62 
House & Garden 
HANDEl/^ 
N o matter how simple or elaborate the decorative scheme, there is a 
Handel Lamp which fits in as an inseparable part of the picture. 
A distinctive object in a lighted room, this table lamp is a thing of rare 
beauty, with the light glowing through the browns and yellows of a wood¬ 
land scene and shining down upon the dull copper standard. A new pattern 
with all the distinction of Handel craftsmanship. 
Ask your dealer to show you lamp No. 6482 or write for illustrated booklet. 
THE HANDEL COMPANY, 390 East Main Street, Meriden, Conn. 
Draperies & Upholsteries 
D rape your sunniest windows with Orinoka Guar¬ 
anteed Sunfast fabrics. Select your favorite colors, 
no matter how delicate. The strongest sun, and even 
rain, cannot fade them, and they may be washed freely 
with no effect on their lustrous finish or lovely colorings. 
Every color is absolutely guaranteed not to fade. 
To get genuine sunfast draperies and upholsteries insist 
upon the name “C)RINOKA.” A wide variety of 
weaves and colors in light, medium and heavy fabrics. 
Write for our booklet, “Draping the Home, ” and name 
of nearest dealer. 
ORINOKA MILLS, 156 Clarendon Bldg., New York 
Fig. 16 and 16a. To the left an 
early nth Century long table 
with shaped plain truss supports 
and stretcher. To right, a late 
Ksth Century type with truss sup¬ 
ports and balustered stretcher 
Early Italian Tables and Seating Furniture 
(^Continued from page 43) 
of such austerity and restraint we 
still have much to learn, particularly 
in regard to the equipment of our 
summer houses. 
Design and Workmanship 
Another cardinal characteristic of 
early Italian interiors was that, while 
the pieces of furniture were com¬ 
paratively few in number, they were 
admirable in design, material and 
workmanship and the “absence of 
fussy nonentities’’ allowed them to 
count for their full value. 
A writer in the Connoisseur, some 
years ago, well summarized the ra¬ 
tionale of the restraint in the fur¬ 
nishing of some of the more mag¬ 
nificent interiors and, at the same 
time, the entire congruity of the fur¬ 
niture with its environment, 
in saying that “when the 
walls of the galleries and 
salons were covered with 
frescoes, or hung with 
arras, tapestry, rich vel¬ 
vet from Genoa, or with 
stamped and gilt leather; 
when the ceilings were 
painted or heavily carved 
and gilded; when the floors 
were inlaid with the choic¬ 
est mosaics, many objects 
about would detract from 
the magnificence of the 
whole and leave a confused 
impression on the mind. 
This the unerring taste of 
the 16th Century decorators 
fully realized. The few 
pieces of furniture that were 
admitted, however, were in 
keeping with their sur¬ 
roundings.” 
He might, with equal 
truth, have added that this 
same furniture was just as 
much in keeping with its 
surroundings when the 
architectural setting lacked all the 
aforesaid polychrome and gilt gor¬ 
geousness ; when the environment 
was marked by the utmost simplicity 
and austerity in every respect; when 
tlie floor was of stone or of bare 
boards; when the walls were of plain 
grey plaster or else whitewashed, un¬ 
adorned save for a single hanging, 
perhaps, or a painting; when the ceil¬ 
ing was groined and vaulted or of un¬ 
decorated wooden beams and boards. 
The secret of it all was that the 
furniture was inherently dignified 
and genuine, every item of it, and 
while, in the former case, with a rich 
and brilliant background, it supplied 
the requisite degree of contrast in the 
ensemble, in the latter, its effect was 
(Continued on page 64) 
Fig. 17. Two examples of nth Cen¬ 
tury turned walnut side chairs covered 
with painted leather 
Fig. 18. Italian furniture was in excellent harmony with the 
plain whitewashed walls and the groined and vaulted ceilings. 
In the Villa Curonia is this original architectural background 
