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WE-'t'It All Towon’s 
r hat lawn, so beautiful today, 
would look as barren and 
forlorn as when the house 
was 
built were it not for MOON’S. They told 
me what was needed—all by correspond¬ 
ence, too. I only sent them a rough sketch 
of the grounds.” 
Unquestionably there is a decided advantage in dealing 
with a Nursery that has hardy Trees and Plants for 
Every Place and Purpose. Each order is filled with freshly- 
dug stock, never more sturdy, and most carefully packed 
for shipment to any distance. 
By all means write for our Catalogue B4. It will help you beautify your property. 
THE WM. H. MOON COMPANY 
NURSERYMEN Morrisville, Pennsylvania 
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE THE MOON NURSERY CORP. 
21 S. Twelfth Street ajk&a White Plains, N. Y. 
Antique Painting of Spanish Madonna In Studio 
csie irens ii'et smith | 
IE. 48 TM = 
INTERIO JR: 
JOIE<D< 01 RATrOBR 
for 
TOWN COUNTRY 
1KOII* 
H U> B V’fl 1J> UA. IL. MOOMH 
Speciau €oli.ection = 
<ojp* Antique MaRMORs 5 
and Frames 
Fig. 14. Splayed 
“lyre” trestle legs 
and iron braces 
are seen in this 
1 6th Century 
table 
Spanish Tables and Seating Furniture of the 
16th and 17th Centuries 
(Continued from page 76) 
tion and modification for the niobiliary 
embellishment of the early period. 
Though the two chairs differ consider¬ 
ably in detail, the type to which both 
unmistakably belong is clearly defined 
and easily to be recognized under many 
kindred variations. The Spanish habit 
of fully embellishing the space between 
the front legs of chairs is well exempli¬ 
fied by the chair with the arcaded back, 
the latter feature marking a bond of 
relationship in design with the so-called 
“Yorkshire” or “Derbyshire” English 
chairs of the mid-17th Century. 
Another thoroughly representative 
type of late 16th or early 17 th Century 
Spanish seating furniture is the chair, 
figure 4, whose seat and back are cov¬ 
ered with richly tooled leather. The so- 
called Spanish scroll feet, which were 
really derived from Portugal, the scrolled 
stretcher and the arched back soon after¬ 
ward made their appearance elsewhere 
in Europe; the elaborate tooled leather 
decoration and the turned brass finials 
atop of the backposts remained typically 
Iberian; the brass-headed studding nails 
or chattones, although used outside of 
Spain, were never so freely nor effective¬ 
ly employed nor wrought with such 
elaboration or variety of design as in 
Spain and Portugal. 
Benches and Settles 
In the matter of benches and settles, 
Spain of the 16th and 17th Centuries 
was amply provided. What has been 
very generally dubbed a “monastery 
bench,” an example of which is shown 
in figure 10, was a type of common oc¬ 
currence and wide distribution. It was 
generally made either of oak or of wal¬ 
nut and might, on the one hand, be 
utterly devoid of ornamentation or, on 
the other, might have the back lavishly 
enriched with carving. The back might 
consist of a solid piece, plain or carved, 
as in the example shown, or it might be 
open, consisting of a highly ornate top- 
rail supported by two staunch backposts. 
Occasionally the back was arcaded in 
somewhat the same manner as the back 
of one of the small chairs in figure 9. 
In some cases the backs and seats were 
covered with leather and studded with 
brass-headed nails or upholstered with 
velvet. Very often these “monastery” 
benches had wrought iron braces run¬ 
ning from beneath the middle of the seat 
to the stretchers connecting the pairs of 
legs in the same manner as the braces 
for the trestle-legged tables. The “mon¬ 
astery” benches were without arms. 
A type of the high-backed wall or fire¬ 
side seat is seen in figure 11, an oaken 
settle with paneled back. One does not 
need to stretch the imagination to see 
the analogy between this piece of furni¬ 
ture and the settles used in England 
about the same time. It will be noted, 
however, that the method of panelling 
is quite different from that found in 
English pieces and is characteristic of 
Spanish workmanship. Settles somewhat 
similar to this but with broader seats 
were often used beside fireplaces and not 
seldom served in lieu of bedsteads. Still 
another type of bench had arms and a 
fairly high open and many-spindled 
back, the crossrail and toprail affording 
a space for ornamentation if the crafts¬ 
man felt inclined to indulge his decora¬ 
tive bent. 
The Ubiquitous Stool 
Spanish households of the period were 
well supplied with stools, big and little, 
high and low, long and short. The two 
examples shown in figure 13 represent 
the generally prevalent type so far as 
style is concerned. The stool, it must 
be remembered, was in common use as 
a seat and long stools, forms or backless 
benches habitually fulfilled seating re¬ 
quirements at the sides of long tables. 
The decorative processes employed for 
the enrichment of Spanish tables and 
seating furniture of the 16th and 17th 
Centuries included carving, turning, 
panelling, inlaying, painting, gilding, the 
lavish use of brass, iron or iron gilt 
wrought or perforated mounts and the 
employment of tooled leather. Both for 
tables and seating furniture carving and 
turning were the two means of decora¬ 
tion most generally resorted to and the 
carving was ordinarily of a peculiarly 
mellow, full and deep character. Inlay, 
when used, was nearly always simple 
but bold and effective. The wrought 
iron braces for tables and benches were 
often pieces of consummate craftsman¬ 
ship while the brass or gilt iron stud- 
dings displayed the greatest possible 
variety of design and elegance of finish. 
Carved and stamped leather, besides be¬ 
ing used to cover huches or boxes and 
occasionally for other niobiliary pur¬ 
poses, was in much demand for the 
backs and seats of chairs. 
Photographs illustrating this article are by cour¬ 
tesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, C. M. 
Traver Co. and Nicholas Martin 
Fig. 15. Late 16 th Century 
* carved walnut armchair with 
carved stretcher 
