
[Photo]
British Plate: A nickel alloy which was used in the mid C19th as a substitute for silver, until it was superseded by the much cheaper electro-plating process. Pieces made in British Plate often carry fake hallmarks intended to make the item appear to be genuine silver.
Brushing slide: So called because one of its primary purposes was to provide a surface for brushing down clothes, this is a wooden slide found in some chests of drawers,
which pulls forward/slides out of a slot in the top, to provide extra working surface.
Buffet: This is a term loosely applied to any furniture composed of more than one tier, whether or not the resultant sections are enclosed. Some such furniture has specific and correct names. See Court cupboard, Press (cupboard) and Livery cupboard, for example. As with all these very early pieces, the terms are rather loose, and often the descriptions found in early inventories etc. are rather vague.
Bun foot: A C17th foot, similar to the ball foot also in use at the time, but where the "ball" appears to be slightly squashed. Quite often found on Victorian pine furniture.
[Photo]
Bureau: A piece of furniture, with drawers, performing the function of a desk. It has either a fall-front, which slopes at 45 degrees, a cylinder front, or a tambour front.
[Photo]
Burl: A term usually applied to a type of veneer, or perhaps more properly the marks in the veneer itself. The veneer is cut from a
root knot or other protruding growth on the tree, and as a result displays highly attractive graining. Walnut is especially popular for this, and bird's eye maple is another, particularly well-known type of burr veneer.
Burr: Another name for burl, principally used in the UK.
Butt joint: A simple glue joint between two surfaces, joined with no overlap, tenons, or shoulders.
Butterfly table: A drop leaf table with winged brackets that support the leaves.
Cabochon: Popular in the mid C18th, it's a motif or ornament generally carved on the knees of cabriole legs, and comprises of a ball or domed shape, usually with rocaille or foliate surround. The term is also applied to a jewel cut into a domed shape, and was especially popular in the late C19th.
Cabriole leg: An elegant, tall, curving leg, subject to many designs and variations, and found on many pieces of furniture, from the height of its popularity in the first half of the C18th, right through to the late C19th. It is formed of a convex curve above a concave one and resembles an animal's leg: in fact, the name 'cabriole' is derived from the Italian 'Capro', or goat. This type of leg was made with many different types of foot including plain, club, pad, paw, ball, ball-and-claw, scroll etc.
[Photo]
Candle-slide: A thin, small slide designed to support a candlestick, extending from a slot and found commonly beneath the mirrored doors of C18th cabinets (reflection enhances the light). Also found as a circular support
swiveling from beneath a drawing-table etc.
Carcass: The body part of a piece of cabinet furniture without the doors, fittings or drawers.
Card table: A table with a fold-over top, usually supported by a gate leg, and which is lined with green baize for playing cards. These tables often also have dishes for the money or tokens.
Carton Pierre: See Paper mache
Cartouche: An ornate shield or tablet, properly in the form of an unrolled scroll, and often surrounded by scrollwork or foliate decoration. They often bear an heraldic coat of arms, maker's name, or some other inscription.
Caryatid: A Classical upright female figure used as "supporting" decoration. The term is often incorrectly applied to the male equivalent, which, however, is correctly called an Atlantis.
Case pieces: A piece of furniture with storage space.
Cavetto molding: A quarter-round concave molding, often used on cornices. (See ovolo).
Chain: Often found at each end of a festoon (or garland), it's a Classical decorative pendant of flowers and fruit suspended vertically from one end. Also a name sometimes used for the threads that make the warp or weft of a carpet.
Chamfer: A beveled edge, usually at 45°.
Chest-on-chest: A case piece with a chest placed on top of another chest to form one unit.
Chequered inlay: Alternating light and dark inlaid wooden squares, as would be found on a chess board, but forming a single line or strip of inlay. See Parquetry.
Chinoiserie: Raised: painted decoration of oriental design adorning furniture.
The term applied to furniture and other items following the fashion, prevalent in the late C18th, for Chinese style decoration and ornamentation. This manifested itself on fabrics, wallpapers, porcelain, furniture, garden architecture, and decoration in general.
Chippendale: A period of furniture 1754-1790. Based on the designs of Thomas Chippendale.
Cleat: A strip of wood applied at the edge of a boarded flat surface, such as a table-top, for neatness, and to secure and
stabilize the boards.
Club foot: Virtually the same as a Pad foot, this was popular in the early to mid C18th. Found mostly on a cabriole or turned tapered leg, the foot swells to a depressed circular pad. (See Pad foot).
Cockbead: A small protruding half-round molding found on the edges of drawer fronts and doors. Also known as
cockbeading.
Collar: A thin banding or molding applied round legs etc.
Commode: A low chest of drawers based on French form, A
movable stand or cupboard containing a washbowl or A chair enclosing a
chamber pot
Corner chair: A chair with offset legs that fits in a corner. (roundabout)
Cornice: A molded projection or ledge finishing off or crowning the top of a piece of case furniture, a wall, door-surround, window etc., sometimes embellished with dentils etc.
Cornucopia: A horn shaped container with fruit and or flowers in it. Often on Empire and Victorian furniture.
