FURNITURE AND UTENSILS.
In early times household furniture was much more simple than would be inferred from the writings of the Romantic school. Two articles alone, the heating apparatus and the bed, received particular attention.
Healing learn from various excavations that the Romans introduced into their northern provinces their method of heating houses by subterranean pipes, but not the slightest evidence has been adduced to show that this method was adopted by neighboring or even by the conquered nations; they were probably unable to imitate its mechanical arrangement. In Gaul the fireplace was in use from a remote period; it was simply an enclosed hearth for burning wood, and only in late times did the stone framework receive any ornamentation. According to Ulfilas, the Goths used stoves constructed of masonry.
In the fourteenth century stoves made of tiles were in use, as we learn from excavations in the ruined castle of Tannenberg. These stoves, con structed with concave tiles, had acquired a degree of technical perfection which was subsequently lost. They were glazed and colored yellow or green. About the end of the fifteenth century other colors were also used, and the stove was built in conformity to the architecture of the period, so that it became an ornamental as well as a useful piece of furniture. Many splendid specimens are extant. We exhibit a comparatively simple one on Plate 42 (fig. 7). One of the finest examples of these stoves is seen in the Prince's Chamber of the Augsburg senate-house (pl. 41, Jig. 4). After the advent of the modern era there came into use, from localities in which the iron industries were developed, the well-known cast-iron stoves, which at first were decorated with biblical scenes, and later with local coats of arms or with other ornamentation.
sleeping apartment, as shown in medkeval pictures, con tained a bedstead raised on legs above the floor and supplied with mattress, sheets, and pillow, the latter supported by a lofty headboard. Large pieces of woollen cloth were used as coverlets. At first the woodwork was turned, but later it was carved. The size of the beds was gradually in creased, until in the fifteenth century they developed into immense family beds, each of which was capable of holding several persons. The head board was increased in height, and finally turned over so as to form a canopy or roof, which was at first supported by ropes attached to the ceil ing (fic. r), and later by four columns which were prolongations of the
legs of the bed. It was hung with curtains, one being usually drawn back, and it thus resembled a room within a room. Up to this period, as many illustrations prove, people slept entirely nude.
Toilet the sixteenth century on, every good room was provided with a toilet-stand. Previously, people had performed their morning ablutions at the nearest well, as is still frequently done in the country. But during the Middle Ages the higher classes used a basin, which was held by a servant, who poured water into it from a pitcher. In the same manner they washed their hands before and after meals, for they used their fingers in eating solid food. Subsequently, a tank and basin were placed in a niche in the wall, and the waste water was collected in a metal receptacle beneath; beside the niche a towel was hung from a wooden roller (pl. 41, fig. 2, to the left).
The Seats were generally benches along the wall beneath the tapestry. They were arranged in the window-recesses so that persons could sit vis z'is (fig. 2). Cushions lay about for use if desired. There were also par ticular chairs of state reserved for distinguished persons. They had arms and a back, and in early times were made of pine or of oak decorated in the style of the period. Plate 42 (fig. 1) shows a rare specimen which is preserved at Dresden. In the fifteenth century the back was raised so as to support a canopy, the sides were closed, and a writing-desk was added in front. This style was used for study. The seventeenth century is distinguished by roomy chairs with cushioned arms and back, covered with gilt leather and hung with fringes. In the eighteenth century damask was used instead of leather, the back was made higher, and supports were added to the sides for head-rests. Common chairs were made so that when not in use they could be folded and placed against the wall. In that case the legs were crossed (pl. 41, I). Afterward oak chairs with three or four expanding legs and small, often fantastically carved, backs, came into use. A curious revolving arm-chair is shown on Plate 42 (fig. 2) from the original at Ratisbon.