If you are planning to buy antique furniture for either investment or home décor, it may be a good idea to study the vocabulary that is used in the antique furniture business. The vocabulary usually refers to a specific period of antique furniture, of which there are many. Here are some descriptions of the various furniture styles. Before you begin to shop, get a sense of what style of antique tables, chairs, and furniture in general you would like for each room. If you read a description of something called a Hepplewhite Cabinet, it is probably in reference to a cabinet designed by George Hepplewhite, a famous 18th century English cabinet maker. Hepplewhite's works were characterized by their simplicity and delicacy. The chairs were relatively small, with a shield or heart shape on their backs. The Chippendale style of furniture was also popular in England during that same period. In this case, Chippendale does not refer to a male dance club! Chippendale armchairs were ornate, and highly stylized. The Chippendale period of furniture may have been a reaction to the earlier Queen Anne style. The furniture of this period, which spanned from 1700-1750, had a gracefully refined appearance. Popular fabrics of this period included chintz, crewel, damask, needlepoint, tapestry and velvet. Cabriole legs were the signature of this period. The 18th-century English who carved these S-curved legs described these feature as a "horsebone" or "crooked leg." Fortunately, these stuffy Anglo-Saxon descriptions did not last. The Italian word "cabriole" was used, which literally translates as "goat's leap." |
