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* Please note, our Glossary
of Terms is still under construction, please check back frequently*
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BACHELOR'S CHEST
Modern name for small chest of drawers in typically early 18th century English style.
BACKGAMMON BOARD AND TABLE
The game goes back to the Middle Ages, and furniture
for its play appeared as soon as
specialized tables
appeared in the 17th century. Fine examples occur in
French and English work.
BAIL
Metal loop or ring forming a handle.
BALL FOOT
Round turning used as foot on chests, etc. Same as
bun foot in England.
BALLOON BACK
Chair back style developed by Hepplewhite, extensively used in Victorian work.
BALUSTER
Small column, turned, squares, or flats, supporting a
rail; it also formed chair backs in architectural forms.
BAMBOO
The wood of the bamboo tree is used for furniture in
the East. Its use came to the West with
the waves of
traders and merchants.
BANDING
A narrow edging or border of veneer around fronts of
drawers; a contrasting band of inlay.
BANTM WORK
Incised lacquer decoration common on Dutch and
English furniture, also known as cutwork.
BARLEY-SUGAR TWIST
Type of turning in which the wood is shaped in a spiral; used on legs, columns or for decoration.
BAROQUE
The whole tendency of European design in the 17th
century was toward exaggeration; over emphasized
brilliance. Motion is the essence of the Baroque, large curves, fantastic and
irregular, are explosively interpreted, reversed,
and ornamented. Twisted columns, distorted and broken pediments and over-sized
moldings
sacrificed the structural sense to a tremendous
theatrical effect.
BAS-RELIEF
Sculpture in which the carving projects only slightly
from the background.
BELLFLOWER
Ornamental detail, carved or painted, resembling
bell-shaped flowers arranged vertically.
BELTER, JOHN HENRY
One of New York's foremost designers and a leading
exponent of the rococo revival style.
He created elaborate
panels using a technique that he patented (1804-63).
BERGERE
Upholstered armchair with closed upholstered sides.
Specifically, chairs of French style, copied in England and Germany.
BEVEL
A sloping edge, of various angles, applied to any material
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wood, glass, metal, etc. Similar to Chamfer.
BIEDERMEIER
German style, first half of the 19th century, chiefly
based on French Empire forms.
It is essentially a style of lesser nobility and the middle class
imitating
the Paris Empire furniture of grander houses.
BIRD'S-EYE
Small figure in wood grain, resembling a bird's eye.
Principally in maple, but occasionally in other woods.
Cutting tangentially through the indentations that sometimes appear in the annual rings produces it.
BLIND TOOLING
The process of decorating leather with heated tools, often creating bands of running decoration,
but without the use of gold metal in the process.
The result is a pattern embossed to give shadow and texture to the leather.
BLOCK FOOT
Square end of an untapered leg, as in Chippendale work.
BOBBIN TURNING
A series of wooden spheres turned on a lathe,
used on 17th century and 18th century chair and table legs and stretchers.
BOISERIE
French term for woodwork; used specifically for 18th century carved panels.
BOMBE
Swelling or convex surface; bulging fronts and sides, as found in period furniture of Louis XV,
late 18th century Italian and other Baroque work.
BONNET TOP
An unbroken pediment or top section of a highboy, secretary, etc.
Typical late 17th and early 18th century English design.
BOWFRONT
Convex shaped front of a chest, buffet, etc., characteristic of 18th century work.
BRACKET
A small ornamental shelf. Also, any wall lighting fixture.
A supporting member between the leg and the seat of a chair or table.
Pierced brackets of many designs are characteristic of Chippendale work.
BRACKET FOOT
Simple base on chests and case furniture of the 18th
century.
The foot runs two ways from the corner, in more or less simple shapes.
The type was highly ornamented by Chippendale in England.
BREAKFRONT
Front formed on two or more planes. Specifically, the word is now used to describe
a bookcase or cabinet in which a center section projects forward from the two end sections.
BROKEN PEDIMENT; BROKEN ARCH:
Referring to a pediment whether straight, swan-neck, or gooseneck,
the side lines or scrolls of which do not meet or come to
a point.
BUFFET
Sideboard; dining room dresser of almost any description,
used as a receptacle for articles not immediately wanted at the table.
BULL'S EYE MIRROR
Round ornamental mirror, often with convex or concave glass.
BUN FOOT
A flattened, gloved, or bun shaped foot, with slender ankle above.
BUREAU
The name given to an entire family of English desk and drawer combinations
known in America as a "secretary". In America, the word came to refer to
a chest of drawers generally for the bedroom.
BURL
An abnormal or diseased growth appearing on trees, often from an injury to the bark.
When sliced into fine cross sections for veneer, they produce beautifully figured patterns.
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Also see our "Guide
to Materials and Manufacturing Mediums Used for Antique Reproductions"
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