THE WALNUT OUR NATIONAL TREE? 



465 



EXAMPLE OF FRENCH SIXTEENTH 

 CENTURY CARVING IN WALNUT. A 

 DETAIL OF A MOST ELABORATE 

 WALNUT CABINET 



solid walnut witn or 

 without veneers. 

 . Walnut was much 

 used in Venice, which 

 was then the center of 

 art, where it was 

 carved into all kinds 

 of furniture and used 

 as a ground-work for 

 vei.eers. In Milan, 

 the Italian brown 

 walnut was used for 

 certosina work, in- 

 laying with bone and 

 ivory. In the Victoria 

 and Albert Museum 

 is a Florentine fold- 

 ing chair of walnut 

 made in 1520. The 

 furniture styles of the 

 Italian Renaissance 

 form the starting 

 point and source of 

 inspiration for all suc- 

 ceeding styles. The period of the Renaissance marked 

 a great revival of learning, a general emergence from 

 the dark ages. It was European in scope, but had its 

 beginning and highest development in Italy. The classic 

 spirit, which effected so great a change in architecture, 

 was further exemplified in the form and ornamentation 

 of furniture. Carved woodwork became the vogue in 

 interiors and furniture styles followed this lead. 



The interior woodwork of this period was noteworthy. 

 Italian walnut was much used, carved and pannelled. 

 The cabinet became the most important piece. The chairs 

 were mostly huge, stately with carved perpendicular 

 backs, flat square seats and arms, with no thought of 

 comfort. 



Gothic details of carving persisted until the sixteenth 

 century. The lives of Saints as motifs went out of style 

 and pagan elements crept in. Handsome chests 

 of solid walnut, cabinets, tables and chairs were 

 made, though styles were palatial rather than 

 domestic. Artists and cabinetmakers came from 

 other countries and the spirit and styles of 

 Italian Renaissance swept across the continent. 

 Some Renaissance furniture was richly inlaid 

 with ivory and bone into walnut. Fine Intarsia 

 work on walnut, copies of marble mosaic, geo- 

 metric, floral and pictorial patterns became 

 common. 



Cerule or Savonarola chairs on the Roman 

 -Muriel X were often made of carved Italian wal- 

 nut, and these are quite usable today. Savonarola 

 chairs, mirrors, occasional tables, cabinets or 

 chests are about the only types of true Italian 

 Renaissance furniture which would be suitable 

 for modern homes. The records show that these 

 master Empire builders, the Romans, introduced 



walnut trees into England, but that walnut was not in- 

 troduced in quantity until 1565 A. D. These sixteenth 

 century trees were allowed to grow in their majesty and 

 beauty for nearly a hundred years, and not until the later 

 days of Qieen Elizabeth were they cut and used in any 

 quantity. The earliest examples of furniture now in 

 existence from the early middle ages in Europe are 

 coffers. The wooden coffers, which gradually became a 

 receptacle in which smaller boxes could be stored, is the 

 forerunner of the cupboard, and there are authentic 

 specimens of these early coffers made of walnut in a 

 few private collections and museums. Walnut chests 

 of the fifteenth century are to be found in the Victoria 

 and Albert Museum. The sideboard , was first, literally, 

 a board fixed against the wall, gradually developing by 

 the addition of props or legs in front, then in the 

 back, then a double shelf later enclosed, into an independ- 

 ent piece of furniture. 



Authentic walnut furniture of the Tudor period still 

 exists in England. By the time of Charles II, walnut 

 was the principal furniture wood, although, during the 

 Jacobean or Restoration days, its use, due to its superi- 

 ority in fine, smooth grain was steadily increasing. 



The fierce fanatic zeal of the Cromwellian period 

 caused the destruction of most of the now priceless treas- 

 ures in furniture, and the succeeding years saw great 

 quantities of furniture made to replace this destruction. 



During the reign of William and Mary there began 

 what has been termed the "Age of Walnut." These 

 monarchs brought to England walnut furniture in the 

 Dutch and Flemish styles, of which some fine examples 

 are to be found today in Hampton Court. There is in 

 particular a set of ten walnut chairs with cabriole legs, 

 feet carved as hoofs, and carved stretchers. Old English 

 lacquer work very often had walnut as a base due to the 

 unchangeableness of the wood. The Dutch influence is 

 shown in all the furniture made at this time, and walnut 

 chairs made during the Queen Anne period are said to 

 be the first in which the human anatomy and real com- 

 fort were given any consideration. After the period 



SIXTEENTH CENTURY FRENCH CARVED WALNUT TABLE. METROPOLITAN- 

 MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK 