Counter-fluting: Fluting in which part of each channel is filled with a reed of wood or brass (Also known as Stop-fluting).
Court Cupboard: Sometimes referred to by the generic term buffet, this is a piece composed of two or three open tiers, the primary function of which was to show off or display plate and other such finery.
Coved top: A flat top, with a cavetto molded edge, often found on a lid.
Crenellation: (or crenellated). Originally, this was called battlemented, and is a repeated geometric decoration based on the battlements of a castle or similarly fortified building. It is also used to described the tops of pottery vessels which have a wavy or even pie-crust rim. Can also be a term applied to a cornice.
Cresting: A shaped ornamental decoration usually set in the center of the top of a chair-back, but can also be found on a mirror, cabinet etc.
Crest rail: The top horizontal rail on chairs and sofas.
Crinoline stretcher: An arched stretcher found on some Windsor chairs; highly desirable.
Cupboard: A case piece for storing various items.
Cusped Corner: An indented corner on case and table tops or other panels, created by the intersection of two
carved quarter round corners. [Photo]
Cylinder-top: A rounded or cylindrical shutter-front found on a desk or bureau, enclosing the working area inside. See also Tambour.
Davenport: In the US often used to describe a
large sofa, often convertible into a bed. in antique furniture it's a
pretty and small writing desk with a sloping front, usually supported by ornate legs, with a series of drawers down one side, and false drawers on the opposite side. So called because the first one was ordered by one Capt. John Davenport in the late 1790s. Some examples have a writing surface which slides forwards as opposed to a fall-front, and quite a few harlequin examples exist.
[Photo] [Photo]
Dentil: [Dental molding]- Decorative trim in alternating rectangles and spaces. A frieze
molding of small rectangular blocks in an equidistant series resembling teeth. Taken from the Ionic and Corinthian orders, such
molding is often used to ornament a cornice. [Photo]
Dishing: A (usually) turned shallow depression in the top of a table, often a gaming table, in which case they are used for storing the money or chips, and are also known as guinea pockets. Also found on
candle stands and such-like. The main purpose of it is to stop objects from slipping off; The term also applies to the shaping of the wooden seat of (say) a Windsor chair for comfort.
Domed top: A term properly applied to a three-dimensional vault, but it also refers to the arched top of a late C17th/early C18th cabinet, and the tops of similar items such as or boxes etc.
Dovetail: A cabinet-maker's joint, fitting two pieces of wood together at right angles, in which a series of wedge-shaped projections (the 'dove's tail', hence the name) in one piece, fit into corresponding slots in the other. It is a strong joint, especially resistant to outward pull, hence often found on drawers. A Half-dovetail has one side (of both the protruding dovetail and the slot part) angled and the other straight; a Lapped-dovetail does not extend all the way through on one surface.
Dowel: A small headless peg or pin of wood used in cabinet-making for securing a joint, or to mount finials
and suchlike. [Photo]
Dresser: The name derives from the original use of these, which was a piece of furniture on which food was "dressed". They appear inn two forms, low-dressers, and high-dressers. The former are simply a sideboard-type piece, whereas the latter, sport racks or shelves above the "sideboard".
Drop-finial: Repeated pendants beneath a rail, in some cases it will form an apron. It's occasionally used as another term for a chain (see Finial).
Drop leaf: A hinged extension flap to a table, dropping vertically when not in use, which can be supported horizontally by a swing leg, a fly bracket or a
loper. It's often made using a rule joint, but may be a butt.
Drop leaf Table: A table incorporating a drop leaf or leaves, sometimes called a 'flag table', and includes such tables as
Pembroke's, Sutherlands, sofas and gate legs. [Photo]
Dust board: A thin board, generally of softwood, fixed to the rails between the drawers of a chest. Its purpose, of course, is to keep dust off the contents of the drawers.
Drake Foot: A carved three-toed foot. Also a "Trifid Foot".
Dutch Foot: A type of disk or pad foot used in varying forms on either turned or cabriole legs.
Eglomise: The decorative and exacting art of reverse painting on glass, mainly related to the Sheraton style.
End Grain: The view of the grain at the end of a piece of timber, such as is seen when timber is cut across the grain direction (traverse).
Empire: The furniture period 1810-1840. [Photo]
Entablature: In Classical architecture, it's the sum of the moldings (or the beam) above columns, composed of the architrave, frieze, and the cornice.
Escutcheon: Basically, it's any applied metal plate, but the term mainly applies to the pivoting metal guard or plate found over over a keyhole, and, properly, to the keyhole surround itself. Also, used as a term for the plate bearing the maker's name on a clock face.
[Photo]
Fall-front: The front or flap of a cabinet, secretary or bureau, hinged at the bottom edge so it forms a horizontal surface when lowered, almost always as a writing surface. It can be either vertical or sloped, and will almost always supported by a loper, or a quadrant stay.
Fan Carving: A carving composed of radiating lines in a half-round or fan-shaped pattern.
Federal: The furniture made from the early 19th century and coinciding with the formation of the federal government.
