Victorian Art Nouveau Etagere 1900 1920 Mahogany Etagere With Mirror and Skinny Spindles

The A-Z of article of furniture: Terminology to know when buying at sale

From applique and back splats to veneering and wingbacks, an essential glossary of furniture terms — with examples previously sold at Christie'south

A | B | C | D | East | F | Chiliad | H | I | J | M | L | Thousand
N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | 10 | Y | Z

A

Abattant: A term used to describe a drop-down flap often seen in the French fashion of the secretary desk, secrétaire à abattant, concealing drawers and shelves within.

Antique: A slice of piece of furniture or object that is more than 100 years old.

Applique:A term for a category of lite which can exist affixed to a wall.

A pair of late George 3 cut-class ii-branch wall lights, c. 1790

Frock: A decorative chemical element joining the surface of a chair or tabular array with the legs.

Armchair: An armchair can exist any chair with artillery. Even so, at that place are two different kinds: the fauteuil, with open sides, and the bergère, with airtight sides. (See Fauteuil and Bergère)

Armoire: A tall continuing wardrobe or closet, oft used to store dress, which can feature ane to 3 doors and sometimes a mirrored panel.

Arrow foot: A type of chair foot that ends in a tapered cylinder, often seen in the 18th century.

Art Deco: A style popular from the 1920s to the 1930s characterised by bold geometric designs.

B

Back splat: The vertical piece of wood running from the frame of a chair to the base of the backrest.

Brawl human foot: A fully spherical foot on a article of furniture.

Brawl and hook foot: A cast or carved human foot consisting of a ball covered by an animal'southward claw, in English language furniture often that of a panthera leo or a bird. The pattern is thought to take originated in Communist china, where a dragon'southward claw would represent the stiff grip of the emperor.

Bizarre:A decorative style from the tardily 16th century through to the 18th century characterised by the utilise of bold sculptural forms, dynamic surfaces and elaborate ornament.

Barrel chair: Also known as a tub chair, a barrel chair has a round upholstered seat, and arms forming a continuous line with the backrest.

Bas relief: A form of carving or moulding in which the pattern projects out from the flat surface of the background.

An Empire ormolu and patinated statuary clock, c. 1810

Bentwood: A kind of forest that has been heated and shaped to become curved.

Biedermeier: Encompasses the menstruum between 1815 and 1848 in Primal Europe. Influenced by Napoleonic styles, the furniture was produced in Germany and Austria, with simpler designs that ofttimes incorporated local timber.

Bergère: A kind of upholstered armchair with closed sides that offset became popular in the 18th century.

Bevel: An edge that has been cutting at a slant, frequently seen on mirrors.

Blockfront: A kind of chest divided into iii parts in which the heart part is set back from the sides.

Boiserie: A French word for panelling, generally highly decorative.

Bombé: A term used to describe the bulging outwards of a piece of piece of furniture.

Bowfront: A chest with a convex front.

Bracket foot: A correct-angled foot shaped like a bracket.

Bronze: An alloy primarily consisting of copper and tin can, mostly used for sculpture but as well equally the base of operations metal for ormolu and article of furniture mounts.

Bun foot: A ball foot that has been flattened slightly, like a bun.

Bureau: A chest of drawers frequently used in a bedroom, sometimes combined with a fold-down desk.

C

Cabinet: Cabinets come up in many forms, from the industrial to the ornate, and ordinarily consist of drawers and shelves; some feature glass doors for the display of objects.

A George 3 ormolu-mounted and inlaid mahogany and tulipwood banded secretaire bookcase, in the manner of Ince & Mayhew, c. 1780

Cabriole: A kind of leg that curves out from the seat of a chair or base of a tabular array before curving into a foot in a narrow Southward shape. The name comes from a blazon of ballet jump in which the dancer leaps into the air with one leg forward.

Caning: A technique using the rattan or bamboo institute to create an interwoven seat, dorsum or side of a chair.

Brush: A modest wheel that allows a piece to be moved easily.

Chaise longue:A long low chair for reclining, with a dorsum and single armrest to i side.

Chest on breast: Two chests of drawers stacked together, with the narrower piece on superlative.

Chest on stand up: A chest of drawers on legs.

Cheval mirror: A freestanding mirror that can exist tilted to modify the bending of reflection.

Chiffonier: A tall chest of drawers often used to shop linen or needlework, sometimes topped by a shelf or mirror.

