French Furniture Under Louis

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LITTLE ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ON OLD FRE N CH FU RN ITU RE I I F R E N U R N I T U R E . C H F U N DE R LOU I S XI V FRE NCH F UR NI T UR E

E C U I U E I N T H E MI E I . FR N H F RN T R DDL AGE S A N D UND E R LOUI S XI I I FRE N CH FU RN I TU RE UND E R LOU I S XI V FRE N CH F URN I TURE U ND E R LOU I S XV FRE N CH FURN I TU RE U ND E R LOU I S XVI A N D T H E E MP I RE

E N G L I SH FURNI T URE

(Prevz ously ja u blis hed)

E G I FU I U E U E TH E I . N L SH RN T R ND R TU D ORS A N D STUART S E G I FU I U E OF T H E UE I I . N L SH RN T R Q E N ANN E PE RI OD I I E G I F R I U E OF TH E CH I PPE N I . N L SH U N T R DALE PE R I OD E G I FU I U E OF T H E S E O I V. N L SH RN T R H RAT N PE RI OD

E a ch v olum e pro fu s ely illus tra te d with full-pa g e re pro du c tio ns a nd c o lo u re d fro ntispie c es

wn 8 1 m Clo t/z rice d Cro 3. 6 net , , p 4 .

W H LONDON : LL AM N MANN L . I I , EI E , TD

L RG E ARM-C I R C OV E RE I N WV A HA D OOL VE L ET ( E nd o f the Lo u is XI V s tyle ) LITTLE ILLUSTRATE D BOOKS ON FRE NCH FURNITURE II

FRE N C H FURN I T URE UN DE R L OUI S X I V

BY ROGE R DE FELICE

T RANSLAT E D B Y F M AT KI N S N . . O

LON DON M C M XXI I

E E LTD WILLIAM H IN MANN , .

INTRODUCTION : SOM E SETS OF FURNITURE UNDER LOUIS XI V

T H E Louis XIV style is one that chance has e m n is ua to rz e L o u . dowed with a Sple did name , Q n a . Those so orous , sumptuous syll bles , as rich as the gold of the G a llery of Mirrors at a Vers illes, are they not in themselves completely expressive ? If the Louis XV style wa s to e x a n press whole society of voluptuous reﬁ ement , the Louis XIV style is verily the style of the n w a s a x Ki g . It to s tisfy his taste , to e press a n d c his mind, to titillate his pride to pro laim hi s glory that Le Brun and Le Pa u t re devis e d a a their pompous decor tions , th t Perrault and M a n s a rd marshalle d their colum ns a nd raised n their cupolas , that Le Nostre pla ted his alleys n a on li es meted out by stretched cords , th t the l n n n Ke lers fou ded bro ze , that Dome ico Cucci a a n a and Cl ude B lli chased precious metals , th t A ndre- Cha rles Boulle cunningly wedded brass a nd W n tortoise shell ith ebo y in the Louvre , a nd at the Gobelins the la pida ries matched the n F r n e n - sto es of lo e c , the cabi et makers put n n together their i genious cabi ets , the silver smiths m a de t a bles a nd pots for ora nge trees out r of solid silver , the tapestry worke s wove their

enormous hangings stitch by stitch , while at v i I N T R O D UC T I O N Tourlavill e the glass workers made mirrors a nd n n larger clearer tha those of Ve ice . Whole volum e s might be writt e n o n the Louis XV a nd Louis XVI styles without even a e mention of the princes whose names th y bear , but this would be qui te Impossible with the I n style we are about to discuss this little book .

Although he had not , whatever that sharp “ n tongued Saint Simon may say, a mi d rather ’ w a s below the average , Louis the Great quite ordin ary in intelligence a nd was furthermore x e tremely ignorant , two defects that he redeemed in the exercise of his vocation as king by dint of i good will , appl cation , and hard work ; he was —a nd not , as we would say , much of an artist he C learly proved this on the day when , in order to n n remedy the distressed state of his ﬁ a ces , he decided with equal absurdity and ma gnanimit y to melt down all his prodigious store of plate , whose bullion value was nothing in comp a rison I t s a a n with artistic v lue , while he kept his di mo ds — n n but he insisted on decidi g everythi g , and always made some alteration in the designs submitted to him . He had of course his own n perso al taste , which Colbert consulted and BrIin which Le , who shared it , contrived to impose upon the artists of every kin d who n n worked under his absolute domi atio . What S a s u e r- m a n was peci lly dear to this p , who, as “ e a Mlle . de Scud ry says , when playing billi rds retained the deme a nour beﬁtting the master of ” l the world , was majesty and grandeur a lied I N T R O D U C T I O N with sumptuousness ; a n d also symmetry and regularity ; qualities which , as we shall see , are the fundamental characteristics of the style to which he has given his name . a nd The best artists craftsmen , then, worked to the orders of the King, who continually needed new furniture for his royal mansions - F of the Louvre , Saint Germain , ontainebleau , Marly ; they worked for the princes of the n a blood , for the Mi isters of St te . This engrossed all, or nearly all, their output , they were taken away from their guilds and brigaded at the

Gobelins or the Louvre , where they were sub d e c t e . j to a rigid discipline The great nobles , n the wealthy ﬁna ciers , the high magistrates , imitated the Court according to their means , but were oblige d to fa ll back upon second rank purveyors and on less precious materials . Their furniture is none the less in the same style a ll as that made for the King, blazing with magniﬁcence .

If we come down one degree lower , and try to make acquaintance with the homes of the well to -do bourgeoisie or gentlemen with good broad n lands , as they are disclosed in the i ventories made after their owners ’ death and in the reports ﬁ x on the af ing of seals on property, which inve ntories have been preserved in great numbers a nd a nd in some cases published , are the most n authentic sources of informatio on this subject , do we always ﬁnd furniture of the Louis XIV style ? We come too often on tables or arm I N T R O D U C T I O N

' chairs a: pilz e rs to rs or (2 6 0 10 72 72 63 tors es to feel n quite certain of it . In reality the joi ers continued generally to make for what was called ' ‘ 1 la n obles s e dzsz z n u ée g , people in military or C ivil employment , rich traders , propertied middle ” Cl fu rni ass folk, plain undisguised Louis XIII e n i n ture, ev down to the t me whe the suppler Shapes of the Regen cy and the Louis XV period n were imposed upo them . Better still, in more o ne in n than region , but especially Guie ne and n n in Gascony , they co ti ued throughout the n a whole of the eightee th century to m ke , along side of the great Louis XV li n e n cupboa rds with S- c shaped pediment , the upboards with four doors with panels decorated with dia mond ” n n 2 poi ts , know as cabinets in those provinces . One e or two of these inventories , which conv y a n re a a so rich impression of vivid lity, will llow us to penetrate into the homes of this middle

class of the seventeenth century . Shall we ﬁrst of all enter the house of Messire L a a t r a - n a Jean de y , forme Tre surer Ge er l of the ’ ? h e King s Household T is is in the rue de Cl ry, - a ll close to the Porte Saint Denis , which is still 1 686 W . hite , for we are in the year M . de L a ya t is wealthy : a year a go he sold his ofﬁce

‘ I Int e rme dia te b e twe e n the h a u ze no bless e a nd th e c o untry

e s wh o w e re o ft e n v e r o o r. squir , y p 2 We m ust no t h o w e v e r e xa e ra t e : ma n c u b o a rds w , , gg y p hos e S implic ity sho ws tha t th e y w e re m e a nt fo r middle c la ss us e h a v e a ls o a s w e s h a ll s e e in th e s e c o nd pa rt o f this v o lume th e t wo , , e la n ne l do o rs the st ra ight c o rnic th e p i pa s , a nd o th e r c ha ra c t e r , , c e s de s th a t b e lo n undo ub t e dl to th e Lo u s is ti s b i , g y i XIV style

a nd th e sa me ma y b e s a id o f se v era l type s o f s e a ts .

x I N T R O D U C T I O N In the lower hall adjoining we see the ﬁrst hint of the dining- room that will not come into

general use for a score of years , for it is furnished o n n with an oval table made of deal, foldi g legs , with its green serge cover and six beechwood

chairs with twisted uprights , covered with ff moquette and stu ed with ﬂock .

Let us now go upstairs . As we cross the antechamber we see between walls hung with a m German tapestry containing hu an figures , two tables covered with Turkey carpet , four chairs - a We covered with tulip p tterned moquette , and L . a a t n guess that M . and Mme de y are fo d of a game of three—handed ombre in the chimney corner with some old friend ; for here is a triangular card - table covered with gree n serge standing on its twisted walnut pillars . Let us ‘ lift the imitation (ca f a n damask door curtain lined with green linen and pass into the “ petite ” chambre . Here is where the owners of the “ ” a n house sleep , in two little beds, very pl i , so n plain that the inve tory does not describe them . n O the wall there is a mirror in a black frame . fille t in The table , walnut with ebony g , is accompan ied by two round tables for c a ndle sticks or girandoles ; two arm-ch a irs are covered with flowered velvet , four others are of carved n walnut ; a cabinet , which co tains Mme . de ’ L a a t s n - a nd y jewels , her k ick knacks , her lace , a e w f curiosities , is a rather elegant piece ; it is r in e n a n d — l marquet y p ewter , bo y tortoise shel ,

I Th e a st e risk re fers to the inde x a t the e nd o f the vo lume . I N T R O D U C T I O N xi

' ‘ and composed of two g u z cb e zs and nine ” drawers . A p a ss a ge servi ng as a vestibule brings us to a - F v e rdu re the st te room . Hung with lemish

tapestry with small figures , it is furnished with five arm-chairs and five ordinary chairs ; four painti ngs on canvas were not considered worthy n of having the subjects or the artists me tioned . - a This state room is the salon , and lso, when n n - frie ds have been invited, the dini g room ; but x a no one sleeps in it , e cept perhaps , on occ sion , n some disti guished guest . The bed is the first n a : n thi g to dr w our eyes imme se, beplumed, e co u c/z e a ba s ov rladen with draperies , it is a ' ' ” ‘“ z lz e rs b onne s ra ces p , an angel bed ; it has g ’ * ca ntonm é res and , and four large curtains of pink damask with big white flowers the p e ntes r a nd of the tester , the g eat bed end the curving end the three pieces of the a val nce the counterpane , are “ hi n a all w te sati , embroidered here with sever l ” f in dif erent designs gold and silk, and there ” . n m o le t with silk twist No fri ges , a plain of

imitation gold . The tester is crowned with four n s a nd a k ob covered with damask satin , dorned a e with tufts of white ostrich fe thers . If Wpull back the counterpa ne we shall ﬁnd a coverlet made of altern ate squ a res of C hina satin a nd

chintz . We need not be surprised to see in the house of these old people a bed with such delicate

I A v er s a cu b a d w d rs s urro un e w t y m ll p o r ith two o o , d d i h

dra w e rs . xii I N T R O D U C T I O N and tender colouring : it is the custom of the times . A handsome oval table in the new fashion is n made of red La guedoc marble , edged with a si x black m rble , and set on its base with columns

of carved wood , painted azure and relieved with n gilding ; two gilded rou d tables match with it . The sofa of c a rved wood painted cedar colour is equipped with a mattress and two bolsters of striped brocade ; a valance with silk fringe falls to t he very floor ; the same brocade covers the six - a arm ch irs of lacquered wood , azure that are r ranged, three to the right , th ee to the left , on a each side of the bed . A sm ll chair contents r u itself with a modest d ess of m o q e tt e . The Wa lls display three large tapestries from 1 b e d Auvergne with figures . Near the there is a wooden c rucifi x o n a background of black velvet with a gilded frame , and a mirror with its frame of plate glass with plaques , corners, capital and n other ornaments of gilt brass , both hangi g by

’ a gold cords . Besides these there are portrait n of the King , pai ted on canvas after M . Mignard ; a F a m z ly of D a r z us on canvas after the print n by M . Le Brun and agai , set on its console “ table , a chiming clock made by a Paris ” n workma , with its case of marquetry on tortoise

a . shell , decorated with brass pil sters and vases C Lastly, the himney piece boasts a set of ornaments di 3played on miniature consoles : two vases made of ostrich eggs mounted in silver ,

I Aub usso n o r Fe lle ttn. I N T R O D U C T I O N

a two others m de of cocoanuts on silver feet ,

three large shells of mother of pearl, and eighteen e a little cups of Chinese porc l in .

Now let us visit old M . Nicolas Boileau , one a of the Forty of the Académie Franc ise . He is the most home - keeping of men : born in the a a court of the P l is , at the foot of the Sainte r Chapelle , he is now, at three sco e and ten ,

living , as he will die , in the shadow of the “ ” C cathedral , the Notre Dame loisters . We a are prone to im gine this crusty bachelor , who ’ ’ n ever was anyone s lover but the Muses , breath ing the dust of his aged folios in profound disdain of all the refin ements and elegancies of fa r ! life . How from the truth The smartest m e n in society delight to frequent his company in old days he used to have the D ukes de Vivonne and de Vitry to supper ; even now he has for a t c visitors the greatest swells ourt , the Marquis n de Termes or M . de Ponchartrain the you ger , a the secretary of st a te for n aval ff airs . Without u being very rich , this bo rgeois among bourgeois n has ample mea s , and we know the scorn and contempt he flings at poets less well o ff th a n a s a himself . In his presses he h pl te to the value of five thousand livres a nd more ; in hi s stable “ d a n d two black coate mares , with tail , mane ” a a ears undocked, of eight ye rs or there bouts , “ who draw him to his house at Auteuil in a é carosse coup , with braces and springs , and three i n plate glass windows , lined w thi with slate r colou ed cloth , the outside with an edging of x iv I N T R O D U C T I O N

w aurora coloured silk fringe , ith cushion and ” a n curt i s . His house in reality is as well furnished and equipped as tha t of the very M . L a a t de y who not so long ago , as Treasurer of ’ n the Ki g s household , regulated the quarterly payment of the pension the poet received from a his M jesty .

The antechamber is very plain , though the walls are adorned with six high narrow lengths ’ ” d Au v e r ne re re of tapestry in verdure g , p sen ting animals ; but his own chamber is o f an “ ” x e quisite niceness . This is hung with white a n and crimson d mask , in wide alter ate stripes , e n there is a porti re of the same, while the wi dow, as is customary , has only a curtain of white linen . A c rystal Ch a ndelier hangs in the middle Of the room , four girandoles on mirror plaques complete the lighting : a large handsome mirror in its “ ” border also of mirror glass , with a capital , - and a little pier glass with gilded frame , help to De s réa x a st ra n brighten the room . This p u is a ge n a : perso , a re l original character he has an x a ll e ceedingly handsome bed , and to sleep in ’ himself ! I n deed there I sn t another bed I n his x n house , e cept the modest pallets of his serva ts . I o — This bed is a ur poster , made of walnut , and a a nd a re its curt ins , tester head silver moire and n in gree damask embroidered with gold flowers , ' ca nto n nz éres b onne s ra ces e ntes stripes the , g , p a nd the four kn obs are crimson velvet edged with gold g a lo o n ; other large light curtains covering the first a re of crimson taffeta the I N T R O D U C T I O N x v counterpane is silver moire with a wide border of green damask , embroidered with flowers in silk and gold . A very gay room is this , with all these silks of dazzling hues in these da ys there is no shrinking from setting complementary h colours side by side . Two armc airs , five ordinary chairs a nd a stool are of walnut wood and crimson velvet , a small sofa and two arm chairs of gilded wood are covered in brocade Of embroidered with flowers in silver . the ' ’ o ne a n d u ér z a o ns three tables , three g as well , is a of m rquetry in coloured woods , the second is walnut parcel gilt , the last is a writing table of I n wild cherry . the fireplace there are great

ﬁre dogs with brass knobs . Lastly, the chiming clock in its case of brass a nd tortoise - shell marquetry is a very handsome piece , it will ﬁgure ’ n n a by itself in the i ve tory, fter its owner s death, at a sum equ a l to th a t set down for a ll the chairs a s together , as much the plate glass mirror , which is assessed at half the value of the bed . “ Ope ning out of his own chamber the Law n giver of Par assus has three rooms or cabinets . The one in which he works has walls of painted n n a wainscoti g . In fro t of his bureau , m de of n wal ut veneer, equipped with numerous drawers , is the black morocco a rm - cha ir in which the Old n poet sits , s ugly wrapped about with an n e Armenia robe of scarl t cloth , with gold ” - n button holes , li ed with skins . The other seats , an arm -chair and an ordi nary chair of turned

wood, and two carved chairs , are covered in x v i I N T R O D U C T I O N

“ An tapestry of Turkish stitch . oak table is hidden by a cover of green cloth, and carries two little Chinese coffers or caskets made of a wood . The books marsh l their tawny gilded backs on eight shelves made of deal a nd edged with gre en cloth ; in front of the fireplace is a da o n screen filled with green mask, the walls, on n their brackets , two busts of bro zed plaster (doubtless Aristotle and Horace a chiming C a a lock in its marquetry case , not so v lu ble as - that in the bed chamber , and another little clock, “ ” a nd an alarm with weights cords . Here is a gentleman whose hours are well governed ! The mantelpiece carries on its shelf a nd its little brackets the inevitable set of orn ame nts ; forty fiv e pieces of Chinese porcelain , bottles , cups , a n d saucers other things , two lions on their delft “ r ” feet , four pieces of painted ea thenware and four little brass busts .

The second cabinet is less se vere . It has two n w h a nd windows , and is hu g ith w ite flame coloured damask ; it contains the greater part of “ ” a the books , in three low bookc se cupboards with two doors adorned with a trellis of brass e in wire one of thes is a handsome piece, mar “ u e t r s q y of bras on ebony, the others are plainer , n made of cedar and of wal ut . These are pieces n n of fur iture greatly in fashio , quite recently invented : for all his great age De sPréa u x can be e a ll n no nemy to novelties . Like his co tem o ra rie s p , from bishops to kings , his eyes gladly ﬁnd diversion in the fantastic works of the Far x v iii I N T R O D U C T I O N two pictures on canvas and on wooden panels ,

of which we have , unluckily, no details , but n which are mai ly landscapes . Such was the simple , but snug and , on the whole , elegant fur nit u re 1 of a celebrated writer in 7 1 0 . a Now we sh ll betake ourselves , in the slow, i n é picturesque way that Mme . de Sév g will de a n n scribe l ter , to the borders of Britta y and Mai e, and by the help of some time machine carry ourselves ﬁfty years backwards ; and here we are a é Due at the Ch teau de Vitr , the home of the Tre m o ille de la . We shall not follow at every step t h e o ﬁi c ia l charged with the duty of making n an inventory of the furniture , for the ma sion , o ne which is of the big seats of the province,

contains more than eighty halls , chambers , n - C cabi ets and clothes losets or wardrobes . Here the furnishing has some claim to pomp and splendour ; in P a ris it would perhaps bring a n pityi g smile to the faces of smart society, but é at Vitr it is truly princely . “ The important apartments are the great ” “ chamber of Monseigneur, the great chamber ” “ a of M dame , and the little chamber of ” n Madame . The ﬁrst two are of imposi g ’ n a nd n n dime sions , Monseig eur s is hu g with a - Sto r o high warp tapestry with ﬁgures , the y f o r m/z a nd e e r f , mb llished with two pictu es of a religious subjects . A l rge Turkey carpet covers the middle of the paved floor the bed is all in

I I n the s e v e nte e nth c e ntury this na me wa s giv e n indis O c rimina te ly to a ll rie nta l c a rpe ts . I N T R O D U C T I O N

crimson damask and taffeta ; the seats (two arm six chairs , two without arms , and folding stools) th e a and screen displ y the same damask, a small - n day bed is in blue damask . Two foldi g screens , ” six each of doors , of red serge with gilt nails , struggle as best they can against the draughts ; two candl estick- carrying round t a bles are of

wood, painted blue , with gilding . The two

tables are oak, and very plain . ’ Ma dame s great cha mber is much like Mon ’ : a n seigneur s tapestry h ngings in ni e sections , eight of which repres ent fountains and land l scapes , and the ninth the labours of Hercu es ; a Turkey carpet on the ﬂoor ; a great bed of crimson damask and velvet ; two Chairs with I - Cha ir a a arms , a small arm , four ch irs without rms and six folding stools in the same velvet ; two n be ch seats , their wood painted red , and with

loose covers of a serge of the same colour . Here

there are three tables , one of which is ebony with ’ four pill a r legs two g u ér z a o ns or candle - holders n are p a inted the colour of ebony . A large ebo y cabinet opens with two “ windows ” and two ” layettes , as drawers are still called . The mirror is framed in ebony a n d hung on red silk nn cords . In the huge fu elled ﬁreplace there are - i n ﬁre . great dogs w th brass k obs It is not , we n : must confess , a very femi ine room we are still

I Wa t I s the d ffe re nc e b e twe e n ch a ise a b ra s a a u m h i a a nd f te l Ab o ut 1660 the fa ut e u il is a s e a t w it h a rms a nd a lo w b a c k a s in , the t me o f Lo u s a nd do ub tle ss da t n ro m t a t t m e i i XIII , i g f h i , wh le the c a is a a s h a a e s e n l i h e b r a s high b c k . Pr t y a ll c ha irs w t a r s wil b e c a lle d -c a irs i h m l a rm h . xx I N T R O D U C T I O N

very close to the somewhat sullen austerity of

the Louis XIII style . ’ 3 Madame little chamber , the one she really a lives in , is more eng gingly attractive . Its hangings are a fresh brocatelle with a blue ground and fawn- coloured ﬂowers with White edges the draperies of the bed are white velvet with f little blue checks , lined with white taf eta , and with gold and silver fringes ; four chairs and six n a nd foldi g stools are of the same velvet , there is a large chair with arms mounted on wheels for

hours when Madame is ailing . The satin screen n shows the same colours as the ha gings , fawn

coloured ﬂowers on a blue ground, two tall blue screens with six leaves allow an intimate

corner to be arranged for reading , embroidery,

é . du or gossip with the ladies of Vitr , Mlle Plessis , rb o n that funny Mlle . de Ke e and that comical Ke r u o iso n Mlle . de q , whom roguish Mme . de ‘ Sévi né Ke rb o r ne a nd - O g calls g Croque ison , or

even at times the amiable Marquise herself .

The chamber is not very small , for it contains “ three tables besides , one of which is folded in ” f triangle shape , and a large cof er of red leather,

decorated with gilt nails . ca binet a ux de v is es In the other rooms , the ” ’ de M a da m e a n , the c binet of Monseig eur s Bla nc portraits , the cabinet of M . Le q, Mon ’ ” seigneur s secretary, there are some pieces of furniture that deserve a glance ; a mirror framed

I H e r cha te a u de s Ro che rs I s a l e a gue a nd a ha lf fro m Vitré ;

a nd sh e e v en ha s a o use in tr ts el the T o ur de tr . h Vi é i f, Vi é I N T R O D U C T I O N xxi in ebony and seven silver plaques ; a semi n a s - circular seat servi g a day bed, covered in ’ * n m o ca a e - gree , with its head piece in the same ” m o ca de n , which is assuredly nothing else tha , x si ty years before its time , the gondola chaise longue of the following century ; many painted pieces , a green table, a red cupboard , a green n cupboard , a little dresser of pai ted wood with l n yellow mou di gs , a straw chair, the wooden part e in of which is gr en . Lastly, the new cham ” * e mm e u ble m e n t n n : ber , the of mour i g the ff bed of black velvet , damask and ta eta , which is brought into o ne or other of the great chambers “ ” when a death in the family calls for draping as a sign of grief . Let us take another journey across space and 1 0 1 time . We are now in 7 , in Languedoc , in n the Chateau de Brisis , which belo gs to the ’ H é a il d r . Vicomte de Brisis , who has just died He was one of those small country squires that make up a lmost the whole mass of the French ’ nobility a nd are the solid backbone of the King s

n than many a farmer , and they ~ drive to " are M ei rﬁ SE 133565 of land a nd become labourers " ’ OI n r e — vi e d ess rs in others service simple villeins . The H éra ils de Brisis are far from such extremity they represent pretty fairly the average pro i n vinc a l ge tlefolk . And they are not mere n n bucolic ge try, for one room in the mansio is “ entitled the chamber in which the gentlemen ” r of the house pu sue their studies . xx ii I N T R O D U C T I O N

x Maitre Joseph Delacroi , doctor of law, lawyer a nd commi ssary deputed by the Senescha l of i N mes , makes out the inventory of the deceased ’ r man s prope ty . He ﬁnds in the kitchen cup ’ — d H éra il n - board M . had no other dini g room : some small pieces of silver a ewer with its basin, six six forks , spoons , two small salt cellars and two candlesticks . But the stable is not too well equipped : one black horse and an old one eyed Of mule . the twelve rooms of the dwelling house the hall , the small hall, the chambers and cabinets , two only are equipped with hangings , 1 b e r a m e l a tu re one with old g , the other with ig a re the seven beds draped merely with serge , red n w a x or green or yellow, or seali g colour ; the seats are comparatively numerous , as is always the case in these country homes there are over - a hundred , but not an arm chair among them . More than half of these cha irs are all wood with no other trimmings ; eighteen are straw chairs ,

- twenty one are covered with moquette , and only ‘ ‘ ” si x of them with old needlework tapestry . T here are eleven small tables , some walnut , the

. F others deal, or painted black our of those great cupboards that have been made in the provinces for some two score years , and which i n F n n the South of ra ce are k own as wardrobes , hold clothes and linen ; they are made of chest u s nut . Let add two small cupboards of greater a n n a nd antiquity, an old dresser , old cabi et

I c o o n s tuff ene ra l in a a tte rn o f s a l c e c s A mm , g l y p m l h k , n wo v e n o f w o o l a nd li e n threa d . I N T R O D U C T I O N xx iii

the only items that belong to a simple luxury é a n a two gu ridons , a small c bi et with drawers , small mirror and a few “ little curios by way of ” n orname ts . That is all . Now Maitre Joseph x n n Delacroi has forgotten nothi g , seei g that having opened the door of a little room he went so far as to dictate to his clerk the following “ — I te m . Another chamber at the side apples , ” fresh chestnuts and onions . And the plain country folk what fu rni ture did they ha ve under Louis XIV ? The n : a swer is simple they had, in a manner of n speaking , one at all . Is this , as we are almost a in x alw ys told books , through their e treme poverty a nd distress The point deserves a little x n e ami ation . We most frequently form our ’ Opinion of the peasants condition in the seven t e e nt h century from three kin ds of documentary n evide ce , namely, from pictorial documents , W a hich are pr ctically conﬁned to four or ﬁve r a s pictures by the brothe s Le Nain , many by a n n Sebasti n Bourdo , and certain engravi gs of x Callot ; secondly, from certain literary te ts , ’ h l F a D e a th whic are a ways the same , La ont ine s a nd the Wo odm a n , the celebrated phrase of La “ e a a Bruy re about certain wild nimals , m le and ” a t a nd female, sc tered about the countryside , a a n letter or two of Gui P ti and lastly, from more precise documents in the shape of the a dminis t ra t iv e corresponde nce of the intendants with - a M e m ora ndu m o the Comptrollers Gener l, the f ’ ' ' th e K ing s Co mm zs s a r zes on the dis tre s s o f the I N T R O D U C T I O N

e o le De ta z l de la F ra n ce p p , the by Bois ’ G ille b e rt u D im e r o a le . , and Vauban s y These last named sources of information have e r a quit different value from the ﬁ st . The Le Nains are intensely and admirably sincere and n I s honest , but the peasa t of their depicting the peasant of a province that had been terribly trampled over by the men of war for se ver a l nd a 1 6 8 . generations , their pictures are prior to 4 a n R e a s de s a s a ns In y case, the famous p p y in the Louvre 1 shows us two beggars who are

assuredly very wretchedly poor , but the vine dressers who are offering them the bread and wine of hospitality are very comfortably o ff : they n have a well fur ished bed, quite bourgeois in a n d style standard , a window with little leaded x a nd panes that is little less than a lu ury article , t heir son is playing the violin Callot a nd a Bourdon are the le st veracious of artists , and Callot gives us no information except for the o n t a ine period of Louis XIII . La F does not pretend to put forward his woodman as a type F e ’ of the peasant of rance . La Bruy re s passage a I n I n is dmirable its eloquence , and rivals beauty ’ l 3 M a n th th e H o e n Mi let n , but must be take cautiously just because it is so intent on its ’ ’ d A u e sse a u effect . The King s Commissaries , g ’ d Orme sso n t he and , bear valuable testimony to horrible distress that reigned at the moment of their e nquiry ( 1 687) th rough Maine and the O é i rl ans country, but a closeg reading w ll show

I I n th e La Ca z e ro o m . xx v i I N T R O D U C T I O N

” with a bodice of brocade or of damask . The wife of a labourer in Champagne has in her chest

ﬁrst , a skirt of purple serge with bodice of orange a dam sk, trimmed with guipure and silk lace n i seco d , a skirt of fustian w th its bodice of green ﬂo were d a d mask, with two ribbons for shoulder t n n straps ; third , another pet icoat of red Lo do n serge, with bodice of ora ge damask trimmed with ” guipure below and lace above . We are very far removed here from the rags that dr a w te a rs of grief and pity from historians such as Michelet .

