The Louis XVI. style is easily recognizable. In every kind of furniture whether viewed from the full face or profile, the straight line strikes the eye. It is everywhere, in all the uprights, in the leg and backs of tables and chairs, and parallel lines are close together. Another striking object is a peculiarly slender oval that appears in medallions and vases and all kinds of ornaments. Oval medallions are to be met with on panels and wood marquetry in light tints. These medallions, in which the favourite device is a basket of flowers, are surrounded by a frame, or border, of a straight row of eggs, itself bordered within by a row of pearls. At the top of the medallion is a knot or bow of ribbon, from which falls on either side a little bunch of flowers.

The indications of the coming Louis XVI. style really began between 1745 and 1750, and developed at the same time that the rococo was in full flower. The discoveries made in Pompeii and Herculaneum are responsible for the enthusiasm of certain masters of decoration for the straight line and the regular forms of Greek art. Madame de Pompadour greatly favoured this new style.

This period is characterized by a peculiar liking, or pretended liking for everything relating to the fields and to nature. Books of Idylles and Bergeries are multiplied; l’homme de champs has appeared in literature; and the word “sensible” is very fashionable. The works of J. J. Rousseau, Berquin and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre are now being widely read. Ornamentation includes all the pastoral attributes (such as shepherds’ crooks, shepherds’ and shepherdesses’ hats, scythes, rakes, spades, watering-pots, pipes, flutes, Basque drums, and bird-cages), knots of ribbon, wreaths of roses, bunches of flowers, baskets of flowers, falling garlands, sheaves of wheat, architectural eggs and pearls, or beads, parallel groovings, the thyrsus, quivers, torches, the lyre, the broken column, the grooved shaft, the little open galleries or rails on the tops of pieces of furniture (see Plates XLVIII. No. 1; XLVII. and XLIV.) and round, oval, elliptical, or long square medallions containing pastoral subjects. Acanthus scrolls with slender stems support the tablets; and the mouldings are almost invariably bordered with pearl headings. The laurel leaf in the form of a wreath, or a swag, is often used; and the husk, or bell-flower, drops down the pilasters and legs of furniture. (Typical legs appear as Nos. 6 and 7 on Plate XLVII.) The vase is exceedingly prominent. Sometimes it holds flowers, sometimes a pine cone or a flame; the shield is also evident; the woodwork is often oak painted white; the walls are divided up by pilasters delicately carved and painted in colours, and often the mouldings are gilt. The chairs and sofas are covered with rich silk or tapestry. Pastoral subjects, flowers and trophies are worked for the backs and seats. Cabinets and tables are inlaid with woods of various colours: tulip-wood, rosewood, pear, holly and ebony are all in use; and bright colours are obtained by chemical treatment.

A critic has asked: “How is this? Should a decorator lose all sense of appropriateness and invite you to sit down upon a pigeon, to obliterate a love scene, and lean your back against a panier of fruit, or a basket of flowers?” The answer was: “Is it not as absurd to eat from a plate decorated with flowers which will mingle with the sauces, or to drink from a cup decorated with butterflies which might fly down your throat! If the pigeons, baskets of flowers and pastoral scenes delight the eye, that is sufficient.”

The materials used in this style are principally white marble, bronzes covered with a soft burnished gold, woods painted white, or in pale delicate hues, such as grey, with which is mixed a little blue, green, or red. To these numerous shades of grey the name “celadon” was given.

“The effort was everywhere made to substitute straight lines for curved and broken lines and unsymmetrical forms, so that simultaneously a right principle of construction was recognized and ornament was no longer required to serve constructive ends. It recovered its place as mere decoration, and as such was added or applied to furniture, though not always happily, for chairs and tables were adorned with freely modelled festoon and floating ribbons and garlands, which were too loosely connected with the objects decorated, and stood in too slight connection with them. Not only were the structural parts of furniture once more made rectilinear, but their profiles and dimensions were decidedly more delicate, and the legs of chairs and tables tapered downward to a point. Although this is essentially right in principle, as it gives furniture a more portable appearance, still it can be carried too far. This was so much the case with the furniture of this period that tables, chairs, high-legged secretaries and cabinets look poor and thin, stiff and stilted,—an effect which is not condoned by their elegant prettiness.”

