The Jacobean Period covers almost a century (1603–1690). In its earlier stages, therefore, it is still Elizabethan in spirit, and in its old age it is largely influenced by the taste of the dominant French court. During the reign of James I., the styles of furniture and interior decoration are still strongly Tudor in character, but the intimate connection with the Low Countries, and the friction with Spain and her Western possessions have their effect in making the wealthy classes of England thoroughly acquainted with the best products of Spanish, Dutch, and Flemish workmanship. The Tudor mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles was gradually modified under the influence of Inigo Jones, “the English Palladio.” The political ties between England and the Low Countries, based on mutual interests of a mercantile and religious nature, were still further strengthened by dynastic alliances. In Norfolk and Suffolk, the population was largely composed of natives or descendants of natives of the Low Countries. Flemish and Dutch art and manufactures, therefore, were extremely influential in forming what is known as the Jacobean style.

This period covers, of course, a portion of the reigns of Louis XIII. and Louis XIV.; and much of the furniture fashionable in France at this period was imported into England; but with the exception of the wealthiest homes sumptuous articles are not common. There is, indeed, a massive set of superbly carved silver furniture at Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, but such luxury is rare.

Oak and walnut are the woods chiefly used at this period, but we also find lime, cherry, and cypress (the latter especially for chests). Sometimes, as even happened in Tudor days, the carving was gilded, and, in many instances, we find the wood painted. Pear-wood stained black to imitate ebony is also popular. Mahogany is almost unknown in these days; but exotic woods are used in the construction of cabinets. Towards the end of the Seventeenth Century a great deal of ebony was imported, and even carved ebony furniture from India and Ceylon found its way into many rich English homes. Shakespeare gives us a hint of the generous use of rich articles from various parts of the world, showing what a cosmopolitan atmosphere a Tudor home presented:

Gremio says:

It is not unfitting that we should first recall a few of the distinguishing features of Elizabethan ornament, so frequently met with in the Jacobean home.

The carving was characterized by bold and deep cuttings, leaving the design in high relief. The panels of the chests, cabinets, cupboards, beds, etc., present a rich variety of subject. Figures taken from Biblical or mythological lore, grotesque monsters, animals and floral forms are met with; and of the latter we particularly find the rose, vine, carnation, lily, marigold, sunflower and tulip predominating. A typical floral panel is shown on Plate X., No. 7. Then we often see a diaper pattern, and, occasionally, the “linen fold.”

The cornices of cabinets, bedsteads, etc., are often adorned with the “egg and tongue” pattern; and the backs of settees, cornices of overmantels, etc., are often enriched with rather grotesque dolphins, placed back to back, forming a kind of scroll the outline of which is shown on the table on Plate X., No. 2.

Another typical ornament is the swelling acorn-bulb. It appears on the legs of tables, posts of bedsteads, and supports of cabinets, cupboards, etc., as shown on Plate X., No. 2. A variety of this bulb occurs on Plate XI., No. 1, showing the black ebony balls connected by plain stretchers, or straining-rails. The bulb also appears, but somewhat smaller and connected by straight stretchers, on the table on Plate V. The baluster legs of the court cupboard on Plate X. exhibit another kind of swelling leg. This leg becomes slenderer until it dwindles into the type shown on Plate X., No. 1.

Other ornamental devices consist of interlaced bands, strapwork, shells, lyres, bell-flowers, the acanthus, arch panels, branches and leaves in large flowing designs, besides a great variety of mouldings, panels and pierced scrolls. Turned work is rapidly superseding carving, which, however, is never quite driven away.

The newest decoration is the “spindle” ornament which seems to have been introduced from England from the Low Countries about the middle of the Seventeenth Century. This was made of ebony, or of pear-wood stained black, turned, of course, cut in half and applied. Eggs and lozenges were likewise made, stained black and applied. These ornaments decorate the cabinet on Plate X., No. 1, and the “spindle” is shown separately as No. 4 on the same plate. The scroll is an excessively popular device: it not only occurs upon mouldings and cornices, but it also decorates the feet, frames of panels and straining-rails of chairs and settees.