These contradictions can be reconciled . At this period, when the circulation of wealth is so ff sluggish , one province may very well be su ering from extreme scarcity while another is enjoying — a certain prosperity ; and passing causes a bitter — winter , a drought , a cattle plague may bring about a few ye a rs of famine ; but from year to ’ year, good or bad, Jacques Bonhomme s comfort goes on increasing little by little . Certainly it is not by the possession of furniture somewhat pleasing to the eye , or even moderately convenient that this humble ease of circumstances h a s . ff is displayed The peasant a co er or two, a nd w a nd sometimes iron bound ith lock key, sometimes of leather studded with nails ; a cup ' board with two doors ; m a rchepz e ds or steps to his bed that serve as chests , in which he stows away his clothes ; benches or rude stools for the l : on y seats , no tables a table is improvised at x need by ﬁ ing a plank on two trestles , or on

in . casks cut two and turned over , or on stools I N T R O D U C T I O N Xxv l l

A luxury gift he will make to hi s wife a fter a ﬁne t a x l harvest , and if the col ector has not been too

greedy, is a small mirror framed in black wood, or a religious wood engr a ving all brightened up ﬁn with e colours . But for the most part he

behaves like everybody else , clown or gentleman, like the King himself at Versailles ; where fur niture 13 concerned everythin g else 13 sacriﬁced " ' ’ f o it h e s b edt ere i s wh at we ﬁn d I n a la b Ou re r 3 “ 1 1 6 a house in 7 , a tall pill red bed , with eight pie ces of green serge with silk fringes and m o lle ts with a peasant of Nogent - sur - Marne “ in 1 6 2 n 7 , a coverlet of red rati e trimmed with ” ’ silk lace and bordered with silk, etc . The ve ry precise and detailed in ventory of the goods of a villa ge dame in the neighbourhood of 1 66 n Paris , a widow at Issy, in 5 , is i teresting to a analyse . At her de th her furniture comprised

' a n a n o a k o ken k eading trough , an chest with 1 lock and key ; a bed with a c us tode a n d b o n nes ” “ ra ces - g , four straw chairs ; a middle sized ” mirror with black frame . The whole is valued - fift -fiv e at eighty eight livres , y for the bed by - itself . The household linen is worth twenty one livres ; the body lin en and clothes ninety- eight livres ; and household utensils come to fift y- fiv e

livres . We must not be astonished at these ’ modest sums : let us not forget that Boileau s magniﬁcent bed which we have described was n n o ly set dow at eighty livres . F n C a x rom this glance i to the h teau , house s

urt a s I C in . xxv iii I N T R O D U C T I O N and cottages of olden days we can come to the con clusion that the man of the end of the

seventeenth century, as a general rule , takes little thought for the beauty or convenience o f the articles that surround his private life—the — famous state bed being a matter of vanity a nd that he assigns to his furniture a very inferior share in his budget of e xpe nses even a s he does - a nd in his pre occupations , that what he is above all susceptible to is the beauty of fabrics . We have , in short , met with few simple pieces of furniture that can be declared to be of the

Louis XIV style . And as for peasant furniture , n we have either see none , or it was so coarsely and rudely made of ill- planed pla nks roughly knocked together that before long it served for

firewood . Are we then to stop at this point , a n d n n i refrai from writi g this little book, wh ch, in talking of Louis XIV furniture, sets before n itself the aim , most modest and overwee ing at the. same time , to be practical and to leave on one side the furniture of museums and of the - n mansions of multi millionaires No , i deed , for ' if we but search a little we still find pieces o f — — furnit ure e x cept perhaps tables that are simple and that really possess the chara cteristics of this style ; and as Louis XIV pieces do not at this moment enjoy the ama zing vogue which every n o thi g L uis XV and Louis XVI now has , it is often possible to acquire them more cheaply, though they a re much more rare . And then we R : are to discuss the egency style now, the first I N T R O D U C T I O N quarter of the eightee nth century is the period n in which comfort is born, when dwelli gs , like n n man ers , begi to be very like our own ; when , n in short , the ma ufacture of bourgeois furniture suddenly spreads and develops through 1 out the whole kingdom .

I We us t e re e x re s s o ur S nc e re a t tude t o the a m a t e urs m h p i gr i a nd th e dire c t o rs o f muse ums who ha v e b e e n s o kind a s t o p e rmi t us t o re pro duc e th e furnit ure in the ir po ss e ss io n o r unde r e r c a re : M e s da m e s Dumo ul n Du u a n de Fla ndre s th i i , p y, Eg , y y, t e t Ba ro n de la h a s e M e ss e urs nlle Bo mie r de M o u ; C i , i Ho y, y , Bru iére de Be lrie u ereso le D e la o sse D e s o rt e s Ducro s g , C , f p , , ’ Fide lin Guillo ne t Ma r u s d I s o a rd A b e a nd do ua rd a , q i , l E ! y ,

u l e n L a ré nére L o re ilh e r. M o o Pa sc a ud l e Pré v e l J i , g , , D g , , Phi ipp , , T a st ema in Za hiro o ulo th e D re c to rs o f the Mus e de s Arts , p p ; i é De c o ra tifs a nd th e Ca rna v a l M s e m d he e t u u in a ris , a n t , P D re cto rs o f th e Mus e ums a t M e z M h e N r sb o ur i t , ul o us , a ncy, St a g, e ux H o nﬁe ur a nd e ux Ro ue n Vi Vi .

PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES

” B Y E I E L St e Lo uis a r s L : e . A ARD , M yl IV P i ” e a ris L e s S tyle s Rég nc e e t Lo u is XV. P “ ’ BOUL E NGE R C UE L Ame ub lement fra n a s a u ra nd , JA Q S : c i g ” sié cle Lo nd n 1 1 . o . 9 3. ” M PE A UX A L F E DE : L e Me ub e B o t e ue de CHA , R D l ( ibli h q ’ l E ns e i ne me n de s Be a ux-Art s g t ) .

“ e " GUI FFRE Y U E te s a r s e n d I I c t du , J L S : Artis p i i s u XV XVIII s ié cl e do na t o ns c o ntra ts te s ta e nts a ris ( i , , m , P , 1 19 5 . “ H V R HE I : L e s Bo u le a ris 1 8 . D c t o nna re de A A D , NR l , P , 93 i i i ’ ” l A me ub le m e n e t de la Dec o ra tio n Pa r s t . i “ DE MELY E T BI SHOP : Biblio gra phi e généra l e de s Inv enta ire s m r m s. a r s 18 . i p i é P i , 95 “ MOLI NI E R E I E : H s to re n ra e de s Arts a u s a , M L i i gé é l ppliq é ’ ” l I ndus trie a r s Vo l . . . P i ( II )

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ci PL ATE

Cu boa rd Doo r k I . p , Oa Oa k Doo r L e a 2 . f

. S ma ll Cu bo a rd m two a rts z n a k 3 p p , O Wu b h D r rom the . a ln u t o a rd w t o ne Doo r a nd a ra we 4 C p i , f So u th-wes t of Fra nce

. u boa rd w th o ne Do o r a nd neu tra l Pa nels a t the s z des 5 C p i , m Wa nu t ro m h h- l , f t e Sou t wes t

6. N o rma n u bo a rd Oa k C p , Wnu m . L a r e u bo a rd w th ela bo ra te o rn ce I n a l t ro 7 g C p i C i , , f the Sou th -wes t

u boa rd ro m S a z n o n e w h a r d Pa n ls I n Oa k 8 . t t ve e C p f g , i C , L a Wl u ldin s m . r e a n t u boa rd w th ela bo ra te M ou ro 9 g C p , i g , f th e So u th wes t 10 er la r e u b r h ed z n Wu t nd V o a rd w th a c Ped men t i a ln e . y g C p i , , o th e s t l Fr m h S ou th- s t f y e . o t e we

1 1 . Lo rra ne u bo a rd I n Oa k w th M da ll o ns orna men ted i C p , i e i , wi th M a rqu e try S ta rs 10 ‘ 12 Oa k Alsa tz a n B u e t 111 two s ect o ns with a rch ed Ped m en t 1 1 . fi i , i 1 Ve r la r e Dresse r-s de boa rd-co mmode ro m L o rra ine 3. y g i , f , z h Ch e rrywoo d Wa l nu t Unde r-cu boa rd 14 . p ’ 1 . Co e r se t o n a Ta ble w th a Dra we r rom N orma nd 5 fi i , f y Co e r z n P l Skl l l s tudded w th n a z ls I 6. fi g i M a r u tr o mm d h l 17 . q e y C o e wi t Gl t B ro nz es M a r ue tr o mmo t n th e s t le o th ow ou ntr es 18 . q y C de y f e L C i 1 o mmod e venee red w th V ole t-woo d 9 . C i i

2 0 . B ed “ Nth cu rved Dossz er a nd Ca n to nn z éres

2 1 . Ta ble w th B a lus te r L e s na tu ra l Oa k i g , 2 Sma ll Ta bl w th o nsol L e in G l W 2 . e e s z t od i C g , o S ma ll Ta ble w th Tu rn B a lu s t r L e s 2 3. i ed e g Ta bl th T s 2 4. e w w ted L e s rom N o rma nd I i i g , f y “ ’ ” S ma ll Ru s t c Ta bl w: th n o r Doe s o t L e s 2 5 . i e Co s le o Fo g 2 6 S ma ll Ta ble w th B ra cke t-sh a ed L e s m herr wood . i p g , C y I L a r e B u rea u w th z h Tu rned B a lus r Le s a nd n u 2 7 . g i e g t te g me ro us Dra we rs S m A - h l s s 2 8 . i ple rm ch a z r wi t Tu rn ed B a u ter Leg Gz W- h d B ro a de 2 . lt ood A rm cha r cov e red w t Gre en a nd Gol c 9 i , i - 0 . Arm ch a z r o na tu ra l Wa nu o r d w h R d Ge noa elv e t 3 f l t c ve e i t e V 1 A rm-ch a r o G l nd d r d th Wh te ded a Pa n t d Woo c w 3 . i f i i e ove e i i a nd Silve r B roca dc XXXV x x x v i LIST OF ILLU STRATIO N S

F I G . PLAT E 2 A rm-c h a i r w th o nsol -s h h a u t ul 3 . i C e a ped L egs wi t be if M o uldi ngs 2 8 - . Co n ess z on a l sh a ed E a s h a r covered with Ta es tr m 33 f p y C i , p y B zg a nd S ma ll S ti tch 2 9 “ ” Ch a z r o - h 34. f B ra c ke t S a ped Type S m le Arm-cha r o Tu rn ed W 35 . i p i f ood ” A rm-cha r a k h 36. i of th e B r c e t S a pe

. Ch a rr ro m the S o u th-wes t mode rn Lea h r 37 f , t e h a ir o Au v h a l s 38 . C f r m e rgne wi t B u ter Legs ! a n h h s 39 . CWe C a i r wi t L eg e n f a ca de 40 . o od en Ch a z r ro m L o rra n e f i 2 m - h 3 1 . A r c a a d W h m d n ns r e o oo . N o rma nd w th Fle 4 i f y, i I nﬂ u en ce 2 Doo r L ea Oa k 4 . f, Doo r L ea Oa k 43. f ,

. P roven a l Cu bo a rd with a b riole t Fee t z n Wa lnu t 44 c p C ,

. N o rma n u boa rd with la w Fee t 1 11 Oa k 45 C p C ,

6. L o rra ne u boa rd w th Ca b r olet Fee t i n Oa k 4 i C p i i ,

. Als a t a n B u e t i n two S ectio ma ll M a r u e tr 47 i ff ns , wi th s q y Pa nels

8. Al s a t a n B u e t I n two Sec tio ns i n Oa k 4 i ﬁ , ~ - . La r e S i de boa rd d ress er co mmod e ro m Lo rra n e w th 49 g , f i , i I nla d Wr z o k N - 5 0 . o ; ma n Dress er sz de bo a rd I n Oa k - 1 . Sma ll Dress e r S de boa rd rom L o rra n m a de o Oa k 5 i , f i e, f

2 . Co e r rom L o rra ne ma d e o he rr wood 5 ﬁ , f i , f C y f - . Co e r ro m the H a u tes Vos es w th the H ollow a rv n 2 5 3 ﬁ f g , i C i g 4 pi cked ou t z n Pa t n t Re e nc o mm o d en e r d w z h 54. g y C e v e e t Rosewood Sim l m 5 5 . p e Co mode t u Rosewood Ve nee r

6 a nd . a se locks ro m Lo rra ne in Oa k 5 5 7 C C f i , ’ 8 . Sma ll Ta ble w th Doe s Foo t L e s S u nk To a nd I ncz sed 5 i g , p Deco ra ti o n ’ Sma ll l 59 . Ta b e wi th Do e s Foo t L egs B ed Wth 60 low ld d Wo Pos ts i n G . i i e od 61 Arm-cha r w th u r d To to B a . i i C ve p ck 6 Arm-ch a ir w th h e rm s e a 2 . i t A s t b ck “ ” 6 Arm-cha ir o B ra cke t t e w th Arm no t se t b a ck 3. f yp i s Arm-ch a r o a h 64. i f the s me type wi t A rms s e t b a ck Ar - h - 6 . m c a r w h A r a nd z Wood 5 i i t m P ds a v i s z ble Fri e e of “ ” 66 Arm-cha ir o B ra cke t t e w th Arm- a ds . f yp i P ' 6 ha r a n A - h r h D e s Foo t Le s a nd 7 a nd 68 . C i d rm c a i wi t o g S tre tc hers Arm-cha i nd hou t 69 a nd 70 . rs wi th Arms very cu rved a wi t S tre tc hers

1 . Ta ll h a r I n na tu ra Wd d h hé lk 7 C i l oo cove re wi t B roc S i 2 Cha ir in na tu ra l Wo d i h Wl a nd S lver od co r w t n e 7 . ve e t i 54 B roca de LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxxv ii

FI G . P L TE ” A L a r e Co n essz o na l A rm-cha r 7 3. g f i 5 5 - - ha Wo d . B e r ere a rm ch a z r Co n essz o na l s e with the o 74 g , f p , s h owmg 56 a W . La r e So a w th e ht e s n a tu r l a lnu t 7 5 g f i ig L g , 57 a n o z ss u s h n o ch d 8 6. e S a w th I ts M a ttre o B ee woo 7 C f C i , f 5 Ca n h h e s 77 . e C a z r l 0 2 t L g e n fa ca de 59 78 Ca ne A rm-ch a i r wz th Obliqu e-se t Legs ’ a n e ha r w th xa e ra ted Do e s Foo t L e s 79 . C C i i e gg g S tra w h a i r r m Au v e r n 80 . C f o g e 1 Ca ne h a r w th S tre tche rs 8 . C i i 8 Pla in Be h m a d o B e ch 2 . nc e f e W h a ll n h Wa lnu t cove red w t r mso n Da ma sk 8 B e c 3. , , i C i S to ol Ta bo u r o l a in na tu ra l Wa lnu t co v red w th t r P c 8 . e e t e 4 ( ) , i ’ B ro che S ilk Scr en m u n ra l Wu a l o S lv r e o ted in na tu a ln t w th P ne e , , i f i g rey Da ma sk 64

PART ONE : THE HISTORY TWO OF THE STYLES

I N the decorative arts the period of Louis XIII ha d been o ne of the retreat of French t a ste n before the i ﬂuence of the Northern countries . C a binets of ebony and of marquetry had been imported from the Low Countries and from Germa ny ; sumptuous chairs of ornate leather for the most part came from Spain ; in France itself every form of ornament a tion had grown n heavy in the Flemish fashio . Then came the n n a nd u reig of Mazari , with it a reg lar Italian n n n i vasio . In short , whe Louis XIV took the n power i to his own hands , furniture was essen t ia ll a y cosmopolit n , and we might declare that his long reign was , in this respect , merely one continuous effort of the French spirit to elimin a te the elements in these importations from abroad that were discorda nt with the traditional genius of the race , which loved a me sure , clarity, sober elegance , an effort also to n assimilate what was not i compatible with itself. This work of elimination and assimilation was not fully accomplished until the d a ys of the R egency . It was not in any case a phenomenon u n peculiar to the art of house f r ishing, or even the appli e d arts in general ; we can trace the a s me movement of evolution in sculpture , from 2 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

1 n n x x in Simo Guillai , for e ample , to Coysevo the a n o r latter ye rs of his lo g career, from ’ ' Franqueville the [ta lz a n z z e r to Robert le n Su n hOt e l Lorrai , whose Horses of the , at the R n a re t de oha , a mas erpiece , preposterous indeed , but so brilli a ntly Fre nch Sig nor Giulio Maz a r1n1 was a great lover of a nd e n r pictures , sculpture , ev ry ki d of wo k of I n a n a n art . the re l palace that Fra cois M sard o n t h e hOt e l T u b e u f a nd had built for him to , which the p a inters Grima ldi of Bologna a nd R n o f R a oma elli ome had decor ted for him , he n n a brought together , by di t of the millio s th t t n n cost him lit le or nothi g, the richest collectio h a d e n F a n that as yet been s e in r ce , pictures , ’ a a r st tues , furniture , f brics , goldsmith s wo k, 2 a nd a n . a n jewels , gems med llio s Ne rly everythi g a n came from It ly : if his heart , as he prete ded ,

1 We n he m a de h e e x u s te s ta tue o f the Duc e ss f h t q i i h o

Burgundy a s Dia na . 2 Th e inv e nto ry o f this a lmo s t unb e li e v a b l e a c c umula tio n o f c e s w a s dra w n u in 16 b a l ttle c ler fro m R e s w ho ri h p 5 3 y i k h im , ’ a d n a t e ﬁ lo o k e d a ft e r th e c r i a l s pri v a a irs , a nd who s e na me w a s J e a n Ba ptis te Co lb e rt ; its pub lic a t io n w e o w e to the Due ’ d A uma le . T h e e num e ra ti o n is s t ill inc o mple t e a s M a z a rin h a d , ’ lo n e l v e T o the c a rd a l s fo r is s e v e n y e a rs g r t o i . in pa s s io n h w o rk s f a e a v e a v e r c ur o us t e s t mo n ro m L o en e de B r e nne o rt w h y i i y f m i i . “ ” ne da h e w r t e s in his M cmo z res w a s w a lk n in a O y, i , I i g a lle r in th e M a z a r n a la c e w e n e a rd th e c a rd na l g y i p , h I h i r a ch n k ne w him b t he s o und o f his l e rs w h c he a pp o i g ; I y s ipp , i h w a s sh uffling a lo ng lik e a m a n in a v e ry w e a k c o nditi o n jus t

re c o v e r n ro m a s e r o us llne s s . hid b e h nd a t a e s t r a nd i g f i i I i p y, ‘ he a rd him s a y : I s ha ll h a v e t o le a v e a ll this ! H e h a lt e d a t e v e r s t e p fo r he w a s v e r fe e b le i nde e d a nd tu rning his e e s y , y ; y hi z e h e w ld s r t o th e o b je c t th a t w a s ne a re s t s ga , o u a y f o m th e de t o f h is h e a rt a v e t o le a v e a ll th s ! a nd t u rn n a b o ut p h , I h i i g , ‘ e w e nt o n A nd t ha t o o ! s a ll e v e r s e e th e e t n s a a n h , t I h n s hi g g i , w he re I a m go ing I

4 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E the mosaic workers in hard stones and lapidary F a n d O n artists , erdinando razio Migliori i , G a e t i a ll n c t . Giovanni and Branchi , Tusca s Foucquet also w a s a great connoisseur in ﬁne n in thi gs , but with a taste reﬁned a different

sense from that of the Italian Mazarin . We n a nd k ow that Louis XIV Colbert , where n building was co cerned, were only his imitators , n a s Wo n a w h si ce it he had ma ged, in order to give his cha teau a n d park of Vau x - le -Vicomte a a n in W h rmo y of beauty then unique the hole 1 world , to bring together artists like the architect n Le Vau, the garde ers Le Nostre and La uint inie a nd Q , the sculptor Puget , lastly , the n a pai ter Le Brun , to whom he had lready entrusted a kind of su pe rv 1310 n of all works a a carried out for him , and the man gement of

e a . x a n tap stry factory at M incy Vau , s ys Sai te ” a Beuve , is a Versailles in nticipation . a n d n Mazarin dies , the young ki g takes the helm of the State with a ﬁrm hand ; at once ’ Fo u c qu e t s amazing c a reer crumbles to dust 2 the adder has overcome the squirrel . Fully possessed of t he ide a that noble buildings are as n n n e ssential for t he . re o w of a gre a t mo arch a s a nd n ff a the triumphs of Bellona dazzli g love a irs ,

1 We a re no fo r e tt n the ro a l c a t e a u o f R c l e t g i g y h i he i u , e n ha r un no w d s tro y e d. B ut it a ppe a rs c e rt a i t t fo ity a nd ha rm o ny o f b e a u ty in s pi te o f a c e rta in pile d-u he a v ine ss tha t , p e e s a ux ro m b e n a n a b s o lute m a s t e r e c e t a k e n t o e th e k p V f i g pi , g r ’ ’ Fo ucque t s c ha te a u a nd pa rk su rpa s s e d Ri c h e li e u s . ’ 2 I t w ill b e re m e mb e re d tha t Fo uc que t s e mb le m w a s a ’ squirre l (f ou qu e t in Old Fre nch) a nd Co lb e rt s a n a dde r (L a ti n c lu b r o e ) . T H E R E I G N O F L E B R U N 5

a n d , besides , boldly encouraged in this path by r Colbe t , Louis XIV decides that art shall be o ne a of the r ys of his crown of glory , and takes into his o wn service e n b lo c a ll the artists that have worked for the ﬁrst minister a nd for the 1 Superintendent of Fina n ce . An d no w begins the despotic sway of Le Brun that w a s to lie heavily for a qu a rter of a n F r n ce tury upon all e ch art , for its good and

i . n for ev l too Colbert , who u derstood such n s thi gs , had speedily di covered in him rare a s a n a n gifts org izer and a leader of men , and proposed him to the sovereign for a ki nd of

r . St a te Secr e tary of Fin e A ts . Now we see French art somewh a t like a well regulated s clock ; the central pring moves a ﬁrst wheel , a nd which engages a second , so on . This n a hierarchy, too , is u ivers lly accepted and not a in merely imposed by force ; Puget lone , the n a n r a depths of his tive Prove ce , em ins to some n n e n a n degree i depe d t . Le Brun is m de oble , n n he becomes sire de Thio ville , the Chevalier of O a n F n the rder of S i t Michel , irst Pai ter to the n a n d Ki g, Keeper of the Pictures Drawings of ’ n n a n a nd n the Ki g s Cabi et , Life Ch cellor the Rector in perpetuity to the Aca de my of Painting n n a rt which gives him the gover me t of great , and Director of the M a n uf a ctu re r o ya le des

I T o l os e no t ime he do e s no t he s ita t e e v e n to b uy furnit ure ’ m s a t the sa le o f Fo uc que t s e ff e c ts . T ha t is ho w the L o uv re c o e u r s f to po ss e ss a ro und ta b le o f gilde d w o o d, upb o rne b y ﬁg e o c h ldre n th e la s t e ts a m o f the e a r s le ndo urs o f a ux-le i , j l y p V

i c o t e I t o ws u te ro no unc e d ta l a n c a ra c te r s t c s . V m . s h q i p I i h i i 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

M e u b les de . a co u r o nn e , that is to say , the e n s a n n Gob li f ctory, which bri gs u der his rod all “ so - a e the c ll d minor arts . “ ’ ’ L Art He might very well say , , c est moi . It must be quite roundly decl a red tha t there was no o n e besides Le Brun who deserved such e n a nd a pil of ho ours powers . In spite of his a re — a nd defects , which serious his colour is poor a n n a n d n vulgar , his dr wi g rou d commo place h a d n o n a a nd a he very u c mmo rtistic gifts , bove a ll n a n n n , the happy combinatio of imagi atio sufﬁciently vigorous to achi e ve conceptions of va st scope and a talent for det a il sufficient to re a lise them in the most meticulous perfection . a n a He is the l st of those u ivers l artists , of which R n a n n the e aiss ce had k own a few , capable of r W conceiving that enormous allego ical poem ith innumera ble strophes in pa inting, in gilded in a nd n stucco , marbles bro zes , which the Mirror a a a W in G llery at Vers illes is in re lity, ithout th k ing it beneath him to design a wi ndow ha 3p ; sufficient ly clever a s a sculptor for such men as Coysevo x and Gi rardon to ﬁnd it n a tural to n a nd n o t a n n follow his directio s, disd i i g to “ a a n n n e a rr ge sce es for the theatre . The i t rv ls 1 o f spa re times which he had to hims e lf he e mploye d in tra ining himse lf in all the t a le nts a a re e a rt n a nd x n th t r lated to the of desig , e te d ’ n a n a i to the dom i s of rchitecture , goldsmith s a n - n a n d in n work, c bi et maki g, , general , everythi g

’ ’ 1 Guille t de S a int-Ge o rge s in his M emoz res z nedz ts su r les ’ ‘ l m d ez ntu re memb res de Aca de z e c p . T H E E A R L Y V E R S A I L L E S 7 that de a ls with what appert a ins to fine build ings . It is no mark of a mediocre spirit to r t have had 30 wide a conception of a . Three periods c a n be distinguished in the a n a nd in dur tio of the Louis XIV style , this W n in hole time there is a u iformity art that is o n a n too complete ; the other h d , it is so closely att a che d to the roya l person that it was inevit a ble that there should be three periods of n in a in n a evolutio the rts ge er l , just as there re n a we three periods i the life of the mon rch . n e a n a s a U d r Maz ri , we have s id , there is a n F n n n persiste ce of lemish i flue ce , but a prepo der a nce of It a lia n t a ste ; ne a rly a ll the artistic n a craftsmen are foreig ers . This state of ff a irs ca nn ot come to a n e nd sudde nl y ; it continues ’ during the e a rly da ys of Louis XI V s persona l n a e n a rule , the more atur lly s ei g that the t ste of “ n n in t he this you g pri ce , flower of his age and ” n n no t the full stre gth of his passio s , is yet very n o n 1 6 refi ed . It goes almost till 7 5 ; these are a e a nd the d ys of Mlle . de La Valli re the goodly

re n . n n a ig of Mme de Mo tespa , the d ys of the ca r r o us e ls a a a e a n , b llets , m squer des , of unc si g fe tes ; t he da ys when the Louvre works have been aba ndoned a n d the ﬁrst buildings begin to e r a a r a rise a t V s illes . This e ly Vers illes was much less pompous a nd ceremonious th a n is often l I imagined . There were a rea dy n the park such sylva n diversions a s the labyrinth with groups of a a n in na a nd le d ﬁgures , p i ted tural colours ’ representing A e sop s fables hydraulic diversions 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U RE

like the grotto of Tethys and its untimely jets n n to bespri kle u wary visitors , to the great glee “ “ of the initia te ; the royal island or islan d ” n of love , in the midst of a po d , where the game is to get to it by skiff without being drenched under the arching jets of water that surround ’ ’ ” a 0 r n it we see a ram sse roulette , a ki d of ’ switchback on which La Valli e r e 3 lover royally delights to make his timid mistress shriek with

affright . All this is imitated from the gardens of r n a n Ge ma y d Italy . The sun climbs to the zenith ; after this gay morning comes a resplen dent noon of ﬁft e e n n years . But above all, the years betwee the Peace of N im u e ge n and the E nglish revolution 1 6 8 - 1 688 in ( 7 ) are the triumphal years , which the mon arch of the lilies sees his apotheosis in i h s . own lifetime When , sitting on his solid silver throne with si xteen million livres in

diamonds on his black justaucorps and his hat , he receives prostrate a nd humbled ambassadors at the end of his dazzling mirror gallery ; when his coach crosses the Pla ce des Victoires a nd he beholds the statue raised in his honour by Marécha l de la Fe u illa de between its never

