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Crosskeys Antiques -
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
* Please note, our Glossary of
Terms is still under construction, please check back frequently*
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"C" SCROLL
A carving in the shape of the letter "C".
CABLE MOLDING
Closely twisted reeding resembling nautical rope used on Regency furniture.
CABOCHON
Decorative device; round or oval raised decoration, resembling a polished,
unfaceted gem. Also, a similarly convex and smooth rounded asymmetrical shape,
resembling in form a cashew nut, sometimes used as a decorative element of
Rococo style. Often used in conjunction with acanthus leaves or
shell work on cabriole legs.
CABRIOLE
Dominant in the 18th century. Furniture leg shaped in a carved, double curve.
The name springs from the root, Capragoat - though the Spanish "cabriole",
suggests its resemblance to the bent leg of an animal.
CAMPAIGN FURNITURE
Primarily military; portable collapsible furniture. Often
folding or separable into parts.
Made in British India from the late 18th through the 19th
centuries. Campaign furniture,
also called colonial furniture, included such pieces as
chairs, tables, settees, chests, desks and beds.
CANDLE STAND
Portable stand intended to support a candle or lamp and small objects.
Made in various styles from the Middle Ages onward, candle stands generally took the form of
a very small platform, resting on either four legs or a center column. Usually a small table, tri- pod pedestal.
CANE
Flexible rattan woven in open patterns for chair seats, backs, etc.
CANOPY
Covering or hood over bed or throne, suspended from wall or ceiling or carved posts. Also known as "tester".
CANTERBURY
In current use, a magazine rack.
CAPITAL
The head column or pilaster.
CARCASE OR CARCASS
A body of joinery, or cabinet work. A piece of furniture, to which veneer of some other surface is attached.
CARD TABLE
Appearing in the late 17th century, card tables reached
their zenith in 18th century England.
From Queen Anne to Regency, every period has fine
examples.
CARTOUCHE
An ornate Rococo framing motif with scrolled edges used on Chippendale and various 19th century revival-style pieces.
CARYATID
Greek architectural ornament in the form of a female
figure used as supporting columns.
Male figures are called Atlantes. Adapted to form legs of
tables, chairs, stands of cabinets, etc., and as
pilasters for beds, cabinets, mantels, paneling, etc., they are found in the classic revivals and in all the more
decorative architectural styles of furniture, such as the later Italian Renaissance, Jacobean, Francis I, Louis XlV, Empire.
CASKET
Small box or chest, often of value and beauty, made of precious woods and metals;
inlaid, carved or painted, they were used to hold money, jewels, papers, and other valuables.
CASTER/CASTOR
Small roller attached to the feet or the base of furniture to facilitate moving.
CELADON
A term for a variety of East Asian - green to greenish gray glazed porcelain. China, Korea, Thailand and Japan.
CHAISE-LOUNGE
A long chair, a form of sofa or daybed with upholstered back, for reclining.
CHAMFER
Grooved, splayed or beveled-off corner of a post or a molding.
CHARLES I
King of England (1625-1649). Furniture style from the period is classified as Early Jacobean.
CHARLES II
King of England (1660-1685). Furniture style from the period is referred to as Carolean, Restoration, Late Jacobean and Late Stuart.
CHARLES X
King of France (1824-1839). Period of Bourbon Restoration, furniture of late Empire, Louis XVI and eclectic Rococo and Renaissance detail.
CHASING
Ornamentation of metal by etching, engraving or incising.
CHERUB
Winged child figure used in decoration from the Renaissance and afterward; also called
AMORINI.
In Italian and French work the whole figure is usual, but after Charles II,
the English carvers, such as, Grinling Gibbon, often used the winged head alone.
CHEVRON
Any V-shaped pattern; popular on Gothic revival and Art Deco pieces.
CHINA CABINET; CHINA CLOSET
Important cabinet, often with glass front and sides, for the storage and display of fine china.
CHINESE-CHIPPENDALE
18th century adaptation of Chinese furniture and architectural motifs to English furniture.
CHINOISERIE
French word referring to things Chinese, or in the Chinese taste or manner.
CHIP CARVING
Design made in a wooden panel by chipping out a pattern;
around from the medieval period to the early 17th century.
CHIPPENDALE, THOMAS
English cabinetmaker and designer. Most popular for Chinese, Gothic,
and French rococo styles. Lacquering, paintings, or gilding were used to finish
many of the pieces (1750-1779).
CLASSIC
Design inspiration derived from the ancient styles of Greece, Rome and Egypt called Classic or Classic Antiquity.
CLAW AND BALL
Foot carved in the form of a bird's foot gripping a ball. Its earliest form in Chinese bronze
shows a dragon claw holding the cosmic jewel, the cabriole leg terminating
in the ball and claw was a favorite motive in Chippendale's earlier work but it
ceased to be fashionable after 1765.
CLOVEN FOOT
Table or chair leg ending in the form of an animal's cleft foot. English and Continental work, chiefly 18th century.
COCK-BEADING
A beaded molding that projects from the surface of a piece of furniture; most common on drawer fronts.
COFFER
Chest that served as seat, table, trunk, or for storage of valuables; one of the earliest forms
of furniture in Europe, when unsettled conditions make it imperative
that furniture and contents be readily transported together.
COLONIAL
American period from the earliest settlements to the Revolution. Improperly applied to most American furniture up to 1850.
COMMODE
The commode is a loosely defined type of chest or cabinet, usually low, and used
against the wall as a receptacle, bureau, chest, console, etc. It may have doors
or drawers.
COMPO
A mixture of resin and other materials for the fabrication or molding of relief
for application.
(Billiard balls are made of a mixture called compo).
CONCERTINA MOVEMENT
Folding mechanism used in card tables and dining tables for expansion.
The back half of the frame or apron is cut hinged two or more times
under the extended top leaf, to fold in upon itself.
CONSOLE
Architectural term for a bracket of any kind used to support cornices or
shelves.
The bracket is usually of scroll form. The word "console" is also applied,
incorrectly,
to tables fixed to the wall and supported only at the front legs.
Currently, almost any type of wall tables.
COQUILLAGE
Decoration incorporating a scallop shell motif; used on rococo-style furniture.
CORNICE
The horizontal molding or group of moldings at the top of a piece of furniture.
CRESTING
Carved decoration on top rail of chairs, daybeds, mirrors, etc.
CROSSBANDING
Border bands in veneer in which the grain runs across the band. Used throughout
18th century English furniture.
CROTCH
The wood from the intersection of a branch with the trunk of the tree has
an unusual V-shaped figure when cut into veneers. The matching of these veneers
produces
striking patterns much favored by cabinet- makers.
CUP AND COVER
Bulbous, turned-wood decoration found on legs of furniture and on bedposts
in Elizabethan and 19th century revival styles.
CURL VENEER
Veneer cut from the fork where a branch joins the trunk of a tree, valued for its decorative grain.
CYMA CURVE
A wave curve; a double or compound curve.
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Also see our "Guide
to Materials and Manufacturing Mediums Used for Antique Reproductions"
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