What the Period Styles Really Are 
1—THE DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF FURNITURE AND IN¬ 
TERIOR DECORATIONS IN FRANCE UP THROUGH THE TIME OF LOUIS XIV 
by Lucy Abbott Throop 
[Modern usage of furniture and fittings for the interiors of American homes would seem to indicate that we have but two available and distinct 
styles — “Colonial” and Craftsman or so-called “Mission.” For a long time the historic period styles were so ignorantly and tastelessly employed as to 
bring about a revulsion of feeling and their almost complete abandonment. There are signs that the pendulum is swinging back again now, and that a 
really sincere appreciation of the best that has been done in the past will reveal new possibilities for beauty in the homes of to-day. Miss Throop’s se¬ 
ries of aricles will aim to give a fairly complete understanding of the periodsiyles and how they may be intelligently used. — Editor.] 
T O try to write a history of furniture in a fairly short space 
is almost as hard as the square peg and round hole prob¬ 
lem. No matter how one tries, it will not fit. One has to leave 
out so much of importance, so much of historic and artistic in¬ 
terest, so much of the life of the people that helps to make the 
subject vivid, and has to take so much for granted, that the task 
seems almost impossible. It is an intensely interesting subject, 
and I hope these articles may cause the desire for more knowl¬ 
edge of its details. 
The Latin conquest of Gaul was so complete that there are 
absolutely no traces of Gallic furniture left, so that we know 
nothing of the household effects of the Ancient Gauls. Its civili¬ 
zation was quickly absorbed by the Romans, but in the Gallo- 
Roman race that sprang from the fusion of the two was the 
seed that later developed into the optimistic, happy, beauty-loving 
and artistic French character. Even in the darkest periods, when 
bad taste has seemed to be in the ascendent, this fundamental 
sense of beauty would slowly assert itself and again one of the 
great periods of French art would reign. The Roman's sense of 
proportion curbed the barbaric freedom of the Gauls and made 
a combination of great possibilities. Although the French may 
never have entirely evolved the germ of a new style, they were 
always able to assimilate ideas, to work them over and put the 
stamp of their own individuality upon them, to send them out 
into the world with a new and beautiful vigor. This we see over 
and over again as 
we study the his¬ 
tory of architect¬ 
ure and decoration 
in France. 
The luxury and 
customs of the Ro¬ 
mans were quickly 
adopted by the 
Gauls and soon the 
wealthy citizens 
had feasts of al¬ 
most as great mag¬ 
nificence as their 
conquerors. Then 
came the early 
Frankish kings, 
with their savage 
love of bright and 
shining metal and 
their encourage¬ 
ment of its work¬ 
ing and the making 
of jewelry in the 
monasteries. In the 
Bibliothcque Na- 
tionale of Paris is 
a chair that tradition says is the golden throne of Dagobert; 
sad to say it is probably only a copy. It is interesting, however, 
as showing the Latin style modified by barbarism. We all have 
heard of the wonderful gold and silver tables of Charlemagne 
at Aix-La-Chapelle, but of all the luxury and lavish display of 
those days not a vestage now remains. 
The first authentic piece of furniture is a bahut or chest 
dating from sometime in the twelfth century and belonging to 
the Church of Obazine. It shows how furniture followed the 
lines of architecture, and also shows that there was no carving 
used on it. Large spaces were probably covered with painted 
canvas, glued on. Later, when panels became smaller and the 
furniture designs were modified, moldings, etc., began to be 
used. These bdhuts or hitches, from which the term huchiers 
came (meaning the Corporation of Carpenters), were nothing 
more than chests standing on four feet. From all sources of 
information on the subject it has been decided that they were 
probably the chief pieces of furniture the people had. They 
served as a seat by day and, with cushions spread upon them, 
as a bed by night. They were also used as tables with large 
pieces of silver dresse or arranged upon them in the daytime. 
From this comes our word “d-resser” for the kitchen shelves. 
In those days of brigands and wars and sudden death, the house¬ 
hold belongings were as few as possible so that the trouble of 
speedy transportation would be small, and everything was 
packed into the closets. As the idea of comfort grew a little 
stronger, the num¬ 
ber of closets 
grew, and when a 
traveling party ar¬ 
rived at a stop¬ 
ping - place, out 
came the tapestries 
and hangings and 
cushions and silver 
dishes, which were 
arranged to make 
the rooms seem as 
cheerful as pos¬ 
sible. The germ 
of the home ideal 
was there, at least, 
but it was" hard 
work for the arras 
and the “del” to 
keep out the cold 
and cover the bare 
walls. When life 
became a little 
more secure and 
people learned 
something of the 
beauty of propor- 
Louis XIII chair now in the Cluny Museum, 
showing the Flemish influence 
A typical Louis XIII chair, many of which 
were covered with velvet or tapestry 
(210) 