Festoon: A Garland or Swag of flowers and foliage, or perhaps a ribbon, suspended from the ends; not to be confused with a chain, which often hangs from each end of a festoon. From the Baroque style, it resembles a hammock.
Fielded panel: A wooden panel used in a framework or door. It consists of a panel with a raised central area made with a wide chamfered or
beveled rebate worked around the edges. Often a small molding is worked at the inner side of the rebate.
Fillet: Put simply, just a thin strip of wood, but it can also be a narrow flat band or
molding which is placed between two larger moldings or flutes.
Finger joint: Also known as a knuckle joint, this is a wooden hinge (with a metal pintle) used in the supporting mechanism such as the fly-bracket of a drop-leaf or folding table or the swing leg of a
gate leg or card table.
Finial: A knob or spire-like ornamental projection finishing off an upright member, pediment or any vertical projection. Commonly carved in a number of forms, from architectural forms like columns, to animals and human figures, When found on furniture, it's basically a small, turned projection. A downward-pointing finial is called a pendant (See drop-finial). It's also a term applied to silver spoons, when it describes the turning or pattern found at the opposite end of the shaft (or handle) to the bowl.
[Photo]
Flame: A spiral carving that resembles a flame atop an urn-shaped finial.
[Photo]
Flare: The outward, concave curve of a leg etc.
Flag table: See drop leaf table.
Flutes/Fluting: Repeated and close-set half-round and vertically-running concave grooves found particularly on columns, but also pilasters, decorative panels.
[Photo]
Fly bracket: A small, shaped and hinged bracket, usually incorporating a finger joint and always mounted vertically, used to support a flap of a table etc.
French foot: See Out scrolled foot.
Fret (fretwork): Pierced (Open fret) or applied (Blind fret) is an intricate form of decoration, usually done in plywood for strength. Frequently done in intricate patterns, which are often based on Chinoiserie and Gothic designs.
[Photo]
Frieze: A horizontal flat band, often decorated either by painting, or carved or sculpted. When convex, it's known as a Pulvinated frieze. The term also applies to the surface (framing) just beneath the top of a table such as a refectory or side table, or the base of a chest of drawers.
[Photo]
Gadrooning: A term derived from the French word 'godron', which means 'ruffle', it's a carved decorative edge
molding, often found on the handles and rims of C18th silver, which is composed of a series of raised convex curves. In furniture, the term applies to an ornamental carved edge of tapered, curving and alternating concave and convex sections, usually diverging obliquely either side of a central point. This decoration is also found set square to the edge, in which case, on furniture, it's called
Nulling.
Garland: See Festoon.
Gate-leg table: A drop-leaf table on which the legs are connected by stretchers. The legs act as swinging gates and extend to support the top. The same without stretchers are called swing leg tables.
[Photo]
Gesso: A mixture made of Plaster of Paris (whiting) and glue size applied to wood so as to provide a decorative surface which can be painted, gilded or lacquered. The surface can either be smooth or
carved/molded in low-relief. It's often used on Photo frames.
Gothic: Principally a term applied to Gothic architecture, this is a style of furniture design which similarly shows a lot of curved and pointed arches, resplendent with embellishments.
Gouging: A term applied to both the technique, and the decoration of a surface with repeated small carved-out semi-circular depressions. This decoration is often found on oak furniture.
Greek key: Sometimes referred to as a Grecian Key, this is a carved Classical geometric decoration resembling a maze, and repeated in bands. It's composed of interlocking straight and right-angled lines.
Guinea pockets: See dishing.
Hairy-paw foot: See Paw foot. [Photo]
Half-dovetail: See Dovetail.
Hard-paste porcelain: See Porcelain.
Harlequin: A piece of furniture which has a rising part composed of a box-like structure, fitted with drawers or small receptacles concealed in the body of the furniture and made to rise by means of weights. This is most commonly found in tables, but can also be found in some desks, particularly Davenports.
Harlequin table: A hybrid table, which essentially combines a card and tea table, and has been created by means of a series of folding tops. Sometimes known as a triple-top table.
High chest: A tall chest of drawers or a highboy. [Photo]
Hipped: This is a term applied to an extension at the top of a cabriole leg which continues into, and joins, the rail above, usually a seat rail. Furthermore, it's a feature usually only found on better quality pieces. Hipped is also used in reference to the protuberance sometimes found at the top of the flared legs of a C19th
center-support table.
Imbrication: A decorative motif carved to resemble overlapping fish scales.
Inlay: In furniture, it's decorative patterns or figural designs created with pieces of different
colored woods, or ivory, bone, shell, brass etc. which have been set into cut-out sections of the base, solid wood (see Marquetry). Similarly, in firearms, pieces of precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum, and ivory, are used in the stock as decoration and embellishment.
[Photo]
Inscrolled foot: A carved foot (especially found on furniture of the late C17th/early C18th) which usually appears on an otherwise straight leg, and which curls under and inwards a lot like a hockey-stick. (See Braganza and
Out scrolled foot)
Inverted baluster: See Baluster.