Chippendale:For Thomas Chippendale, one of the leading cabinetmakers of 18th-century United kingdom. The term likewise refers to a mode of 18th-century American furniture.

An early George III giltwood mirror, c. 1760. Sold for $20,000 on nineteen October 2021, Online

Claw pes: A foot carved to resemble an creature's claw (see as well Ball and claw foot).

Guild chair: A chair with a depression back, oft upholstered in leather.

Coffee tabular array: A long low table to be placed in front of a prepare of chairs or a sofa.

Commode: Not to be confused with a chair containing a chamber pot, the traditional commode is a chiffonier with doors or drawers, frequently highly ornamental.

Console table: A narrow table that is designed to be placed against a wall.

An Italian giltwood console table, Genoa, second quarter 18th century

Credenza: A low sideboard with doors, used for storage or for serving nutrient. The name comes from the Italian word for 'belief'; in the 16th century, the human action of credenza entailed the tasting of ane'south food past a servant to ensure it was not poisoned.

Cresting: The carved decoration on the pinnacle rail of a piece of seat article of furniture or mirror.

D

Damask: A lustrous fabric with a reversible pattern and figured weave, often of linen, cotton or silk, which tin be used for upholstery.

Davenport: A narrow writing desk-bound with a sloped summit above drawers.

Daybed: A long sofa, similar to a chaise longue, that can double up as a bed, often with a pocket-sized headboard at either stop.

Decoupage:  Derived from the French, a term for applied cut out paper ornamentation glued to the surface of objects, often flowers or figures.

Dentil moulding:  A form of ornamentation of evenly spaced blocks often used on a cornice. From the Latin for molar, dens.

Dresser: A type of sideboard, often with shelves above drawers for the display of plates.

Drop-leaf: A kind of tabular array with extendable parts that hang past its sides when not in use.

Eastward

Ebonising: The process by which wood is stained night to resemble ebony.

Empire: A style dating to Napoleon's reign (1804-1814), characterised by Egyptian, Greek and Roman motifs.

A pair of empire ormolu and patinated bronze ewers, attributed to Claude Galle, c. 1805

Escutcheon: The term for the plate of metallic that surrounds a keyhole, oftentimes decorative. From scutum, the Latin for shield.

Etagère: A slice of article of furniture with open shelves used for the brandish of ornaments.

F

Fauteuil: An armchair with open sides, commonly upholstered on the seat and the back, leaving the wooden frame exposed.

Fluting: Vertical grooves that form an elliptical-shaped recess, ofttimes employed on columns.

Frieze: A broad, horizontal band that is often busy with painting or sculpture.

Forepart rail: The piece of wood that runs between the front two legs of a chair.

Four-poster bed: A bed with high posts at each corner and sometimes a canopy.

G

Gallery: An ornamental forest or metal rails around a piece of furniture.

Georgian: Term referring to the artistic output in the decorative arts during the reigns of the first four members of the British house of Hanover, betwixt the accession of George I in 1714 and the death of George 4 in 1830.

Gesso: From the Italian for chalk, a material that tin be moulded into elaborate designs for cornices and frames, etc.

Gilding: A technique of applying gilded leafage to wood for decoration.

Gillows: A firm founded by Robert Gillows in 1703 in Lancaster, known for its elegant designs and superior craftsmanship. Its pieces are still highly sought-afterwards by collectors today.

H

Hassock: An upholstered footstool or short demote.

Herringbone: A way of using veneer as decoration, also known as plumage banding, whereby two strips of veneer are laid at a 90-caste bending around the edge of a piece of furniture to create a herringbone-patterned border.

I

Inlay: A technique of using a contrasting fabric to create a decorative pattern on the surface of a piece of piece of furniture.

J

Japanning:A technique developed in Europe that imitates the lacquering practical to Asian furniture.

Jardinière: A pot for property plants, oftentimes large and ceramic for outdoor utilize, simply can as well be a more elongated shape for indoor use.

K

Kneehole desk: A blazon of desk with a recess in the front to make space for one's knees.

L

Lacquer: A high-gloss varnish used in Chinese and Japanese furniture.

Loveseat: A small sofa designed for two people, ofttimes made in an S shape so that a conversation can be held face-to-face.

Lowboy:A depression side table, ordinarily with three drawers and cabriole legs.