The above quotation is from Falk, who goes on to say:

“That which was new in the style of Louis XVI. consisted in the employment of antique ornamental designs, which, having lately been made known through the excavations at Pompeii, had become fashionable; we mean those flowery, conventional, and charming arabesques interspersed with many graceful animal forms, with which the decorators of the time skilfully and pleasingly added an approach to the realistic use of natural forms, quite opposed to the system of Rococo ornament. Perfectly preserved examples of this style of ornament, which was used at the Petit Trianon, still exist in the above-mentioned boudoir of Marie Antoinette at Fontainebleau, as well as in the palace at Haga,^[19] both painted on and carved in the woodwork, although the latter is not left in its natural colour, but is gilded in various shades.”

Pollen describes the interior decoration of the rooms of this period as follows:

“The panelling of rooms, usually in oak and painted white, was designed in severe lines with straight moulding and pilasters. The pilasters were decorated with well designed, carved work, small, close and splendidly gilt. The quills, that fill the fluted columns still seen round so many interiors, were cut into beads or other subdivisions with much care. Fine arabesque works in the style of the Loggie of Raphael, partly carved in relief, partly drawn and painted, or gilt, with gold of a yellow or a green hue, the green being largely alloyed with silver, and with silver leaf as well.... The houses built for members of the brilliant court of Marie Antoinette at Versailles and Paris, were filled with admirable work in this style, or in the severer but still delicate carved panelling in wood plainly painted. The royal factories of Gobelins and of SÈvres turned out their most beautiful productions to decorate the rooms, the furniture, and the table service of the young Queen and her courtiers. The former of these factories produced the tapestries for wall hangings.... Gobelins tapestry was used for chair backs and seats, and for sofas. Rich silks from the looms of Lyons, and from those of Lucca, Genoa and Venice were also employed for this kind of furniture, both in France and Flanders, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as in our own country. But in all these matters France led the fashions.”

One of the specialties of this period is the great use of porcelain applied to the front of furniture; these placques are round or oval, and frequently a long rectangle. This fashion had already become popular during the former reign; but it was carried to excess in the days of Louis XVI. Jacquemart says:

“We again repeat that no classification exists that is not defective; between the end of the reign of Louis XV. and the beginning of that of Louis XVI. there is certainly no marked transition; the sobered furniture in the style À la reine is still seen with its chequered marquetry and delicately chased bronzes. Louis XV., the founder of the Porcelain manufactory of France, no doubt caused SÈvres plaques with bouquets, bordered with turquoise blue to be inlaid in the furniture he had around him, or which he offered as gifts. And yet it is more particularly in the reign of Louis XVI. and at the time when Amboyna wood and spotted mahogany were replacing marquetry mosaic, that porcelain and Wedgwood cameos were incrusted in panels, friezes, and the drawers of furniture; it may be permitted, therefore, for the sake of clearness, to call the overlaying of furniture with china by the name of the sovereign who so especially admired and patronized it. In fact, the period of Louis XVI. is that in which cabinet-making employed its resources most largely and multiplied its styles.”

Among the designers who are classed under the epoch of Louis XVI., but whose works are a mixture of Louis XV. and Louis XVI. styles, are Roubo, Lucotte, Watelet, Jean Baptiste Pierre, Dumont, Demontigny, Charles de Wailly, Le Lorrain, Choffart and Neufforge. The latter, a native of LiÈge, was one of the most prolific designers of the age. His eight books of architecture with supplement give examples of interior decorations. The fifth volume, which appeared in 1763, is devoted exclusively to mantel-pieces, ceilings, tables, stoves, commodes, parquet floors, vases and other furniture; and many designs of sofas, cabinets, buffets, armoires, clocks, consoles and commodes are included in the eighth volume published in 1768. Although Neufforge published all his designs during the reign of Louis XV., they form a complete illustration of both the exterior and interior decoration of houses of the Louis XVI. style. However, Neufforge did also produce some designs in the style Louis XV. A mirror by Neufforge appears on Plate XLVII., No. 2.

The most important designers of the Louis XVI. period are: Delafosse, Ranson, Forty, De Lalonde, Salembier, Fragonard, Boucher fils, de CuvilliÉs fils, Marillier, Moreau le jeune, Prieur, Petitot, Cauvet, Fay and Le Canu. Others of reputation include: Boulanger, Simon Challe, Houel, Bellicart, Saint Non, LePrince, Bachelier, Liard, Robert, St. Aubin, Renard, Queverdo, Fonlanieu, Pariset, Moreau, Houdan, Beauvais, Le Geay, Bertren, Janel, LaRue, Parizeau, Bonnet, Duplessis fils, Fossier, Huet, Demarteau, Percenet, Pouget, Tibesar, Gardette Ponce, Moithey, Panseron, Desvoyes, Taraval, Charton, Aubert Parent, and Normand.