Japanning: In furniture, it's the European (and American) imitation of Oriental lacquering, made by using spirit and oil varnishes, in use from the late C17th. It's also a term applied to the black varnish coating on the hilt of swords, the primary purpose of which is to prevent rusting. These are often augmented by decorative use of over painting and gilt work.
Kas: A large wardrobe with heavy panels. Usually somewhat squatter than a wardrobe.
Keeled: Resembling the keel of a boat, it's the sharp edge frequently found on the corner of cabriole legs.
Kerfing: When a piece of wood is cut on one side of with a number of deep, close-set parallel slits, the purpose of which is as to bend it. Used in the construction of rounded drawer-fronts, etc.
Kicker: Fixed on the carcass either side and just above a (usually top) drawer this strip or block of wood prevents it from tipping downwards when open.
Knee: The convex portion at the top of a carved cabriole leg.
Knuckle joint: See Finger joint.
Knurled foot: See Braganza
Lacquer: Made from the sap of the Lac tree, which turns hard and black on exposure to air and sunlight, and applied in successive layers, lacquer is used as a ground for Chinese or Japanese decoration, usually of figures in landscapes etc. More rarely, dyes were mixed with the sap to produce various
colors. It can also be carved, and polished, and layers of differing colors, carved and etched, were often used to great effect.
Lapped-dovetail: See Dovetail.
Leaf: The "flap" of a table, as in drop leaf table, or a piece of wood inserted into an extending table.
Linenfold: Popular on paneling from the C16th, this relief carved motif, resembles vertical folds of cloth from which it takes its name.
Linen Press: Often referred to as simply a Press, or sometimes a Press Chest, this form of cupboard is composed of sliding drawers housed behind doors above a series of drawers, in what looks like (and is!) a chest-of-drawers. As the name implies, its function was to store linen and clothes. The term is also applied to a wooden frame, housing a large wooden screw and two boards, the purpose of which was to "press" linen.
Lip Mold: The molded edge on a drawer or door front that is extended with a rabbet to cover the joint between the front and case structure.
Lipping: A strip of superior timber added to the most visible part of a board, such as a
dust board made from some inferior timber.
Livery Cupboard: Sometimes referred to by the generic term buffet, this piece resembles a court cupboard in that it's composed of three tiers, but in this case, the
center tier is an enclosed compartment, typically with canted sides.
Lolling chair: An arm chair with a high upholstered back and seat and open arms. (Martha Washington chair)
Loper: A wooden slide or bar pulled out from a slot which is used to support a table leaf or an open bureau fall-front etc. It's also another name for a S.
Lowboy: A low case piece on high legs.
Lunette: Carved decoration in the form of a semicircle resembling a half-moon (hence its name), especially found on early oak furniture. Can appear in repeated bands or can be intersected, and can be embellished with foliate or other decoration.
Lyre: A stringed instrument used as design on Empire pieces.
Marlborough leg: A straight square leg ending in a block foot.
Marquetry: Pieces of veneers of different colored woods, natural, stained, and burned (to give shading), laid into a wooden ground (solid or veneer). Often seen on Dutch furniture, especially early examples of marquetry, it always depicts architectural, figural or foliate designs. (See Inlay and Parquetry).
Miter: Typically seen at the corners of a Photo frame, this is the oblique bisecting line at the
[miter] joint of two pieces of wood, which is generally (but not always) a right angle.
Mortises: Rectangular holes or slots cut into wood that will receive another, similarly-shaped and sized member (called a tenon) to make a right-angle joint.
Mortise and tenon: A cabinet-maker's joint where a square or rectangular projection cut on the end of one piece of wood (tenon) fits into a hole or slot of identical size, shape (and depth) that's been cut into the other piece
(mortise). This is a very common joint in cabinet making.
Molding: In furniture, a shaped strip of wood, of uniform cross-section, and which is sometimes carved, used either as decoration, or to conceal a joint. In pottery, it was once a term applied to any item that had been cast in a mould, but now applies to any carved projection, in wood or stone, or even one cast in plaster.
Muntin: A main vertical framing member of a stile, specifically the central upright connecting the top and bottom rails of a frame.
Nest of tables: A group of tables that stack largest on top to smallest on bottom.
Neo-classicism: A decorative style used in architecture, furniture and decoration/ornamentation derived from the interest in the Classical world which spread through Europe in the second half of the C18th, spurred on by the Grand Tours popular at the time. It was made popular in Britain by Robert Adam (1728-1792) and others, who used the classical motifs in completely new ways.
Nulling: See Gadrooning.
Ogee: Often found on the (bracket) feet of Georgian furniture, this is a double-curved Gothic
molding of architectural origins, consisting of a convex arc above a concave arc, creating a wave-like or S shaped molding profile.
[Photo]
Open Fret: See Fret.
Ormolu: Bronze or brass decorative mounts covered in gilt used to decorate furniture, mostly in the Empire and Victorian periods. Strictly speaking, this applies only to ornaments cast in brass or bronze, with fire (mercury) gilt surfaces. However, it's often applied to any yellow metal. Early uses were restricted to furniture, especially in handles and decorative mounts. By the late C18th though, many objects such as ink stands, decorative cases for clocks, candlesticks were made in ormolu.
