yo THE HOUSE AND ITS EQUIPMENT. 



however, became worse and worse, until the most ghastly horrors were perpetrated in the way of 

 design, though still well made and of good material. It is perhaps as well to make a rule, to which, 

 however, exceptions must be allowed, to buy nothing later than that of eighteenth century date if the 

 purchaser wants to surround himself with things which will be always pleasant to live with. 



Old lacquered furniture of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, whether it be Oriental 

 or European, blends harmoniously with all Old English furniture except the lighter and more delicate 

 products of the end of the eighteenth century. The most prized and by far the most beautiful is the work 

 of the Chinese and Japanese of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The incised cabinets 

 and screens of the former, decorated with the most beautiful pigments and gold, provide a feast of colour 

 for the eye. The early work of the Japanese is usually found in cabinets, and the scheme of decoration 

 is black and gold, and, though sombre, is beautiful, the gold work being of the utmost delicacy and 

 refinement. The European work is very coarse compared with the Oriental, but is pleasing and harmonious 

 in tone. The market abounds with imitations, most of which are crude and garish, but have to be 

 examined carefully, because they are apt to pass muster at a distance. The real old red lacquer is most 

 beautiful in colour, rich but not glaring, and genuine pieces are very rare. Many spurious pieces are 

 being offered for sale, and old black lacquer cabinets have reappeared with a red coat ; but the modern 

 red lacquer is dull and lifeless. Black and gold japanned furniture, some of which was pretty and 

 graceful, appeared for a short time in the early years of the nineteenth century. It is generally most 

 suitable for bedrooms, and the chairs are cane-seated. \Yhen offered &quot; long &quot; sets of dining-room chairs, 

 one should examine each one, because sets of twelve or more of the same date are rare. Original sets 

 were often divided among members of the family, who subsequently had them copied, perhaps many 

 years ago. Likewise, armchairs should be carefully, chosen, as, being of more value, the arms are often 

 added to single chairs by dishonest dealers. An armchair should always be rejected if the arm covers 

 the carving of the back, for the workman of former days would never do that. The carving should be 

 finished off immediately above and below the join of the arm. 



As to price, the ordinary plain old furniture can be bought at present at the same figure as, or less 

 than, the modern article, and the value is very much greater from all points of view ; but prices are going 

 up, old things are becoming more scarce and, to a much greater extent than people think, are being 

 exported both to France and to the Colonies. America for long has been annually draining the country 

 of large quantities ; but since the duty of sixty per cent, has been taken off and everything over one hundred 

 years old is allowed in duty free, enormous quantities of Old English furniture of every kind, and also 

 silver, Sheffield plate, china and glass, have left the country never to return. For rare and beautiful 

 specimens very large prices arc obtained, and unless the purchaser is sure of his own judgment he should 

 get expert opinion, and always a guarantee from the seller. Forgeries are done by such skilled and 

 highly-paid workmen that a table will perhaps cost in actual work-sheet wages fifty pounds to make, and 

 the seller reckons to get for it two or three hundred pounds. Auction sales, particularly in private houses, 

 often prove dangerous pitfalls, and unless the would-be purchaser has his own or somebody else s expert 

 knowledge upon which he can rely, he had far better buy from a dealer, when he can examine the piece 

 at his leisure, and, if necessary, return it in the event of both the dealer and himself having been taken in. 



Though the trend of this chapter has been to warn the would-be buyer against worthless imitations, 

 it must not be supposed that there are no honest dealers. There are many such who are continually 

 refusing things offered them by the professional &quot; faker &quot; ; but the tendency is, except among the few, 

 to take the piece for granted so long as it passes a cursory examination, and not to know too much about 

 it for fear of finding out that it is not all that it purports to be. Therefore it is important to deal not only 

 with the man who has the knowledge, but with one who, at the same time, honestly examines every piece 

 before he offers it for sale. \Yhen all is said, the buyer of furniture has to rely largely on his own judgment, 

 which will mature as the result of careful study of authentic pieces and their pictures. The illustrations 

 here shown are all of notable specimens, and should be examined in the light of the descriptions which 

 follow : 



In Fig. 108 is shown an inlaid mahogany bookcase, with a classical cornice consisting of a broken 

 pediment flanked by a spindle gallery with urns ; the cupboards and drawers below are bow-shaped, 

 divided by round fluted columns. These latter, with the half-round panels of the glazed lattice doors 

 of the upper part, in which appear the Prince of \Yales feathers, place this cabinet in the last quarter of 

 the eighteenth century. Figure 106, on page 69, shows a high-back single chair with embossed 

 leather back and seat, which is very Dutch in character ; the pillars are carved and the elaborate cresting 

 is surmounted by a shell, which appears also on the lower rail of the back and again on the seat rail ; the 

 legs are slightly cabriole and have splayed feet, which have a suggestion of the hoof foot so often found 

 in Dutch furniture. The stretcher joins those at the side and lies back from the front legs. The date 

 is about 1680. Figure 105 is a photograph of an armchair showing the development of the Queen Anne 

 type, with the round top rail and the openwork wood back made by Chippendale. The back, front rail 

 and cabriole legs are carved in relief ; the latter are hocked and finish in rounded toes. This chair was 