Delafosse (b. 1721) designed every species of interior decoration, and every kind of furniture and ornament in use, besides innumerable trophies, pastoral attributes, and attributes of music, painting, science, hunting, fishing, etc., etc. His furniture includes sofas, canapÉs and fauteuils in the picturesque taste, and chairs in the antique taste, Turkey ottomans and beds, gondola sofas, French, Italian and Chinese beds, and couches and settees in all the novel forms of the day, as well as window-seats, secretaries, corner-cupboards, candlestands, pedestals, stoves, and chimney-pieces. In some of his designs there are reminiscences of the Louis XV. style, but he is regarded as one of the exponents of the Louis XVI. style and their individuality has given them the name “genre de la Fosse.”

Fragonard (b. 1733; d. 1806) has among his designs bas-reliefs gay with fauns and Bacchantes in luxuriant foliage, panels and over-doors, and charming studies for ceilings, especially adapted for boudoirs.

Forty, designer, engraver, carver, etc., worked in Paris from 1775 to 1780; and in taste and execution his works are perfect examples of the time. In addition to books of vases, iron work for balconies, gratings, stairways, and designs for goldsmiths, he published eight books entitled Œuvres de Sculptures en bronze, in which are designs for girandoles, lustres, clocks, candelabra, dials, barometers, etc., and a “design for Two Toilettes,” representing everything that is appropriate to the use of a lady, and ornamented with the proper figures and allegorical attributes. Jewel-boxes, powder-boxes, comb-trays, etc., are included.

De Lalonde’s first publications, in the Louis XVI. style, are addressed “to artists and persons who wish to decorate with taste”; and he assures them that everything is in the newest style. They include borders and frames, both square and round, feet for furniture, tables and consoles, doors, cornices, entablatures, girandoles, lustres, candelabra, trophies, soffits, vases, mantel-pieces, over-doors, ceilings and rosettes for ceilings, fire-places, locks and knobs for the use of doors and furniture, chimney-pieces and sconces. His thirteen books of furniture represent sofas, lits de repos, bergÈres, duchesses, banquettes confidents, ottomans and other varieties of beds and sofas, fauteuils of both the square and gondola form, billiard and card-tables, desks of the cylinder and tomb shapes and desks with hind’s feet, commode desks, commodes of marquetry, square commodes and commodes with hind’s feet, corner-cupboards, screens, chiffonniers, bookcases with pilasters, little toilette commodes, demi-toilettes, flower-stands, etc., etc. Other books show numerous designs for the table service. The later publications of De Lalonde approach the new Classic taste. In these there are numerous plates for the decoration of apartments, cornices, consoles, ceilings, doors, alcoves, windows, chimney-pieces, girandoles, lustres, sofas, canapÉs, fauteuils and beds, most of which are “in the antique taste.” Among the chairs there is a chaise renversÉe À bergÈre, a fauteuil À griffon, a chaise Élastique, a fauteuil À tÊte renversÉe, and a fauteuil À chimÈre antique.

De Lalonde’s designs were exceedingly popular. His beds and sofas À la duchesse, À la polanaise, À colonnes, À trois dossiers, À la turque, etc. are legion, and his chairs, arm-chairs, bergÈres, screens, tabourets, consoles, etc. appeared at Trianon and Fontainebleau, and many of them survived the Revolution. De Lalonde continued his work under the Directoire and so slavishly followed the fashion that his work leads directly into the style of the Empire as expressed by Percier and Fontaine.

De Lalonde is fond of the ribboned leg (see No. 3, Plate XLVI.) and the grooved leg; and his favourite ornaments are the quiver, the urn, the lyre, the garland, the burning torch, and, in his combinations of trophies, the ribbon plays an important part. Specimens of De Lalonde’s works are shown on Plate XLVI., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7.

Ranson was particularly fond of trophies and flowers. He composed many designs and motives for the embroidery of arm-chairs. His books give all sorts of trophies and floral designs for various kinds of decoration. He also designed a great deal of furniture, particularly beds. Among the varieties exhibited in his plates are: Lit À ImpÉriale À colonnes, lit À chaire À prÊcher. Lit À la Polonaise À tombeau, lit À l’antique, front and side view, lit À la duchesse, lit À la chinoise, lit À la Romaine, lit À la militaire, lit À la Panurge, lit À la Polonaise À tombeau retroussÉ À la chinoise.