‘ x n e n c a n e tinguished la t r s , he not believe himself a n a a n god upo the e rth His t ste is ﬁ ally formed , hen ceforth he underst a n ds the grandeur of a simplicity , he loves the reasonable . Let us t ke a n e xa mple ; the parterres with complicated meandering runn els of water have been repla ced on the Versailles terraces with noble sheets of real D E C A Y O F L O U I S X I V 9

mirror glass , whose great bare surface is so ﬁne under the heaven they reﬂect . The trivial diversions of the park have been destroyed or a ba ndoned . The Louis XIV art now reaches a e lim in its perfect m turity, foreign elements are a ted or tra nsformed in so fa r as is possible when “ ’ ” a zs s o ns a Le Brun rules everything . L ' ' Boileau has just said in his A rt P oetz qu e

’ la iss o ns a l I ta lie ’ De t o us c e s f a ux brilla nts l é c la ta nt e fo li e . The poison of decadent Italia nism is still at a n work in p i ting, so much is certain , and to a n r co siderable deg ee in architecture , although n - a n a F o n Hardoui M s rt , irst Architect t the Ki g ' in 1 6 6 F sc ul t II re 7 , is a good renchman ; but p is e x a purg d of it , if we e cept old Puget , and alre dy the a rt of decoration is almost altogether national . After 1 690 comes decline and dec a y for the a n h a s e gi g King . He committed irr parable a nd nn n blunders , punishment is begi i g ; the a Al a n Le gue of Augsburg , the Great li ce of nn n a Vie a , the Great Allia ce of the H gue , all E n urope rises up agai st him . He has lost

Colbert ; after Colbert , Louvois , and after Cha milla rt ! é Louvois , He has lost Cond , Turenn e a nd Luxembourg ; his armies have no w

a a la Fe uilla de . leaders like T ll rd , , Villeroy His couriers riding on the spur from the North or from the South now bri ng only tidings of a : dis ster defeat at Turin, reverse in Spain , rout R l at amillies , the loss of Lille ti l Villars I O L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

F a n n a saves r ce and honour . Withi this re lm o n r a a n e attacked eve y h nd are f mi and civil war . he a e a n d e T tre sury is empty . Death strik s strik s a ga in into the royal family : will a b a st a rd ha ve to be set o n the throne of Sai nt - Louis ? After a a n n a n n n r di t Mo tespan comes M i te o , the — n prudish , cold blooded Mai tenon, the dis n e illusio d , the eternally bored . While she plies n a nd n her eedle yaw s , tucked away in her famous n n - n iche , Louis sits in the opposite chim ey cor er , with his gouty leg stretched out on a folding a nd n n ff stool , preserves a sulle sile ce . He su ers from his decayed teeth, his swolle n foot ; he has a v r a ll slept badly, for the bugs h e har ied him night in his hundred - thousa nd-crown bed ; a n in Fa o n vapours d rken his brai , for spite of g n n a a n a he has o ce agai e ten too m y green pe s . n n And he broods upo his violated fro tiers . The Court is hangi ng about i dly in attenda nce gone are the da ys of fetes lit by ﬁve thousand a x a n w t pers a d it seeks distraction as it can . There is at the e n d of this reign an odd mixture of grossly ﬂa u nt e d cynicism and pretended e religion . Princesses smok pipes borrowed from e a nd the guardsm n on duty, give themselves up x n n n to bouts of e cessive dri king, whose co seque ces need to be shrouded up i n darkness ; but the a ff sh dow of M . Tartu e haunts the porch of the ne w a ch pel . Mea nwhile Fren ch art pu rsues its destined n path of glory . Its orbit for a mome t has coin - n cided with that of the Sun Ki g, but does not

1 2 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

” 13 tapestries . The Gobelins factory even closed for several years from 1 694 ; the high- warp in t e wea v ers enlist h armies . The world of the n a rts is worki g for others n o w . for the Duc de ’ a a nd d Orle a ns Ch rtres the Duc , who most n a n a nd certai ly have different t stes from the ki g , a n n a n l for priv te persons , ﬁ a cial m g ates ike La R Live and Crozat , great lords like the ohan

Soubises ; for plain business folk , who are building themselves comfortable houses with a nd n n small rooms , less formal more co venie t , while the old sovereign shivers with cold as he a n d ily co tinues , heroically imperturbable , to pl a y the tragi - comedy of the le v e r in his cha mber - a no less icy cold than m gnificent . The times have brought a revolution : the Louis XIV art r a pidly crumbled away in the concluding yea rs R n of the century, and the art of the ege cy R e n began , considerably before the eg cy itself arrived . b But let us come ack to our furniture . The m a nufactory of the Gobelins w a s founded in 1 662 and definitely organised in 1 667 under the ti t le of M a n ufa ctu re roya le des M e u bles de la wa s a c o u r o nne . It pl nned to produce many things besides tapestries ; the est a blishment on the banks of the Bievre was to be filled with n - good pai ters , master high warp weavers , gold n n a smiths , fou ders , e gravers , lapidaries, c binet a a nd m kers in ebony other woods , dyers and other good craftsmen in every kin d of art and ” n ! craft . A vast programme i deed C R A F T S M E N 1 3

n n The painters , who umbered more tha thirty Va n ul e n a n d at the same time , included der Me , a a nd M o nno e r l n Hou sse , y , Miche Cor eille ,

N o cre t Bo n n . n , Boulog e Not o ly had they to make cartoons and models , but also to carry out the painted silks (most often o n g r os de To u rs ) which were among the styles of hangings most a x e gerly sought after , the sculptors , Coysevo , Slo dt z a rn Tubi , and others , made vases to do r a nd r parks , trophies of gilded b onze va ious ’ n a Ca fii e ri i ternal orn ments for the palaces ; , L e s a na n de lle a ll Cucci , p g , wood workers , carved in n oak, wal ut and lime the wooden parts a nd é a of seats tables , gu ridons , pedestals , b lus a a nd trades , doors , fr mes for pictures for Béra in mirrors ; the engravers , Leclere , Audran , , Pa ut re n n Le , produced their collectio s of desig s a e fi for ornaments ; the l pidari s , at rst the n wh o a n a nd Italia s had worked for M zari , then F their rench pupils , put together pavements 0 and facings of marble , and the t ps of tables ; n the goldsmiths , Loir , Merli , de Villers , ham a n d n a mered chased not o ly gold nefs , pl te , a t ble utensils , but furniture of every kind a é n c binets , consoles and gu rido s , benches and a n n stools , ch deliers , flower pots for ora ge trees , r dogs for fireplaces . This is the fu niture , of a n x n B bylo ian lu ury , and let us ve ture to say , of n very doubtful taste , that ador ed the Mirror ’ Gra nds A a rte m e nts n Gallery, the pp , the Quee s ’ n App a rtem e nt and the Ki g s Chamber . The n - F n H a rm a nt cabi et makers , Pierre Poitou , oulo , , 1 4 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a n - a a n made c binets , u der cupbo rds , c bi ets for a a x a r n a n d medals , t bles , bure u , p quet ﬂoori g ,

a . m rquetry clock cases Lastly, two hundred a nd e a F ﬁfty w vers , mostly lemish at the outset , a e a e A cts produced those admir bl t p stry sets , the o th e A os tles H is to r o th e K in f p , the y f g , the B a ttles o A le xa n de r R o a l R e s ide n ces f , the y a n d e r R a score of oth s after aphael, Le Brun , l Va n e n Co e . der M ule , Noel yp , etc These efforts of so ma ny various a rtists were c o - n never scattered , but always ordi ated for the a chieving of a common t a sk by the stron g ha n ds ’ n n r of Charles Le Bru . The Ki g s Fi st Painter F a s received the title of Director of the actory , “ being a person c a p a ble a nd intelligen t in the a rt n n a e n a of pai ti g , to m ke the d sig s for t pestry , a nd sculpture other works , to cause them to be r a r a nd e ne ra co rectly c r ied out , to have the g l direction a nd sup e rvisio n over all the workers to ” a n a be employed in these m uf ctures . To make sure of the supply of cra ftsmen there w a s ’ n x n n orga ised , for si ty children u der the ki g s “ ’ n n a r protectio , the Director s semi y , to which there sha ll be a ppointed a m a st e r p a inter under a a a n him , who sh ll t ke order for their educ tio a nd n n r a i structio , to be distributed afte w rds by the director a nd by him pl a ced in a pp rentice ship a rt a nd a f a rd n with the masters of each cr t , cco i g ” a e n a as he sh ll d em them ﬁt a d c p a ble . Such ’ were the a dmira ble methods pla ced in Le Brun s a n a nd a ra wa s t h e h ds by Colbert , no less dmi ble

use he m a de of them . There it was that the T H E G O B E L I N S O U T P U T 1 5

w a n n Louis XIV style was elaborated , ith imposi g

n . a a c a n u ity The ssimil tion, or if it be said , the Fren chifyi ng of the foreign workers of t h e a a a w n e rly d ys c me to pass ith i credible rapidity , but this s a me phe nomenon h a s t a ken place among us in every period : in t h e fifteenth c e n n a tury, whe we borrowed the fl mboyant style r E n a n in x n n n f om gl d ; the si tee th ce tury, whe from It a li a n elements we cre a ted our Renaissa n ce e a a nd in styl , which is so completely n tional ; n n n n n the eightee th ce tury , whe so ma y Germa n - Oe b e ns Rie se ne rs cabi et makers , the , the , the R e n n F n o tge s , so speedily became re ch of the Fre nch I What remains now o u t of the huge and mar v e llo u s output of the Gobelins factory betwee n 1 662 a nd 1 690 ? B e yond the perm a nent — decora tion of Versailles a great part of which w a s dest royed in the e ighteenth a nd nineteenth n — a nd a ce turies tapestries , already very sc rce , there is h a rdly a nything ; a few tables of stone a a nd a nd mos ic , a few frames of carved gilded wood on the pictures in the Louvre that once ’ n n belonged to the Ki g s collectio . It would a a be h rd to im gine a more complete shipwreck . x Happily, we have some e cellent authorities to give us a pproximate informatio n as to this va ried r a re n n output . The e prints represe ti g views of n a l a the i terior of Vers illes , and better stil , t pes r n H is to r o the K in in a r t ies showi g the y f g , p t ic ula r o ne n r of the fi est , which commemo ates a a visit p id by Louis XI V to the Gobelins . Le 1 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

Brun has even brought silver vases chased a t the f a ctory from his designs into his E ntry of A le xa n de r into B a b l o n y . On a n the other h nd , the Ge eral Inventories of the Furniture belonging to the Crown m a y give x W a us a fairly e act idea of hat the f ctory turned a out . The t bles were nearly all mosaic pictures 1 n a a ra n o n o n ie d i l id in black p g , set their p or un derpart of gilded wood with heavily emphasised ca rvi ngs : these were decorati v e compositions of

r ince a u x n . rosettes , , festoo s , etc , but also very n a n r freque tly irregul r scatteri gs of flowers , f uits , a a nd in n birds , caterpill rs butterflies their atural ' c o o u rs a , with r ther childish attempts to trick n o n the eye i t believi g them real, and even horrors such as c a n still be seen in the museums — of Florence a table decorat ed with a pack of ca rds flung down at random . n Cabi ets , when the factory started , were all a n like those of M zari , complicated , elaborate , x n rich to e cess , loud with ma y colours , each one seeming r a ther a mineralogical collection than a

. x work of . art Here is an e ample of the result of the colla bora tion of la pidary and cabi net - maker : “ ’ a cabinet of f e b o ny wit h t w o large han dles of gilt brass at the sides , embellished in front with three porticoes between four columns of German a a jasper , their bases and capit ls of agate , lso a n Germ , the middle portico with four little n O colum s of riental jasper , and the two on the

B l c is n n e se t a n the to uc sto ne f 1 la c k ba s a t, whi h o thi g l h h o lle je we rs . C A B I N E T S 1 7

O a a ll two sides of the same rient l jasper , with a e a n a b s s and c pitals of gold , the fro t of the s id c a bi net covered with pictures of stone mosaic n n n a a n d work represe ti g la dsc pes , enriched with a n n several little orn me ts of gold and e amel . e n n a n Sev differe t materi ls , without cou ting the “ ” n a va rious mi erals m king up the pictures . n a n - a Whe c bi et maker , goldsmith and l pidary a pooled all the resources of their arts , the roy l “ furniture was enriched with a cabinet in the a a Of sh pe of a tomb , covered with a le f silver , a n a n m de up of twe ty dr wers e riched with agate , a r a a a nd j spe , l pis lazuli , corneli n , cameos other re n in p cious sto es ; in the middle , front , a door o n e n t wo n a of single agate , betwee colum s lso of a a a g te , with their b ses and capitals of silver gilt . ” a n n The said c binet sta di g on four silver Spheres . The ta ble intended to carry this cabinet of gold “ smithery was lacquered a fter the fa shion of ” a n porphyry . Wh t a beauty it must have bee These cabinets were fairly soon out of fashion ; n n ba ished from the royal apartme ts , they were n in a n stra ded n tural history collectio s . The Gobelins then made pieces tha t were much less a a n It li and much more austere , cabinets of cedar , p a rtially gilt and with ornaments of gilt bronze ; of Brazil wood with compartments outlined in r a ll n ivo y ; and above , pieces of every ki d in o f - a n d marquetry tortoise shell, pewter brass , a a n with orn ments of ch sed and gilt bro ze , after m the anner of Bo ulle . The same good fortune fell to this prince of cabinet makers a s had been B 1 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E the lot of the Clo u e t s among the painters of the n previous ce tury , namely, that as he never signed n his work, many pieces are u questionably ascribed to him that were never made by him , but by ca binet makers at the Gobelins or elsewhere who employed the same technique . n These mag iﬁcent pieces are , it is true , outside the modest Sco pe of the present book ; but as they have always been and still are looked upon as the supreme expression of the L o uis XIV é style , we cannot refrain from speaking of Andr

Charles Boulle . w a s n x n Like so many others he of foreig e tractio , but the assimilation was alre a dy complete among the Boulles for two generations b a ck when he n 1 6 2 was bor , in 4 , in the galleries of the ” - a Louvre . His grandfather , a furniture m ker of n n Neufchatel , and a Calvi ist , had bee brought from Switzerland by Henri IV a nd given an ” abode in the great waterside ga llery that joined the palace of the Louvre to the palace of d the Tuileries . This privilege was to be continue to the family for ﬁve generations Andre- Charles

1 6 2 . obtained it in 7 Divided into little lodgings , the great g a llery was peopled by artists of every n n n ki d , pai ters , sculptors , goldsmiths , e amellers , ” n dow to the fourbisseurs , who hammered out e pieces of armour there . Th se privileged people , who lived there with their families in the closest n cla nishness , and often married among them o f n a nd selves , had the title purveyors to the ki g escaped the very strict regulations of mastership

2 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E i ncluding a complete set of Albert Durer ; n a n a bro zes by Michel Angelo , three thous d r re meda ls ; he was a connoisseur of the very highest taste . But we must not m a ke Boulle out to be the n n - a H e n t o ly cabi et m ker of his time . did o inve nt the style that has been give n his na me ; severa l coll a bora tors helped him with his bron zes e a Dom nico Cucci , the gre t goldsmith Claude a n Va n O a a n a r B lli , the sculptors pst l , W ri , Gir don , who supplied him with models in w a x a n d in s e a n d r in c a r n plaster . His arabe qu s e a ux e ofte r n a e clearly copied from B e ai . His speci l m rit seems to have been th a t of a Clever ma nipul a tor no t n n of elements he had i ve ted for himself . He was unrivalled for his skill in wedding reliefs in gilt bronze to ma rquetry b a ckgroun ds to a chieve a nd n n perfect harmony, in givi g his fur iture , n a a nd especia lly his cupboards , oble , ustere , n r a m a dig ified a chitectur l shapes , which make g nifice nt decorative pieces of them, worthy to play a leading p a rt in the grandiose conception s of l n e . Charles Bru But they are merely decorations , a nd we must no t try to find a nything else in

e . o th m Their utside is the best part of them . n n a n d i n U der their dazzling ﬁ ery with . their masterly lines these pieces of fur niture are a s ill con structed a s the fa cade pla stered o n to the a Louvre by Charles Pe rrault . The orn mentation a n n a is not the accomp ime t of the sh pe , but e m n n d ter i es it . Here too ofte lies the fault of this Louis XIV art : magniﬁcent exteriors maski ng C O L B E R T A N D L O U I S X I V 2 1

“ a a hollow sh a m . H ndsome he d but no ” ’ n fo x a n n e F . br i i sid , said La o taine s The Boulle pieces that a re genui nely by And re- Cha rles a re as scarce a s Clo u e t s by Ja net

- a nd F n . a n a e ra cois His four sons , c bi et m k rs a a e like their f ther , imit t d him to the best of their a n d a a e n d ability, l ter still , tow rds the of the e n n r n - a eight e th ce tu y , the cabi et m kers Georges Jacob a nd Philippe Montigny made excelle nt a n n a imit tio s with bro zes c st from his models . Thes e imit a tions are h a rd to distinguish from the n r n a origina ls whe they a e not sig ed . We m y add that this kin d of marquetry is so fa r from solid tha t the rea l genuine Boulle pieces have ha d a n r a to be lmost e ti ely rem de . I n in n n a nd short , fou di g the Gobelins othe fa ctories a nd fa vouri ng the artists of the galler ’ t h e XI V S n n of Louvre , it was Louis i tentio to furnish his royal a bodes with such m a gnifice nce “ that they should be worthy of the gre a test ” ’ i na n . t a m mo rch of the u iverse Colber s , in a n a dvisi g him to t ke these measures , was to a n r est blish withi the borde s of the realm , or to r n n x 30 a b i g to perfectio , lu ury industries th t the F in a e no n rench , the first pl c , would lo ger be a fine n forced to buy their t pestries , fur iture , rich a a a n d stuffs , pl te gl ss the like from foreign c o untrie s ; a nd that they might in time compete beyond th e ir o wn frontiers with the workshops

a n a n a nd r n . of It ly , the Low Cou tries , Sp i Ge ma y t he n a nd a e e n d Both Ki g Colbert chieved th ir , for towa rds the middle of the reign Fr a nce no 2 2 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E longer in any way paid tribute to foreigners where the arts pertain i ng to furnishing were concerned . It was the very utmost if a few in a n caned seats were brought from Holl d . — Within a few years s pace from 1 674 to 1 686 a Cla n a the Ch teau de g y is built , decor ted, and furnished for M a da me de Montespan the n Versailles of Le Vau is enlarged, u der the n - supervisio of Jules Hardouin Mansart , by the a n n Mirror G llery, the two wi gs of the Mi isters , the huge North and South wings . This colossal pala ce is speedily decorated and furn ished ; a t the same time the modest porcelain Trianon1 is knocked down , and its place taken by the great n n Tria on of pi k marble , and this also is decorated in and furnished immedia tely . Marly is begun 1 6 n in 1 686 79 , ﬁ ished, decorated and furnished ; ’ a the King s impatience brooks no del y . The n And craftsmen are equal to everythi g . we n say nothing of Sai t Cloud , built , decorated n e no r and fur ished for Monsi ur , of the other royal houses whose furnishings are completely renewed . x This e ample is followed everywhere, once the

' ~ nd . C hfit e a u x a w first impetus , is given to n a nd a rm houses , old new, are filled with beds , a nd in n e w n chairs, cupboards tables the fashio ; when the King has finished furnishing a nd decreased his commissions the roya l fa ctories will n n a n - a be idle , but in umerable joi ers , c bi et m kers

“ 1 I n re a lity fa c e d with blue a nd white fa i e nce in th e fa shio n ” the w re o f a o f a s Chin . H O M E L I F E 2 3 and tapestry weavers will go on turning out for in t he private persons furniture same style , and will presently invent new kinds to satisfy new n n a wa ts , devisi g fresh sh pes to suit their taste , n a in ha rmo y with the new rchitecture . ’ Just a t the moment when the King s inﬂuence over the furnishing arts begi ns to be eclipsed a n n rapid and profound change takes place I man ers . It cannot be said that socia l life loses I t s import n n n ance , the co trary is true , i deed ; but alo gside ha d of it home life, which been wholly sacriﬁced

e o n n a n . to it , tak s an i cre si g importance People a r ff w nt thei ease and comforts , to su er less from cold, to be able to seclude themselves from their tra in of domestics a nd from troublesome out a siders , to be ble to go conveniently from one a part of the house to nother, to find at meal times their table prep a red in a room devoted a to the purpose . It appe rs that all at once a host of new wa nts a re discovered which nobody had ever thought of before . People have a town fla t a a a a n , ch te u or simple country vill no lo ger m e rely to displa y to their frie nds a sumptuousness n n in co ferri g prestige, but also order to live I n n n pleasantly them . A yo e about to build no longer demands from his architect above eve ry n a n thi g suite of large pompous halls , whose lo g vista with a ll doors Ope n may give visitors the i n a r a a a nd o ff llusio of a g lle y in a p l ce , which the c a binets a nd little rooms in which the household will live their ordin a ry life are to be dumped a s n n best they can . He now wa ts i stead rooms fit 2 4 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a a c to live in , dapted e h to its own use , well a nd c o n warmed , well equipped with outlets v e nie nc e s in a , word , rooms that shall be on an ordinary human scale instead of seemi ng to be a ra n n m de for a ce of gia ts . The Fre ch people will still wa it a long time before they r e c a pture from the E nglish their own good old word c o n o rt in a na a re f , but def ult of the me they n n a begi ni g to have the substance . This s me ra nge of wa nts will bring wa inscoti ng to the n n e a l ﬁre walls , woode ﬂoors for u d rfoot , sm ler a vvit h e r n pl ces , surmounted mirrors , more p fectio in n a nd n a nd a n joi ery wrought iro work, also a in equivalent transform tion furniture . This progressive tra nsformati o n is the mark of the passing from the Louis XIV style to the R n in Louis XV style . The ege cy style all strict n ess has no more re a l e xiste n ce than the n n e Directoire style , but it is co venie t to hav a name for furniture that still ret a ins cert a in a a nd ch racteristics of the Louis XIV period , alre a dy shows some that belong to the Louis XV a e a period . But it must be cle rly r lised that the dura tion of this time of transition does n o t coi ncide with that of the governmen t of Philipp e ’ d rl ns n a e a O éa . His rege cy l sted for eight y rs 1 1 m a a a ( 7 5 to but it y be s id th t if, on o n e n a a in the ha d , the Louis XV style is lre dy x n in 1 2 o n a n R n e iste ce 7 3, the other h d the ege cy — — style if th e re is a Re gency style did n o t wa it for the death of t h e aged Louis XIV to be com le t e p ly established . Louis the Great lived too ' A N T O I N E W A T T E A U 2 5

n n n lo g, and survived many men and ma y thi gs , n his style as well as his great ess itself . a a Let us , to be precise , set up par llel of a few 1 1 Bé ra in a s dates . In 7 1 Gillot succeeds d e signer of scenery a n d costumes to th e Oper a ; 1 1 2 o ne n F n in 7 of his pupils , a you g lemi g of n - n a I n n twe ty eight , who spe ds his d ys the you ger ’ Croza t s picture ga llery intoxic a ting himself with R n a nd n a n d the colour of ube s Vero ese , who paints sce nes of soldie r life or sce n es from the Com édie [ta lie n ne n m a n e , this you g is r ceived n R a n n na i to the oy l Academy of Pai ti g . His me n O t - n is Antoi e Watte a u . u of the thirty seve

' years of life doled out to him he is to Spe n d r - e in n An d thi ty o n the reig of Louis XIV . it is in 1 7 1 0 th a t Robert de Cotte finishes the Chapel of Vers a illes ; in 1 7 1 0 Germa in Bo ffra nd n o e begi s the decoration of the h t l Soubise , the finest and most typic a l orn ame ntal work of the R n o ne a in ege cy style , and of the most admir ble a n F n a rt the whole r ge of re ch . On the dea th of Louis XIV the court scatters in a a nd n h ste , the boy ki g is removed from a Th e R n is n n a n Vers illes . ege t i tellige t , hum e , n a a s a de ge erous , as br ve a sword bl , but wholly s n a n d E v posse sed by idle ess debauchery . ery n flin s a a a nd ki d of hypocrisy g aw y its m sk , with ’ such vici ous m e n as the Duke Philippe d Orléa ns a nd his former tutor Abbe Dubois gove rning the ’ a n n e a re lm , everyo e i dulges hims lf to his he rt s n a ra co tent . To the devil with m jesty, g vity a nd virtue , those played out old hags Pleasure 2 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E R is god, and the bacchanalian orgy of the egency is soon in full swing . To be truthful, of course it is not everybody that in the race for plea sure n a Pa ra b ére shows the same animal gross ess of , a Duchesse de Berry or her fa ther the Rege nt . There a reWrefined a nd elegant voluptuaries and t ra nsfi ure s poets like atteau , who g pleasure by bathi ng it in a delicate mist of be a uty and dream ; n e a n but there was at the mome t , by way of r ctio , l n n a an hour of dru ke orgy that few esc ped . That century of the sua vity and elega n ce o f living had its wild youth between fifteen and n - twe ty fiv e . It had this wild youth in the a n a s n dom i of art as well in that of man ers , and ’ r o ca z lZe this was the vogue of the style , which is , R so to say , merely an eccentric p art of the egency 2 ffi style . We discuss it elsewhere ; su ce it here to observe that the two artists who most of all “ exemplify Rocaille in its most viole nt form : l - O e no rd were of foreign blood Gi les Marie pp , a n - e from the Netherl ds , and Juste Aur le Meis sonier , a native of Turin . n Bo ffra nd Alo g with , the most remarkable R architect of the period is obert de Cotte , the - - in . a nd n brother law, disciple conti uator of Jules a a Hardouin M nsart , the creator of the dmirable a a episcop l palace of Strasbourg . He is charm in a n F n g rtist , of an elega ce wholly re ch , Attic , a nd measured , who preserves just the right

1 I t is unne c e ss a ry t o sa y th a t w e a re spe a king h e re o nly o f tha t inﬁnit e s im a l pa rt o f th e na tio n th a t ma de up th e a rist o cra cy o f b irth a nd w e a lth . i 2 I n F e nch Fu rm iure u nde r Low s XV,

2 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a Cre sse nt a n Ch rles had sever l man ers . In cert a in of his pieces he displa ys himself more as a sculptor tha n as a cabi net - maker ; in these the n a n xa r a n bro zes assume e gge ated import ce , covering almost half the surface and standing out in high relief , almost a little turgidly ; but what a n a nd a t admirable ch si g , rich sinewy the same r a n a t n a nd a a time , b o d or co cise eed , lw ys a a nd nd e a n . free , e sy full of life i t lligence At other times he drew inspiration from the light a e a n a gr ce of B r i or Gillot or Watteau , and pl ced o n a ground of sati nwood certain amusing monkey- pieces in fr a mings of a lways perfectly n bala ced curves . But his most perfect works r n r x a n d a we e certai flat bu eau , very sober ustere, n n with li es of impeccable purity, masses bala ced n a n d t n n to perfectio , heir bro zes proportio ed and dist ributed with marvellous in stinct a n d a a s t ct . The most import nt of the e bronzes are n n fou d at the top of the legs , under the rou ded ﬂa t angles of the top of the bureau , those busts ‘ of female ﬁgures that were c a lled e sp a g n o le tz es ; their da inty charm make s them sisters to ’ Wa a s a - n t t e u most piqu nt child wome , but they are untouched 'b y the slightest meanness or

a . An x r a e trivi lity e quisite p oﬁle , a bosom b r ly ’ n — repressed by the pointed bodice , a ti y toque tis ’ ’ R a l n a r n a n . Silvi , tis Mi a d , tis Columbi e or os i d a a m F n ! It li n na es , but the women so re ch Betwee n these bureaux a n d those of Boulle there is no re a l esse ntia l difference ; but how much ’ Cre sse nt s more developed is sense of line , of the F RA N C E S U P R E M E 2 9

' beautiful curve Beside him Boulle is mas sive ’ a nd la n Cre sse nt s a n s cki g in grace , but gr ceful es no t x n in does e clude obility . These pieces some sort epitomise a ll the qua lities of the two periods ; they a re perhaps the supreme flower of French t a ste . a Now the task is accomplished, and the l st tra ce s of Italia n or German inﬂuence have dis n rn appeared from Fre ch fu iture . The great na n n e - tio al traditio is r established . Let us wide n our horizon ; he nceforth Italy has lost a w o n F n in her artistic suprem cy, by ra ce high n i in a nd co ﬂ ct , every province of art , to be held a n e E for lo g p riod . Now all the peoples of urope must turn t o us when they a re fain to embellish n the setti g of their lives . The great Colbert must ne eds be well content in his tomb at S a int E ustache .