During this period, the hall was the most important room in the house. Guests were always received here, and here meals were generally served. In the baronial homes, therefore, of past generations, the hall was used as both drawing-room and dining-room. The table was set on a daÏs, or platform, and a screen cut off the entrance from the kitchen. At the other end of the hall was the minstrels’ gallery. In the course of time, a bay window was added at the dais end of the hall, which formed a private retiring-place for conversation while the table was being cleared. This paved the way for the small “privÉe parlour,” a little room built at the end, or side of the hall. The next addition was the “Great Chamber,” a larger room than the “parlour,” to which the lord of the household often retired, leaving the hall to his retainers and to such guests as were not of equal rank with himself. The “Great Chamber” was used as a bedroom by night and as a living-room by day. Here, of course, there was a sumptuous bed; and a bed with rich furniture also stood frequently in both parlour and hall.

The general impression of a Jacobean hall is elegance,—an elegance not merely derived from the dignified styles of the furniture contained in it; but from the rich tapestries and hangings, the warm panels, the comparatively low and beautifully ornamented ceiling, the stately mantel-piece, the cosy bay window and the bright wood fire crackling upon the great andirons.

Perhaps the first thing that attracts one’s attention is the lavish use of the panel. The doors are panelled, as well as the ceilings and wainscots,—a fashion very popular in the days of Elizabeth. In some instances, the room is panelled from floor to ceiling, and in others only the wainscot and doors are panelled, in which case the wall-space above the wainscot is completely covered with tapestry. Tapestry is often hung over the^[2] panels also, as shown in our illustration (Plate V.). English people had been fond of tapestry ever since the days King Alfred, fully appreciating the beauty derived from

Tapestry, which had become something of a lost art during the Wars of the Roses, had been again brought into favour by Henry VIII., and a fresh interest is now given to it on account of the beautiful articles that are being made at the Mortlake factory established by James I.

Another hanging, not quite banished as yet, was “painted cloth,” canvas painted in tempera, or oil, with various devices, figures, mottoes, proverbs and wise sayings. Falstaff’s comparison “Slaves as ragged as Lazarus in the painted cloth,” shows us that Biblical subjects were represented. The saucy Beatrice of Much Ado about Nothing admits that she took her witty answers from the painted cloth.^[4]

Hangings of embossed leather from Spain, with figures in gold, silver, and various colours, were also used, especially in the adornment of the small rooms. Another novelty at this period was chintz, figured or flowered. In 1663, Pepys notes in his Diary: “Bought my wife a chint, that is a painted Indian calico for to line her new study.”

The latter must have been a kind of boudoir, or, possibly, a library. In some houses there was a special room set apart for books. These “studies” had been popular in England long before the time of Mrs. Pepys, since Leland describes one that was called “Paradise,” and which might be imitated with advantage in modern homes, especially where there is a restricted space for books. He writes:

“At Wressil Castle, Yorkshire, the seat of the Percies, there was one thing I liked exceedingly in one of the towers; that was a study called Paradise, wher was a closett in the middle of eight squares lattised about; and at the top of every square was a deske ledged to fit bookes on and cofers within them, and these seemed as joined hard to the top of this closett; and yet by pulling, one or al would come down briste high in rabattes, and serve for deskes to lay bookes on.”

In some houses, the ceiling is carved in elaborate fretwork, ornamented with bosses and pendants,—a practice afterwards imitated in plaster.

The windows are furnished with small diamond, or square, panes, and frequently in the centre of each window the armorial bearings of the family are displayed, as shown in Plate V. Sometimes these are encircled with floral, or other devices. The arms are also placed upon the chimney-piece. In the bay windows we always find a low-cushioned seat bountifully supplied with soft, movable cushions and pillows, covered with rich silks of bright hues, and often beautifully embroidered. Indeed the cushion^[5] is one of the features of every room, being a necessity as well as a decorative accessory to the heavy chairs of the day.

The floor, of polished oak or inlaid wood, is occasionally enriched with a “foot carpet.” In many of the older houses, the floors are paved with tiles of various colours, or laid with chequer-work.

The most important architectural feature of the room, however, is the chimney-piece. The favourite Tudor chimney-piece and overmantel was a mass of rich carving, consisting of arch panels, mouldings, scrolls, coats-of-arms, flowers, vines, columns, and interlaced strapwork, supported by beautiful, or grotesque, terminal figures. Simpler styles are now being introduced in sympathy with the growing taste for Classic severity. The fire-place still remains large enough to admit of big logs, and the hearth is equipped with andirons, tongs, bellows, and sometimes a fender,—all of great artistic beauty. Behind the flames, there is usually an iron “chimney-back,” stamped with a decorative device, or, occasionally, the arms of the owner.