Ranson was particularly fond of the pastoral accessories; and he groups large hats, shepherds’ crooks, spades, trowels, and bird-cages, and throws around them garlands and ribbons. The round or oval frames of his chairs are generally surmounted by a garland of roses wherein doves sometimes bill and coo, or a quiver of arrows is set. An example of the latter design appears as No. 3 on Plate XLIV. Two sofas by Ranson are shown on Plate XLIV., Nos. 1 and 2. The first is a “sofa with drapery and cushions,” the second is an “ottomane À la reine.”

The cabinet-makers made a vast number of Ranson’s designs.

Salembier’s publications are chiefly devoted to the study of ornaments, particularly trailing foliage and arabesques, the acanthus and the thistle leaf. He designed no large pieces of furniture, but there are a few plates of consoles, guÉridons, sconces, chandeliers, clocks, feet and corners of tables; friezes and panels for doors are also included.

In Salembier’s designs, the foliage is not very luxuriant, and the acanthus leaf takes the place of the shell. The figures of Cupid that he uses are more like the Greek in treatment; and although his ornaments are plentiful, they grow slenderer. His arabesques are very ornate, although they are composed of light elements, mingled with branches, mosses and grass.

Petitot’s best book contains many views and studies of a salon in the purest Louis XVI. taste. He also published sets of vases.

Jules FranÇois Boucher (b. 1736, d. 1781), the son of the famous painter, published various decorations for panels, elevations for alcoves, windows, buffets, details of armoires and commodes, libraries, drawing-rooms, cabinets, bath-rooms, dressing-rooms, boudoirs, bedrooms, dining-rooms, vestibules, etc. His work is particularly valuable; for the decorations, like those of Neufforge, give a more correct idea of the general ornamentation of the Louis XVI. period than the very rich and elaborate designs of Cauvet, Salembier and others.

CuvilliÉs (b. 1734, d. 1805) was for a time architect of the Bavarian court, and his stay in Germany greatly influenced his taste. His works deal chiefly with ornamentation, but designs for stoves, terms, vases and fountains are found among his drawings; and “niches in two Gothic styles” were published about 1770.

Marillier (b. 1740, d. 1808) chiefly designed flowers, trophies and cartouches. He also produced “new ornament composed in the most modern taste to be made in gold, silver, copper and other metals.” These include trimmings for commodes, buffets and other pieces of furniture, besides lamps, candelabras, sconces for mantel-pieces, hearth furniture, etc. Marillier’s work shows the best characteristics of the Louis XVI. style.

Prieur’s taste led him to arabesques, but, among his large collection of designs, one book is devoted to the decoration of apartments. Its six plates comprise a round dining-room, drawing-room, bedroom, boudoir, vestibule door and two ceilings.

A number of Beneman’s signed works exist, and are of massive and severe form. His heavy commodes of rigid lines are ornamented with handsome metal mounts; and many of his pieces announce the coming Empire style.

At Fontainebleau and the Louvre, are preserved many articles by Dugourc, whose favourite ornament was the quiver.

Cauvet (b. 1731, d. 1788) designed ornaments, chiefly arabesques. Typical trophies and arabesques are shown on Plate XLV. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

A great number of painters, decorators and designers devoted their attention to the urn and vase forms: innumerable volumes entitled “vases composed in the antique taste or suite des vases,” were published by Vien, Jacques, Saly, Watelet, Pierre, Wailly, La Live de Juilly, Simon Challe, Saint Non, Petitot, Cauvet, Houdan, Beauvais, Bertren, Gachet, La Rue, Bonnet, Joly, Duplessis, fils, Percenet, Scheemakers, Moithey l’ainÉ, Nicolet, Dupuis, Courture l’ainÉ, Marchand, Perault, Pannier, DorÉ and Normand.

Others gave great attention to designing iron-work for balconies, locks, bolts and mounts for furniture; and even stoves received much consideration. Bosse, for instance, gives eighteen models in his Collection des dessins de PoÊles de formes antiques et modernes, de l’invention et de la manufacture du sieur Olivier, rue de la Roquette, faubourg Saint-Antoine.

Other designers published books of arabesques, trophies, flowers and other ornaments for the use of interior decorators. Among the most interesting of these is Charton’s Collection de douze cahiers de plantes ÉtrangÈres en fleurs, fruits, corail et coquillages, published in 1784.