SECOND PART THE LOUIS XI V STYLE

TWO PART THE LOUIS XI V STYLE

CHAPTER ONE : CHARACTER I STI CS AND TECHNIQUE OF THE STYLE

ON E must needs regret when one has to Speak of the Louis XIV style that our langua ge lacks r a the ichness of It lian , which can add to the simple meaning of a word the notion of great ness by merely clapping the termination o ne on I S no t x in to it . it more e pressive , talking of ' ' u n o ra n d zs s zm o a la z z o n e Versailles , to say, g p “ ” tha n a n enormous p a lace ? An d is not ' s eg g z o lo ne marvellously ada pted to signify a huge a nd imposing a rm - chair of gilded wood in this style The most usual a nd most striking a n char cteristic of this style is , in fact , great ess , a ll n n and ﬁrst of in the root mea i g of the word , in for in this period , so much love with greatness in r e eve ything , when men seemed to se k to e i S a incr ase even the r t ture , like the actors of n a tiquity, above by means of the big peruke with r a a n a n cu ls rr ged in st ges , and below by mea s of

their high red heels , a table was much bigger C 34 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

n than it eeded to be , with overgrown legs joined by over -massive cross - pieces ; a n arm - chair was a o n n a n too t ll its legs , e rly big e ough for two , x n a and its back of e cessive height , u less we t ke it ’ that that va st rectangle s only function w a s to act as b a ckgroun d to those huge perukes in vented by the Sieur Binet and called after him n a a nd or else for those lofty erectio s of l ce ribbon , n o n ta n es k own as f g , that crowned the heads of

ladies . But this furniture ha s another greatness of a a n a h a d less m terial ki d , wh t Louis XIV in his ’ “ mind s eye when he used to say, That has something great that tou. ches greatnesss ” the highest praise he could bestow : the n grandeur that comes from ample , Spacious li es , no t n always simple , but early always architectural , a n a from masses solidly pl ced , from plai surf ces o n which a rich ﬂat decora tio n could unfold n itself without break or impedime t . This great n ness is power , it is obility . With no play on a s n a s words , this Louis XIV style is a style oble

o f o ur . n that great classical writers Unfortu ately, the phrase “ noble style brings with it also an

‘ n a a wh e n fo r n a u f vour ble turn , as , i stance , we spe k ’ e s r a x W[ r i e D é u Ode S at s e d N a m ur of p p .

All Louis XIV art , Le Brun art , is of this kind of n obility ; there was never found the m a n of geni us who could have brought it to the pitch ’ of perfe ction reached by Racine s poetry a nd ’ in n Bo ssu e t s . n prose In architecture, pai ti g, in e a e e a the decorativ rts , the styl of the p riod alw ys

36 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E as possible they give themselves the air of blocks , —i “ ” of monolithic pedestals t is more noble . “ a So too the same Perrault declared , it is great beauty I n a building to a ear a s though made of pp ”

n i i n n . a si gle stone , the jo n gs being i visible

There you have it , the detestable doctrine of n lyi g . n The Louis XIV style is sumptuous . It is fai to strike and to impose itself rather than to

a n . ple se , less to charm than to asto ish Some i a n a n e li time s t has heavy a d f tigui g st a t ne ss . But we must not carry this crit i cism too fa r ; l “ could relax and smile too . The Porcelain ” n n n n Tria o was a ythi g but stately, with its blue a nd white vases bristling along the lines of “ a nd n a its roof, its various birds do e in n tural ” n colours . The gra dson of Henri IV w a s too fon d of wome n not to oblige his academic artists fe I n I to make all proper concessions to m ne taste . At Versailles may be read a page of o ne of ’ n Mansart s reports , in the margi of which the “ master has writte n as follows : It seems to me n e that somethi g ought to be alter d, that the a nd subjects are too serious , that there must be something of youth miirgle d with what i s to be n Yo u n do e . are to bri g me Sketches when you come , or at any rate ideas . There must be ” n ff somethi g of childhood di used everywhere . in e a n o f a And fact , in the d cor tio s Vers illes n r childre shed their gaiety eve ywhere , from ’ ' ’ Sa l/e de Z Oe z Z- d e - B ce u a re the f , where they a n n g mbolli g like kids all alo g the cornice , to the C H I N O I S E R I E S 37

a g rden of the Grand Trianon, where they prance e so m rrily in the water , passing through the W x Southern parterre , here grave Sphin es allow themselves to be unceremoniously bestridden by a n d them , by the ponds of the Seasons , where n they are sporti g with the gods . But there must have been a pleasant contrast with the Olympian pomp of the Gra nds ‘ App a rze m e nts in the Chinese objects that were e ev rywhere to be seen in them . Without the a ctual inventories it would be impossible to believe to what extent the contemporaries of the Great King delighted in everything that came out n a of Chi a . We have seen that Boile u shared in this universal craze . In every royal house there e m m e nb/e m e nts — a were bed complete , arm n a a n in chairs , foldi g stools , h ssocks, and w ll ha g gs “ — in ff white satin or white ta eta , embroidered a nd r o n cove ed both sides with flowers , figures , a nd n animals , other thi gs from China , in ” ’ in s s o n various colours . The K g w chamber was “ ” 1 e mm e u blée in this fashion at the moment R n when the four friends , aci e , Boileau, Chapelle a nd L a F o nt a ine 1 668 , in , paid a visit to r il Fo nt a ine Ve sa les , which La has so delightfully “ m n a described for us . A o g other be uties , they n a t paused a lo g time to look the bed , the ’ t a pest ry a nd the cha irs with which the King s cha mber a nd cabin e t have been furnished ; it is a n u Chi ese stuff, f ll of figures embodying the a whole religion of th t country . For want of a

1 I t wa s a s umme r se t o f furniture . 38 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

I Bra hmin our four friends understood it no t at ” “ a l l . a And this dressing gown of white s tin , l embellished with Chinese embroidery, ined with ” n ff t gree ta eta , is neither more nor less han ’ “ XI S ff V . Louis own dressing gown Chinese stu , ro u nd s rin kle d a gold g ‘ p with large leaves and n w pla ts , from which Spring branches of flowers ith a nd i birds butterfl es blue Chinese gauze , Sprinkled with flowers in gold and Silk Chinese gauze amar a nth or dried rose colour f ff Chinese stuf of flame colour Chinese stu , S l i k, of violet ground sprinkled and filled with flowers pai nted in divers colours all the d ff i m d ream stu s that Ch na wove , e broi ered , and ’ Ts in s painted in the days of the first g , shimmer in eve ry page of the old inventorie s of t he Crown r fu niture . The Mercuries and Apollos that filled the ceilings above the g reat gold and marble salons n saw beneath them things still more suprisi g . “ c n n Her , a black carpet with Chi ese letteri g t ’ edged wi h a band of yellow, with little flowers ” l in embroidery , there a acquer cabinet on which geese are flying and rabbits browsing animals fa r from noble ; another on which they “ perceive a kind of monster with all four legs ’ i n a ir a nd s the lastly, everywhere on the mo t * s ca b e llons majestic tables of mosaic work, on the

1 A Bra hmin a s a Chine s e prie s t ! L a Fo nt a ine does no t g o . nto th e a tt er s o c lo s e l b e s de s e rsia h na ndia a a n i m y ; i , P , C i , I , J p

we re a ll o ne fo r th e We s te rns o f th s a e . i g

2 Th e dra go n o f F6, do ub tl e ss . V E R S A I L L E S 39 of Boulle, and the gilded consoles of Cucci , s pa g o de everywhere . That was the name given a to those little figures of every kind of materi l, imported from China or from India , which a nd were chosen for their oddity, over which - everybody went crazy . Pou Tai, obese and laughing on his sack of rice ; Sakya Muni medi tating on his lotus - blossom Lao - Tse with “ e normous forehead sitting on his buffalo ; an ” “ m a n old huddled up on a stork, or a beggar ” n n a n lea i g ag i st a gallows . But what must ha ve made Alcides drop his club out of his n i n o n e ha ds with aston shme t , was to see day a “ n n Chinese cabi et make its appeara ce, to which his M a jesty has had ten silver plaques fastened ” n n represe ti g the labours of Hercules . This singular combination gives us quite new side o n a n lights the t ste of the mo arch . What w a s there not to be found in that in n Versailles , which we are wrong thi king of n a n d n as all solem state , co sequently in all the elega nt interiors that prided themselves in “ resembling Versailles ? One hundred and seventy -one bouquets of various kinds of flowers made with one Single roll of silk cords 1 i 5 5 l ttle grotesque figures made , like the r 2 8 flowe s , of rolled twist other larger figures of pasteboard a nd dressed in Indi a n robes o f a n d a nd - gold Silver silk brocade . . table tops entirely m a de of shells a nd cemen t Spinni n g 1 W ra v a ils heels with their t in the apartments of

I Wnde rs fo r the t re a i h d . 40 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

S princesses , for in these days princesses pan and poetesses sa ng of their dist a ffs

u eno u z lle mon soucz e nous ro m ts t u r Q , , j p e e j e De w a s a z m cr to u ou rs c t n e a ma z s ch a n e r j , j g ’ Vo tre h onneu r domes tz ue n u n bwn e ra n r q e t ge .

in In the alcoves , just as the rooms of girls - n‘ c to day, might be see little whatnots on whi h there were ranged knick—knacks of the most heteroge neous kin d : a knife - grinder with his

cart , made of silver filigree ; a stag of blown ’ glass ; a coral tree ; a doll s house . There might o n - be seen , put up the chimney pieces , paper n fa r hand scree s , upon which were engraved the from edifying Delights of the French soldier innumerable bouquets of a rtificial flowers in “ n a d - porcelai v ses , three thousan and thirty one bouquets of flowers of various colours made of ple ated silk gauze round tables made of gl a ss ; ’ ’ ' “ b o u le s a e a r a z n a a and even j , phi ls of gl ss nn n o n o n t he ti ed i side , mounted feet , placed mantelshelf to reflect in miniature the objects contained in the room 1 But there was one ornament for wall s a nd n e n - a ma t lpieces , eve in the state rooms , th t had

a o . wa s n an unhe rd of v gue This porcelai , either “ Chinese porcel a in or its imitation in Dutch ” a n One i . porcelain, that is to say , Delft f e ce must see cert a in prints by Daniel Marot or Le Pa u t re to realise to wha t heights this cra ze could be - n carried . Here is a chimney piece carryi g at e ach e nd of its shelf a large vase in Shape of a horn and a bottle ; in the middle , on a whatnot T H E P O R C E L A I N C R A Z E 4 1 w t n n i h four dimi ishi g shelves , rises a pyramid of n - twe ty two pieces of porcelain . This way of decor a ting chim ney- pieces had become so ha bitual ’ ' ’ ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ‘ that d Av ile r in his Tra zz e d A rcnz z e cz a re wrote n - six The height of a chim ey shelf should be feet , so as to prevent the vases tha t may be arr a nged ” n on it from bei g knocked over . And we know ' ‘ n a R z a e z a la from childhood , si ce we re d it in g H o u e a pp , how the stupidity of princess of those a e a d ys show d itself . She either m de no answer n to what she was asked , or said somethi g stupid . w a s a And she so clumsy to boot , th t she could not have ranged four bits of china o n a chimney n o n e n shelf without breaki g of them, nor dru k a glass of water without spilling half of it over her ” n clothes . In rooms decorated after the Chi ese a style it went further still . Cups lternately with a n o n n a s s ucers standi g edge , on ti y br cket or e n ne a in Sh lves, e framed pa ls l cquered the Chinese fa shion ; others were ranged over the lintels of the doors ; a ll the li nes of a chimney-piece were la id out with them o ne such chimney-piece was adorned with more than two hundred and twenty ’ n . Du e d Au m o nt bits of chi a Did not the , if a n - it S i t Simon may be believed , even take into his head one da y to have a cornice run all round his stable , which he covered with rare pieces of porcelain ? It is perhaps worth while to lay stress on this cou nterpart to the m a jestic decorative art inspired n by Le Bru , for we are too much accustomed to judge from the dead and empty halls of unused 42 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

and ravaged palaces , or from pieces of furniture I n displayed isolation I n museums and collections . Now that we have a comprehen sive idea o f our s tyle , and of the atmosphere , so to say, in which a a it was shaped , we shall endeavour to n lyse more n precisely its disti guishing characteristics , con side ring more especially fu rniture of the less

elaborate kinds . u The Lo is XIV style , perhaps chieﬂy because n it had an eye on eco omy, abused the straight I n line furniture . The Style that came after did

not avoid straight lines , it even emphasises them

by a multiplication of parallels , with a slightly i x tiresome ins stence , for e ample , in cupboards 2 I n with large horizontal cornices . any case they are not detracted from a nd broken by a host of a rt iﬁce s , as they will be in the Louis XV style ,

where this later style consents to retain them . These straight lines sometimes give a certain 3 impression of dryness , but on the whole this is much less frequent than in the Louis XIII or E the mpire style .

Curved lines were also very much employed , even before the style began to incli ne to the R XI V egency The Louis curve is simple , WS ﬁrm and concise , . ith hort radius ; it never a shows that species of loosened l nguor, so to say,

I A gre a t numb e r o f Lo u is XIV mo t iv e s c o nt inu e d to b e use d in th e Re ge nc pe rio d a nd w e s ha ll a cc o rdingly b o rro w in this y , t e r le r e urn ture o f the s uc c e e d n e r o d ch a p e xa mp s f o m th f i i g p i .

2 S e e the c u b o a rds in s . a nd a nd e s e c a ll in . . p Fig 4 7 , p i y Fig 9 s re tc e th l in 2 n ls h e S e e th e t rs o f e ta b e . a d a o t 3 h Fig 3, t e f -c s r tc her o the a rm ha ir in Fig . 35 .

44 L O U I S X I V F U RN I T U R E

a ﬁv e equ l subdivisions , tragedies whose acts never o ne a n a x overlap other , le andrines without carry n a t a over, stro gly divided e ch hemistich and “ ” n x r movi g two by two like o en , discou ses in three clearly marked and deﬁned heads , all equa lly developed and separated by unmista kable transitions . This subdivision into panels , com a rt m e nt s d p as they were calle , is often a e a compl te decor tion in itself . The pan el in its e a rly shape is a simple “ rectangl e with a plain s urface ; the diamond ” point decoration of the Louis XIII style is I wit h r done away . An early en ichment consists 2 in hollowing out the four angles ; ofte n the hollowed sp a ce is decor a ted with a motive carved in 3 relief, a little rosette or the like . Sometimes n 13 4 the pa el only hollowed at the top corners . N x e t comes the panel with semicircular top , the diameter of the curve of the semicircle being less tha n the side of the rectangle to which it is 5 i a e applied , which gives a semic rcle, the di met r of which is produced both ways in two straight n n li es . The four right a gles of the panel remain . ’ i This is , especially in jo ners work, one of the fundament a l a nd most characteristic shapes of n h the style , and is fou d everywhere . The arc i t e c t s n f of the period, whose omenclature was ull n of a genial simplicity, called this a pa el rounded

1 Lo w e r a rt o f c u b o a rd . uff e t in 12 e tc p p , Fig 4 ; b Fig. , . D o r a ne ls o f c u b o a rd i 2 o p p , F g . 7 .

u b o a rds i s . a nd 6 3 C p , F g 3 .

Bu e t . 4 ff , Fig 47 . 6 c u b o a rds i s . e t . 5 C p , F g 4, , 7 , P A N E L S H A P E S 45

a at the top . The whole f cade of a piece of furniture may be of this sh a pe ; we the n have ’ n a a a semicircula r pedime t . The p nel m y be

rounded a t top a nd bottom . Let us suppose a square panel arched I n this fashion on e a ch side ; 3 n this gives a very happy motive , k own as a “ ” a I s square rounded on its f ces , which no other a n in th n a Gothic frami g, very common the thirtee nth century : of this kin d are the fa mous qua drilobate medallions that ﬁgure o n the sub a b sement of the doorway of Amiens cathedral . It is agreeable enough to see the m e n of the seventeenth century thus unconsciously re - dis covering the

‘ a de gou s t d es o rnemens go thz qu es Ce s mons tres od z euw d es s z e cles z n o ra ns g , de la ba rb a rz e o u t rodm t les to rrens Que p , hi as Moliere says in detestable verses . T s me da llio n e n S , wh impliﬁed by the suppression of the n a n 4 cor er gles , gives the quatrefoil , which is

pure Gothic also . The combination of the semicircle with the hollowed a ngles gives an other very common a nd 5 i n e n n h ghly typical motive , which for co v ie ce we ' s s n m a y call the e z ntre a re a u t . This li e is a lso found in the pediments of cupboa rds a nd side 6 boards , at the top of the backs of certain leather

B e 12 l c s s . 6 a nd 1 uff t c o . , Fig . ; k , Fig 5 5 7 2 S e e the na rro w s unk pa ne ls ﬂ a nking the do o rs o f the c u b o a rd in . p Fig 5 .

u b o a rd I I . 3 C p , Fig .

u b o a rd . . 4 C p , Fig 5 " rds Fi 8 a nd u nde r-c u b o a rd 1 u b o a . . . 5 C p , g , p , Fig 4 6 S de b o a rd 8 i , Fig . 4 . 46 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a n d in a nd chairs , the stretchers of the tables I 2 se a t s . E n e lo gated in el vation , or on the contrary 3 ﬂattened out , modiﬁed by the greater im portance 4 given now to the arch , now to the hollowed 6 a n le s S a a n g , repe ted at the two ends of a p el, ’ 8 duplicated back to back , repeated four times , or combined with a simple semicircle 9 to form a medallion, this motive lends itself to a host of ff s e e n di erent uses . We shall prese tly how it R evolved in the egency period . There is another shape fairly frequent in panels it has a hollow or re - entrant semicircle at the bottom corre s po nding and parallel to the semicircle at the 10 top . Besides the rectangular panel the circular or n " n oval pa el was also often employed, formi g a i a n . n med llio Let us note , short , that as the w a s a ne Louis XIV style addicted to par llel li s , the shape of a panel or comp a rtment w a s often x determined by that of the ne t door panel , which it complies with when the other is the 12 more important . The division of a surface into panels m a y have

- 1 A rm c a r . 2 a nd c a r . 8. h i , Fig 3 , h i , Fig 3 ‘ l he do r 2 u b o a rd . 6 the a ne s a t th e t o o f t o s . C p , Fig , p p

u b o a rd . . 3 C p , Fig 5 he r u b o a rd . 8 t t o a t . 4 C p , Fig , p p me c u b o a rd e o e r a t 5 S a p , th l w p r . b o a rd 6 u . . C p , Fig 9

u b o a rds . . 7 C p , Fig 5

8 u b o a rd . . C p , Fig 5 b a rd 6 u o . 9 C p , Fig . 4 - Unde r c u b o a rd 1 . 10 . p , Fig 4

h e wo o dwo rk in . I a nd th e b u ff e t 1 1 S e e t . . Fig , Fig 47

1 2 u b o a rds s . a nd cur o us sma l c o a rt e nts o f C p , Fig 4 5 ( i l mp m d s a nd 10 o ge e sh a pe ) , a n Fig . 9 . M O U L D I N G S 47 no other intention than to achieve ornamenta a s n n tion , in elaborate wai scoti g , but it is a a different in the c se of the doors of cupbo rds . n Here it is essential , the traverses servi g to give the solidity a n d firmness that the uprights would f nl n not suf ice to ensure , u ess the joi er made them of an e xcessive thickness . Panels are edged definitely with mouldings e n a tha t serve to d fi e their sh pe . Louis XIV n S x in mouldi g is emphatic , trongly e pressed , high ff relief ; it produces strong e ects of shadow, throwing into vivid contrast the blackness of its hollows a nd the lights of its projectio ns ; it is n n ofte very complicated and occasio ally heavy, a O n n in but it is never fl bby . rigi ati g the heavy n mouldi gs of Louis XIII , it moves always in the n direction of suppleness and refi ement . There are arm - chairs of this period which have mould n a n i gs , especially on the rms , as ha dsome as the most perfect of the middle ages or the Louis XV period .

Its elements are wholly classic, of course ua ndra nt a ls n a ﬁllets and q , douci es and scoti s ; ’ ’ though it continually employs the be e a e c o rb z n ’ v or crow s bill moti e , which comes from Gothic n art , for frami g . ae In the proper sthetic scheme of furniture , the p a rt played by mouldings is to mark the different elements of its construction by bringing n in t he F out their fu ction piece as a whole . or xa r n e mple , ho izontal mouldi gs emphasise the n n divisio of cupboards into sectio s, whether they 48 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

I 2 a rt s are in two p or have a drawer . But at the a re a n - n period we now de li g with , pre occupatio s n a a n as to the enframi g , which is lw ys so striki g ,

and as to symmetry, often carry the day over

this wholesome logic . A whole cupboard faca de n 3 may be framed rou d like a picture , while the division between the dra wer section a n d th a t of the cupboard proper will not be indicated ; a very high moulding will run a ll roun d the cup a e bo rd , carri d along , in the lower part , across and over uprights a nd traverses to correspo nd 4 symmetrica lly with the cornice . n n This subdivision i to pa els , and this use of l fi a mouldings may we l suf ce , by the pl y of the a n a nd n light upon the various pl es the mouldi gs , a to cre a te an inten sely decor tive result . Two n ha dsome cupboards , reproduced here , prove 5 this . But most frequently carving is brought into the a n n a re orn menti g of massive pieces , and bro zes n placed o n marquetry or ve neered fur iture . We must gla nce r a pidly at the favourite motives of these two methods under Louis XIV .

The simplest motives of all, made up of lines nl a c m a o y, are the element ry urves , which y be — named the C shaped curve (known in the seven ’ “ e e nt n a ns e a e a n z e r t h ce tury as p , basket S- handle and the shaped curve , which all the

1 . Fig . 3 ' t c 2 s . e . Fig 4. 5 . 7 . 9 ,

1 1 . 3 Fig . e tc i s . 4 F g 3. 4. 5 . 9. 5 Fig 9 a nd e spe c ia lly 10 . D E C O R A T I V E M O T I V E S 49

I n Styles employed more or less . These end two a nd e little crooks , are frequently lighten d with a little a c a nt liu s motive . The two wooden panels 1 a n of Figs . d 2 Show the m to us employed and combined in m a ny ways : the C curves fa cing a nd crossed forming the elements of a rosette t o u c h I n u two S shapes g at one of their c rves , o 2 e nframing a spri g of foli a ge ; four C shapes . a t i i n b ck to back, forming a mo ve the form of a 3 S- cross , etc . When two shaped curves are crossed o ne - a n d about third from their lower end, their tips touch below, or even melt into one con t in o s n 4 l u u b o a e le . b o a c e li e , we have the A , or a i n a nd sever l , one below the other , dimin shi g ‘ ending in a flo re t or a ca mp a n e fi form the na tte ” o r tr s s o ne e e a b a te . , of the most usual Shapes of n n a Amo g motives for backgrou ds , the f vourites 6 n flo re t s 5 h are loze ges with or wit dots , and i n a tle s

Motives taken from the human ﬁgure were , n n of course , o ly used in decorati g very costly d a n xu . a lu rious pieces Allegory, and mythologic l a e a o ne llegory in speci l , as is well known , is of t h e most in ve terate habits of mind among the n men of the seve teenth century . whether poets no h or , istorical painters or artists in other Styles , c a n x dl they no longer e press themselves , har y F I I g . 1 , the c e ntra l ro s e tte . 2 I 2 e n ra me me nt o f th e e u r-de-l z s F g , , f ﬂ . I 2 e s ma ll c e n e . th tr a ne l. 3 F g , p Dra we r a nd le s o f ta b le 8 . 4 g , Fig . 5

ri e z e o f ta b le I n F1 2 1 . 5 F g . ri e z e o f ta b e s I n i 6 l gs 2 2 a nd 5 ; c a irs s . 1 a nd 2 . M F F 9 h , Fig 7 7 7 Fig 6 5 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

v e en think, without mythology breaking in ; and

for everybody, as for Boileau,

’ h a u e ve rtu d evz en t u ne d z vz n ite O q , ’ a M z ne rv e es t l prud ence , e t Venus la bea u te Un 0 ; a e terr ble a ux enx d es nza telo ts g i y , ’ ‘ C es t N e tune e n co u rroux n z ou rma nd p q g e les ﬂ o zs .

a A gre t deal of furniture , especially that made a a for the King , is ccordingly llegorical . Here we may see Louis XIV in the guise of Hercules a nd n or Apollo , Maria Theresa as Dia a , on two a n c bi ets , of which one is the Temple of Glory and the other the Te mple of Virtue ; at Ver a sailles there is a Cabinet of Peace, and a C binet

of War , etc . , etc . But what is much more common is the use of s s masks and m a ca ro n . The difference between in them is that a mask is a head half relief, seen a il full face , but a noble and beautiful he d , wh e ” “ m a s ca r o n a is a grotesque , a head made ” according to whimsy, in which elements of vegetable life are mingled with the human

features , and most frequently it is the face of a

satyr . The beard of this satyr is often long,

ca tt le . plaited, and forms a Thus , in the a s ornament tion of the mall gilt table , reproduced

F . 2 2 in ig , the female head that adorns the ’ middle of the frieze is a mask ; the s a tyrs heads A on the legs are mascarons . mask or mascaron is often crowned and in a fashion aureoled with a palm -leaf ornament raying out (to which the ‘ o nl a n e n f g has a stro g resemblance) , whose lobes

1 S o a ls o th e ﬁne bro nz e s o n the s ides o f th e c o mmo de i 1 F g . 7 .

5 2 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U RE

not offer to the artist in ornament ! It ben ds n x itself to everything, takes every shape ri ceau ,

b o u cles . stems , ﬂorets , rosettes , croziers , The palmette has now only very distant links with a

palm leaf ; it is made with ribbons , or cut out of a nd n leather rather than anything else , a yhow it ’ 1 ’ ” u e u e a e a o n . is often called a q p , peacock s tail in We ﬁnd also a water lily leaf, especially friezes

of gilt bronze , twigs of oak or laurel or olive , 2 sunﬂo we rs n lilies and , which owe their i clusion

to their symbolism . Garlands , known in the ” 3 seventeenth century as festoons , were made up

of fruits, and roses , and narcissi, and ﬂowers of no s in clear specie . If the decorations made with marquetry of coloured woods we ﬁnd a little a nd s more variety reali m , tulips , tuberoses ,

anemones , it is because here we are dealing with 4 an imitation of Dut ch models . But where we — find every kind of beast birds , lizards , butter l — f flies , caterpi lars , insects and many di ferent “ ” a u flowers represented in natur l colo rs , is on a n a t bles of sto e mosaic , precisely bec use in this “ ” a a nd case the re lism is a regular tour de force ,

so claimed as a beauty . There remain the ornaments inspired by things n made by man . The greatest number are agai borrowed from architecture . Since the middle

1 1 e x l rs Fig . 7 , t e rio r a ng e s o f dra we . 2 1 s ma ll unﬂ w e i the m ddle o f th e ro s e tt e . s o r n . Fig , i Bo i le a u is s pe a k ing o f ga rla nds wh e n h e s a ys ce ne s o n t u e 3 , q ’ ” es to ns ce n o s o n t u a s tra a les . s h a s tr a le h e f , q g A fo r t e a g s m n f f h e e e re l t re w th e i o r uck fo r t he sa e o t r . m y h l , k hym de 8 o o I . 4 C mm , Fig . A R C H I T E C T U R A L S H A P E S 5 3

a ages , furniture has never ceased to imit te a house or a church . This is true in a less degree n s u der Louis XIV than under Louis XIII , les n n n a u der the Bourbons tha u der the V lois , but still the imitation is there ; it was in the Louis a XV period th t it came to a Stop for a time .