Out scrolled foot: A carved foot (later and more elegant than the Inscrolled foot) which usually appears on an otherwise straight leg, and which curls under and outwards a lot like a hockey-stick. (See Braganza and Inscrolled foot). It's also known as the French foot.
Outset corner: A circular or square projection beyond the line of the sides of a table top etc. See also Architrave.
Ovolo molding: This molding has a convex surface (as opposed to a cavetto) formed from a quarter of a circle or ellipse. It's found especially at the corners of panels etc. and is sometimes found at the corners of drawers where it forms a bridge onto the
carcass. (See cavetto).
Oxbow front: The reverse of a serpentine front.
Oyster: Veneers cut across the grain of small branches of trees such as walnut, sycamore, olive and laburnum, and laid decoratively. Popular circa 1700.
Pad foot: A rounded foot resting on a wooden disc, rather like the padded foot of an animal, and very similar to a club foot, but less elegant, and usually larger.
[Photo]
Patina: The color brought on by years of dirt, wax, and oxidation on a piece of antique wood.
Paw foot: Self-explanatory really, it looks like an animal's paw, and often has claws. There is a variant called a hairy-paw foot, which is similar, but with the addition of, well, hairs!
[Photo]
Paper mache: A durable and malleable material made from paper or cardboard and glue-size, popular in the C18th and C19th for architectural
moldings, boxes and smaller items of furniture. Also known as Carton Pierre.
Parcel gilt: when a surface has been partially gilded to highlight features.
Parquetry: Geometric veneered surface decoration of various colored woods. See Marquetry.
Pearling: See Beading.
Pedestal: Basically something that other things stand on, such as a pedestal desk, which has two of them, or a pedestal table which has one. Also a stand for a vase, or sculpture, etc.
[Photo]
Pedestal table: A table with a columnar base.
Pediment: The crowning top of bookcases or chests. [Photo]
Pendant: A hanging ornament, usually a turning.
Piercing: Carved or cut-out openwork, as in a stretcher or splat. [Photo]
Pembroke: A Pembroke table is similar to, but not the same as a Sutherland. It has a wide rectangular top, with narrow, hinged leaves; usually it has four delicate and fine legs, and is seldom more than three feet in width when extended. Usually rectangular, sometimes, and more desirably, they can be oval or round. First recorded in about 1750, and according to Sheraton, so called because the first one was ordered by the Countess of Pembroke. Chippendale is known to have supplied one with a drawer in 1766, and towards 1790, harlequins began to appear. It was particularly popular in the latter half of the C18th, but was made right up to the end of the C19th.
[Photo]
Pendant or drop-finial: Actually, not just for finials, this is a general term used to describe any form of suspended (hanging down) decoration. On furniture, repeated pendants beneath a rail may form an apron. It's also occasionally used as another term for a chain. (See finial).
Piecrust: Resembling a crusty pie-crust, this is the shaped carved/molded edge of a circular table top (usually a tripod) or of a tray. It was popular from the mid C18th, and copies the shape of earlier silver salvers.
Pier table: A table built to stand against a wall, usually with a mirror at the bottom.
Pilaster: A flat-faced column, usually of a Classical order, and usually projecting from a wall. It was often used decoratively in low relief, and almost never as a means of support.
Pilgrim: Furniture built in the 17th century.
Pitched top: A term generally applied to a lid, in which four sloping or hipped sides rise to a ridge or flat
center. For obvious reasons, it's called Pyramidal if the slopes meet at a point.
Plate: Largely out of use nowadays, this is a term applied to gold and silver vessels, and is not to be confused with "Sheffield Plate", or electroplated items generally.
Plinth: The solid board on which some furniture rests instead of feet. Strictly-speaking the term is applied to the square, flat block at the bottom of a pillar or column (or a pedestal for that matter).
Plywood: Much maligned for being cheap and nasty, which it often is, plywood was first developed by the Ancient
Egyptians some 3,500 years ago. Composed of layers, or "ply's" of wood laid at 90° to each other, it has two inherent properties important in furniture making; it is extremely strong, and it does not (usually) warp or crack. Its first use in furniture dates back to the mid C18th, when the fashion for fretwork and Chinoiserie came about. Normal wood was useless for the fine patterns required, and ply was used instead.
Pommel: In furniture, it's the bolt with a rounded or sometimes decorative head which is passed through a drawer front or similar, and which secures a bail handle, thus forming what most people call the handle. When applied to a sword or dagger, it's the terminal piece of the weapon, found at the end of the handle, and is usually circular.
Porcelain: There are two types of porcelain; hard-paste, and soft-paste. The easiest way to learn to tell the difference, is to find some broken porcelain of each type, and to examine it thoroughly. Of course, read the following first!
Hard-paste porcelain is fired at a much higher temperature than soft paste, and hence has a very cold feel to the touch. Chips from it are flint or glass-like; it has a hard, glittery glaze which is fused to the paste.
