CHIPPENDALRFURNITURE. Thomas Chippendale was the son of a woodcarver of Worcester England.. The era. io r whigh this great Cabinetmaker '.. d. hts.`helt wetk' was from 1735 tO '1760; -then his prOdUction show, decline. His, furniture shops and-showrooms were in Saint • Martin's Lane, the Strand, Lon don. These furnituregalleries were dezvous• for' the London Court's• Idles' hnd beaux during the reigns of George II and George III; even royalt patronized ihis world Being a woodcarver a son' of a woodcarver his leaning, wasirlo the form of decoration. Fame gave' ' him the term of ' "the great upholder" ('upholsteters of that day were called upholders). jsreither inlay 'or painting entered into his denotation, and the *serpentine" fronted sideboards' ascribe] to him (many ex perts declare) were the work of Heppelwhite or Shearer; in fact some even doubt whether Chippendale ever made sideboards. ' Mahogany was the popular furniture wood at this time, so that most of his pieces are' n the American fine-grained *Spanish" mahogany; ' but some pieces are in waluut and rosewood. , Chippen dale brought nut' a book of patterns or ex amples of designs!enititled '"The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director,"• displaying engrav ings of styles he termed *Gothic, French and Chinese , taste." They represent, in their hid eous repulsiveness,' nothing we know of as ex tant Chippendale pieces. Chippendak "Gothic,' called also "Oathedral-Gothic," furniture arose (about 1760)-'when' Gothic arehitecttire was becoming fashionable; Chinese 'motifs soon became the fad; hence we find sqme pieces in Gothtc and °chinoiserie' From the atter Chippendale Used "pagodat, mandarin hats, lattice, fret "and' other motifs. French style copied Louis :Qiiinze, using the *Opposed Cs,' etc. The bOttibt, or swelled front, is in this style. ' ' Characterlatic Ptteductiona.—+If Chippen dale did not •rrtake sideboards, he produced massive carving .bles' with 'marble or mahog+ any tops with 'Wane Coolers" beneath or On the sides.'Bureaus . followed ftinner oak' and nut varieties,'•bit were of 'veneered or solid mahogany. bokrase often figures 'on to with paneled or glazed fronts ;' the latter hub( beautiful 'lattice' or panes. Bookcases rarely had carving, but they were haindscittlefir decorated' with 'fretwork friezes, sotne had serpentine fronts (highly prized). A "broken" pe&nentis favored. Chippendale's tables were various: writing tables, tripod "tip-up' (tilting) or -"let-Klemm" • with plain and "galleried' tops, molded tints, 'etc. His writing tables (called "'pedestal") were generally very commodious. FartIcard-playing "Chinese taste" or ."lattice" tables: were. fairontes. Chippendale period ma ke:tansy! dining tablets, sell at moderate prices but . has retrieved , anti are costly these days ; plain pieees,r:therefore, have often recent carv tng to enhance the price. His tilting tripod often shows very fine, carved decoration. Chip pendale wardrobes . were true nearly always barring plain cornices even when elaborate carving adorns the rest of the piece. In the laAter.ease Louis Quinze (see. FURNITURE, EUROPEAN), feet are usual but in simpler pieces we find the plain French' ogee feet. His chests of dtaniers have,•generally,, serpentine (waved) fronts•and are equipped with handsome brass keyhole escutcheons and brass handles. The *high- boy," that came into being in the 17th Century is still made. •A much admired Chip
pendale piece is the settee. It is often of the "two-chair-back" and "three-chair-back" varie ties fashionable in, the Queen Anne period; being in such favor, and rare, there are many fakes on the rmarket, usually made up from the backs. of two or three singles, or perhaps from armchairs, for the originals were made spe daily and are, wider even than the arm-chair hacks. Imitations were made in Holland and Portugal • but r of !.inferior workmanship and much, "rococo? elaboration that was foreign to Chippendale. 'In chairs Chippendale made two distinct:varieties— the plain and the ,fine; the plain. were for. everyday use in the Irving rooms, :the latter for display in the drawing room. , These chairs are in the following styles: Dutch (with pierced splats) ; "ladder-back"; "French manlier"; Gothic or a Cathedral I, "Chinese taste." A Chippendale chair innoyation was the making of wider fronts (to al/ow' for hoop-skirts) in combination with reduction of the breadth in the back. It is often. claimed that Chippendale originated the e/ seats, which created such an appearance lightness. There are however extant Quecu isnne chairs which show perforation of the splat in elementary form. As before, the arms of arm-chairs frequently reach only part of the way from the back to accommodate the ladies' skirts. The "claw-and ball" foot rof the Queen Anne period early in this era , alternated with the ogee and the club-shaped feet with a ball beneath. The bedsteads pf Chippendale are often very elaborate with their pierced-work cornices and Louis motifs, the foot-post re ceiving; carefully carved decoration and massive feet, but the charac. teristic Chippeadale bed-post shows only slight enrichment asomewhat slender proportions. T ; hose in G 11 arid Chinese taste have square ]Sect ,}"',ter '1 . Apides mahogany, these sieAds pund- in cherry, maple and birch. A popular piece of furniture of this period was the fire-screen. Chippendale made them in three styles— the tripod, ,Thorse" and folding "The t,tipod ("pole-se)een")' had screens A ' ' shield shape sliding up and 'dli the pokS;r *horse" screens had two sup ports, each on four legs. ChillOendile clock cases are noted; these cases for "grandfather* or long-case clocks are mostly in the French style, rococo at first, then Gothic, followed by Chinese taste. Their decoration runs to fret work more than carving, except those in the French style. His tea-caddies are in demand and show careful work from this masher hand. Most are in Louis XV style with cabriole legs, ogee or claw-and-hall feet in chased brass. Their brass handles and key escutcheons were of exquisite design. Among other pieces of this master cabinetmaker we find consoles, window-seats (now very rare), dumb-Waiters, etc. The Chippendale typical support is the cabriole ("bandy))) leg surmounted by a scallop shell or acanthus drop; and his unique furniture leg is the 'pierced square,' the term describing the idea very graphically. His favorite motifs in decoration were: Scallop-shell, fret, 'endive, acanthus, dolphin, wyvern, ram's head holding swags,squirrel, crow, a bird with• long tail.and long bill lion, masque, quatrefoil,. ribbons, flowers, bells, pagoda, Chinese umbrella,' canopy with bells at each corner, opposed Cs of rococo style, eagle, etc.