M

Marquetry:A manner of inlay that uses unlike types of veneered woods or other materials placed together to form a pictorial pattern. Marquetry can be contrasted with parquetry, which forms a geometric blueprint.

Due north

Neoclassical: A manner of design that revives classical motifs, popularised from the second half of the 18th century.

Nesting tables: A set of small tables that fit inside each other.

O

Occasional table: A take hold of-all term used to describe small-scale freestanding tables such equally java or side tables.

Ormolu:Historic technique for gilding bronze using mercury, often finely chased.

Ottoman: Normally a depression upholstered stool that can be used as a foot rest and sometimes as well for storage, adopted from like styles in the Ottoman Empire.

P

Pad foot: A kind of pes often found on cabriole legs that ends in a flat oval deejay.

Palmette: A decorative motif derived from classical architecture loosely resembling an open up palm leaf, often used interchangeably with the term anthemion.

Parquetry: Like to marquetry, parquetry is a technique used on floors and furniture that contrasts wood to create a geometric pattern.

Pedestal tabular array: A table supported by a single leg.

Pembroke table: A drib-leaf tabular array often with a drawer and twin flaps to the long sides.

Pie-chaff border: A scalloped motif either carved or moulded on the edge of a table.

Pietra dura: A form of mosaic decoration using semi-precious stones, more often than not seen on tabletops.

Pliant: A grade of folding x-framed stool, derived from ancient forms and oftentimes associated with royalty.

R

Reeding: The convex equivalent of fluting, reeding comprises parallel lines of rounded moulding.

Regency:A term referring to English language furniture made betwixt 1800-1830 in a mode promoted by George, Prince of Wales, who reigned equally George IV.

Rococo: An elaborate mode of furniture that followed the Baroque in the 18th century, characterised past scroll and foliate motifs.

South

Secretaire: A French term for a continuing breast of drawers with a drop-down writing desk (meet Abattant).

Shoe:The horizontal department of the back seat rail of a chair that supports the lesser of the splat.

Sideboard: A long cabinet often used in dining rooms for serving nutrient and as storage.

Side chair: A traditional dining chair with no arms that would fit in at the side of a dining table.

Slat back: A chair back consisting of vertical slats instead of a unmarried panel.

Sofa: An upholstered long seat with back and arms.

Sofa table: A loftier, minor table to be placed alongside a sofa with twin flaps to the brusque ends.

Spindle dorsum: A chair with turned spindles instead of a single panel as a back rest.

Harbinger marquetry: A form of marquetry that uses straw instead of woods to create a contrasting pattern on the surface of a piece.

Stretcher: Ofttimes forming an H, X or Y shape, the stretcher runs between the legs of a chair or table to reinforce the structure.

A French ormolu-mounted mahogany gueridon, belatedly 19th century

T

Tallboy: A tallboy, or chest on breast, is a high chest of drawers.

Term:A pillar surmounted by a carved male person or female person bust, ordinarily armless, that tapers towards the base. As well known every bit a herm, after the posts bearing the carved caput of Hermes that were used equally boundary markers in ancient Greece.

Trestle table: A table supported past an upright at each end.

Tub chair: See Butt chair.

U

Upholstery: The padded covering on furniture, usually made of horsehair, foam or springs and covered in decorative textile or leather.

V

Veneering: The technique of applying thin layers of woods to a slice of furniture.

Victorian:Refers to the period coinciding with the reign of Queen Victoria of United kingdom from 1837 to 1901.

Volute: A spiral scroll characteristic of Ionic capitals, frequently used as a decorative form on arm rests and feet in furniture.

W

Webbing: A technique of interweaving elastic or cloth to provide support to an upholstered arm, back or seat.

Wicker: A term given to pieces woven from rattan, willow or reed.

Windsor chair: A classic pattern with a curved top and spindle back.

Wingback: A chair with wing-like side panels protruding from the top of the backrest and higher up the arms in order to shield the sitter from draughts or the heat of a fire. Also known as a bergère à oreilles, or a chair 'with ears'.

X

Y

Z

Zitan: a tropical hardwood ranging in colour from dark-purplish brownish to cerise brown, and considered, together with huanghuali, the most precious and luxurious cloth used in Chinese furniture.

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Source: https://www.christies.com/features/The-A-Z-of-furniture-A-glossary-12076-3.aspx?sc_lang=en

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