At the outset of the reign , there was still many a cabinet crowned with balusters a n d trophies a n like the P lace of Versailles , that carried e gaged a n pillars on its fac de , or pilasters with Cori thian a a a nd n c pit ls , iches for statuary . Cupboards n n were topped with great projecti g cor ices , like the Strozzi Palace or the Farnese Palace ; but there w a s a clear a nd incre a sing t e nde ricy to n n a n aba do these practices . The pill r va ished , a n d no hint of it is left save the ﬂut ings that 2 n n a ador the rou ded arrises of the e rly commodes . a a The b luster , on the other h nd , of round or a a squ re section , was in high f vour for legs of 3 a t bles and seats . The console was employed a 4 a n d lmost everywhere , both as a support as a 5 mere orna ment . It was often ext ravagantly a s x wrenched out of shape, for e ample by the unh a ppy complication of m a king the two scrolls in which it terminates , or the curves that recall

1 Ob s e rv e the re ssa ults a nd decroc heme n ts o f the c o rnic e s s o , b e lo v e d o f b a ro que a rc hit e cture , in the to p o f th e c upbo a rd in

10 a nd the b u e t in . 1 1 . Fig . ff Fig

1 a nd 1 . 2 Figs . 7 9 T a b l 2 1 b ure a u 2 a rm-c a r 1 h e . . c a r 3 , Fig . , , Fig 7 ; h i , Fig 3 ; i ,

e tc . Fig . - - A rms o f a rm c ha irs Figs . 2 a nd le gs o f a rm c ha irs 4 , 7 73; , 61 2 s . 2 6 Fig . 3 , , ' tre tc e e 2 2 a nd o i t e -c a r 1 r o f a rm . S ta . 5 h bl , Fig , h h i , Fig 3 . 5 4 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E ll the scro s , move in the same instead of in I Opposite dire ct io ns Two of these unnatural consoles placed end to e nd originated the bracket - shaped a cc o la de found in table legs and in the cross pieces between the legs of simpliﬁed 2 seats . Modillions and denticules appear u nder

n . certain cor ices . The Doric triglyphs , so common on Louis XVI furniture , were used by Boulle and his riva ls they were known roundly ' ‘ ” as c u zs s es e z ca na ux . Among other objects that furnished orna mental motives ancien t we apons must be men t io ne d a the glaive , bow and quiver , nav l buckler , the Bd eo t ia n helmet ; mythological attributes n tride ts , caducei , thunderbolts , scythes , all the equipment of the gods ; trophies of musical n a instruments , ﬁshing , hunti g, and gricultural implements : but all these a re much less em ployed than in the eighteenth century . Lastly, n 3 the k ot of ribbon , and very commonly the ' n la m b re n z n motive k own to us as a q , an imitation of a strip of stuff cut with deep a n n c a m a n e h gi g scallops . This was called a p n o ne in the seventee th century, and a single of ’ ' ’ a like t h e n a r r o n a zs these sc llops , .shaped pa els a r le b o u t a n d n d p described above , often ador e ’ b o a t a e ca m a ne . with fringe, was called a p ’ ’ ’ ' Boulle s g a z n es d a pp lz qne were often decorated ’ with large b o a ts a e ca mp a n e in colours .

1 Le s f c r e c g o ha i , Fig . 39 . t .

T l 6 e s 6 e t . 2 a b e 2 s a ts . c , Fig . ; , Fig 34, 3 , T a b e Fi 2 1 3 l , g . .

5 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a n b o n n e s ra ce s or draperies (curt i s , g , scalloped n a n hangi gs round the top , and val ces) were of a nd n violet velvet , the i side furnishings (foot , a n a i head and counterp e) of yellow s t n . In the in V same room the seats were covered , some iolet in a velvet , the others white and gold broc de , with one finally in crimson velvet . The colour ca lled a nr o re wa s high in favour ; according to “ F e n a n n ureti re , it was a certai d zzli g golde e yellow Here is what it was match d with . ’ a é d E ffia t a This s me Abb had a room , the ch irs n in which were covered with Lyo s brocatelle , “ ” a - I n auror coloured with red flowers . the Tuileries there was a hangin g of aurora a nd gre e n a a damask . In the Ch teau du Val the bench se ts ’ in the King s cabin et we re aurora Ven e ti a n broca r n telle flowe ed i green . e n n n a fis . de Mai te on had a weak ess for n n H e r a r combi ation of red and gree . ch mbe at Vers a illes had a hanging of damask with crim so n and green stripes ; her bed displa yed green a nd gold without a n d crimson within ; a five fold n screen had three gree a n d two red leaves . The a n d n seats were striped red green , their woode in parts green picked out gold . Lastly, here is the description of her famous niche from the “ Inventory of the Crown Furniture : An o a k t e n n n t e n niche , five feet i ches lo g by two feet n d a nd a nd a i ches eep eight feet a h lf high , furnishe d inside with four widths of red da mask a nd a nd n a three widths of gold gree d mask, a a lo o n joined with narrow gold g on the seams , C O L O U R 5 7 and outside with three widths of gold and green da m a sk and two widths a n d a stri pe of red a a o n d m sk Similarly joined with a sm a ll gold ga lo . a Inside it there was a rest bed , with crimson coverlet lined with green . a T bles , the wooden portions of seats , and guéridons we re a ll to match ; painted red a nd “ a nd a green gold , or blue and gold ; l cquered ” n w a s the Chinese fashio , or , which the same “ ” n la c thing , in the manner of porcelai , a quered white with blue decor tion : we . may figure to ourselves furniture something like the n R n early man er of ouen earthe ware . e n a But , towards the close of the r ig the t ste for pure soft colour appears to preva il little by e a a s n n e littl , at the s me time wood pa elli g b gins in many homes to t a ke the place of the hangings - ff n of bright hued stu s . Speaki g of the colour e a n n w a insc o a t in a prop r for p i ti g g , the rchitect “ dAv ile r 1 6 1 wrote in 9 , the most beautiful W n a n d colour is hite , because it i creases the light ” rejoices the eyes .

The technique of furniture making was e n riched with no important novelties in the second v n half of the se e teenth century , but practices that had be e n still rare about 1 65 0 became quite ld n ne n usual . Such were the gi i g of wood , ve eri g , n a marquetry, the upholsteri g of se ts , to say n othin g of royal a nd princely caprices like furni ture of solid silver . 5 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

Our a m ster joiners , worthy successors to the ' o lz a cnz e rs h a d n go d of bygone days , for a lo g time had nothing to le a rn when they were gi ven a new problem to solve— the making of very large cupboa rds . So well did they acquit them n - selves , that these mo umental pieces are to day carrying o n their loyal service in provincial n houses , without havi g interrupted them for a n moment during more than two ce turies . What furniture of the present da y c a n look forwa rd to such a destiny Th e joiners then continued to crea te for their customers of moderate means these e xcellent and handsome pieces of pure carpentry work . But in the circles where people plumed m v a e the sel es on reﬁnement and eleg nce , th re was a tendency to prefer a more brilliant surface n f n decoration in fur iture , the e fect of colouri g t a kI ng the place of the effect got by worki ng I n relief . F urniture of gilded wood, or rather gilded in n part , was not unk own to our ancestors , even in n ‘ u n the fourteenth ce tury, but it was very

common down to the seventeenth century . Italy , n n of course, that motherla d of every ki d of n n l mag ificence, was the first to thi k of fu l a n gilding the bed, seats , tables , frames , c delabra , everything in short in a state chamber that was a nd made of wood , this taste did not fail to find n n a its way i to France . It would certai ly h ve been a dre a m wish of Louis XI V to have fu rni u i n t re of solid gold ; fa li g which he had silver , a nd a , l ter on, gilded wood . The director of

6o L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

in This was seen in ebony cabinets , which the precious wood was glued o n to the common in ff n n wood , but Sheets of su icie t thick ess to allow of their being carved in b a s r e l z ef and lightly n I s moulded . Veneeri g made t appeara nce a t the

. n e a n e same time Its tech ique has nev r ch g d , e xcept that mecha nical processes of cutting up wood m a kes it possible to - day to obtain Sheets of

much greater thinness . But by itself veneering does not give e nough richness ; a nd recourse w a s

had to marquetry . Wood marquetry was not carried out in the - n same way as it is to day . The pa el to be decora ted was first of all covered completely n with the wood intended for the backgrou d, and x t h e n ne t , artist cut out with pe knife or burin a a the pl ce for the decor tive motive , the various parts of which were shaped with a fret - saw and in n the n glued their proper places . Without bei g x n a very e te sive , the range of colours at the dispos l ’ — of the ébén z s te the word came into curre nt use precisely when that a ustere wood ebony went —a n out of fashion lready was of a certain rich ess . n b o x Almo d and gave him yellows , holly a pure white certain pe a rwoods red ; walnut all the browns ranging to black ; Saint Luci a wood And a pinkish grey . he could colour his wood I n “ a d n w gra ded browns by sh i g it ith fire . ' F n n o no r z e rs e n i di g these colours dull , the 1 Bo ulle ma de us e o f it a t th e s a m e time a s ma rque try with sh e ll a nd m e ta ls . I n the L o u v re the re is a c upb o a rd b him y , de c ra te d t fi ne b o u u e ts o f fl o we rs in v a se s a de o f o wi h q , m a r ue tr in wo o o n a ro und o f to rt o se-s e l m q y d g i h l , ’ B O U L L E S T E C H N I Q U E 6 1

’ b o z s a e ra o rt a n pp devised the plan , atrocious o ne n n a nd from the poi t of view of tech ique , O n n I n pe to discussion as regards beauty, of calli g a nd other materials , such as brass pewter , which ha d i a nd already been used (l ke bone, ivory r n n a mother of pea l) for i layi g, and especi lly as

- ﬁllets to outline compartments ; tortoise shell , n a n a n d n and lastly tra sp re t colourless horn , pai ted in o n vivid colours the back . These , with gilded bronze in the shape of appliques, were the resources of the palette , if we may risk the - - n é . phrase, of A dr Charles Boulle He used also ﬁne n S . sto es , though very paringly

His method of working was as follows . The structure and frame of his furniture is quite n On coarsely made , and ge erally of deal . this wood he glued a sheet of paper rubbed over with red or black, and over this paper the various n I n n pieces of his marquetry, obtai ed the followi g way if he i nten ded to ma ke a pa nel in which a ’ motive of r z n ce a a x in bras s should Show o n a n - grou d of tortoise shell , he glued lightly together a S - a n d sheet of copper , a heet of tortoise shell, the sheet of paper on which he had made out his n desig ; he then sawed out the whole together , n a n in w a r n u f ste ed them , and this y had his g ou d l a n d r a n d in dup icate , both of shell b ass , his

n in a nd . or ament duplicate also , brass tortoise shell He then glued the tortoise Shell ground and the a n o n n n a n br ss or ament his woode fou d tio , and a l last of l the bronze appliques were affi xed . He then h a d the brass ground and the shell orna 6 F 2 L O U I S -X I V U R N I T U R E

e m nts left unused , and with these he made a e n new piece , identical in d sig with the first one , r n but with the everse combinatio of materials . n This seco d piece , less valuable than the first , ’ a e conl re - oa rl z e was called the counterpart , , the fir s a lle st was said to be de p re m i e re p a rl z e . U u a piece was not completely either one or the other , but elements of both kinds were combined in the work .

Unhappily there is no solidity in it . Metals a nd do not take kindly to glue , all these hetero g e ne o us materials behave in different ways in heat and damp . These pieces therefore demand continual restorations, and are not even to be used : they are simply for museu ms . To add the last touche s to their sumptuous ness , and give them at the same time that allegorical signiﬁca nce which was so appreciated in e u his day, Boull added to these pieces appliq es n of gilt bronze, often admirable at every poi t for n a n d their casting , their chasi g their gilding a in alike . Some distinction must be m de these x bronzes . If we e amine them carefully , we see that some of them are ornaments pure a n d n t n simple , while others serve to stre g he the d a piece , to protect it from being knocke bout , and to resist the strain and play of t h e wood . F x or e ample , the sort of square pieces at the an gles of doors have their use ; t hey serve to reinforce the jun cture of the upright and the traverse , metal frames take the place of the useful projections made by the mouldings used

CHAPTER I I : PANELLED FU NITU B DS AN D R RE , E TABLES

T H E group o f panelled furniture was augmented during the period of the Louis XIV style by m o ne very important ite s , the great cupboard in a - piece , the sideboard cupbo rd, the dresser side - n board , the under cupboard , the bookcase , a dthe On commode . the other hand, the coffer was o ff wa s packed into garrets by the city folk, and o nly made now fo r country people ; a nd the c n n cabinet , whi h take all in all and in its origi , was merely a costly coffer elaborated a nd mounted

d . on a wall table , isappeared for good a nd These births deaths , so to speak, arise C from a great hange in manners . Down to the n middle of the seventeenth ce tury, our fore ’ fathers way o f living kept traces of the ha lf x nomad e istence of the middle ages , those times n when, for insta ce , a man of rank, the lord of C a x o ne three separate h teau , had only set of a l furniture for l three , and took everything he possessed with him when he went from one to the other . His possessions were so few, and it would hav e been so unwise to le a ve anything behind that could be pilla ge d l Pieces of furni ture therefore that were meant as receptacles n u l (what we call pa elled furnit re) , were smal and 64 C H A N G I N G M A N N E R S 65 sufficiently portable to be loaded on to a pack n ff horse . He ce the persistence of the co er , so inconvenie nt in itself ; hence the quite sm a ll x a cupboard of the si teenth century, m de in two a p rts , one on top of the other , which merely a n became l rger , without cha ge of structure , in XI I I the Louis period, and hence too the handles to be seen on the sides of so many coffers and n eve of some cupboards . But under Louis XIV affairs were more stationary a nd settled ; people moved less a a n re dily from place to pl ce , eve though it was a e n e si r to do so , and they had i ﬁnitely more

hi n . t gs to lock away, clothes , linen , etc , than the n And precedi g generations . so large furniture a n a n d a m kes its appeara ce , in p rticular the large a d cupbo r with one or two doors . There had a Pa alw ys been but few in ris , and no trouble had n n n ‘ been take to make ha dsome thi gs of them , because the ha bit of receiving visitors in the bedcha mber was given up earlier in Paris than in in the provinces , because Paris people had 2 a rde - r o b e s a nd a n g , bec use wome there did not take so much pride and invest a large proportion of their dowries in imposing piles of blankets and n napkins . But amo g the ladies of provincial ’ C a x a nd a nd h teau business circles , farmers wives when they became well off, the great cupboard , a s wa s as great and handsome as possible , the 1 And in co ns e que nc e the fe w tha t did e xist w e re no t e se rv e d pr . 2 A t Pa r s a a rde-ro be w a l d d i , g s a sma l ro o m a jo ining the b e c a m e r ln th e S o ut it w u h b ; h a s a gre a t c pb o a rd. 66 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

s es ential piece of furniture , a thing they were a n a n proud to have d to displ y . Ma y of these n Louis XIV cupboards , more imposi g than n a nd attractive , are superb in their li es pro n a i n a n d portio s , impecc ble their architecture , without rivals in decorative value in a huge a room , the hall of a ch teau , or a great country n ma sion . Those of the pure Louis XIV style—which does not necessarily me a n tha t they were m a de 1 1 —c a n n n before 7 5 be recog ised by their cor ice , a r n a r which is nearly lways ho izo t l , p ojects very fa r a nd a a n , shows complic ted style of mouldi g n n by their recta gular doors , subdivided i to ﬂat a e r a a n d panels of sh p s al e dy described , lastly by t a n a 1 heir feet , which are sometimes ﬂ tte ed b lls 2 a 3 n a or burly volutes or lions p ws , whe they h ve a reversed cornice at the bas e going round three sides ; sometimes they a re mere ly a prolongi ng of i 4 no the upr ghts , cut off short . They display

a n . a n c rvi g , or but very little The models d ti g e nd a nd a n from the of the style , appro chi g the R nn a a egency ma er , as the de lers say , llow a few curves in their structure as a whole : these a re ea a s the most agre ble to the eye , such the ﬁne F I O n n model of ig . , in which those i ﬂected li es , a n which are yet very restr i ed , come in so happily e n to soft the silhouette . Cupboards from the different provinces had

1 s e t c Fig . 4, 5 , 7 , . 2 s 1 0 a nd Fig . 5 . Fi 3 g . 45 .

i s . 6 a nd 8 4 F g .

68 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

- made in t wo parts . Those we meet with to da y are very often in reality the lower halves of old n e cupboards whose top sectio s have been d stroyed . e a a n d They w re used in antech mbers , in certain in a districts (at Paris particul r and in the South, where they were presently to give birth to the — ’ b uf e l cr éa e nce of the Arles region) as a sideboard - n in the dining room or the kitche , which for many ’ n b a s d rmo ir . a e people were the same thi g The , ‘ de m zl b u e z a - sometimes called a f , a h lf sideboard , was about four feet in height , and varied greatly in width there were some that had three doors . Books had heretofore been kept in ordinary n cupboards or shelves , or simply piled alo g the a n w ll . At the end of the seve teenth century the n umbers of books in the houses even of people a nd of no great culture were greatly increased, the need of devoting a specia l piece of furniture to them was stron gly felt : so the bookcase was ” o w . b rn , at ﬁrst kno n as a bookcase cupboard Already we have made the acqua intance of ’ Boileau s three bookcases . As people in those da ys were not so cramped for space in their k homes as we are , and as their boo s were not so n s overwhelming i number , it was not necessary — to run them up to a great height a method a n that is far from convenient , and is full of d ger

l . for the books , as it multiplies the risks of fal ing The book cupboard therefore was an under cupboard , a little taller than usual ; its doors were ﬁtted with a trellis made of iron wire , behind which there was a curtain of pleated S I D E B O A R D S 69 ff ta eta . A little later they were glazed as well , i d and Boulle made some of this k n , in marquetry . We m a y note here that the bookcases Standing a breast high , m de by Boulle or his imitators , that - da r to y adorn the Gallery of Apollo in the Louv e , were originally c a binets tha t were dismounted from their supports when in the nineteenth ce ntury they were employed in the decoration of - a n . a the ch teau of Sai t Cloud This m ssacre , like a so m ny more , must be written down against

- Louis Philippe . 1 t wo The sideboard in sections is, in a larger a sh pe , the old cupboard with four doors , with or n without drawers between the two sectio s . It a ll has the characteristics of the cupboard . The lw s upper doors are a a y of wood . We seize the opportunity to repeat this ; for it is sheer van da lism to mutila te these ﬁne old pieces by tearing out their woode n panels to replace them with n a l - glazi g . The b f e or dresser side a a l zer a bo rd , which was the p of Norm ndy and ' 7n e na e r the g of Champagne , with all its varieties , n n n b Re was certai ly not i ve ted efore the gency . 2 S o ne a nd And yet we how , of a very graceful individual type, which was made in Lorraine , and may be said to be in the Louis XI V style by

- reason of its ball Shaped feet . It is a curious na a combi tion of the sidebo rd , the dresser , and the commode The folk of Lorra i ne have always e e loved th se huge piec s of manifold utility . The coffers of the Louis XIV period are very

I 12 . 1 Fig . 2 Fig . 3. 7 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

x simple , and very far fallen from their si teenth century Splendours ; they are generally mou nted I dra r on a set of legs with a we . The most n in n interesti g were covered leather, pigski , or n cowhide , sometimes red morocco , with a cun ing

decor a tion of gilt nails . This decorative studding a n often showed very remark ble compositio , as

ma n ff F . 1 6 y be see on the co er in ig , with its royal crown and ﬂeurs de lis . The keyhole escutcheon a a nd - is a large pl te of repoussé ope n worked brass . a a Let us salute , for the l st time before its tot l a a a nn dis ppear nce , the c binet , which was begi ing a 1 6 0 n to go out of f shion about 9 , after havi g been for three - quarters of a century pre eminently i a nd the p ece of furniture of supreme elegance , a ff especi lly a ected by ladies , the article upon which wild sums of money and treasures of in e nu it x g y were e pended , which had gratiﬁed so much vanity when opened so as to allow its

n n . We interior reﬁ eme t to be admired have told of the mineralogica l lavishness of cert a in n amo g them which must have been, and which x c a n were , e cessively ugly : we judge of this from e a n a specim n displ yed in the Clu y Museum . There were man y much less ambitious ex amples r a n e x that we e ch rmi g for ample , those which the a rquebuse ma kers inlaid with the most delic a te ar a besques in bone or ivory on ebony a nd violet n wood . Those which were quite Simple conti ued a in to be m de the Louis XIII style , with pilasters a nd other architectural motives .

1 Fig . 1 5 ,

7 2 L O U I S X I V F U RN I T U R E those superb and costly commodes in brass and tortoise - shell marquetry that came out of the l workshops of the Boul es ; these have four drawers , a n d a are rectangular , with a straight fa cade vertic l n a uprights . The co trast of the ustere simplicity of the lines with the amazingly sumptuous decoration of the surfaces is e xtremely effective ; but how icy chill it all is ! On the other hand , certain commodes of this a a time, more moder te in richness , have a re lly

F . 1 grandiose beauty, like the one we see in ig 7 , whose beautiful broadly chased bronzes are so a nd happily placed, so well enframed by the ﬂu t in s sober marquetry, and upon which the g on t he n angles , ﬁtted with brass and starti g from n an aca thus stem , set such noble architectural

in x . 1 . F 8 lines The piece shown the ne t plate , ig , S n e supremely imple in its constructio , ow s all its interest to its slightly e nlivened facade a nd its superb m a rquetry of coloured wood mad e up ’ r z nce a nx : of bouquets and of flowers a florid , branchy decoration that was certainly inspired by n some Netherlandish model . The ground is ebo y, a nd the flowers of white and red pearwood, holly satinwood . I t

Beds of the Louis XIV period are extremely a nd n n rare , this is very natural . Their mo ume tal — 2 e 2 e n size some were m tres 5 centim tres lo g, 2 e 2 0 e e m tres centim tres wide, and 3 m tres — 5 0 centimetres high was the cause of their destruction as soon as the fashion for bedroom B E D S 7 3 di F of moderate mensions arrived . urthermore , the wooden bed , inasmuch as it was completely covered up in stuffs , had no artistic value that a nd might save it ; lastly , they were almost all “ r- a fou posters, hauts and this shape “ ” was alre a dy beginning to appear Gothic in the eighteenth century . These edifices were b e -curtained with a costly luxuriousness of stuffs of which we can now have n o idea , embroideries , fringes , cords , gold tassels , and plumes of fe a thers . In the homes of people of quality or of wealthy business people the state bed had often cost more than all the rest of the furniture ; by the bed the fortune might be kn own ; with the carriage it was the most con l n v inc in a l . n g of the sig s of wealth The ha gings , ' ‘ te nl nre a ne m e nl to ur de l z z , or p , or , were almost always fashioned with wide vertical stripes , r n n e st o gly defi ed , in which plain velvet , G noa e velvet with large flow rs , brocade with palm n rn a bra ch patte , and d mask of three colours a a ltern ted with one another , or with embroidered “ stuff s so interwoven with gold tha t it was ” ffi l i n fin e di cu t to d sti guish the ground, stitch “ t a pestry divided up into pictures by a line of ” silver embroidery, and other works of infinite patience . The e quipment wa s extremely compli c a t e d n n , for every ki d of bulwark agai st cold was multiplied . A bed in those days was a small hermetically sealed chamber within the large one ,

“ ” 1 I t w a s a so no wn a s a ueno mlles n ern r l k q , i mo d ph a se a colo nnes . 7 4 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E . into which there could penetrate neither the ’ draughts th a t made even the King s bedcha mber I n ll n a in Versai es almost u inh bitable winter , nor the indiscreet eyes of people obliged to pa ss at all hours through those rooms that had no side n n a nd e trances , nor the conti ual clatter noise of those days in which no one had the slightest idea

of privacy . ll The four pi ars , covered in sheaths known as ’ a e n o n z lle s o n d g , supported a tester called the f , a n always el borately decorated, and surrou ded by n n four curtai rods , from which there hu g the dos s ie r a a nd a against the w ll, curt ins to the six number of three , four , , and even eight . The rods were hidden on the outside by the three e nte s de de/z o rs n e p , and on the i sid by the four I oe n les de de da ns , which were bands of stuff n ha ging down, with straight or scalloped edges . On a d a n d S e ch si e of the head, on each ide of the foot there were na rro w s u pple m e nt a ry cur b on n es r a ce s a n tains , the g , f lli g straight down n alo gside the pillars , on the outside of the large curtai ns which they hide when the latter are pulled open ; the b o n n es g ra ce s were very often m a de of a stuff whose colour made a strong n n ' n co trast agai st that of the curtai s . Narrower c a nt o nniére s a n still , the at the gles complete the se a ling process by covering the Chink that might

be found at that point . The bed itself, properly

a bo nnes ra ces I Th e b e d in Fig . 2 0 h a s s ix c urt ins , two g ca n to nn z eres a o nd s e v e n en tes a gre a t dossz e r a dossz er , f , p , , cha n to u m a n a c un er e ( Se e furth er o n) , d o t pa ne .

7 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E took a long time to disappear , and more than n a 1 6 0 W one lady rou d bout 7 , ithout in the least ' n a a réc z e us e a bei g bel ted p , was still in the h bit of receiving her women frien ds half reclining ' n o t e n des lz a b ille— o n fully dressed , her bed , or

n . F eve in it uretiere , even while declaring that a n a the h bit was a thi g of the p st , wrote just before 1 688 that the alcove was t he part of the room I n which the bed a nd chairs for company ” a n were usu lly placed . And these ﬁtti gs , made a of stuffs that were often very delic te , and which e e n n repr s ted a fortu e , were protected by a whole para pherna lia of loose covers and co iﬁe s n o n n a they were u covered only importa t occ sions .

