Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

14 Conservation of Furniture
rails. In this period, leather was no longer
slung as a seat but instead used as a close
covering, fitted by brass studs.
The exuberant epoch that occurred during
the reign of Charles II (1660–1688) was followed
by a restrained period under William
and Mary (1689–1702). Nevertheless, the whole
period was one of change in form, construction
and decoration. There was a rise in the
taste for Oriental objects, and a further increase
in the desire for comfort. Pieces were scaled to
fit the smaller rooms in the newer townhouses
and there was generally a lighter touch to furniture
designs. The period was one of success
in economic and political terms and this was
reflected in a demand for more and better furniture.
To satisfy this demand a number of new or
improved items of furniture came into the repertoire
of the furnisher. These included: clocks
with long cases; easy chairs with high backs and
wings (at the end of the period); chests of drawers;
chests on stands; cabinets on stands;
bureaux; scrutoires; card tables; daybeds; chandeliers
and sconces; girandoles; looking glasses;
hanging corner-cupboards; dressers.
Design and construction
The first half of the century saw the culmination
of the ‘age of oak’. Conservative attitudes
to design and change resulted from the unsettled
political situation. By the mid-century
there was a diminution in the influence of
architecture which gave cabinetmakers the
opportunity to develop decorative techniques
of their own, without being tied by the strict
constraints of classical detailing and architectural
features. The influence of styles and techniques
based on the original homes of
immigrants to North America meant that particular
traditions were taken across the Atlantic
and established in localities that continued
these ways of designing and working.
Without a doubt the most momentous
change in this latter part of the seventeenth
century was the need to introduce new methods
of construction. These were required so
that the new fashions from the Continent could
be supplied by English makers. The introduction
of veneering, using walnut, hastened the
transition from oak panelled and joined construction
to bring the true cabinetmaker to the
forefront of the trade.
Figure 1.9 Hall cupboard, English, oak, c.1610. The
panels in the upper section are decorated with
geometric inlay, whilst the pilasters form secret
compartments. The cornice moulding is not original.
The hall cupboard developed from the court cupboard,
which had an open, three-tiered structure
Joined chairs remained important and backstools
or armless chairs were an innovation. By
the Restoration, twist turning had become a
typical feature of the period, and the tallbacked
walnut chairs with caned seats and
back panels are easily recognizable (Figure
1.10). Constructionally they were not always
sound, since in many cases, seat-rails were
simply placed on top of the legs and dowelled
instead of being tenoned in between.
However, the introduction of the splayed back
leg does show some consideration for the possibility
of overbalancing. The double-scroll
Flemish leg changed to a Dutch bandy-leg
which gradually led to the cabriole shape. By
the 1690s an inverted cup and trumpet were
used for legs on tables, tallboys and cabinets.
These leg shapes are illustrated in Figure 1.11.
Castors, using leather or wood rollers, were