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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ENGLISH SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ALL- 

 WOOD WALNUT WAINSCOT ARMCHAIR 



of the purer 

 forms of the first 

 Renaissance the 

 best time for 

 carved woodwork 

 and decorative 

 furniture in the 

 Netherlands was 

 probably the sev- 

 enteenth century, 

 when Flemish de- 

 signers and crafts- 

 men had ceased 

 to copy Italian 

 patterns and es- 

 tablished the style 

 we recognize as 

 Flemish Renais- 

 sance. 



The seventeenth 

 century also gave 

 the best examples 

 of English work, 

 marked by increased refinement of design, soundness of 

 construction and thorough workmanship made possible 

 by the use of walnut. 



At this time cozy or grandfather's chairs were 

 made of walnut, and with sumptuous upholstery, 

 marked the introduction of real comfort into the 

 design and construction of furniture. This period 

 marked the evolution of the winged sleeping 

 chair and the love chair or settee. 



The use of walnut contributed largely to the 

 wonderful development of marquetry or inlay 

 work in England, France and Italy, as the rare 

 fidelity and trueness of walnut under all condi- 

 tions permitted the exact cutting necessary to 

 perfect inlay work. 



Walnut was much used in the manufacture of 

 pianos in Queen Anne's time, and not only the 

 case but the keys were made of walnut. 



What is known as the decorative Queen Anne 

 period marked the advancement of cabinet work 

 in its finest expression of skill through elaborate 

 carving and embellishment. This progress was 

 also possible through the superiority of walnut 

 for cabinet uses. 



The period of Queen Anne marked the de- 

 velopment of a real English style of furniture 

 on Dutch lines. The beginning of Queen Anne, 

 about 1700, divides ancient from modern furni- 

 ture. Then curves came in as a feature of 

 design and with them the cabriole leg, and no 

 underbracing. Attention turned to form rather 

 than ornament. The common folks then had 

 Windsors, straight slat backs, and banister back 

 chairs. Walnut was used extensively. 



In the Georgian period, ball and claw foot 

 legs superseded the round Dutch foot designs 



on footed furniture. English styles then passed through 

 periods of French Rococo, Louis XV, Chinese and Gothic 

 elements, until classic and Louis XVI features predomi- 

 nated. Chippendale contributed largely to the modifica- 

 tion and improvement of the Queen Anne styles. Con- 

 siderable quantities of figured walnut came into the 

 market during the Georgian period and much of this 

 was veneered, producing very pleasing effects. 



There are some notable examples of fine carved wal- 

 nut tables in private collections in England, and a very 

 few in America, which mark the great popularity of this 

 type of furniture in the decade 1720 to 1730. Walnut 

 was used in the old grandfather's clocks in the period 

 from 1720 to 1735. There is a fine old burl walnut clock 

 in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 



Dean Swift, that eccentric whose caustic wit and 

 literary brilliancy made a page of England's history, was 

 the possessor of a solid walnut writing cabinet of great 

 beauty. 



It was at this time that the artistic genius 01 mc 

 Brothers Adam, of Chippendale, Heppelwhite and 

 Sheraton found expression in several styles which are 

 identified by the names of their originators. 



The chief distinction between previous styles and the 

 work cf these masters lay in refinement of design and 



TYPICAL ENGLISH SEVENTEENTH CENTURY TURNED WALNUT ARMCHAIR 