Soft paste, fired at a lower temperature, was much less stable in the kiln, figures in particular were difficult to fire. Meissen was one of the factories which perfected this art, and no English figures can compare with them. A file will cut easily into soft paste (I suggest you don't try this at home!) and chips from it are granular. It feels warmer to the skin. Ones mouth is particularly sensitive to this, and with practice, it's quite easy to tell the difference between the two types by feeling them with the lips. Because of the difference in firing temperature, the glaze is softer, and does not fuse with the underlying paste in the same way as it does with hard paste. Glazes, therefore, have a tendency to pool and craze, and early soft paste was prone to
discoloration.
As a point of interest, soft paste was discovered/developed in the mid C18th by English potters in search of the method of making hard paste porcelain, the secret of which had long been guarded by the Chinese. Soft paste was generally superseded by hard paste, sometime known as "true" porcelain, by the late C18th, when the technique was perfected in Europe.
Pot board: The name given to the low shelf (or tier) under a dresser or buffet on which flagons and pots were kept.
Press: See Linen Press.
Press Chest: See Linen Press.
Press cupboard: Sometimes, incorrectly, known by the generic term buffet, this piece is a wholly enclosed cupboard, composed of two parts, the lower of which is entirely enclosed, with doors, and the upper of which is recessed, with either a flat or canted front.
Pulvinated frieze: See frieze
Putti: Winged cherubs (singular Putto).
Pyramidal top: See Pitched top.
Quadrant drawer: A quarter-round drawer, usually found in the frieze of a desk or table, pivoted such that it swings out to open.
Quadrant hinge: A hinge, often used at the top and bottom of a cabinet door, with two long arms rotating on a short pintle. It occurs in a similar form on (for instance) a card table flap or on a fall-front.
Quadrant stay: A sliding piece of metal of quarter circle circumference, used to support a fall-front or
secretary drawer, where it would be impossible or inappropriate to use a loper. It's also used to support adjustable chair-backs.
Quartering: A veneering technique, found particularly on early C18th walnut furniture, in which four essentially identical and usually highly-figured sheets of veneer are laid opposite to each other, thereby producing a symmetrical and mirrored design. The pieces are made (effectively) identical by cutting them sequentially from the same piece of wood.
Quarter veneered: See Quartering.
Quarter-sawn: The method by which a log is cut to achieve maximum grain figuring and stability. This is done by cutting it radially, or across the grain.
Queen Anne: A period of furniture 1725-1755
Rail: A horizontal framing member in joinery, such as a seat-rail, table carcass, chair frame, back-rail etc., or as found in a door.
Rake: The angle, inclination or slope backwards at which, for example a chair back deviates from the vertical. (See Splay).
Rabbet: A right-angled recess cut in the edge of a piece of wood, or formed by two pieces, to house another piece such as a panel or drop-in seat. It can also be a groove, such as that used to hold a removable shelf. Can also be spelt rabbet.
Reed: A long, thin piece or sliver of something such as brass, inserted into a slot cut into the background, solely for for decorative effect.
Reeding: The opposite of fluting. Repeated, decorative half-round convex moldings
in parallel lines used especially round pillars or legs. Can sometimes be found in flutes.
Refinish: to put a new finish on (furniture) most times it involves removing
to old finish by stripping.
Renaissance: Principally a rejection of the Gothic, this revival of Classical ideas, styles, architecture and decoration began in C15th Italy (principally Florence), and spread to Northern Europe during the C16th, eventually reaching England. Bringing a new naturalism, this influence didn't really affect English art and design until the early C17th
Restoration: The act of restoring to a previous state.
Ribbing: A repeated decoration of small-scale reeds (see reeding), which is often used in flat panels.
Ribbon back: A splat that resembles gathered ribbons on a chair back.
Rocaille: A French word meaning rockwork, often applied to shell and rockwork decoration found in Rococo work.
Rococo: A term derived from the French rocaille meaning rockwork, this extravagant architectural and decorative style developed in France in the early C18th, spreading to and being developed all over Europe. It was principally a reaction against, and was born out of, the heaviness and seriousness of Baroque. Principally used in interior decoration, its influence spilled over into furniture design. In essence it was frivolous, light and asymmetrical, its principal motifs being Chinese and Indian motifs, and delicate curvaceous shapes.
Rosette: A circular-shaped, floral ornament. They were often used at the corner joints of fireplaces and in cabinet making.
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Rose-head nails: Hand forged nails made in the 18th century. The heads somewhat resemble roses.
Roundel: A circular ornament, which may or may not incorporate some applied or inlaid decorative
molding or carving.
Rule joint: A stopped hinged joint used on table leaves, press doors etc., comprising a long ovolo
molding which leaves no gap at any stage of the opening or closing. This involves routing or
planning an ovolo mould on a table with a radius profile on the leaf to match.
Runner: So-called because they're the strips of wood fixed to the carcass of a piece of cabinet furniture, on either side and on which a drawer runs. It's a good idea to give these a rub with a candle if the drawers stick.
Saber leg: A leg that curves inward to form an S shape.
Sabot: Derived from the French word for hoof, it's a cast brass or ormolu foot mount used on furniture in the French taste.