The illumination is obtained by means of lamps, lanterns and candlesticks. The latter are very ornate. Some of them are branched and hang from the ceiling. Others have sconce-arms and are placed on the walls. Tall standing candlesticks of metal are also used, and are moved about the room at pleasure. The illumination is also helped by means of small mirrors, with frames carved and gilt, or else made of ebony or olive-wood.

The furniture consists of one large table, several small round or oval tables, side tables, chairs, settee, couch, stools, a “court,” or “livery cupboard” (and sometimes both), a screen, cabinets, chests, and coffers; while the decorations are pictures, antlers, armour, vases and other ornaments of porcelain, gold, silver, or pewter, and table-clocks.

There has been much discussion regarding the “court cupboard” and the “livery cupboard,” mentioned above, but it is now generally accepted that the “court cupboard,” which may have derived its name from the French word court (short), to distinguish it from the high standing cupboards, corresponded to the French dressoir, and was used for the display and keeping of plate, glass, etc., etc. The “livery cupboard,” on the other hand, still found in the farmers’ and labourers’ cottages in England, where it is sometimes called the “bread-and-cheese cupboard,” received its name from the French livrer (to deliver) and was used both for service and as a receptacle for broken victuals. The difference between them is well defined in Janua Linguarum (London, 1673), as follows: “Golden and gilded beakers, cruzes, great cups, chrystal glasses, cans, tankards and two ear’d pots are brought forth out of the cupboard and glass case; and being rins’d and rubb’d with a pot-brush are set on the livery cupboard.”

The “court cupboard” corresponded, in a measure, to the modern sideboard. It was a great feature at festivals and it rose in several receding stages or shelves, upon which the plate was displayed. The number of stages varied according to the rank of the master or mistress of the house. In Les Honneurs de la Cour, we learn that two steps were allowed to the wife of a baronet, three to a countess, four to a princess, and five to a queen.

At Cardinal Wolsey’s entertainment to the French Ambassadors at Hampton Court, Cavendish relates: “There was a cupboard for the time in length of the breadth of the nether end of the same chamber, six desks high, full of gilt plate, very sumptuous and of the newest fashions; and upon the nethermost desk garnished all with plate of clean gold were two great candlesticks of silver and gilt most curiously wrought.” When the same Ambassadors were entertained by Henry VIII. at Greenwich, there was a “cupborde seven stages high and thirteen feet long, set with standing cuppes, bolles, flaggons and great pottles all of fine golde, some garnished with one stone, and some with other stones and pearles.”

When Queen Elizabeth was entertained at Hatfield House (the present seat of the Salisburies) in 1556, and there was a great and rich “maskinge in the great halle at Hatfield,” at night “the cupboard in the halle was of twelve stages, mainlie furnished with garnish of gold and silver vessels and a banket of seventie dishes, and after a voide of spices and suttleties, with thirtie spice plates, all at the charges of Sir Thomas Pope.”

A good example of a “court cupboard” with five degrees of stages ornamented with plate is shown in a picture printed in Laurea Austriaca (Frankfort, 1627), representing an entertainment given by King James I. of England to the Spanish Ambassadors during the negotiations for the marriage of the Prince of Wales to the Infanta of Spain. The stages rest upon a frame of turned baluster legs connected by straining-rails. Below the first stage there is a drawer. The “carpets” hang over the front of the cupboard instead of over the sides, as was more usual. This picture would seem to prove that an ordinary side table of the period might be converted into a court cupboard by simply placing the requisite number of shelves above it. However, in the inventory of Sir Thomas Kytson (1603) the following occurs: “At y^e Great Chamber Dore one little joined boarde w^t a fast frame to it, to sett on glassis. Itm, a thing like stayres to set plate on.”

In the early days, before the “livery cupboard” was brought from behind the screen into the hall, the “court cupboard” was removed from the lower end of the hall. The “livery cupboard” took its place. The “court cupboard” was then placed on the daÏs, at the “Lord’s borde end,” or in a recess at the back of the high table. Sometimes it was placed in front of the bay window at the end of the daÏs, where it acted as a kind of screen.

The “livery cupboard” was not only used for service, but for “liveries” of food and drink, served at night and in between meals. Smaller livery cupboards were sometimes found in the bedrooms, and these were usually furnished with doors and locks. As food was kept in them, the panels are frequently perforated for the sake of ventilation.