One of the most prolific designers of textiles was Pillement (b. 1728; d. 1808), and his plates show all the popular motives and subjects of the day: branches, ribbons, stripes mingled with flowers, and those patterns of winding ribbons alternating with straight stripes bespangled with flowers called Dauphines, which were introduced at the time of the Dauphin’s marriage with Marie Antoinette in 1770. From the time that the Princesse de Lamballe assumed charge of the Queen’s household, feathers were much used as a design for textiles; and the affected pastoral life at Trianon gave rise to the gayest sort of materials in which the winding stripes and interlacing ribbons are not only sprinkled with flowers, but all the pastoral attributes. About 1780, the round medallions came in and lasted till the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. Of course, the growing taste for the antique had its effect upon the decoration of materials, and the columns, volutes, lyres, heads of Minerva and other Classic ornaments became more and more popular. However, amidst all the changes, one thing persisted. This was the stripe. At first, it was hidden under ribbons and flowers, branches and feathers, but all the scattered ornaments became smaller and less noticeable until they disappeared altogether, and left the dominating stripe. Mercier wrote in 1788: “Everybody in the King’s cabinet looks like a zebra.”

The Marquise de Pompadour, who favoured the new styles, was fond of the stripe. Her bed at Marly was quite in advance of the style associated with Marie Antoinette. It was draped in a rich silk composed of blue and white stripes sprinkled with bouquets of flowers.

Typical coverings of the day are shown on Plates XLIV., XLV., and XLVI.

Fay was a famous designer of textiles, and wall paper which imitated them in pattern and colour. The material known as quinze seize, a kind of taffeta, whose name was derived from its width was much used for curtains, and also a heavy silk, called gros de Tours. They remained fashionable during the Empire. Another favourite material was the toile de Jouy, which was a kind of printed linen or cretonne made at the factory of Jouy in Josas, which Oberkampt established in 1759. His productions there became enormously popular, and the designs were printed from the best talent that could be engaged,—such as Huet, for instance.

It is singular that the two most famous cabinet-makers of the Louis XVI. period were Germans,—Riesener and Roentgen. Riesener (b. about 1730) came from his native town near Cologne to Paris, and, as we have seen, worked in Œben’s shop. When the latter died in 1768, Riesener carried on his business, and up to the outbreak of the Revolution, produced a great deal of furniture. He became “ÉbÉniste du Roi” and worked for the Royal family until they left Versailles. Of course he began to work under Louis XV., his most important production having been made for that King himself (see page 213); but as the greater part of his work was accomplished during the following reign, he is always classed among artisans of the Louis XVI. period. Many of his pieces are from designs by De Lalonde. They include tables, chairs, cabinets, chests-of-drawers and corner-cupboards that are now prized. Riesener is particularly noted for his marquetry. He was fond of inserting a panel of a single piece of wood bearing in its centre a gay and graceful bunch of flowers, a wreath, or trophy, and enriching the border with a diaper pattern of three or four quiet colours. He often stamped his name upon the panel itself. His favourite woods for inlaying were: tulip, rosewood, holly, maple, laburnum, and purple-wood (copaifera pubiflora). Riesener also made furniture, particularly chests-of-drawers and cabinets of snake-wood, or other brown woods in which the grain is waved or curled, and also worked in plain mahogany and letter-wood, depending upon GouthiÈre’s metal mounts for the decorative effect. Fashion also forced Riesener to introduce, somewhat against his will, painted porcelain into his furniture in place of his inlaid panels. One of his productions of this class appears on Plate XLVII. It is a chiffonnier-secrÉtaire of mahogany with ornaments of chiselled copper, and plaques of SÈvres porcelain. The subjects of the latter are birds. The two lower plaques are apparently held by knots of ribbon made of copper chased and gilt. A little open-worked gallery runs around the back and sides of the top, the front moulding of which is ornamented with the festoon. The commode on Plate XLVIII. is also one of Riesener’s works.

David Roentgen is often known as “David.” He was born near Coblentz, and seems to have kept his shop there, visiting Paris to dispose of his wares; and, obtaining the interest of Marie Antoinette, he established a shop in Paris. He introduced a new kind of marquetry, in which the shadows and shading were actually done by pieces of wood; and, as a journalist of the period said, was done like “stone mosaic.” The woods he used for his marquetry work were lighter and gayer than Riesener’s. He employed various white woods, such as pear, lime, and other light-coloured woods, and frequently tinted them other shades by burning them, or by chemical processes. Like Riesener, he worked also in plain mahogany and letter-wood, and also veneered furniture with these woods. His productions were also brightened by GouthiÈre’s chased and gilt handles and key-plates. Roentgen was particularly clever about introducing mechanical devices into his furniture. His greatest period of activity was between 1780 and 1790.