Scalloped: A term used to describe decoration composed of a series of concave depressions, resembling a scallop shell, with a lobed or foiled edge. Mostly used on the rims of silver and earthenware vessels, it also applies to any shell-like decoration or ornament. [Photo]
Scroll Bracket: A decorative brace-like member at juncture of legs and aprons on tables, cases, and chairs, characteristic of the Chippendale style.
[Photo]
Scroll foot: A foot that scrolls outwards, and then back onto itself. (See Inscrolled foot and
Out scrolled foot). [Photo]
Secretary: The US name for a secretaire.
Secretaire: This is a form of writing desk which resembles a chest of drawers, but in which the top "drawer" and/or a flap or brushing-slide pulls out to provide the writing surface. This surface may also take the form of a simple top surface on the chest beneath, or it may have a flat-front flap, or fall-front to provide the writing surface. See also bureau.
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Serpentine: The name given to a bulbous double-curved outline (wavy!), composed of a convex curve flanked by two concave curves, derived form the shape associated with snakes, applied, for instance, to the sinuous shape used in a horizontal plane on better furniture of the Rococo Period (see Bombe).
Settee: A small sofa with a back and arms.
Sheffield Plate: The first thing to say is that Sheffield Plate is emphatically not electro-plated silver, in any way, shape or form. Sheffield Plate is rolled sheet silver which sandwiches an internal layer or sheet of copper, to which it is fused. The process was accidentally discovered in 1742 by Thomas Boulsover in Sheffield, and domestic articles were made using the technique from the 1750s until about the 1850s. It was
recognized by the Sheffield Assay Office in 1784, after which date articles were stamped accordingly, and was being made there and elsewhere (Birmingham was a big producer) by the 1760s. By 1800 a wide range of articles were being produced in large
quantities and a variety of styles, in many English towns. It was also copied abroad, notably France, Russia and Poland. The invention/development of "British Plate" in the 1840s brought production to an end, and in turn British Plate was superseded by the much cheaper electro-plating developed in the mid-to-late C18th.
Sheffield Plate is very strong, and surviving pieces, and there are many, are generally in good condition. On the other hand, C19th silver plated ware can often be in poor condition, with worn off plate commonly evident.
Shell Motive: Decorative carving in the form of a scallop shell, popular in Queen Anne and Chippendale styles.
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Shield back: The back of a Sheraton or Hepplewhite chair in the shape of a shield.
Shoe, shoe-brace or shoe-piece: A shaped horizontal bar fitted at the bottom of the chair back, on the rail, and into which the splat is fitted. Used on many C18th chairs, it was often fitted over the upholstery and tacked through into the back rail.
Sideboard: A low wide chest of drawers and compartments used in a dining room. Generally starting with the Federal period. In the Victorian period, they often had large mirrors and shelves on top.
Slip Seat: A removable, upholstered seat frame for a chair or bench.
Snake Foot: A carved foot where the slender, swelling lines suggest a snake's form, usually on tripod bases.
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Sofa: This is a long seat, which was developed from the French day-bed. They were almost always fully upholstered, and of a rounded appearance. Sprung upholstery didn't appear until about 1830.
Sofa table: First made in about 1790, and developed from the Pembroke table, this drop leaf table was designed to sit behind a sofa (hence its name, of course), and is long and thin, with two short drop-leaves at each end, and usually two drawers in the frieze. The best ones have two end-supports connected by a stretcher; the single pedestal type is much less desirable.
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Soft-paste Porcelain: See Porcelain.
Spade foot: A square tapered foot, generally used in the late C18th on a tapered leg, usually found on chairs, tables and sideboards. Can also be called a thermed (or termed) foot, a term (pardon the pun) derived from the name for the stones used in antiquity to make boundaries, and which they resemble.
[Photo]
Spandrel: Usually associated with clocks, where spandrels decorate the four corners
of a dial. On furniture, it's the triangular space formed between the curve of an arch and its square framing. Without the arch, the shape is that of a bracket.
Spanish foot: See Braganza.
Spelter: Spelter [metal] is an alloy composed chiefly of zinc. It was much used around the latter part of the C19th as a cheaper substitute for bronze, principally in cast decorative pieces, and was often painted or patinated to simulate ivory or bronze. It is very soft and malleable, but when cast tends to be crystalline and brittle, and which when broken shows a granular, silvery fracture plane. In many cases it was copper-plated before any other finish such as gold plating was applied and therefore a worn piece may look coppery. It as quite fragile if thin and there is no really satisfactory method of repair. In some cases such as figurines, a filler such as plaster may be added to give weight and strength. Spelter can often be detected by a scratch in an inconspicuous place showing a bright silver
color where otherwise one might expect bronze or copper.
Spindle: A slender turned baluster, often decoratively used in rows, such as can be seen in the back of (say) a Windsor chair.
Spiral twist: See barley twist.
Splint or splat: A vertical board, usually flat, and often with shaped sides and frequently pierced or carved, which is the central upright of a chair back, between the top and seat rails. Such a chair is known as a
splat-back. [Photo]
Splay: The angled taper of the sides of, for instance, a splay foot. When curved, this is termed flared.
