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THE JACOBEAN PERIOD

The word "Jacobean" derives from the Latin form of the name James, although decoratively speaking, the Jacobean period covers the reign of both James I (1603) to Charles I (1625-1649). Possibly the Jacobean influence is more familiar to us than furniture of any other past period because of modified reproductions which enjoyed great popularity early in the 20th century. The familiar gate-leg table comes from this period.

Jacobean furniture was made of oak. and in form was rather weighty looking. Decoration was provided by spiral turning, flat-carving, painting and applied moulding.

EARLY AMERICAN

English Colonial (1620-1700) reflected the homes that the colonists had left behind them in rural England. The new settlers in the main came from the lower middle classes and their furniture was copied from the modified English Jacobean. The spindle type chair favored at the time developed later into Carver and Windsor chairs. The women of the New England were industrious with the needle and 100m and made many of their own furnishings.

THE BAROQUE PERIOD

Originally a jeweller's term, the word Baroque was once used to denote unevenness in the surface of gem stones. Today, the word indicates extravagant ornamentation. The Baroque period (1600~1780) differed from the Renaissance in that it expressed the romantic, rather than the classic feeling. Some authorities refer to this period as late Renaissance. By the middle of the 17th century the Baroque style had reached its height in Italy. It was a time of great prosperity in Italy; ostentatious display was the desire of the wealthy classes with each important family out-doing another with effects of unparalleled grandeur, To describe the Baroque period extravagant words are needed; private homes and palaces were fabulous - furnishings were rich beyond the imagination, and personal clothing was magnificent. The Baroque style was the complete opposite of the classical expression, and it developed free of the limitations and traditions of the classicism evident in the early Renaissance.

The furniture of the period was similar to that of The Renaissance except that decoration was more exaggerated, coverings were richer. Elaborate finials. deeply carved foliage forms, inlaid colored marble and much gilding were new-style additions to the well proportioned furniture of the Renaissance. Sculptures were displayed on highly ornamented pedestals; huge mirrors reflected the spender of the rooms through their gilded or carved frames.

In France the Baroque movement developed into magnificence during the long reign of Louis XIV who built the Louvre to house the greatest painters and architects of his time. The Baroque in France developed a flavor of its own – elaborate, over-ornamented, but fascinating. The colors used were rich and brilliant. with satin, silk. cloth-of-gold, velvet, brocade, taffeta, and damask, giving the furnishings of the rich an incredible grandeur.

Some of the furniture during the French Baroque movement was distinctly Italian in style - mainly straight, massive in scale. and formal. The principal timbers used were walnut and cherrywood, both solid and veneered. Later, as the style became more graceful, mobile and elaborate. wrought brass mounts and ormolu ornamentation were introduced; fancy veneers, inlay and marquetry also became fashionable. All types of wood - rare and highly colored - such as violet-wood, laburnum. kingwood. sycamore, as well as ebony, tortoise-shell, brass and silver, were used to make and decorate furniture. About the middle of the 17th century also, glass was being manufactured in much larger sheets that formerly; this .helped to introduce a new piece of furniture called vitrine, the forerunner of our present-day china cabinet.