Overview - European Period Furniture 1690 - 4 AD

The 1700s and 1800s saw rapid changes in European furniture design and is considered the golden age of the cabinet maker with furniture being carefully designed and constructed by artisans trained in the fine craft of furniture making.​

But this era did not merely modify or tweak the previous styles. Instead, a new series of individual styles were created which were completely different to the heavier historical styles… and these new designs have collectively become known as “Period Furniture”.

Important note regarding dates and styles…

1. The dates shown in individual sections do not necessarily correspond with the periods of the relevant rulers’ reigns or the lifetimes of individual designers.
2. Rather, they reflect the dates that historians generally attribute to the popularity of different styles… and it’s important to remember that design elements will always overlap as styles change from period to period.

William and Mary 1690 - 1720

•     Lighter and more elegant profiles… with serpentine stretchers and cane or padded chair seats.​
•     Inverted trumpet legs with round or bun feet… but sometimes with a Spanish foot flaring to a scroll.​
•     Oak replaced by maple, walnut and light pine woods… walnut being easier to carve than oak.​
•     Marquetry… inlaying pieces of coloured wood or other materials to form decorative patterns.​
•     Oriental lacquer-work… known as “japanning”.
  
  

Although William and Mary furniture was still dark and dramatic it rejected the blocky right angles of Jacobean and earlier furniture, instead favouring soft curves and elegant spirals… with chairs, tables, desks and chests raised higher off the ground. It was also physically lighter and thinner with inverted, cup-turned legs, bun feet and serpentine stretchers… influenced by the Dutch craftsmen King William brought with him to England from Holland.​​

The spark for the transformation from heavy to lightweight furniture was the development of a technique known as dovetailing… which are interlocking tapered triangles or trapezoids that interlock and hold adjacent pieces of wood together with glue and friction.  While the technique had technically existed for millennia it hadn’t become a big part of English furniture, but it now changed the way craftsmen could distribute and absorb weight, allowing their creations to be made taller and from thinner wood.​​

Marquetry, with exotic woods like ebony and maple used in the inlays, was the most common form of decoration with shells, leaves and flowers being the most predominant.​​

And following increased trade with the east, Europe became fascinated with its furniture and porcelain… and furniture makers learned how to imitate oriental paintwork known as Jappening - a lacquering process combining ashes and varnish.

Queen Anne 1710 - 1740

• Walnut was most utilized wood although many pieces were made in cherry, poplar and maple.
• Claimed to be the first ergonomically chair built to support the spine and to have the first seat with a cushion for comfort.​
• Minimal other ornamentation or embellishment.​
• Light and elegant with curved lines in the legs, feet, arms and pediments.​
  
  

A new type of even lighter weight furniture commissioned during the reign of Queen Anne became popular in the homes of trending cities after 1710 and for the first time included a range of matching items such as tables, chairs, display cabinets, bookcases and secretary desks, as well as bedroom furniture like highboys and dressing tables.​​

In a significant break from the relative heaviness of the William and Mary styles, the oversized turned legs of the past were replaced by the cabriole leg modelled after an animal’s legs and this feature remains the most recognizable element of the Queen Anne style. The balance achieved by cabriole legs made it possible to support top-heavy furniture while another feature of these slim legs was that they surprisingly did not require the support of stretchers.​​

Heavy ball feet characteristic of previous styles were replaced with graceful pad feet and the heavier tunings and carvings were replaced by lightweight curves in the arms… with pediments being the only other adornments used in this style, often with carved shells and S-scrolls.​

In cabinetry, Japanned decoration was used sparingly and tended to be in red, green and gilt, often on a blue-green field.

Georgian 1720 – 1760

• A more decorative version of the Queen Anne style.​
• Heavier proportions, elaborately carved cabriole legs.​
• Pierced back splats with ball and claw feet.​
• Walnut replaced by mahogany.
  
  

The Georgian period was named after Kings George I and George II who reigned over England from 1714 to 1760... but as regards furniture it started around 1720 and lasted until 1760 when it was replaced by the more ornate Revival and Rococo styles.​​

Georgian furniture was a more decorative version of the Queen Anne style with heavier proportions and with mahogany from Central and South America replacing walnut as the primary wood in furniture making.​​

Chairs became smaller and more delicate with lower backs, often oval or rounded, and with pierced back splats. Carving, although ornate, was in low relief and classic details were later highlighted with gilding.​​

The cabriole leg continued initially but with the ball-and-claw foot replacing the round foot… although later the more slender straight leg replaced the cabriole leg as part of a generally lighter construction.​​

These same characteristics applied as well to other forms of furniture such as tables, cabinets, armoires, couches and occasional pieces.