Stile: The vertical outside member in the framework of
doors and cabinets.
Stretcher: A horizontal bracing member connecting legs of a table or chair.
Stop-fluting: Fluting where part of each channel is filled with a reed of wood or brass (see counter-fluting).
Straight-front: The front of a cabinet or chest that is flat and not recessed (see break-front).
Strap work: Originally used in the mid C16th to mid C17th, and then revived in the late C18th, this is a
symmetrical and repeated carved ornament of flat, interlaced bands or ribbons, resembling plaited strips.
Stretcher: A horizontal strut connecting and bracing chair or table legs, sometimes used decoratively, such as a cross-stretcher or arched (Crinoline) stretcher.
Stringing: A thin decorative inlaid line of brass or contrasting wood, generally in veneer.
Stub-Tenon: A small tenon which does not go completely through the timber. See through-tenon.
Sutherland table: A form of drop-leaf table which has a top that is so shallow as to be almost useless as a functional table, at least until the flaps are extended, and which typically sits atop end columns joined by a central stretcher. First recorded in about 1850, almost exactly 100 years after the similar Pembroke was first made, they were named after Harriet, the Duchess of Pembroke, and reached their height of popularity in the late C19th.
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Swag: See Festoon.
Sweep-front: See Bow-front.
Swing-leg: A leg such as is used on a gate leg table, in which one side is hinged or more usually pivoted, and the other swings out to support the table leaf. In effect, it's another word for a gate-leg.
Tall Chest: See high chest.
Tambour: A flexible, sliding shutter, which is made of strips of wood laid long ways, side-by-side, and stuck to a canvas backing. Frequently found on
bureaus and roll-top desks.
Table clip or 'fork': A two-pronged, generally brass, clip which slides into sockets to link two table leaves.
Tenon: A square or rectangular projection cut on the end of one piece of wood (tenon) and which fits into a hole or slot of identical size, shape (and depth) that's been cut into the other piece
(mortise). See Mortise and tenon, and Stub tenon.
Term: The name is originally derived from the name for the stones used in antiquity to make boundaries, but is now used to describe a pedestal or pilaster tapered to its base, culminating in a human figure, which is often an armless torso and head (see caryatid).
Tester: A flat wooden canopy, especially over a bed, in which case it's usually supported by two or four wooden posts. If it extends over the whole bed, it's called a full tester, and if only half of it, always the
bed head, it's called a half tester.
Through-tenon: A tenon where where the mortise is cut right through a piece of wood. See Stub-tenon.
Tongue-and-groove: Often used in wall paneling (and floors, of course), this is a long joint formed by cutting male and female interlocking shapes (the tongue and the groove) in the
center of the edge of a board, usually along the grain. This ensures that the boards are dust and draught proof, even after cross-grain shrinkage.
Torus: A Classical semi-circular convex molding generally used as a molding for the base of a
cabinet or column.
Tracery: Derived from and resembling the stone openwork typically found in Gothic windows, this is carved, pierced or blind decoration (see fretwork).
Trefoil: A Gothic motif of three arcs or lobes, looks a bit like a shamrock.
Trifid Foot: A form of club foot which is generally found on a cabriole leg, it's formed of three parts (hence its name), and sometimes has foliate decoration.
Triple-top table: See Harlequin.
Trumeau: A form of two-part mirror frame in which an ornamental panel is featured above the mirrored glass. [Photo]
Undress Sword: A term applied to a sword designed for use in action, a working sword, rather than on which is intended for ceremonial or decorative use.
Under glaze: This applies to any porcelain or china decoration which is applied under rather than over the glazed finish.
Upholder: A term commonly used in the C18th for an upholsterer.
Uprights: This is just another name for side rails.
Urushi: The Japanese name for the sap of the Lac tree, a form of ash, and which forms the basis for lacquer.
Volute: A spiral scroll form of ornamentation, usually a carving.
Wainscot: From the Dutch wagenschott, this is a type of fine straight-grained quarter-cut oak which was imported from the Baltic in the C16th and C17th, and which was originally used for wagon shafts. The term later became synonymous with oak, largely because the term is also applied to oak
paneling used to line the interior walls of houses in the late C16th and early C17th.
Waterleaf: A decorative motif, popularly carved on moldings circa 1810-1840 which was based on
water lily foliage, and took the form of a narrow leaf with a central stem, in horizontal undulations.
Wave molding: A convex curve between two concave curves (see serpentine).
Windsor Chair: A country chair, introduced in the late C18th, and although largely made in Slough near Windsor, (hence the name) they are found in some quite distinct regional variations. Its principal distinguishing feature is that it's essentially a stool with a back on it. They always have solid, shaped seats, into which the leg and back assembly is dowelled, holding the whole thing together. Crinoline stretchers are very desirable.
[Photo] [Photo]
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Wing bookcase: A Break-front bookcase. [Photo]
X-frame: This term is used to describe the X-shaped construction of some chairs and stools.
Xylonite: Made to simulate wood, this is an early and rare form of plastic dating from 1868.
Compiled from experience and various sources on the internet, Encarta Encyclopedia and American Heritage Dictionary.