Occasionally, especially in later times, the uses of the “court” and “livery” cupboards were combined. Between these pieces of furniture, one difference long existed: a portion of the court cupboard was enclosed at a very early period, while the livery cupboard remained with its open shelves.

If we may believe the old inventories, there were many varieties of the cupboard, or many names for it. We find cupboard and chest-of-drawers, great cupboard, table and cupboard, table-cupboard, livery cupboard, side cupboard, press cupboard, sideboard cupboard, half-headed cupboard, standing cupboard, “cort” cupboard, etc., etc.

Its use was universal, as it was an article of convenience, beauty and ceremony. On Plate X. a characteristic specimen of a Seventeenth Century “court cupboard” of oak is shown. This is preserved in the Vestry in Jamston Church, Nottinghamshire. The lower part would resemble the ordinary side table of the day, if the back supports were like the two turned baluster legs in the front. The long drawer with carved panels is appropriated for linen, or cutlery. The enclosed cupboard is cut in the form of half a hexagon,—a favourite device of the period for cupboards, and has three doors enriched with carved panels and mouldings. The top slab or “cupboard head” is supported by spirally turned columns. The proper way to adorn this piece of furniture is to place a cupboard cloth, or “carpet” (of damask with fringed ends, or a strip of the same material as the hangings of the room) upon the top, allowing the ends of the scarf to fall over the sides (but not the front), and then to arrange on it a few choice pieces of plate, or porcelain. It is interesting to compare this example with No. 8 and No. 1 on the same plate. No. 8 is a portion of a cupboard of later date. This has a “double head,” and under the first stage the ornament is a pendant, instead of a column or pillar. This stands on a ball foot, of an older form than the foot of No. 1 or No. 3. This example, moreover, has its lower portion enclosed with panelled doors. The earlier specimens of the “court cupboard” are generally (and often richly) carved. Sometimes the pillars have Ionic capitals, sometimes they are ornamented with the swelling bulb or acorn enriched with the acanthus leaf, as exhibited in No. 2, Plate X. The devices for the mouldings and panels open to the carver were innumerable. Towards the close of our period, cupboards were decorated with applied ornaments of ebony (or an imitation of it) in the form of eggs, spindles and lozenges, as shown in the cabinet No. 1 on Plate X.

The cabinet is a development of the enclosed cupboard. The characteristic cabinet of James I.’s time is adorned with pillars, arch panels and spindle ornaments. The specimen just referred to on Plate X., No. 1, has these decorations. It stands on a frame of six legs,—a frame that was also used for the lower part of the high case-of-drawers that was coming into fashion towards the end of our period.

The cabinet was always a handsome piece of furniture equipped with shelves, drawers, compartments, and doors,—a repository for jewels, documents and curios. It was sometimes defined as a set of boxes, or drawers for curiosities, and from it the cabinet-maker, “one whose business it is to make cabinets and the finer kind of joiner’s work,” took his name.

The cabinet was known in England at an early date. In 1550, we read of a “fayre large cabinett covered with crimson velvet with the King’s arms crowned.” In the Seventeenth Century, the cabinet was panelled and carved, adorned with turned pillars, pendants or swelling bulbs, or it was of the newer style with applied ornaments and turned supports. Frequently also an imported cabinet was to be seen in the English home of this century,—a beautiful specimen of Dutch marquetry, of Italian inlay, of Oriental lacquer, or, indeed, of Boulle work, to say nothing of the splendid examples of Flemish carving.

Some of these cabinets were very ornate specimens of workmanship. Inlay or marquetry was the leading feature of decoration for them. Natural flowers, birds, animals and foliage in bright colours, or in the colours of the exotic woods, undyed, were in use. Ivory and mother-of-pearl, as well as shell were also employed. Even before the days of William and Mary, when the Dutch marquetry became universally popular, there was much inlaid furniture.

In 1697, John Evelyn notes:

“Emblema, continued to this day by the Italians in their Pietra Comessa.... St. Lawrence at Florence, where the pavement and all the walls are most richly encrusted with all sorts of precious marbles, serpentine, porhirie, ophitis, achat, rants, coral, cornelian, lazuli, etc., of which one may number thirty sorts, cut and laid into a fonds or ground of black marble (as our cabinet-makers do their variegated woods) in the shape of birds, flowers, landskips, grotesks, and other compartments.”

