FRANCE
French furniture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is not greatly different from that made elsewhere in Europe at those dates. However, the principal wood used in England was oak, but in France, it was walnut, which was plentiful there. Just as many foreign workers came to London, so did others to Paris; it is almost impossible to distinguish an Italian-made cabinet from one made in France by an Italian craftsman. It was not until the end of the seventeenth century that French furniture gained its recognizable distinction. The first to give his name to a style there was Andre Charles Boulle (1642- 1732), who perfected a marquetry, originating in Italy, employing tortoiseshell and brass which was used mostly on furniture veneered with ebony. This is known now as either Boulle or Buhl work and the majority of it that has survived was made in Victorian times, or later. Old work of the eighteenth century is very valuable ($3,000 to $6,000 for a piece would not be considered extraordinary), but the nineteenth-century copies fetch a tenth or so of this.
Louis XV
This monarch has his name coupled with the most extravagant of furniture designs, known as Rococo! A style that spread throughout Europe. The term means ornamented with shells, scrollwork, and similar patterns, and until one grows accustomed to it, the dictionary definition of tastelessly florid or ornate may often be thought to apply. To our eyes, it is noticeable principally for a generous use of curved lines, and an 'unbalanced' look. Out of its elaborate setting there is no doubt that, Louis XV furniture appears very showy, but when it is seen in the rooms for which it was designed, it takes its place unobtrusively in the decorative scheme.
The French had a liking during the eighteenth century for small tables and cabinets, chests of drawers (called commodes), large writing tables with leather-covered tops having a row of drawers beneath and ta111egs, and upright cabinets with drop-down fronts concealing a writing space. Veneering was the usual decoration, aided by parquetry and marquetry set off with ormolu mountings. When compared with the sophisticated outside appearance, most of the pieces exhibit very rough finishing of the woodwork not usually seen, and a glance at the inside or underneath of a piece will prove this.
Many of the small tables and cabinets are supported on delicately curved cabriole legs so slight that it is a wonder they can stand without breaking. Chests of drawers always have a slab of colored marble as the top, and many other pieces are similarly finished. Chairs and settees were carved usually of beech wood, sometimes finished with gilding, and sometimes painted in pale colors. Mirror-frames were gilt, and are often very like English ones of the same date.
Louis XVI
A style that coincided roughly with the reign of this king: 1774 to 1793 and that is associated with a predominance of straight lines in place of curves. Tables and cabinets usually had square instead of rounded comers, and legs were square or rounded in place of cabriole. Furniture continued to be veneered and fitted with ormolu mounts, and many pieces were decorated with plaques of Sevres porcelain; some of it in blue and white to imitate Wedgwood ware. There was a revival of interest in Bou1le work, more of this was made to fill the demand, and it can be distinguished only with difficulty from that made earlier. Chairs no longer had the cabriole leg, but usually oval backs and turned legs; in both this and the preceding period they were often upholstered in tapestry.
Empire
Following the luxurious tastes of the eighteenth century, there was a revival of comparative austerity when the excesses of the Revolution finally died away. Instead of the richly mounted and colorful marquetry, the fashion was for plain mahogany with perhaps an inlay of brass and restrained ormolu mounts. The mahogany used was often of a darker color and more even grain than that favored in England, but there are a number of similarities between the Empire style in France and the Regency. Chairs, in particular, often had the sabre leg in both countries.
It must be emphasized that old French furniture was costly when it was made, and has always maintained a high price. During the past hundred years, those who could not afford the genuine article bought copies which were made to sell at reasonable prices and, apart from these copies which were not made with intent to deceive, it has paid the unscrupulous to spend time and money in making fakes. Remembering the years that have passed since most of it was made, some two centuries, and the fact that much was destroyed and damaged during the Revolution, it is surprising that so many fine examples have survived. A lot of these have been repaired ski1ful1y: lost veneer replaced, lost tops of tables restored, cupboards converted into drawers, and so forth. Thus, with French furniture as much as with any other, the collector must be very cautious indeed, and the subject needs careful study before its qualities can be appreciated and assessed.
With English furniture, it is rarely possible to name the maker unless bills or other definite evidence has been preserved. Only very occasionally is a cabinetmaker’s label found pasted inside a piece. French craftsmen, however, had the custom of marking their productions (or the majority of them) with a steel stamp bearing their name or initials. This was followed, when applicable, by a monogram of the letters J M E, standing for jurande des menuisiers-ebenistes; showing that the article was up to; the standard required by the Corporation of French cabinet-makers and had been inspected by their appointed jury. This custom, also, has had the attention of the fakers, and more pieces bear the alleged stamp of famous craftsmen than they could ever have had the time to make.
The following is a very brief list of the more eminent French cabinet -makers of the eighteenth century, of whom there were nearly 1,000 working in 1790:
J. H. Reisener L. Boudin Bernard Van Reisen Burgh P. Roussel (Stamped B. V .R.B.) J. F. Deben D. Rontgen
Martin Carlin C. C. Saunier
Roger Vandereruse Lacroix A. Weisweiler (Stamped R. V .L.C.) G. Jacob
(Specialized in making chairs)