Such was the Louis XIV bed , a perfect symbol of that period so t a ken with pomposity a nd E in marvels . ven when we run through the v e nt o rie s n of middle class busi ess people , we are s ﬁ n t u pe e d at the coquettish rich ess of their beds . I S a ll r a nd It striped c imson velvet silver moire , bla ck velvet altern ati ng with ﬂa me coloured a a nd damask, curt ins of gold silver embroidery b o n n e s r ce s lined with cloth of Silver , g a of E n e nte s glish embroidery , scalloped p of gold and s o u b a s s e nz e nts a n silk, of yellow t ffeta , cou ter n n pa es of Chi ese satin with gold embroidery, n n or I dian damasks . What ki d of bed must n M . jourdai have had, he who , like his father , was a connoisse ur in stuffs ! ’ We h a ve seen that Boileau s bed in his Paris n house was nowise lacki g in elegance , nor even in e a certain stately splendour . His friend, Moli re, ’ M O L I E R E S B E D 7 7

fa r n a nd o u was richer tha he was , the sumptu s n x n ess of his bed bordered on e travaga ce . It is ’ r a a s n ta is s ie r a nd t ue , th t the son of the Ki g s p , n a f himself holding the reversio of th t of ice , he owed it to himself no t to be bedded like a ny a a nd casual p uper , it is further true that play no t e actors are always folk of the qui test taste . And thus it was tha t his state best bed was a a e n couch with e gle feet in gre n bro ze , with gilt a n a n d a and p i ted headpiece , carved gilt dome n with azure grou d , carved and gilt four knobs a in shape of v ses , also of gilded wood the dome afores a id . But it is better to summarise this dre a dful prose of some tipstaff a nd s e rg e nt

a v e r e a . g of the Ch telet That majestic dome , u a nd n az re gold without , was decked i side with aurora and green t a ffet a ; from it there fell down e nto u r de lit o ne n an of si gle piece , aurora and n in a a v illo n n gree , the sh pe of a fi or te t , with three widths of fla x- grey (g r is de lin) taffeta embroidered in gold , to which were added , for a a n e d no cle r re son , yet four more curtai s of flow re d n n broca e with violet ground . The cou terpa e , r is de lin a nd h g gold , embroidered wit ciphers , was lined with re d to ile b o u ca s s in ée (a st a rched And a cotton material) . we sp re the reader the n m o lle ts tale of fri ges , , embellishments , cords , fine n tassels of gold , of imitatio gold, green silk , nd a urora a g r is de lin . n The simplest beds , those belo ging to people of modest estate , were hung with woollen stuffs , r such as Aumale serge , green or red or d ied 7 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E ” - da m a s ca a rt a rose leaf colour ; or of f , x a nd mi ture of wool and silk or cotton silk , of a nd Bruges satin with linen warp , other petty ” f n - n stu fs that were sold in the rue Sai t De is , e close by the gate of Paris , from which they wer known as éto s de la P o rte . ’ a s e a Dome such Moli re s , were c lled ’ ' a l inz e r za le — p ; tomb beds , of an ugly shape “ that dimin ished still further the cube of air at the disposal of the sleepers , had much lower a posts at the foot than at the head , which g ve a D ictio nn r e sloped tester . The a i e d Tréo o ux gives an ingenious explan ation of this sha pe : “ in a They were invented to be placed g rrets , because the roof prevented their being given the ” same height at the foot as at the head . And i they are always , in real ty, beds of a very modest kind . - All beds were not four posters . The duchess a n a n d bed had hanging tester , as lo g as wide as a nd b o nne s ra ce s the couch, two curtains two g ; - the angel bed tester was shorter , and the side curtains were caught back by loops of knotted

n a la nts . a n n ribbo s , the g The bed st di g at present in the chamber of Louis XIV at Ver sailles was reconstructed under Louis Philippe no r : - with g eat accuracy it is a duchess bed, while ’ - n n a a - the Sun Ki g s bed was i vari bly four poster . At the close of the reign beds had a double dos s ie r a a n d . ra nd dos s ie r , both he d foot The g was a breadth of stuff fastened to the tester a nd hanging ﬂat against the wall at the head of the

8 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

In the da ys of Mazarin tables ceased to be n hidden under covers falli g down to the ﬂoor , and - so they began to display a wholly new a a m gniﬁcence after the It lian fashion . No longer was there a set of furniture to be found , a however modest , without few tables with S elaborate legs , tretchers , and friezes , laden with r n ca vi gs that were most frequently gilded , and for their tops a marquetry piece of wood and a pewter or tortoise shell and brass , or a slab of Orie nt a l costly marble , granite , porphyry, or l — r a abaster , or else a marquetry of many colou ed stone mosaic , framed in black marble or touch . a F These last kind were c lled lorence tables . n Mazari brought them over from Italy , but Colbert subor ned in Tuscan y speci a list craftsmen F to come to the Gobelins and train rench pupils .

This sumptuous method of decoration, though prone to become a triﬂe loud, as may be seen at Versailles and in the Apollo Gallery, was made n x a n d up of elaborate ri ceau , emblems , or ﬂowers “ ” t ae birds in natural colours ; the s one tesser , which were laid with astounding accuracy a nd li precision , were lapis lazu , cornelian , jasper , chalcedony, and even mother of pearl .

These tables were enormously heavy, and besides , they became an integral part of the n decoration of a room . They were left accordi gly permanently in place against the wall ; only three of their faces were seen , and the fourth was n left without ornament . Si ce the legs were often n shaped like the architectural consoles in fashio , T A B L E L E G S 8 1

v n r as we ha e poi ted out , at this pe iod they were “ ” called console tables , or more simply still , “ ” n x n a co soles ; and by an e te sion of ide , the na me c o ns o le s de m ilie u was given to tables hl n n hig y or ame ted on all four faces , but made to

a n in dl . Fi a st d out the mid e of a room n lly, when c o ns o le s de m ilie u ha d become very n l cons o les commo , the others were ca led ’ d a li u e pp g . n - Whe not console shaped , or double consoles (two console s back to back) the legs of Louis XIV I t a bles were e n g a in e or e n b a lus tre (pedestal r- or baluste shaped) . Among the fifteen or so a types of balusters used by rchitects , the cabinet makers of course chose for their table legs those - whose thickest part is above , urn balusters and - n corn vase balusters with square sectio , or the oos ite re n v e rs é with circular section and gad n a n roo s . They did not fail lso to le gthen them accordi ng to their caprice or to make them as a e a complic ted as th y ple sed . The flat baluster , ’lt e n a a de a f c , was lso very much used, as well as the pedestal shape . x Besides these legs , which have a vertical a is , n a nd there was to be fou d, more more frequently e nd ie d de as the reign drew towards its , the p “ ’ b iclz e or doe s foot with highly accentuated curve . At first it was made up of two long a n S- r in n dr w shaped cu ves , co tinuation of one another back to back a nd each e ndi ng in two a n o n little volutes , the lower st ding a cloven

1 Fig . 2 1 . 82 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

’ stag s hoof, the upper often ornamented with a I r m a s ca r o n in hollow p ofile . The t wo curves x a were ne t co lesced into one . t h e The frieze carries , on facade if it is a ’ c ons o le d a li u e S pp g or wall table , on every ide “ ” n n or the lo g sides if a simple table , an apro (tablier) of ornaments cut out and carved in - n - open work , the ce tre piece of which was usually a mask or m a s ca ro n ; the background of the 2 c frieze is lozenged . The ross pieces of the w 3 stretcher , hich is seldom missing , were made of S curves or consoles 4 arrang e d in different com b ina t io ns : their line was too often lost under an x e cess of ornamental carving .

Tables not so rich, but still very highly ornate , n were made in atural or painted woods , and their tops also made of wood ; as for quite simple tables of the Louis XIV style there are practically x W none in e istence : during the hole of the century tables continued to be made whose s 5 turned leg , whether twisted or not , cause them a to be assigned to the Louis XIII period . Wh t ‘ ’ is called a table column (colonne de “ says Riche le t in his D ictionna ire is any piece of wood turned or twisted that serves to ” hold up the top part of a table . Nevertheless , 6 o f co u nt riﬁe d here we have two , one quite make ,

1 Fig . 2 2 . 2 s 2 1 Fig . a nd 2 2 . S e e ne v e r e l ss 1 , th e Fig . 2 . 3 , 2 2 4 Fig . . s 2 he a re c e a r L u s a nd 2 t s r s o . 5 Fig . 3 4; t e tc her l ly i XIV 6 Fig. 2 5 .

84 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E f qu a nt it i e sgo fét a ble sg e a ch Spe c ia llyfpla nne d fo r n a a n its particular game , pe tagonal , squ re , tri gular, according to the number of the pla yers ; they were covered in green velvet a nd sometim es ﬁtted r o ne in o ne f o r with pu ses , the middle and each a a n d a n a pl yer , accomp ied at each corner by little guéridon on which a Single or br a nching n candlestick was pla ced . Guérido s to match also went with console t a bles a nd ca binets th e se were not little roun d tables of the same height as the a n n n others , but tall candle be rers , ofte mo ume tal in size , made of a support of gilded wood and a n branchi g candelabrum of cryst a l or metal . There is one novelty that a lready round 1 680 announces the taste t hat will distinguish the n a a s eightee th century for sm ll , delic te , ea ily a ca b a re t moved rticles of furniture . This is the , “ called in Chinese b a ndeg e the most fre quently used variety of which was the ca ba re t a ’ w a s ca fe . This the name given to a light table ” v e r n is de Cli ine with two trays in , Chinese r a nd n lacquer , used to car y to pass rou d china , in and coffee cups particular .

- — Toile t tables a nd night tables appeared towards the close of the reign there were fourteen of the former a nd twelve o f the latter in the Cha teau de Ra mbouillet when it was acquired by the Crown a nd n 1 0 6 fur ished in 7 for the Comte de Toulouse , e a n t h legitim a te so n of Madame de Montesp . A to ile tte n a was origi ally a squ re piece of linen , in which were gathered together for putting a way ’ in the night coffer (coj re de n u it) the various T H E T O I L E T T E 85 articles used in cle a nsing and beautifying the face the hair a n d the h a nds ; when the moment had come for them the to ile tte was la id out on any n n table , its conte ts arra ged in goodly array , and thereupon bega n the service of beauty . The modest squa re of linen did not fa il to t ra nsmII t e itself into a little m a t of crimson velvet with gold a n - n l ce trimmi g, Isabella coloured moire li ed with aurora taffeta and embellished with a little gold ’ or silver la ce ; a nd men s to ile ttes were no less gay ’ a H a d no t a n a a n th n the ladies . th t ge i l g rde er , é le n Andr Nostre , one of white sati , embroidered in Silver a nd gold a nd silk ? And then the to ile tte a gave its n me to the articles laid out on it , as to ' O we re u se d the peration for which they , and to a the tables speci lly made to carry them , tables x a whose bo es or drawers repl ced the night coffer . nl n n Ideas of clea i ess maki g some modest progress , there was a de s s o us de to ile tte permanently in n n positio on the table in questio , and made of a a des s u s de costly m teri ls , this was covered by a to ile tte n flo unc e s w in musli with or furbelo s , w a s a l which easily ch nged . But it was on y under Louis XV that the to ile tte became the pretty piece of furniture with compartments so well n n k ow to us . F r n n rom the w iti g table was bor the bureau , n n from the first third of the seve tee th century . Already under Louis XIV it might be of various fla a different forms . The t bure u was a large r n - w iti g table , covered with leather , fitted with r three d awers , and often accompanied by a little 86 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

ra din subsidiary article , the g , made up of shelves e or drawers , som times equipped with a door n o o ne shutti g with lock and key, which sto d on end of the t a ble ; a little later there were also ra dins l s e rre - a ie rs e g , cal ed rather p p , or pap r

holders , larger in size , furnished with feet and

standing on the ground beside the t a ble . Other Louis XIV bureaux with multiple drawers were more or less like our ugly b u re a u x m in is tres

but they are less heavy, carried as they are on eight fairly tall legs joined four and four by cross a e shaped stretchers . Their decor tion was x c e e dingly painstaking and exquisite : veneering o n of walnut outlined in pewter , inlay of brass - é ebony, on tortoise shell, etc . ; Andr Charles l Boul e has left us a great number of these . The ’ top was either ﬂa t or a b r is u re ; the a ngles of the sections to right a n d left were reinforced by those characteris tic projecting buttresses whose curves give them the appearan ce o f violins cut ne in two . O of the most perfect that ever came u a out of the Bo lle workshops is in the Petit Pal is , t i in the Du u t collection . n s The most mo umental of all are the s cr ib a n ne . F These imposing pieces , lemish or Dutch in their k ﬂa origin, have a des or p , a niche for the legs of n a nd l the person writi g , drawers to the right eft down to the ground ; the upper pa rt is a cup n n board with two doors , surmou ted by a pedime t S with a platform for delft . The bureau hown Fi 2 e a n d in g . 7 is not quite so hug important Wt de s s o e 1 i h k l p ,

CHAPTER I II : SEATS

H E RE begins a cha pter of very great importance when we are de a ling with fur niture un der Louis XIV ! If a nyone ca red to extract from S a int ’ Simon s Memoirs everything pe rtaining to the a a u a rre ls in hier rchy of Seats , the je lousies , q , t ri u e s n a n n g , secret co spiracies , usurp tio s , wro gs , a nd a n vengeances , triumphs humili tio s that could Spri ng out of the question of the right to the - a arm chair or to the ba cked ch ir , to the high n r a n stool or the ordi ary stool , he might ﬁll mo e th n a nd a re one volume . Da geau Luynes in every page busy over this thorny a nd engrossing ques n nd tion of the backed chair . Are foldi g stools a plai n t a bouret - stools equal in honour A serious business ; Saint - Simon decides le a rn edly th a t “ there is no difference whatever between these ” no r two seats with neither arms back . If the duchesses are visiting in the apartments of a n - pri cess of the blood, they sit in arm chairs but let the King come in a nd they must needs hasten - a a n n o n to leave the arm ch irs , as h vi g lo ger any ’ in a a nd right to them His M jesty s presence , n curtsy made , they must sit upo stools , quitted in by ladies who are not duchesses , to whom n turn etiquette now o ly allows a hassock . This a etiquette with regard to chairs is in any c se , as m a r a y well be believed , no mo e el borate at Versailles than at Madrid or in London on the 88 A RM - C H A I R S 89

F n n o ne contrary, the Court of ra ce is the o ly where the height of the cha ir back is of no cons equence in every other E uropean Court the diff erence I n the height of the chair b a ck ” marks the differen ce between persons . This is the order of precedence : at the bottom , the hassocks : those of noble ladies are adorned with gold gimp those for ladies of the law a nd the n bourgeoisie have a mere silk edgi g . Nex t come foldin g stools a nd joint stools then the chairs a nd a a nd - r with backs , , l st highest , the arm chai . Nothing is more significant than a Louis XIV - x : a ll arm chair , e cept a Louis XIV bed the a a n ch racteristics of the style , more th that even , the very character of the period itse lf 13 summed I n I t I s a n up It an ample , stately se t , of Imposi g size a nd strength ; it s lofty rectangular back seems made to be the worthy frame for a majestic and r n vi ile head in a peruke , and for shoulders wide ed “ ” e tite o ie by the floods of ribbons of the p , or for a woman ’s head crowned with the Apollo rays of the high head- dress known as thefo n ta ng e ; a a its great size , the m ssive volutes of its rms , its legs joined heavily with heavy cross pieces , all give a n a ir a nd c a n it of immobility weight . We see n x I n w n it remaini g fi ed one place with a illi g air, a a nd a r decor tive , useless , r nged with its pee s a long the wall of a n a lcove to have it moved it o ne seems as though must call up a pair of lackeys, a n d two great clumsy fellows with gold la ce on every se a m must bring it forward with du e solemnity . To see it evokes the idea of choice 9 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

n co versation , full of ceremony and well regulated , f a stiff attitudes , and snuf t ken with delicately ff studied gestures . What a di erence compared to - b e r ere n a gondola shaped g of the followi g reign , all grace and comfort , all made up of fugitive elusive curves that slip away without bringing the eye to a halt Impossible not to speak ﬁrst of all of the king of a rm - cha irs we mean the throne of Louis n XIV . Let us salute it as we go by, even as a yone would have been obliged to do if in the Grands Appartements at Versailles he crossed the Apo llo ” a s n i Salon , l o k own as the Chamber of the da s .

It stood upon a platform with several steps , sur mounted by a dais all gold embroidery of over whelming richness before the great melting 1 68 - 0 down of plate in 9 9 it was all solid silver , draped with crimson velvet ; for feet it had four figures of children carryi ng baskets of flowers s upon their head ; on the summit of the back, 2 e 60 which was eight feet high , about m tres e - centim tres , a laurel crowned Apollo held his lyre . To go with this there was a hanging of eight great widths of embroidered stuff with eightee n a nd a pilasters , all dull silver bright gold, with trifle of chen ille; and flanki ng it to right a nd l eft —our imagination fails before the task of picturing — such m a gnifice nc e s there stood two caryatides l in ful relief , fifteen feet high , nearly 5 e ! m tres , entirely made of full gold embroidery Is it permissible to think that this was not perhaps very beautiful ? After 1 690 the roya l

9 2 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E arms carried on consoles that are vertical continu a t io ns l of the egs) . Upholstered arm—chairs have their backs com ple t e ly covered with no wood showing ; the top n of this back is a straight li e , the lower part 1 is sometimes separated from the seat by a g a p 2 and sometimes not . n n n The legs co ti ue in ma y cases , as in the n 3 n in time of Louis XIII , to be tur ed , eve ’ x e costly chairs ; for e ample, on Moli re s death - - a there were twenty two arm ch irs in his house , among which were “ twelve of twisted walnut with lion heads a nd six with Sphinx faces ; two ” a of walnut with twisted pill rs . The latter two, u a n d n more s mptuous , matchi g the bed of state , d i a n . were of carved g lded wood The legs , a re either moulded or carved, sometimes baluster 4 - a e r sh ped, sometimes pedestal shap d, ve y often - a 5 e nd n console sh pe they in ﬂatte ed balls , some 6 in n times carved, or lio feet or else the lower scroll tip of the console rests directly on the n n ground , with a little cube of plai wood i ter a a posed to take hard wear and knocks! or , g in , v a nd the consoles ha e one base squared moulded , - a a nd from which the stretcher cross pieces st rt ,

‘ under this a secon d base of the same kin d; as in m x F . 2 u the e cellent model shown in ig 3 , so happily covered in one of those hideous needle

2 8 0 e tc s 1 a nd 8 1 s . . Fig . . Fig , 3 , 4 3 3 6 e tc s 2 a nd 2 s . 2 . . . Fig 3 , 3 , 5 Fig 3 33 6 s 2 nd s 2 8 2 . a 0 3 Fig . , 9, 35 Fig . 9 3 .

7 Fig . 33. S T R E T C H E R S 9 3 work tape stries made by our grandmothers under the Second E mpire . - a The stretcher is a s ine qu a n o n . Arm ch irs a nd b a cke d cha irs were so big a n d so heavy th a t their legs would h a ve bee n dislocated or speedily broken if they had not been solidly joined n together a t the foot . At the begin ing of the a nd n a rm - a h a d n period , whe ch irs tur ed legs , the I a a nd cross b rs were shaped like an H , the place where they were morticed into the legs was left squa re for greater strength ; this part often had 2 a four le a ved rosette carved into it . Sometimes the re is a n a dditiona l traverse joining the two front legs n e a r the top this gives greater ﬁrm a ness to the frame of the ch ir, but is above all n decorative . If it was orname ted in the middle 3 with a carved motive , upholsterers gave it the n a me of a bla s o n . Console legs might also have a n H - a sh ped stretcher ; each of the cross bars is , a a a n e nd e nd in th t c se , m de of two co soles set to a ccola de 4 which , slightly simpliﬁed , give the or br a cket motive frequently employed . The X- a sh ped stretcher is more elegant , freer , less squa re in sh a pe ; it can be of Immense importance

a in a . decor tively, as the case of t bles There are two principal types ; either four consoles are joined head to head to make a l a rge central 5 motive , sometimes a very clumsy one , or else a - perh ps the moulded cross pieces form , to the

1 s . 2 8 0 e t c . 2 . Fig , 3 , . 3 Fig 9

2 0 i s a nd 6. Fig . 3 . 4 F g . 34 3 1 5 Fig . 3 . 94 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E right and the left , two of the motives we have c intre s a re s s a u t fi e called , and met with so n quently on the pa els of cupboards . These come together tangentially at the deepest part of a the curve , and are completed by a centr l boss I e at the point where they m e r. The frieze o f' the Louis XIV arm - ch a ir is n early always hidden by the upholstery, but sometimes the wood is left visible and decorated with a carved ca mp a n e or sca lloped motive . The arms or a cco to irs are usually of bare f m a n cb e tte hi wood , nevertheless the stuf ed , w ch in R n r was to become general the ege cy pe iod, m a de its appeara nce a t the end of the eighteenth a re century . They supported by straight up 2 rights , sometimes turned balusters ; or , prefer l a nd n ably, they are mou ded curved to co sole ’ 3 shape : he n ce the name c ons o les d a ccoto irs given by upholsterers to these supports . The volute that invariably terminates the arm is part a nd no t n e n of it of the co sole , though c rtai - 4 s ul arm chairs , thank to a trick of the mo ding, n suggest the opposite eff ect . The appeara ce of these great wooden arms is not happy when they n are too horizontal, and whe their volute is not sufﬁciently developed 5 but they can be m a gniﬁ if n cent they start high, have a free sweepi g curve ,

‘ and s t the extremities expand into a wide volute generously carved out of a solid piece , and if their

1 . 2 s 0 1 a nd 2 Fig 3 . 3 Fig . 3 , 3 3 . d 2 8 2 s 2 a n . Fig . 9 35 4 Fig . . Fi 2 5 g . 9 .

9 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

n n in x Louis XV , but it had lo g bee e istence . — F . The arm chair of ig 33 is witness to this . n l Very embraci g, very fu ly upholstered , more a n a n n a comfort ble i deed th elega t , with its e rs , o ne s le in es a nd a its solid sides ( f p ) , its mov ble n a e cushio , this lumpish seat is like badly reduc d n o e n sketch of a co fessi nal berg re . U der ” a na Louis XIV this was c lled a confessio l . The earliest e xamples had been actua lly made so that priests might listen in comfort to the Sins of the fa ithful ; the ears in that case were n o t stuffed ; they were pierced with a ki n d of ! udas hole or a lo us ie j . In reality the seat in question is only a very ’ xa a u te u il de co mm o dite simple e mple of the f , whi ch existed un der other names ever since the x n n n si tee th century for the co ve ience of old men , ’ n a nd n Fu re t iére s i valids , la guid ladies . Here is “ deﬁnition : We give the name of ch a ise de ' comm o dite - f a to a well stu fed chair , with desk n n for readi g and writi g, and a ratchet to raise or o ne c a n e lower the back at will , in which Sl ep ” n n or recline . Let us conti ue his descriptio n a x in two joi ted rms , ﬁ ed the desk, carried candl es ; la rge pockets allowed the i nva lid to have sm a ll articles within his reach ; some had ’ ' e n a nd a t int e r za le scr e s , others , p , had a dome and curtains .

Let us observe , to make an end of upholstered - re — n - a arm chairs , the appeara ce of the low b cked arm - chair towards the end of the century in the shape of thefa ute u il a c cef e r (a rm- chair for hair T H E C A N A P E 97 dressing) . The Duchesse de Bourgogne had one a of this kind , covered in red dam sk with velvet let in a nd we m a note that the ancient ”y ca qu e to i re or gossip is always in favour . This o n a was a little chair low legs , e sy to move about ss a n d for go iping , highly appreciated by the n na n ladies . A co temporary dictio ry deﬁ ed it as a nd n o a very low chair , with very high back ’ in o ne s arms , which can chatter at one ease by - the chimney corner . But there were also ca u e to ir e s de m z -ca u e to i re s q with arms , and q , . which were arm - chairs a little lower i n the seat th a n usual . There is but little to say of the backed chairs cb a is es a without arms , which came after the ” v e rtug a din or farthingale chairs of the early a part of the century . Less common th n the ff n I n n arm chairs , they di ered o ly bei g without n n arms , their dime sio s were much the same , the I st re t c he rs same back, the same legs , the same . One import a nt invention of the upholsterers under Louis XIV was the sofa , which is , to say the truth , merely a rejuvenation of the bench , which had had so long a n d honoura ble a career in the middle ages . What Va dius was it who suggested to the master- upholsterer who “ launched ” the earliest sofas that goodly name ca na é — a nd , so nobly drawn from the Greek a e ? n muti t d in the process Properly speaki g , ca n a é co n o ée a p , or rather p , should be a bed with

a mosquito netting . It may therefore be pre

Fi s 1 g 34. 37 a nd 38 9 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

ca na é - sumed that the ﬁrst p was a rest bed, a piece of furniture meant for lying on and no t a sitting ; and in f ct , to speak by the book, a c e I t a in M o nc o nys wrote in 1 663 in his Voya g es “ ca na és two p , these are forms with a back at ” a nd each end . Now a form is a bench ; a bench - with a back at each end is a rest bed . An in “ v e nt o r ca na é y of the time describes a p , the a nd wooden frame ﬁtted with a mattress , a wool ” a mattress , with a fe ther bolster on top . In “ n - e n ca na é a a other we read, a rest bed p , m de s t wo up of two mattre ses , two bolsters , loose

cushions and bed cover , to which are attached ” n . a r three vala ces Some little time later , tow ds 1 680 s o /f a in , the word p made its appearance the n a e a nd n n la gu g , seems to sig ify the same thi g as the word ca n a p é it is useless to try to establish

a ny distinction whatever between them . Origin - dos s ie rs ally then , it was a rest bed with two , a nd presently there were three and even before the earliest dawn of the Regency style we see veritable ca na pés in the modern sense of the r t a wo d , that is to say , in shor , very l rge arm n a nd chairs for several perso s , with a back two F e 1 6 0 arms . ureti re , in 9 , gives this deﬁnition “ a kind of backed chair , very wide , in which two r person s can sit very comfo tably . The n e w a nd word is to the language , some say ” f n é s o / a . p Henceforward the ca ap or sopha , - with arm chairs to match , composes the classic suite of seats that has grown indissolubly wedded - a . to the ide of a drawing room Thus , that

