February, I9I1 
Fig. 1—Transitional chair 
In the Middle 
Ages, Dutch furni- 
ture resembled that 
of France and Eng- 
land in form and 
only differed in the 
carving and orna- 
mentation. The 
great Dutch carvers 
were as much appre- 
ciated and as largely 
employed as the 
French at the mag- 
nificent court orf 
Philip the Good, 
Duke of Burgundy; 
and when the Ren- 
aissance came, the 
famous Dutch de- 
signer, Vriedeman de 
Vries, had as much 
influence in introduc- 
ing new styles of fur- 
niture as the cele- 
brated Frenchman, 
Androuet du Ce- 
rceau. 
In beauty of deco- 
ration and excellence 
of architectural con- 
struction the enor- 
mous Dutch Kas (a 
sort of wardrobe or 
press) held its own 
with the French ar- 
moire and the Eng- 
lish court-cupboard. 
As is always no- 
ticeable in the 
charming _ interiors 
OLLECTORS of furniture and students of 
decorative art rarely realize how much is 
owed to the Dutch in the development of 
to follow the progress of the Renaissance 
in the Low Countries and still more to 
trace the advent of the curve and the 
adaptation of the jar and dragon and other fantastic forms 
and devices of decoration that had their birth in the Far East. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Furniture of our 
Forefathers 
By Esther Singleton 
Dutch Furniture—l. 
Fig. 3—Great Kas 
housewife longed for one; 
Fig. 2—Caned-back chair 
of the Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century, the great 
Kas always occupies a conspicuous place in the room. ‘Tall 
porcelain vases generally stood upon the broad slab of the 
form and ornamentation. It is interesting top, and in it were kept valuable linen, heirlooms of silver, 
jewelry, wedding and christening gifts, etc., etc. The Kas 
was carved, as in the accompanying example (Fig. 3), in- 
laid, paneled, or decorated with porcelain plaques. It was 
always an expensive piece of furniture and every Dutch 
and was more than delighted 
when one was left to 
her by bequest. 
The facade of this 
piece is particularly 
fine. ‘Che two lower 
doors and small up- 
per doors are di- 
vided by Doric pilas- 
ters, and lions’ heads 
break and end the 
two lower drawers. 
It will be noticed 
that the Kas stands 
on heavy ball feet, 
often caHed “knots” 
in the past. 
Another and ear- 
lier example of the 
best workmanship of 
the Low Countries 
is a species of buffet, 
or court-cupboard 
(Fig. 9). Its place 
was in the hall, or 
general living-room; 
and its drawers and 
interior shelves con- 
tained linen, plate 
and choice earthen- 
ware. Jhe lower 
shelf also served for 
the display of mas- 
sive plate, which also 
often adorned the 
top. The panels of 
this piece of furni- 
ture in the early 
period of the Renais- 
sance were usually 
carved with biblical, 