Among other noted cabinet-makers were Leleu, Saunier, Carlin (who made many articles for Marie Antoinette), Levasseur, Avril, Pafrat (who worked with Carlin), Philippe-Claude Montigny (who copied the works of Boulle), Benman, Stockel, Weisweiler, and Schwerdfeger. Quite a colony of German cabinet-makers, attracted by the success of Riesener and Roentgen, as well as the hope of gaining the interest of the young Austrian Queen, settled in the faubourg Saint-Antoine.

Although some of the beds popular during the last reign survived, particularly the alcove and niche beds, many new varieties were introduced, and the books of such designers as Ranson, Delafosse, and Salembier, contain many drawings of beds. The canopy generally becomes smaller and smaller, until it dwindles into a crown or ring to hold the curtains, and is known as lit À couronne,—a variety that continued popular throughout the Empire. The great four-post bed and the lit en housse, occasionally recorded in inventories and sales, are survivals of the past; most of the new beds take some form of the sofa. The favourite lit À l’anglaise is really nothing but a square sofa. Indeed the dividing line between the beds and sofas is not clearly marked, for the “bed with three backs,” as they still defined it, is draped and furnished with the customary two bolsters and a decorative canopy and curtains. The distinction was not very rigidly observed even at the time. For example, in 1773 we read: “For sale at M. CarrÉ’s, rue d’Enfer a lit À l’anglaise of yellow damask that forms a sopha 5 feet wide and 6 feet long; the frame of carved walnut.” In 1785, “a cane bed with three backs that may serve as an ottoman in a summer drawing-room,” is offered for sale.

Columns rarely appear now, and when they do, they are usually light. Sometimes, indeed, they are of iron, and covered with the same material as the curtains. It is preferred to place the bed sideways (vu de face) against the wall. In this case, the headboard and footboard are of equal height and exactly alike. (See Plates XLIV. and XLV.) Often the headboard and footboard are covered with the curtain-material; they are also left plain and printed, or lacquered or gilded. Natural wood ornamented with bronze gilt or moulu decorations is used. The use of veined woods gradually did away with the practice of covering the head and footboards. When the headboard was higher than the footboard, the head was placed against the wall (vu de pied), or it stood in the corner. Muslin, Persian, silk, and other materials were used for draperies, and these were trimmed with bows of ribbon, fringe, cords and tassels. The curtains and counterpane were subject to a formal arrangement of loops and festoons, and feathers still decorated the canopy. Among the most popular varieties were lit À la Polonaise, À la Turque, À la Chinoise, À tombeau, À double tombeau, and À l’anglaise. There was another new bed called À la dauphine, which did not long remain in fashion. Ranson designed one in 1780. This was a lit À impÉriale or À dÔme, which was light and rather graceful. Instead of being supported by columns the dome was held by an iron armature. The lit À l’Italienne, so named on account of the draping of the curtains, was very popular in 1775; and the lit À couronne had a round or oval canopy, surmounted by a festoon drapery, trimmed with ball fringe. Two curtains, similarly trimmed, fell from the canopy on either side of the bed to the floor.

The forms, colours, and styles of the beds in use during the Louis XVI. period may be gathered from the following list: lit À housse, crimson velvet, trimmed and embroidered with gold, MarÉchal Duc d’EstrÉes, 1771; lit À la polonaise, blue damask and moirÉ, Boucher (the painter), 1771; lit À housse, green damask, Madame Favart, 1772; bed of embroidered muslin, the Duc de Bouillon, 1772; lit de Perse, white background with various cut-out decorations, Duchesse de Brissac, 1773; bed of Indian damask, Chevalier d’Hestin, 1775; crimson velvet with gold braid, Duke of Saint-Aignan, 1776; yellow satin embroidered with gold flowers, Marquise de Courcillon, 1777; Indian damask, Mme. le president Talon, 1779; bright yellow damask (worth 24,000 livres), unknown, 1779; crimson damask, Marquise de Saint Georges, 1779; and crimson and white moirÉ, la Comtesse de BÉrulle, 1779. In 1780, crimson seems to be the favourite hue, but there are also fine beds of blue and white damask, crimson and white brocade, and yellow damask, and in 1781–1782, yellow and white damask, green damask, blue damask, blue and white watered silk, blue and white brocade, Persian, tapestry and blue satin embroidered with gold and silk. Yellow camlet and damask in three colours occur in 1784, and in 1787 Oriental stuffs and imitations of them are the rage. In 1787, the Marquis de MÉnars had a beautiful bed of embroidered blue moirÉ; the Duc d’OrlÉans, a lit À la duchesse of flowered silver velvet, trimmed with gold braid and fringes; and the financier, Beaujon, a large canopy bed hung with Gobelin tapestries.