1 0 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

o n Wh a standing eight pillar legs , eig ed no less th n 2 1 s—a marcs 5 ounces , or 5 kilogramme a t o n e quarter of of pr cious metal . The pla ce t or ta b o u r e t w a s a square-topped a n a n a stool (occ sio lly rou d or ov l) , mounted on X— ff four legs , sometimes on Shaped legs , stu ed — (which distinguished it - from the a ll wooden e s ca b e a u a nd a ) , , it might be , covered with t pestry n ff a s or the ﬁ est stu s , just its frame might be of a nd the costliest workmanship . At Versailles Ma rly and Fontainebleau there were a dmira ble x a nd n n e amples , no wo der , whe they were so n a passio tely sought after by Duchesses . And we h a ve seen four t a bourets at the Doucet s a le in 1 1 2 in a n 9 , covered simply pl i velvet , fetch the n Wild ﬁgure of fra cs . We shall doubtless have exhausted the cat a logue of seats when . we have said a few words a bout

n lia nts lo a nts . foldi g stools , p or p y These too b e a a ni — could . of r re m g ﬁc e nc e there were some — at Versailles m a de of solid silver a nd they were freque ntly more complicated th a n might be a d n h a d a a e re ily imagi ed . Some rigid fr me , w bbed a nd f k a xe e stuf ed with hair li e ﬁ d seat , oth rs had

r a n a On . a n a a ms d back . e v riety of foldi g ch ir ’ “ e rr o u e t n a was the p q or parrot , a ki d of ch ir ” “ F e e a nd with a back, says ureti r , that folds , ” a t a which is generally used the t ble . At a time n e r n o n n - n whe there w e di i g rooms , it was atural that for their me a ls p e ople should h a ve chairs

easy to bring to table a nd to put awa y a fterwards . Saint - Simon informs us that b e rr o qu e ts were T H E C A R R E A U 1 0 1 also used to increase the number of possible in r a pla ces a car i ge . n o t r ca rre a ux We must fo get the , or more or fla t n f a less cushio s , stuf ed with horseh ir or with n dow , which very often served as seats , when strict e tiquette allowed you neither a rm - chair no r a n - a ll ch ir nor foldi g stool , or simply when n of them were lacking . A ca rre a u pla ted on the floor w a s taken without ceremony for a seat “ ” in the Sp a nish fa shion ; or else severa l were o ne n n piled on top of a other , a totteri g edifice Wn in n a hose i stability those days , whe rather co rse n in n n jesti g was fashio in every circle , le t itself n e n e to facetious ss of the most questio abl taste . Va le nt in o is a e The Duchesse de , as the ami bl “ ha d Madame de Villedieu tells us , a rocaille n n n hi room adjoi i g her summer apartme ts , w ch was without a doubt the most delightful place in the world . It had no other furniture but ” in piles of carreaux gold cloth . Could we not a lmost im a gine she wa s describing a little ultra modern drawing - room in the twentieth century How were these various seats cove red With ff the same stu or embroideries as the beds , if they formed p a rt of the furniture set of a chamber a s such we have described . In that case the seats were looked on as accessories to the bed ; very often too a seat or a group of seats had its o wn a a n priv te attire , without y relation , either in a riit AS fu r ure . colour or materi l , to the other they were constantly protect e d by me a ns of loose ff covers of serge , or, in elegant interiors , of ta eta , 1 0 2 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a nd morocco , even velvet or damask, seeing that “ — they were only uncovered the regula tion —o u a did phrase r re occasions , people not hesitate dr I n ff to ess them the most delicate stu s , of the a : most easily f ding hues gold brocade , white n a a ﬂe sh - Chi ese s tin , yellow dam sk, coloured n moire , aurora Genoa velvet with silver grou d we Should have to enumerate a fresh the Whole catalogue of splendid stuff s on which the subjects

- of the Sun King doted . I S Sometimes one material only used for a seat , sometimes two different silks are set Side by side n w a in stripes , or in compartme ts , in the same y as for the hangings of beds and wa lls ; in this case the seams a re covered with braiding of gold or silver or silk outlining the compartments ; the same braid hides the little nails that fasten the ff is l a n stu to the wooden frame , and itse f f ste ed a down with l a rge gilt or Silvered decorative n ils . The dress of the seat is often finished o ff with a long fringe of silk or wool running round t he

frieze and the lower edge of the back, when it is I se a t ra n e on separated from the , and by a f g or rn o le t r n e , an edging f i g the threads of which are r n too slio t to hang down . A further fri ge in

gold or silver might be placed above this . It is easy to recognise ch a irs that were me a nt to ha ve n a fri ge , for just above the legs there is a plain a in sa strip of wood , lmost left the rough , so to y, underneath which the carving or mouldings begin ; this part was to have been hidden by

1 Fig . 30.

1 9 4 L OU I S X I V F U R N I T U RE

f - famous stuf ed crocodile , there is a four foot bed with stripes of herring- bone needlework very o n - w neatly applied an olive coloured material, ith six cha irs and the count e rpane to match ; the whole in e xcellent condition and lined with a ” f o little shot red and blue taf eta . P int de Cb ine n o int de H on r ie is somethi g similar to p g , but done with rounded horizontal un dulations S o int instead of harp angled chevrons , and the p u n de T r qu e is in vertical u dulations . Boileau h a d I n his cabinet an arm - chair and four ch a irs “ ” covered with tapestry in this Turkey stitch . It was at the end of the reign of Louis XIV that the first seats appe a red covered withhigh warp a or low warp tapestry, speci lly made for the pur le in a a t s F e l t . pose Aubus on and , or at Beauv is Stuff s flocked with wool were also employed for this : they did not hesitate to cut up the finest Oriental carpets for the purpose ; a nd la n in Savo nerie did its share a much better way , by ma king pieces to measure and to order from the n designs of Audran or Beli de Fontenay . Seats meant for constant use were covered tt r i m o u e e t e . with commoner stuffs , such as q or p m o u a de E a n Moquette or q , imported from ngl d .

n .o f E n i n u der the name glish carpet g , but which I n F w a s in da s a was also made rance , those y - n in hairy surfaced stuff, knotted by ha d ; short , a n n M u t simpliﬁed ki d of Savon erie weave . o q e t e ie d-co u rt n a p , with shorter p and smaller design when there was any—than those meant for carpets underfoot , was used especially for covering U T R E C H T V E L V E T 1 0 5

seats , though it was also employed sometimes for a n n n . F x ordi ary ha gi gs or e ample , in the Ch teau Ra e 1 0 6 de mbouill t there were , in 7 , a great - a n number of arm ch irs , chairs and stools do e in

moquette , striped red, white and green , or red, blue and aurora ; and the arm - chairs of the é F n a Acad mie ra c ise (which , by the way, numbered -six i v thirty and not forty , as vacanc es were ery u o n w shrewdly counted p ) , were modestly arrayed 1 6 8 in moquette , at any rate after 7 , the date when the s e r v ice des B a tim e nts renovated them

at a cost of ten livres ten sols apiece . The ﬁrst

Utrecht velvets , manufactured in Holland by “ e Huguenot refugees , w re called Utrecht mo ” ’ u e t t e s q , although they were genuine goats h a air velvet , simply bec use they were used in the a same w y as moquette . Tr ip e was a velvet of n I n wool on a hemp ground, also very lasti g ,

a nd I n F . plain colours , made landers n Lastly, there were commo materials , known ' e to es de la P o rte by the general name of f , I a t e because they were sold by the Paris g , were used to cover the seats in small rooms used as fi ’ clothes closets , of ces , servant s rooms , and the n rooms of the lower middle classes . They i cluded the various serges of Aumale , of Mony , etc . ; the da m a s ca a rt a f , or f lse damask, which in wool and “ cotton simulated silk damask, as the Bruges satin copied the beautiful real satins as well as it could , and so on .

1 Or ha t e e t a te a t the e nd o f the rue Sa nt De n s w e nce C l g , i i , h “ ” t ese c e a stuﬂ s we l l d éto es de la rue S a nt-Da ms h h p re a so ca le ﬁ i . 1 0 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

Leather , while less in favour than in the pre n n ceding reig s , is still met with fairly ofte . We must not confuse seats g a r n is de c u ir with a d e those covered in leather . The former h th ir a a nd frame, both se t back, stretched with thick leather instead of webbi ng ; o n this leath e r were a a laid or fastened squ re cushions filled with h ir , “ ” a f a nd to keep them alw ys well pu fed out , covered with silks . This is how we see them set down in inventories and in the reports of the affixin g of sea ls a sofa done ( g a rn z ) in ” n R d a a . e le ther , covered with crimso dam sk , a black or lemon morocco , or bl ck calf, were used to cover seats i nte nded to t a ke their place in the most sumptuous chambers , as neighbours to arm chairs in Venice broca telle or G enoa velvet o r else they were covered in those gilded a nd ga uffered leathers which made such magnifice nt wall coveri ngs ; they were covered l a stly with ’ ' m a rte le w bull s hide , or decorated ith little ' ’ n n n n e cor cb e stamped or ame tatio s , or agai , incised a n d e ngraved ; they were covered with leather to make which a felt was placed a between two skins of le ther, and the whole a a n stitched or quilted after el bor te desig s . n o f n a n The origi ca ed se ts is obscure . Amo g — de alers in a ntiques a nd the mista ke has found — its way into more than one book the name of — Louis XIII a rm chairs or chairs is give n to ca ned a n a se ts with high backs , whose florid superabu d nt carving, and, in particular , the highly developed

’ contr om t 1 This wo rd is a c o rrupti o n o f ep e .

1 0 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

usu a lly ﬁtted with cushions covered with stuff a nd tied on to the chair with cords . We have just seen that the turners m a de I t straw chairs . seems as though these were a n h rdly ever , in the ﬁrst half of the ce tury , seen

out of kitchens or monastery cells . The a d mira ble picture that Philippe de Champa igne a in 1 662 a - ff n p inted as a th nk o eri g , when his daughter was miraculously cur e d of a maligna nt I n R a fever the convent of Port oy l des Champs , shows us the young n u n sittin g in a rude s t raw a rm - chair ; another cha i r of the same ki nd is a r n beside her . These ch irs are of t uly co ventual simplicity ; when they came among the laity cb a is es a la ca u c ine they were called p , but this did not prevent them from ma king their way i nto the richest interiors and in the end n co quering a place at the Court . The sur n n F x é a i tenda t oucquet at Vau , the mar ch l ’ d H u miére s a in his ch teau , the Director General ’ F n Fle u ria u d Arm e no nv ille Ra m of ina ce , at bouillet , did not scorn these humble seats , which were in a ny case very comfortable when d uly n fitted with their horsehair and down cushio s . n Their wooden parts were very Simply tur ed , and n r painted black, gree and red . There we e some ” at Vers a illes Six straw arm cha irs are quoted “ in a n n n n in i ve tory of the Crown fur iture , n Chinese lacquer , with cushio s of red damask and n t h e a n their flou ce of same dam sk, with fri ge ” a nd m o le t of gold a n d silver . Under the Regency Saint - Simon will write : The princes W O O D E N C H A I R S 1 0 9 and princesses had established themselves , to a a n w rds the l tter end of the late Ki g, on little a i n a nd ch irs w th straw fitti gs , without arms , in n - x order to avoid offeri g arm chairs , e cept when there w a s no way of dispensin g with them n so that these little straw chairs , i troduced under the pretext of their convenience for n in n b e gami g or working , had their lodgi gs ’ ” come everybody s seats without discrimination . cha is es a e ne r Toilet chairs , or p ig , were made of

st ra vv. At the lowest point of the scale were the a a ll in humble ch irs wood , those of which Diderot will write in his E n cyclopedia wooden a r in - a ch i s , such as were formerly used middle cl ss a nd sa houses , are now, so to y, relegated to the ” I garden . Here is one of a Norman type , which n o t a in n a nd a n is l cking rich ess , discloses obvious Dutch or Flemish in ﬂuence ; a n d here is the stout rustic chair 2 foun d everywhere in the n n n n Lorrai e cou try . This model co ti ued to be made by the turners of Lorraine a nd the B a rrois n n n n cou try till well i to the ni etee th century, but it could no t have cha nged m u ch for two a nd a a h lf centuries .

PART THREE THE REGENCY STYLE

T H E so - l R n ca led ege cy style is hard to deﬁne , for it is a movement and no t a st a ble con dition of French decorative art ; it can be told but no t ? described . Where can it be seized At what ? point of time Under Louis XIV there was, so a S to say , a period of st nding till, let us say from 1 6 0 1 6 0 a 7 to 9 , if deﬁnite d tes are desired , during I n a n d which a style , shaped the previous decade now matured , had remained consistently itself . n 1 2 0 1 60 There were to be agai , from about 7 to 7 , a nd 1 0 1 0 later from 77 to 79 , two similar periods — - of st a bility the years of the hey day of the

Louis XV a nd the Louis XVI Styles respectively . But from 1 690 to 1 7 2 0 we were in full career n n n betwee two halti g points , and cha ges were n n i cessa t . It was so towards the end of Louis nd a a . XIV, much more so when he had dis ppeared A regency is in its essence a period of the pro n n i visio al, a moment of waiti g and transit on , 8 everything 1 unstable . This was especially true ’ “ d Orléa ns of the regency of Philippe , who adored “ n n in everythi g ovel but settled on nothing , ” “ ca pable as he was of continuity or sequence in a nything to such an extent that he could not even understand that such things were possible . It is impossible to draw a picture of what was 1 13 H L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

F n n a then the re ch style , u less one could m nage , so - F n like the called uturists , to represe t successive states on the sa me canvas : the utmost we could n achieve would be to produce a series of s apshots . S n n There is not a i gle li e , not a motive in de ” c o ra t io n that can be called specifica lly Regency in style . Some are Louis XIV elements slightly modified or used in a new way ; others are a lready a n d R n Louis XV, what constitutes the ege cy style is merely their finding themselves side by side (a nd in a ny case almost alwa ys with complete n harmony) , on the same piece of fur iture , the ’ sa a n n . me w i scoti g , the same goldsmiths work ff a r Away from Versailles , and in a di erent m o s h e re p , the Louis XIV style became modified, n just like a plant transported to a other climate . d This air was already to be foun , many years 1 1 a R a before 7 5 , in Paris , at the Pal is oy l, where a O é n the f mily of rl a s lived, at the Temple , which Ve ndOme S in was the home of the , coteries like a n that of the M rquise de Lambert , amo g powerful financiers who were amateurs a nd patrons of the x arts , at Sceau , where the little Duchesse de a n a nd n M ine sought to find distractio , in ma y n other free surroundi gs in which, aloof from and w r unkno n to Louis XIV , a new spi it was de v e 10 ping which was to be the Spirit of the n n eightee th ce tury . In that century everybody n n lived o ly for pleasure , the pleasure of the se ses ,

sometimes of the most reﬁned sort , sometimes n n r n pursued in dru ken swi ish o gies , eve by the a nd grandsons granddaughters of kings, or the

1 1 6 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

S e and warmer air , the severe Louis XIV tyl

became softened, if we may use the phrase, and ff unbent . Its sti lines were here and there dis cre e tly inﬂected a nd broidered with a dainty n: vegetatio trailing plants entwined about them , a nd S o ff r little ﬂowery prays shot f om them , and impudent monkeys clambered on to porticos to s hang their swing from them .

It is easy to see that the craftsmen in stone , wood and metal no longer model themselves on ’ the King s taste ! they have to please a very mis c e lla ne o u s n clientele , busi ess folk grown wealthy , the contractors and the d, ancers whom they i ra nd .re n e u rs entertain, the g g who are kind n enough to come and enliven their ma sions, all ff n this set o er sacriﬁce to a new divi ity, the n o fashion . Now the fashion is longer for the stately and the heroic, but for the amiable and the gallant , and above everything for all that is convenient and agreeable . Two adjectives are more and more becoming stock phrases for any '

a re a ble o li. ra nd thing pleasing , g and j The g a has become exceedingly Stiff and ped ntic . A - m a b e a u monumental Louis XIV arm chair y be , l I n r - but nobody could call itjo i. a d awing room ' there is nothing a g re a ble about walls cased in n marbles , coldly cut out in ovals , recta gles , and - plat bands . What people like from this moment is white wainscoting with ﬁne gilded reliefs ; they “ ” a nd will have mythologies carved on it , painted b e 1 Ve n us a nd over the doors , but it will ’ he H e de o u s e in the r n e ss s s ta t e c a e r. 1 At t o t l S bi , p i c h mb N E W T H E M E S 1 1 7

A da m s Sem e le a nd u ite r E ncena s a n d , f t , A r ia dne D ia na a nd E nd m io n til e , y , and

Gra ce s p re s iding o v e r the e du ca tion of L o v e . ’[ Round the most beautiful s a lon of the period there will ru n a series o f the romantic scenes of the L o v es of P sych e . These mythological themes were still to remain in favour for a long time as decorations for ﬁne houses , and we know how much they were l Co e ls n a nd a t o ire emp oyed by the yp , La Moy e , N before the days of Boucher and his school—what other or what better pretext could there be for n a ked ﬁgures ? But they were no longer com

le t e l su ﬂi cie nt . p y Something newer , something n n more amusi g , more piqua t , was sought for , and it w a s sought for in Asia and in the Thea tre de la F o ire - re . Bedrooms and drawing rooms a mained the dom in of rosy goddesses , but in the ” n n new style of small rooms , co versatio cabinets , ” a n n a a coffee c bi ets , waiti g for the ppe rance of ” r n boudoi s , which was not to be lo g delayed , a whole little comic wo rld suddenly took possession

of the walls , just like the entrance of masqueraders

in a fancy dress ball . We have shown how even Versailles in all its heroic glory h a d opened its doors to quantities n fa of Chi ese brics and articles . But these were n only movable thi gs , that would have vanished in a turn of the hand if the fashion had changed ;

1 The o v a dra w n -r n he s e hOte l The a nt n s l i g o o m i t a m . p i i g w e re o nly finish e d b y N a to ire in 1 739 ; b ut the who le de c o ra tio n e e w a s c o nc iv e d b y B o ffra nd mo re tha n twe nty ye a rs e a rli r. 1 1 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E never till now had China been embodied in n a a permanent decorations . This fi al se l of p prob a t i on bega n to be conferred from the end n of the seventee th century , for Monsieur had a a n in 1 6 0 a n d Chinese room at S i t Cloud 9 , it was ratified a nd established in the e a rly ye a rs of the x ne t century , in which the sons of Heaven were n n in to be seen fi di g their place even tragedy, since Voltaire ventured o n the Orph e lin de “ ” Chine n O a n , the Chi ese rph ! The very ” n du Ro i a a cabi et , in the Ch te u de la Muette , ” a a n n la n was Chinese c bi et , k own as de Chi e , for strangely enough the adjective ch z n o z s was not to come i nto current use until the e n d of n n a the eightee th ce tury . We have series of n n n engravi gs of this cabi et , which was by no mea s n n r u worthy of bei g asc ibed, as for a long time it a was , to the great Watte u . The Fa r E a st was beginning to be a little n n a better k own , tha ks to the narratives of cert in n r a n n emi ent t avellers , T ver ier , who had bee to a a nd a n Turkey , Persi , the Indies ; Ch rdi , who had visited I ndia a n d Persi a ; thanks a lso to those embassies that were so successful from the point n a a nd of view of i terest th t from Siam , in ' e mb a ss b n later , the Persian y, y which , if Sai t n a l Simon is to be believed , the old Ki g l owed x a n himself to be hoa ed like a simple M . Jourd i . in ch i n o i s e r i e s t u r And so the same way as , u e r i es e rs a ne r z es a q and p , beg n to be all the

1 I t I s t rue th a t th e Prime Minis te r o f the King o f Sia m wa s a lle th e Gra nd s e r c d i ,

1 2 0 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E Watteau created with his poetic genius out of é the elements he found in the Com die italienne . H Ot el The Italian players , who were then at the r n a x 1 6 de Bou gog e , were brut lly e pelled in 97 for ha ving da red to announce a piece called L a F a us s e fi r u de : could such a title belong to anything but a personal satire against Madame ? a n de Maintenon But Paris loved its It lia s , a nd Arlequin and Scaramouche , Colombine Silvia , M e z z e t in , the endless serenader , and Gilles , ever o livid , pale, and abashed . The actors of the bo ths at the fairs took up the French pieces of the a nd a R Italian mummers , when he bec me egent , ’ o n e of the first things Philippe d Orlé a ns did was n to recall them . Gillot pai ted and engraved t ra nsfi ure d a nd them from life , Watteau g them a n n gave them immort lity, co ferri g on them

Fre nch a t io na lit . n y at the same time Last of all , we may remind ourselves of the simian tribe a n d n e a their frolics , already i troduced by B r in into fa r o r his grotesques . All these are the fr m g ave or stately themes with which the new decoration was to be inspired . We must go into a few details as to the l softening and mellowing of the Louis XIV sty e . r l Symmetry continued to be espected , unti R o ca ille came in and wantonly turned every n thi g topsy turvy, but it was only symmetry horizontally considered vertically there were , for x a a n a n n a e ample , h rdly y regul r wai scoti g p nels 1 R n ul or doors to be seen . ecta gular mo dings

1 s 2 a nd Fig . 4 43. M O D I F I C A T I O N S were still employed as framings for these panels , n n but they are less importa t , fi er , and less strong in relief ; and inside this frame everything was a nd emancipated softened , the right angles are a m sked by being hollowed out , or with a shell, or a flo re t motive ; the stiff ness of the mouldings is 1 a n broken up by a ribbon , or by acanthus motive n n in n twi i g a Spiral about a bu dle of reeds , or by z a li ne of beading or light m otives startin g out of the frame are embossed on the plain surface of 3 n a t the panel . If a pa el is arched the top , the a rch is divided into two C- Shaped motives en ding 4 n a flo re t a lm e tte in a crook, ofte separated by , ap , ” 5 r e s s a u ts or a shell . The c intre a loses its “ re ssa ult s and becomes the c o nt inu o irs hat S- a Shaped or sh ped curve , said to have been invented by Cre sse nt as far as its use on a pedi 6 ment is concerned . At other points this line 7 becomes modified in various ways . The bottom of panels , very frequently in wainscoting , occa 8 sio na ll wa s n y in articles of furniture , bou ded by - e n ! a line composed of two S curves set end to d.

A little later there was adopted , for the top of l u m pane s of furniture with two doors , the

1 . Fig . 43 2 Fig . 43. i 3 Fg . 43.

Fi 1 . 4 g . 0

l nd . 0 . . 2 nne r ra n o f the t0 a ne a 5 Fig 4 (i f mi g p p ) , Fig 5

6 . Fig 47 .

. the o tt o m a ne l a nd . . 7 Fig 45 ( b p ) , Fig 49

8 . Fig 10 . 9 This s a me line is fo und o n the uppe rmo s t e dge o f the he a d a nd o o t o f th e b e d in . 60 f Fig . 1 2 2 L O U I S XTV F U R N I T U R E

I symmetrical sh a p e that was to be one of the most unvarying characteristics of the Louis XV a nd a n n style , ret ined even right into the i eteenth n ce tury by country joiners in a ll the provinces .

At the same time , the top of cupboard or side board doors som etimes assumed an incurved shape ? C- The shaped motive , the simple basket n a ns e de a n ie r ha dle ( p ) of former days , was modiﬁed and bec a me the h a r icot motive beloved a n of the Louis XV style . We have lready see it maki ng its appearan ce on panelling that was “ ” n still very Louis XIV for insta ce , in the

n a n 1 . ce tr l rosette of the pa el in Fig . The outer edge of the h a r icot or bean became ff denticulated, pinked , pleated , or go ered ; it is n x like that of certai shells , the mure or the 3 limpet . This denticulation sometimes tapers out and curves in such a way that it becomes impossible to tell whether it is a wing , a flame , ’ n n or a spa iel s tail . A loze ge pattern with a tiny flower or dots was always a favourite as a 4 ground decoration ; it obeys the law of ge neral softening ; the lines defining the loze nges a re a n d n often flattened curves , the lozenges dimi ish towards one side . We have already had occasion to call attention to the motives taken from living creatures tha t

8 o f t e do o o f the u e r a r . 1 Fig . 4 : t p o h rs pp p t

2 . Fig 47 .

P e d me nt o f s de b a rd . 8 t o o f do o rs o f s de i i o Fig , p i b o a rd 3 , 4

Fig . 5 0 .

T a le in c a rs in s 1 a nd 2 . 4 b Fig. 59, h i Fig . 7 7

1 2 4 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

“ current , the stock motive of the period, is the upright shell, from whose base start two long n 1 aca thus sprays . n The taste for attributes goes on increasi g . They become less heroic and more familiar gardening tools , implements of pastoral life , of n a nd e the chase and ﬁshi g , of music oth r arts ; there are , of course , the arms and symbols of — Love torches , wreaths of roses , bows , arrows and quivers .

As for technique, we must report the almost a n n complete ba do ment for a time of ebony, which was to recover a cert a in a mount of favour n ré u der Louis XVI . The old master , And n Charles Boulle , went on , however , buildi g his sumptuous marquetry pieces, and his sons after him, for certain amateurs of austere tastes prided themselves on having a few specimens in their 2 ca b ine t or collection ; Boulle pieces were the o nly articles of a past style that were sought after throughout the whole of the eWighteenth century . That period , indeed , was holly innocent of ” a nt i u o ma nia q , to the greater beneﬁt of art and artists ; it was far t o o creative to contract

this disease . But the fashion was frankly for n m x c veneeri g and arquetry in e oti woods, with appliques of gilt bronze ; and particularly for

amaranth wood, which is a winy red kind of

- I T a b e Arm c a rs s 0 e tc . l , Fig . 59. h i , Fig . 7 , 73, 77 , “ ” 2 T his is a th ird me a ning a tta che d to the w o rd c a b ine t : a k e f h e c o lle c ti o n o f c urio s itie s a nd w o rks o f a rt . Pe o ple spo o t ’

a b net oz a t the ca b ne t la L v e t e r a n th e a lerz e . c i Cr , i i ra h th g R E G E N C Y B R O N Z E S 1 2 5

a a nd o mahog ny, for violet wood , of a vi let n brow with well defined lighter veining . R x The bronzes of the egency style , for e ample ’ Cre sse nt s those of most successful models , have r one very g eat merit , the same as those of the - Louis XV period , when the cabinet maker did not let himself be drawn awa y into a n exaggerated display of richness ; a merit of which the Louis a nd XVI bronzes fall Short , which was only half n attai ed by those on Boulle pieces . This merit consists in the fact that they serve some definite purpose ; they are not mere ornaments ; each x b e in u st one has its reason for e isting , and for g j x n a dmir where it is . Let us e ami e one of those fla t x Cre sse nt x able bureau by , for e ample , the masterpiece now in the Louvre after long service n at the M inist ére de la Guerre . For bro zes it a s u a rt de rond h a q reinforced at the corners , n n n ffi ru ni g rou d the top , of great e cacy to protect an e x posed edge from knocks enframing o n n hi mouldings the fro t of the drawers , w ch stre ngthen the joints of a part that has much work to do ; ha ndles (ma ins which are in dispensable to pull out the drawers conveniently keyhole e scutcheons to prevent the keys from dama ging the wood ; large bronzes fi xed to the inner side of the permanent frame of the drawers on each side ; they soften an arris that might endanger the legs of the person seated at the bure a u ; at the top of each le g there is an es a nole tte ch u te p g , forming a or drop , and pro tee ting the most projecting part of the legs a 1 2 6 L O U ’ I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

fine fillet running the whole length o f the arrises n of the legs , to keep the veneer from bei g ripped o ff n n e just where it runs most da ger, si c the films of thin wood meet there at an a ngle a nd cha us s o ns s a b o ts a n e n lastly, or , c si gs cov ri g the x s e tremities of the legs , and fulfilling this ame purpose of protection . More carving is to be seen on modest furni ture : the copious moulding of the Louis XIII a and Louis XIV styles , so well calcul ted to n a n a acce tuate the gre t straight li es , is h rdly no w a n d n fi e n attractive , no lo ger seems suf ci t decoration for a cupboard or a buffet to which a certain finish has been given .

ilk

It remains for us to review brieﬂy, with t n ff comments on our illus ratio s , the di erent items a s of furniture , such were made for simple a a d - - business people , perhaps lre y for well to do in country folk, what we have allowed to pass “ as the Regency period but we have no a hesit a tion in repeating o nc e . a g a in th t a ny clas siﬁc a t io n s R n into the Louis XIV style , the ege cy a a nd style, the Louis XV style , are purely arbitr ry in c rr s xa n no way o é p o nd with an e ct chro ology . l x We are ful y persuaded , for e ample , that nearly a all , if not all, of the p nelled furniture reproduced in a this volume , which may legitim tely be “ R n labelled ege cy for its hybrid style, was made a fter 1 7 2 3 by provincial joi ners who never

followed at the heels of fashion .