In addition to these, we may call attention to the following folding-beds: a “lit d’ante-chambre in the form of a secretary” was offered at the sale of the Marquise de Vigean’s effects in 1783; and at the sale of Mme. Le Gros’s articles in 1784 “a bed of crimson damask enclosed in an armoire en secrÉtaire.” A French newspaper also offered for sale in 1785 “a pretty bed enclosed in a secretary made of mahogany with trimmings of gilded or moulu, 7 feet high and 3½ feet wide, proper for both city and country”; and four years earlier a “bed in the form of a commode and garnished with copper” was also offered for sale.

The lower drawing on Plate XLIV. represents a lit de repos, or “causerie,” such as was used at Trianon. The wood is walnut, gilded all over. A carved garland of flowers decorated the top of the head and foot-board, and the grooved columns are surmounted by a carved pineapple. The drapery is a light Florentine silk, green in hue, trimmed with cords and tassels and fringe of white, green and pink.

The bed on Plate XLV. is from a water-colour design by Rousseau de la RottiÈre.

The window-curtains and draperies have also changed, to be in sympathy with the furniture. They are far more studied than ever before, and it is the cutter whose abilities are required rather than the graceful draper. Every bit of material must count, and the shape is determined upon by the scissors. The straight line is insisted upon, and festoon, scarf and lambrequin are combined in a precise and formal manner. When a lambrequin is cut in denticulated ornaments, sometimes the teeth end in a point, and sometimes they are rounded. The cantonniÈre has entirely disappeared, and the scarf is now an obligatory accompaniment to bed curtains and window-curtains. The curtains are heavily wadded and lined, and beneath them thin muslin or taffeta curtains hang. The draperies are trimmed with braids, cords, fringes, small bell-shaped balls, and long or short but rather slender tassels.

Gilded and lacquered cornices are used, and cornices of white and gilt whose flowers and other ornaments are painted in appropriate colours. The latter style was known as camaÏeux. On Plate XLIV., Nos. 3 and 4, specimen cornices with the correct drapery are shown. The central ornament of each is a composition of garlands, quivers and burning torches. Another arrangement of window drapery appears in Plate XLIII.

The lyre clock (No. 3, Plate XLVII.), and the screen (No. 4, Plate XLVIII.), are also typical examples.

The commode becomes more popular than ever. The bombÉ commode of the preceding reign is succeeded by a piece of furniture in which the straight line predominates, and which usually stands on grooved feet. Some commodes have doors and others long drawers, with two simple handles on either side of the key-plate. When five drawers are placed one above the other, the feet naturally become lower than those of the Louis XV. period. Commodes were made of plain mahogany, amaranth and violet-wood. Marquetry work gradually yielded to plain panels bordered with a delicately chased bronze moulding, and the top was covered with a marble slab. Doors and drawers, however, were sometimes ornamented with inlays of flowers or trophies in the centre of the panel. Very few lacquered commodes were made. The commode on Plate XLVIII. is a transitional piece by Riesener. It is of marquetry, ornamented with chased gilt bronze mounts. The legs show the Louis XV. influence. Above it, on the same Plate, is another piece that retains sympathy with the former period. This is a “demi-toilette.” Its curving hind’s feet are ornamented with a bronze gilt acanthus, and delicate metal-work decorates the moulding above the three drawers. (See detail No. 5).

The chiffonnier, or tall case of drawers, occurs in the inventories of this reign. It was used in the dressing and bedrooms.

The console, or pier-table, still holds its place under the mirror between the windows. It bears little resemblance to the superbly carved and decorative console of the former reign. It is composed of straight lines, a straight grooved leg, or a leg grooved and tapered, as shown on Plate XLVIII., No. 1. The ornaments are slight, merely a little gilded metal gallery around the top and base, a small ornament, a rosette or trophy, in the centre under the slab, and sometimes a little decoration on the legs. The straining-rails sometimes unite to form a sort of basket or tray to hold flowers or a piece of porcelain, and sometimes the legs are united by a solid piece of wood, as appears on Plate XLIII., which also shows the favourite style of standing upon it a single SÈvres vase. The console was not only made of mahogany and brass work, but it was frequently painted in a light colour. Grey or celadon was a favourite hue. At the sale of the Versailles furniture, during the Terror, “two consoles, painted in pearl-grey, elegantly ornamented with carving and having very handsome slabs of Carara marble,” were sold.

A console in which the characteristics of the approaching Empire style are evident is shown as No. 5 on Plate XLVII. In the original, a double eagle sits upon the straining-rail directly below the chubby cherub. The eagle is accompanied by a branch of laurel. It will not be long before the classic head of the term leg is succeeded by the sphinx.

Typical drawing-room tables are shown on Plate XLIII. It is very rarely that a table of gilded wood is met with in a drawing-room or petit salon. Solid or veneered tables of rosewood, amaranth, violet-wood or mahogany, decorated with brass-work or gilded copper, are the favourites. Sometimes the top consists of a marble slab, and sometimes a square of velvet or cloth is framed in a border of wood ornamented with a metal moulding; but the table-cloth is rigorously avoided.

In the boudoir, tables painted and lacquered in the Vernis Martin style are met with. In the boudoir as well as in the drawing-room, the “flower table” also occurs. This must have been a jardiniÈre, because Percier uses the word table À fleurs for his jardiniÈres. Growing flowers were greatly preferred to cut flowers for decoration, and were placed on tables or stands in vases and baskets made of gilded metal or gilded osiers. The flower table, however, was arranged purposely for growing plants. It resembled the pier-table, and was often ornamented with porcelain plaques. In 1777, a Parisian advertisement reads: “For sale, a beautiful table À fleurs, now being made, of satin-wood lined with lead, the four feet in scrolls ornamented with shoes gilded or moulu, as also the rings that form the handles; with a drawer also lined with lead to drain the water.”

Writing-tables with desks that lift up and down at pleasure to any height required, by means of mechanical devices, were also placed in the boudoir. Work-tables were sometimes combined with the writing-tables.

Numerous kinds of card-tables were in use and tables called “de bouillote,” which were round, folding or fixed, and stood on four feet.

The extension dining-table, mounted on four, six or eight feet and opening at the middle, appears in this period, and a very useful article is introduced into the dining-room. This is the table servante, a species of dumb-waiter, with drawers and shelves arranged in tiers and supported on four feet. Some of the drawers are large enough to hold bottles or a carafe, while others are intended for corkscrews and small articles. The feet, which are grooved, are mounted on casters. This piece of furniture is represented in the caricatures by Charlet, Grandville and H. Monnier.

A kindred article is represented in the upper right-hand corner of Plate XLVIII. This is a breakfast table made by Carlin and Patrat. It is now in the South Kensington Museum.

Desks or bureaux, like the commodes, became heavier and approached the sarcophagus in shape. The rolltop cylinder was the most popular design. One of these is represented on Plate XLVII., No. 4. The cabinet was also in use, and sometimes it was constructed especially for the corner of a room. A corner cabinet is shown on Plate XLVII., No. 1, with its panel inlaid with a floral design, and its grooved column at the side that is of the vase shape, and supports a small urn with a burning torch. It was considered proper to place a vase on the top of the cabinet. The tall vase was greatly used as a decoration, and was placed not only on cabinet and pier-table, but a pedestal was frequently provided for it. (See Plate XLIII.)

Another specimen of a cylinder desk is represented on Plate XLIV. It is in the style of Riesener, and is made of mahogany with delicately chased metal trimmings. The frieze is a combination of scrolls, griffins and leaves; the panels of the doors and the cylinder are also bordered with metal; the foot is encased in a metal leaf; and the key-plates are ornately worked. The legs and pilasters are grooved. The top is covered with a marble slab surmounted by an open-worked metal gallery.

The seats differ greatly from those of the former period. In these, the curved outline entirely vanishes. During the transitional period, the feet are of the console outline, ending in a scroll or shell, or peg-top shape that succeeded the leaf shoe; and before the medallion was used for the back of the chair frame, the violin shape was employed. The next change was a sort of projecting square, then the shape of the handle of a basket, until the form is reached that shows a perfect square between two straight columns, each ending in a steeple ornament and making a kind of frame for the covering. (See Plates XLVI. and XLVIII.) The small arm-chairs were called cabriolets, but the frames of each were similarly ornamented with beads, winding ribbons, laurel leaves, etc. The richest chairs had a carved and gilt ornament in the centre of the top rail, usually a bow of ribbon, a bouquet of flowers, or a garland of small blossoms or leaves.

Plain woods, such as mahogany, walnut, or amaranth, are often used for the frames, but far more universal is the use of wood carved and gilded, or carved and painted according to fancy. Some mahogany and rosewood arm-chairs are brightened by the application of chased and gilded bronze ornaments. The upholsterers of the day furnished the chairs with round, flattened or half round cushions. The projection of the back cushion was regulated by the material with which it was covered, so that the latter should be exhibited to its best advantage. Many arm-chairs had removable cushions that fit into the frame of the chair. The cushions were sometimes tufted.

PLATE XLVII