1 2 8 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

grea tly incre a ses the difficulty of the work and the qu a ntity of material n eeded ; but in the eighteenth cen tury both craftsmanship and m a terials were cheap ! Dresser - Sideboards made e a n t he th ir appe rance in the provi ces , for bright a nd a colours great decorative v lue of earthenware , n n a which was the bei g manuf ctured in abundance , speedily inspired the desire to displa y it when no in a r t actual use . The handsomest e to b e a F a : — found in the e st of r nce tall, wide often n — a much wider tha their height elabor te , very n a conve ient , they combine in one highly rchi t e c t u ra l simple piece the cupboard , the commode , I a nd the set of she lv e s . In the western provinces they are narrower , Simpler , with a rather shabby 2 a w upper part , but l ays very useful to give a n - a i in country di ing room the g ety we delight , a ni a and also, be it said , to s tisfy our ma for display . Have we not , indeed , demonstrated that where porcelain is conc e rned this ma nia w a s at least as great two centuries a go as it is to - day ? The coff er ends its once glorious career obscurely in the depths of the country districts . E ven the country people themselves began to a nd xa discard it more and more, the latest e mples n 3 And are nearly always without decoratio . yet there are still a few interesting ones to be found in n a nd n Britta y the Vosges , which are stro gly marked with the characteristics of the period .

1 Fig . 49 . 2 0 Fig . 5 .

s 2 a nd . 3 Fig . 5 5 3 T H E C O M M O D E 1 2 9

The commode was given a new shape , which in a slightly improved version was to con t inue u ntil the coming of the Louis XVI style ; this “ R ” 1 wa s the shape known as the egency . Let n wa a I t us ote , by the y, th t was at this period that n a mes beg a n to be given to the various varieties n of fur iture . a proof that these varieties were e n n a n b comi g umerous , and lso that fur iture had

a a n . a entered the re lms of f shio Thus, there ppear a n - a la for a moment cert i sub species , commodes ‘ Cha rtres a la B a n o le t a la Cha ro la is , g , , Ot R n and hers besides . The ege cy commode is a nd massive bulging , its lines are heavy , its rotundities are excessive the Louis . XV period

Will correct this a n d bri ng it to perfection . a o ne Under the marble top , a first st ge of or two a drawers has a concave facade , the middle st ge is S x trongly conve , the lower part is curved back, “ ’ ” which gives the whole a doe s foot (pie d de b ich e xa ) outline, but with an e ggerated pro e ct io n x a j of its conve curve , which is also pl ced too low down . The sides show the same swelling : T he line to be completely truthful , it is ugly . design is not so contorted in plane as in profile S n the facade is lightly rou ded . The bronzes a nd are rich appropriately a bundant . These commodes a ll h a ve the air of having been made ro fit e e rs n x for the p of the rue Q ui campoi . How much more elega nt are those which were satisfied a nd with a plain vertical front , slightly curved ,

1 Fig . 54. 1 30 L O U I S X I -V F U R N I T U R E

1 perpendicular Sides The one here reproduced “ ” n has bro zes that are frankly rocaille , but the no w ﬁx handles , which are ed and no longer a hanging, still have a cert in symmetry . It is to be observed that commodes of this period Show t heir division into stages very clearly marke d (often by a heavy horizont a l groove lined with b a d r ss) , a thing that is too often lacking in the periods that follow .

Clocks may well figure here , with panelled th e n furniture , for at the end of seventee th a n century they bec me real pieces of fur iture . i n The invent o of the pendulum by Huyghens, m about the iddle of the century, had brought about an enormous increase in the numbers of clocks by m a ki ng them infinitely more accurate . a Small table clocks had dis ppeared, because people a n d re l i ie us es s began to carry watches , g , or clock x e meant to be fi ed against the wall , had tak n s a nd their place . The e had a short pendulum S i a. pring, in wh ch case they were set on a e s a or bracket or a ped tal ag inst the wall , had weights , in which case they were carried on a little shelf pierced with holes to let the cords h th e e dulu m run through . W en long p became it I ie e de d t he common , protection as well as so b o x n weights , and the co taining the works and the pedestal that car ried it were united : the tall clock was born and very soon became common ; a n d l n be s it was, stil is , whe it has not en old to some antique dealer and replaced by the horrible

1 Fig. 55 .

1 32 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E painted or carved ornamentation above the mirror . But tables to stand out in the room, even when they are of great size , no longer have st retchers .

No more twisted legs turnery is despised . No more pedestal legs ; the straight li ne is

- n beginning to be a bore . Co sole legs become i ie ds de b iche simpler and sim lar to p , which a themselves assume more slender , more eleg nt n li es . Until the Louis XVI style did away with n a n this elega t sh pe , it was i discriminately known ’ as console leg or doe s foot leg . These table legs , and the same applies to the legs of chairs , are set obliquely and not e n fa ca de ; to Speak — more accurately the re—ader will kindly ex cuse these pedantic phrases their median pla ne is n oblique with refere ce to that of the facade , Let instead of being at right angles to it . us for ” the sake of simplicity call them oblique legs . Their lines join up with those of the frieze by an b ich e . ie d de unbroken moulding The p , instead of ending with the Shape of a cloven hoof , begins to be terminated by a little volute , a last memory n of the console , standi g on a cube , and with an ch u e acanthus leaf springing up from it . The t , ‘ a lm ette or drop at the top of the leg , is a p or a ﬂo re t shell , from which starts a leaf, an acanthus , n or a plaited moti ve . The co tour of the frieze is more or less shaped with S-curves alter nating - with C curves . The two little tables reproduced I here are , in sum , completely Louis XV in their 8 d 1 Figs . 5 a n 59 . B E D S 1 33

c lines , and still Louis XIV by their arved

decoration . x t The state bed still continued its e is ence , like

the love of costly stuffs , but it is a kind of n sumptuousness that is drawi g near its end . — Henceforth there are a s a lon or two the great - a nd s a lo n de com a n ie drawing room the p g , — which is smaller and more intimate o r even r n mo e , for the reception of guests , and a dini g

room , so that no one is impelled by vanity to As Spend enormous sums on a bed . rooms are O n a n d now smaller , less pen to the wi ds better a no n a S he ted , it is lo ger essenti l that the bed hould n An d li be hermetically e closed . so , little by ttle , a - it ce sed to be a four poster, ﬁrst in Paris and a n l ter at Versailles , where the sovereig s had bed no t cha mbers that were truly arctic . It was until 1 743th a t Marie L e c z inska had a duchess — shaped summer bed we know this from the n v Duc de Luynes , who would ever ha e left such — a cha nge u nrecorded in his diary a nd in winter n n - she co ti ued to sleep in a four poster . The ’ bed in the King s chamber remained a four R poster until the evolution . The general adop tion of the duchess -bed and the angel- bed brings about the re a ppearance of beds with the wood n showi g, which sometimes have head and foot I boards of t h e same he ight ; but as a rule the a ngel -bed has the foot -board lower than the

head . These beds with the wood showing are

1 . 60 Th e lo z e c h Fig . s unk e ng o n the c a rto u he a b o v e t e doss z e r is he ma d e the c e l t e s o f h e Ko a ns t , hi f e mb e m in h a rm t b . 1 34 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

a n n in y case very rare , and other ki ds have not

. a a n been preserved Altogether , h rdly y beds of R n a n the ege cy period h ve come dow to us . i ff n a It is qu te di ere t with regard to ch irs , a r n which are still very numerous . We e give the impression tha t Louis XIV cha irs and arm -chairs n - sudde ly, almost over night , were regarded as a nd in old rubbish replaced , so to speak, a lump , n u more quickly than other fur iture , beca se they were less costly and were more directly connected with the desire for comfort then becoming n wa s a ge eral . It with them as with the t bles , a they bec me smaller , lighter , easier to move a ll about , and , above , more comfortable . The study of arm - chairs gives us the most complete sc a le of intermedi a te shades between the pure n o n Louis XIV Style a d that of Louis XV . At e e n d - a n is the great arm chair , immov ble or early n a so , rectili e r , geometrical , curling up its volutes with all t h e emphatic rh e toric of a Fléc hie r n rolli g out his periods , and seeming to say to n you Go your ways , you that are either Duke no r Peer a n d at the other end of the scale the ca b r io let a n n little Louis XV ch ir , wholly i viti g, a ll in supple elusi ve lines; the b a ck s nugly em n w braci g your Shoulders , its wood every here V e o n e w isibl , made to be moved with hand ithout interrupting the conversation ; between these o a a l a t w is eve ry im gin b e hybrid sh pe . W n I n Here is one , hich with everythi g else the style has a back slightly lower a nd with a

I Fi . 61 . g _

1 36 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

’ with its obliquely set doe s foot legs , and the I frieze itself covered with carvi ng ; these others a nd have boldly discarded stretchers , yet the ﬁrst no t a - a one has yet rrived at set back rms , and n o neither of them has arm pads . If chairs are w able to dispense with stretchers , it is because they are less hea vy a nd glide easily over wooden ﬂoors a n d a c rpets , while heretofore their feet were continually catching on the rough squares of 2 . a stone pavements Lastly, here is a ch ir with a a nd a t its b ck showing the wood , all curved the a nd n top , corners almost turned up Chi ese fashion . The characteristic of the Lo uis XIV style that persists longest was the rectilinear sides of the back ; we m a y sa y that when a n arm - chair

e i. e . or a chair has a ﬁddl back , , with uprights n in a n bendi g tow rds the ce tre line , it is no longer R n n ege cy but fra kly Lo uis XV . Besides the great confessional ” chair with a nd 3 n x ears solid sides , which still conti ues to e ist , a a e there gradu lly takes sh pe t h b e rg a re type . F n n Here is one ( ig . 74) which is i teresti g in that it clearly shows the new taste for clearly deﬁn ed

outlines in visible wood . Sofas (ca n a pés or s o ha s w p ), hich were rare in the preceding n period , become common from their origi al t t wo proto ype , the rest bed with ends , deﬁnitely W - emerges the sofa , which is a very ide arm chair , n a n or rather, somethi g like amalgamation of

1 s . 6 a nd 0 Fig 9 7 . 2 2 Fig . 7 . Fi 3 g . 73. C A N E C H A I R S 1 37

- S three arm chairs , which are till easily to be ’ traced in it at this period . v Cane chairs were in high fa our , as is proved by a the surprisi ng numbers th t still survive . In summer these light , cool chairs were left bare , or “ ” S ﬂa t were imply ﬁtted with a carreau , or

b n . Wa squa cushio h t shows that they were all meant to ha ve this is the little cube - shaped piece of wood left uncarved at the lower e nd of t h e arm consoles ; the cushion was notched at the front corners , and kept in place by ribbons e tied so as to hid this rough place . When wi nter came a comple te upholstery set was a o r slipped over the ch ir like a loose cover , else a s econd c u shion wa s tied o n to the back with n I n a ribbo s . spite of their humble materi ls , for a n they are made of beechwood, painted or pl i m S a n they so etimes how very delicate c rvi g , o n a n a especially the b cks . The ca e sof , of which 3 a n n n a photograph is given , is of u commo type . It ha s a n unusua lly elega nt basket moti ve repeated i three times on the back . The two chairs n a n d 8 1 Figs . 79 indicate the limits within which the curve of the p ie d de b ich e might vary . The u r happy choice of this c rve , the propo tions of a n n the various p rts , the skilful harmo isi g of the v a car ed motives to the masses they decor te , make ’ excellent e xamples of joiners work of the legs of in the quite simple bench shown Fig . 8 3.

a i t i t il l

1 Figs 75 a nd 76. 2 8 Fig. 7 . Fi 6 3 g . 7 . 1 3s L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

R c Taken all in all , egency furniture is mu h a n a nd more capable of ple si g us , is much better adapted to our modern homes than that of the

Louis XIV style . The reason is that towards 1 7 2 0 the great tra nsformation had been very a n ne rly completed , the cha ge that was to make ’ our forefathers w a y of livi n g very different from a n n a nd th t of the precedi g ge eration , on the o n whole so similar to our w . Louis XIV furniture was m a de to ' satisfy the very pron ounced t a ste for show of pe ople who n a nd n o n were evertheless still crude , had otion or need of the comfort that has become so E n essential in our eyes . verythi g else was sac rific e d x to a magnificent and sumptuous e terior . a While it is not at all a chimeric l project , given n a n taste , patience and the proper fina ci l mea s , to re - establish a country house or a sm a ll cha teau built under Louis XV or Lo uis XVI in its original n a nd a conditio , live in it very ple santly both a nd Wh o summer winter , could ever dream of reconstituting accurately a n interior of the days of Louis XIV It would be uninhabitable . How then ca n we find a use for furniture of this style It I S almost an impossible task as far as flats in Paris are concerned : it is too huge in dimensions and its aspect far too lacking in

n . i timacy But for certain purposes , in a large

n . cou try house , it would be without a rival Above a a all , we should t ke advantage of its high decor tive “ wa value , the happy y it peoples big spaces, and how its lines harmonise with those of large

1 49 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

because the master lines in both are straight , and the few curves they admit are simila r in each style ; a nd both alike borrow the elements of n a n their or mentatio from antiquity . Here is an im a ginary sketch of such a great n - On n . a l cou try house drawi g room the w ls , a n f ili g tapestries , which would of course be n ' the ideal thi g, and if they are not already n n pa elled or wai scoted , there should be a quite simple pla in hangi ng ; for the silk stuffs of the seventeenth century were much too sumptuous to m a ke it possible for modern imitations to 1 take their pla ce ; and a deco ration of wide bands of two glaring colours would be hard for modern eyes to accept . On the ﬂoor as E a a Y r many astern c rpets as you ple se . Fo the big pieces of furniture there Should be o ne or a XI I I two cupboards , but prefer bly Louis pieces ’ in in two parts , with a pediment ; upholsterers “ ” a n e -r a n parl c , they are more drawing oom th the Louis XIV cupbo a rds ; then two un der - cupboa rds n a a or two —commodes , formi g pair as ne rly as possible w e must never forget that symmetry is

a cardinal law of the Style . Tables dati ng from e n d e n n the of the s ve tee th century, with pedestal a re e or console legs , not asily come by , but they might be replaced by those tables with twisted

legs , which may be Louis XIII style if you like , a a ll but which were lmost made under Louis XIV, a a n n or even by rectangul r tables of y ki d, provided

1 Unl e ss w e c o uld g e t ho ld o f c rimso n d a ma sk th a t wa s no t

ca a rd a s o ur a t e rs us e d to s a . to o f , f h y A D R A W I N G R O O M 1 4 1 they are hi dde n under those valanced covers that ha ng down to the ﬂoor and obligingly con ceal i — everyth ng even to a husband, to whom it is wished to reveal the attacks to which his wife is

x Ta rtu e . ra c e posed, as in f A sofa will be p a l n o ne tic ly indispe sable , so let us have of the Louis XIV side of the Regency style rather tha n AS the Louis XV end . for the other seats , the bulk of them will be made up of large Louis XIV - no arm chairs . After all, we have perukes to a nd n humour , if you lea frankly up against their ’ a backs you won t be t all badly seated . But you will , out of mere necessity, have to supplement n Y . o W them with some ha dier chairs u ill ﬁnd in a in these turned Louis XIII ch irs , or those e xcellent caned arm -chairs and ordinary chairs of R ca n the egency, which easily be obtained, and which you can equip with cushions made of bits f S of old stuf . Lastly, there will be tools , benches Wh ca rre a u x ﬂo o r with pedestal legs , and y not ( S o rte - ca r r e a ux n quabs) on their p , since the you g women a nd girls of to -da y affec t to sit o n the ’ ground , just as Madame s maids of honour used a to do , im gining that it is the last word in modernity s As for the lighting , there must be a cry tal chandelier ; branched sconces with mirror plaque n make a very charmi g mural decoration , but they are rare ; and in defa ult of those great tall

torch candleholders of gilded wood, which are not precisely common objects at sales or in ’ l dealers shops , you wil place girandoles on 1 42 L O U I S X I V F U R N I T U R E

é n gu ridons with twisted legs . If you wish to ha g your pictures in the true seventeenth century n a t h e a way , you must ha g them ﬂat ag inst w ll, - n by two silk or gold thread cords , droppi g vertically from the cornice a n d relieved with o ne a n or two big t ssels of passeme terie , through which

Wa . e r a they ill be p ssed Th se co ds might also st rt ro x I n f m two ringed staples , ﬁ ed the wall about t wo t 0 a nd feet above the p of the frame , disguised n a a ll u der two big t ssels . Lastly , the little o a nd n c a n dec rative odds e ds quite correctly, as a n n n n we h ve see , be Chi ese , Hi doo , or Persia , at — your pleasure . It would be amusing without going quite so far as the tinned glass b o u le de — ja rdin to reconstruct a chimney set of chin a n a orname ts , l id out on shelves or tiny gilded consoles : but before undert a king this you must ' n thi k over the trouble o f t a king care of it all . We will pause at this example and leave to our readers the ple a sure of m a ki ng oth er 1 a x n combin tions with those handsome, e celle t — pieces of furniture of two centuries ago a litt le e n S e a kin n inconv nie t perhaps , but such p g wit esses F a s in to a period when rance became , many n E i n another thi g , the foremost nation of urope n the a rt of beautifying the homes of human be i gs .

I Fo r ns ta nce a Re e nc d n n -ro o w t a b i dre ss e r i , g y i i g m , i h g s de b o a rd ro L o rra ne a n unde r-c u b o a rd a s a s e rv n t a b le i f m i , p i g , e h -b a ck e d a nd fo r s a ts , c a ne ch a irs o f pa inte d w o o d o r tho s e hig m o u t e c c ha irs c o v e re d with e t in s tripe s o f thre e c o lo urs, whi h q , ’ a re to b e s e e n in Cha rdin s pi c ture s .

‘ ’ W I AK F i g 3 M A P B ARD I N T S N O . S LL C U O O . PART , W C PBO RD ON E OOR AN D R W E R ALNUT U A D A D A , FROM TH E S OUTH-WE ST OF FRANCE F I G 5 C O I ON E OO E U R E A T TH E . UPB ARD W TH D R AND N T AL PAN LS I E I N N U FRO TH E O - E S D S , WAL T , M S UTH W ST

' ‘ FI G . 7 . GE C WI I H E E CO E I R PBO R O I C N L U D B R R , W , A A . LA AT N ALNUT FROM TH E S OUTH -W E S T 1 I N OAK I G . U O F O I GE I C V E E F . 8 C O PB ARD R M SA NT N , W TH AR D PAN LS , FI G . 9 . GE C O I H E O E LAR WALNUT UPB ARD , W T LAB RAT O I G F O TH E O - E M ULD N S , R M S UTH W ST

FI G 11 . . O I E C O I N OAK I E I L RRA N UPB ARD , W TH M DALL ONS ORNAM E NT E D W I TH MA RQU E T RY STARS OAK I FE I N W B F T O E C I O W I ALSAT AN U T S T NS , TH AR CH E D PE DI M E NT ‘ - E FRo M V E E - I E O CO O , F I G I S. E GE . RY LAR DR SS R S D B ARD MM D O I E I N C E OO L RRA N , H RRYW D

FF E s E T ON A E I A R E I G 1 . CO F . 5 R TABL W TH D AW R FROM N ORMANDY

FF I G I U E I H I F I G 16. CO E R I N P K , W . S N ST DD D T NA LS

I G 2 0 B E D I H E I E CAN ON N I RE S F . . W T C URV D D OSS R AND T E

Fl G. 2 2 . E I CO O E E G l N GI OO SMALL TABL W TH NS L L S , LT W D

I G U E U E E G FI G . 2 7 GE U E I E . LAR B R AU W TH HT T RN D BAL ST R L S AND N UM E ROUS DRAW E RS FI G. 2 8 . I E -C I W S MPL ARM HA R I TH TURN E D BALUST E R LE G S

-C I OF \VALN UT COV E E I RE D ARM HA R NATURAL , R D W TH G E NOA VE LVE T CO E E - I OF GI E I E OO . V FI G 31 . C . ARM HA R LD D AND PA NT D W D R D WI TH WHI TE AND S I LV E R BROCAD E -C I I CO O E - E D E G I ARM HA R W TH NS L SHAP L S , W TH B E AUT I FUL M OULDI NG S

V BO I C I O E FE E I N FI G. 44. O E C C , PR N AL UP ARD , W TH ABR L T T WALNUT F m . O C O I C F E E I N OAK N RMAN UPB ARD W TH LAW T , I G 4 I I O E FE E I N OAK F 6. O I E C O C . L RRA N UPB ARD W TH ABR L T T ,

FI G FF E I N TWO E C I O I N OAK . 48 I U . ALSAT AN B T S T NS , - E E -CO O E F O O I E , E I E O , 49 . LARG S D B ARD DR SS R MM D R M L RRA N W I TH I NLAI D WORK FI G 5 - . 0. NORMAN DR E SSE R SI DE BOARD I N OA K

F I G 5 2 COFF E F O L O I E A E OF C E OO . . R , R M RRA N , M D H RRYW D

FI G FF E F TH E E -VO G E I TH E O O . 5 3. CO O R R M HAUT S S S , W TH H LL W CARVI NG PI CK E D OUT I N PAI NT

E I OE ’ FOO E G G 5 . F I . 9 SMALL TABL W TH D S T L S L WO I N G I E OO O I G . B E D I F . 60 W TH P STS LD D W D

F I G . 3 G E - 7 . LAR CONF E SS I ONAL ARM CHAI R F m 4 - - I C FE I O L E I TH E . 7 . E G E E ARM C O B R R HA R , N SS NA SHAP , W TH WD I G OO SH OW N

G E E I N U I H E OF FI . 85 . CR E MO R W , W P S N , UNT D NATU AL ALN T T AN L S I LV E R -GR E Y DAMASK

1 44 I N D E X - G L O S S A R Y

a b ne ts m o re a us tere 1 18 o lb e rt 2 1 C i , , 7 , C , 4, Ca ﬁi e ri l o 1 o lo mb ine 1 2 0 , Fi ipp , 3, 3 C , “ ” a m a ne a a s s e e nt e r e o lo ur in urn ture v e r r t C p , p m i C f i , y b igh , mo t iv e sh a pe d lik e a s ma ll 5 5 -57 b e ll o r th e s c a llo e d h a n n o mmo de 1- 2 , p gi g C , 7 7 ” e B t ro und th e t e s t r o f a b e d. a la a gno l e , 12 9 ” ” a na de n t o ns 8 a la ha ro la s 1 2 C pé , ﬁ i i , 9 C i , 9 ” de r v a t o n a la a r res 1 2 i i , 97 Ch t , 9 ” a ne c a rs 1 06 10 e n t o mb e a u 1 C h i , , 7 , 7 m o rte d ro m Ho a n r Re e nc s a e 12 i p ll d o g y h p , 9 [ f ’ ” la nd e rs 10 o ns o le d a c c o to irs u r t F , 7 C , p igh Re e nc s t le s 1 s o rt o f c a r a rm g y y , 37 upp h i , 94 t e i r e le nc e 1 o rne lle M c e l a nt e r 1 h ga , 37 C i , i h , p i , 3 a ne s o a s 1 de o tt e Ro b e rt a rc t e c t o f C f , 37 C , , hi ’ a nto nnié r a rt o f e h e B is P a c e a S ra s C e s , p th t ho p s a l t t ha ng ings o f a b e d whic h s e rv e d b o ur 2 6 g, t o c lo s e ro m o uts de the o v e r n m a t eria ls fo r c a rs f i C i g h i , n l e - a g e fo rm e d b y th tw o e t c . 10 1 106 , - c urt a ins a lo ng th e b e d po s t . Co e l 1 1 yp , 7 ” a u e to re o ss c a r o s e v o x th e s c u t o r 1 C q i , g ip h i , 97 C y , lp , 3 ” a rre a ux 10 1 Cre ss e nt a r e s c a b ne t - a er C , , Ch l , i m k , a lus M a da m e de 1 1 2 -2 12 1 12 12 C y , , 5 7 9, , 3, 5 a rs L o u s s t le 8 - a b ure a u b 12 Ch i , i XIV y , 9 97 y, 5 c o n e ss o na s a e 6 uc c o e n c o 1 f i l h p , 9 , C i , D m i , 3, 3

1 6 Cupb o a rds la F e , 65 3 , g “ ’ ” cro w s b e a b o nn e t iere , 6 k, 95 7

ga rnis de c u ir, 106 fro m v a rio us pro v inc e s dis

h a ndie r in fo rm, 1 34 t ing uishe d, 67

R l 1 - e ~ ro b e s 6 no te e g enc y s ty e , 34 137 ga rd , 5 , “ ” a s e de c o mo d t 6 Lo u s s t e 66 Ch i m i é , 9 i XIV yl , ” a s e s a ei ne r 1 Re e nc 1 2 Ch i p g , 09 g y, 7 a m a ne e de us o ns 106 108 Ch p ig , Philipp , C hi , , pa int e r 108 , a rd n e a s t e rn t ra v e e r 1 1 8 D c a fa rt ta t o n Ch i , ll , AMAS , imi i “ ” a us so ns c a s n s c o v e r n a ma s o f w oo a nd c o t to n 10 Ch , i g i g d k l , 5 x tre m t e s f l f Br e nne Lo men e 2 the e i i o egs o De i , i , “ ’ 2 6 S ee a he Ab b his b e d 6 ta b e s e t c . 1 . S a b o ts D E ﬁi t t l , , , é, , 55 , 5 ne s e o b e c ts c ra z e fo r 8 D e -b uff e t a l -s de b o a rd 68 Chi j , , 37 , 3 , mi , h f i , ; D e s o rte s ra n o s the a inte r p , F c i , p , n 1 de c o ra ti o s , 1 8, 1 19 I I c l n 1 D t uo ted 10 po r e a i , 40, 4 ide ro , q , 9 ” ut e th e o rna e nt a t th e to Do ss e r e a d o r fo o t o f b e d Ch , m p i , h , e l r r o f t h e gs o up ights o f a e t c . , 7 8, 79 e c e o f urn t ure 0 1 2 D ss e r Sideb o a rds 1 2 8 pi f i , 5 , 3 re , de la n c a t e a u b u l D e d 8 1 C g y, h i t fo r uch e ss b , 7 , 33 s n 1 M me . de M o nt e pa , 2 2 Dufres ny, 1 9 o ck c a s e s 1 1 Cl , 3 lo c k s 1 0 B NY 12 C , 3 E O , 4 “ ” o ffe rs 6 0 12 8 E n fa a de 1 2 C , 9, 7 , c , 3 I N D E X - G L O S S A RY 1 45

” ” sc a b e a u 100 H a r c o t 12 2 E , i , " ’ s a no le t te s o rna me nts o f H a rpa go n in L Ava rc uo ted E p g , , , q , c a rv e d w o o d o r o f gilt-c ha s e d H b ro nz e re re s e nt n a e ma le o ua ss e , pa int e r 1 , p i g f , 3 ’ b u t 2 12 d H umié re s 108 s , 8 , 3 , ‘ E to ﬁ e s de la o rte c o mmo n H u h e ns nv e nto r o f the e n P , , yg , i p l c he a p m a t e ria ls 10 du um, 130 , 5

FA ADE s L I N a e rs 12 0 c , 35 ITA A pl y , e d c a rv , 1 2 7 e lle t n t a e s tr 1 0 COB E ORGE c a ne t F i p y, 4 JA , G S, bi ’ ” c u lle d e a u 1 2 ma k e r 2 1 F i , 3 , ” o nta n e s F g , 34 o nt e na B e l n de a nte r 1 0 L O IN E 8 F y, i , p i , 4 A F NTA , 37 , 3 uet 1 L a M o ne 1 1 Fo uc q , 4, 08 y , 7 o ulo n t h e ca b ne t-ma e r 1 L a S a v o nne r e ta e s tr 10 F , i k , 3 i p y, 4

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