The above reference shows that the English cabinet-makers were accustomed to work in inlay.

One of the designs of marquetry that came into vogue in the Seventeenth Century was the “herring-bone” pattern. A clock made by Daniel Quare late in the Seventeenth Century, and preserved at Hampton Court Palace, has its case inlaid with a border of herring-bone pattern.

The characteristic table of Jacobean days is the “drawing-table,” a solid piece of furniture with massive legs, often carved, and connected with rails near the floor. The top is a large slab of oak and beneath it are two other slabs or leaves; when these are drawn out at each end, the large slab falls into the space they occupied, and the table is thus lengthened.

Another typical table, called either “round” or “oval,” is shown on Plate XI. This is an eight-legged table provided with flaps, or falling leaves, supported by legs that can be pulled forward. When not in use, they fold into the frame. Sometimes this variety of table has six instead of eight legs. A popular modern name for these is “the gate-legged” and “the thousand-legged tables.” Frequently the legs were turned spirally. There was another round, or oval table, whose falling leaf was supported by a bracket, shaped something like the wing of a butterfly, from which it has received the modern and popular name of “butterfly table.” The square table was also in use. The table was always covered with its “carpet”; indeed, in the inventories of the period, the “table and carpet” are often mentioned together.

On Plate XI. are three specimen table legs. No. 1 shows legs that are ornamented with a round globe, which like the round ball foot, is of ebony or wood stained black in imitation. The stretchers and rest of the frame are oak. Frequently the table leg was decorated with the carved bulb or acorn, as is shown in No. 2, Plate X. A similar leg to No. 1, Plate XI., occurs on the table in Plate V., but the stretchers here are different. No. 2 and No. 3 on Plate XI. are good types of the ornamentation of the period and their legs are also connected by stretchers. The latter would be used as side-tables or placed in the centre of a room.

The furniture of the parlour in the late Tudor period consisted of high-backed carved chairs, joined stools with cushions covered with rich material and fringed, foot-stools, turned chairs, “lyttle guilt chairs for the women,” high folding screens with many leaves, long, square and round tables with “carpets,” “conversation stools” with ornamented ends and backs, chests, cabinets, coffers and all the ornaments of the period. A wood fire gives warmth, and silver candelabra and sconces light to the room, while further comfort is added by the tapestries, curtains and innumerable cushions. Often, indeed, a bed occurs.

The Jacobean parlour differed but little; indeed, in some houses this exact room survived; but the new styles were gradually driving out the heavy chairs and cabinets for the lighter varieties with turned frames and cane webbing or their upholstered backs and seats; and the old carving was being rapidly supplanted by the newer decoration of the black mouldings and applied ornaments. The high-backed and richly carved settle had to give place to the “couch and squab,” a handsome specimen of which appears on Plate VIII. This is also called a settee or a “chaise longue.” Our particular example is composed of a walnut frame covered with cane, upon which are placed a mattress or long cushion and a round bolster, both of which are covered with green silk damask bordered with a narrow fringe. The back, resembling the back of a chair, is enclosed in an ornamental frame of scroll-work, somewhat similar to that of No. 1 on the same plate, and turned side pillars. The top rail is surmounted by a pedimental scroll with a crown in the middle. The six legs have projecting knees and feet connected lengthwise by ornamental rails upon which scrolls and crowns are carved. This piece of furniture dates from 1660.

We have noted that the bed was generally met with in every room in the house. There were, however, separate bedrooms even in the Tudor age. Shakespeare’s description of Imogen’s apartment gives a very charming picture of a rich sleeping-room of the time:

It is interesting to compare the above with the room that was prepared for the reception of James I. at Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, which is still intact. The walls are covered with tapestry depicting the story of Nebuchadnezzar. The state bed, which cost £8,000, is richly ornamented and has a canopy top, while its furniture is of gold and silver tissue, lined with rose-coloured satin, and embroidered and fringed with gold and silver. The chairs and stools in the room are covered to correspond with the hangings and other furniture of the bed.

Another room in the same house, known as the “Venetian Bedroom,” because the Venetian ambassador, Nicolo Molino, slept there, contains a fine state bed, said to have been arranged for the entertainment of James II. The canopy and headboard are carved and gilt and surmounted by the royal arms. The hangings and other furniture are of green cut velvet lined with lutestring,^[7] and the chairs and stools in the room are similarly upholstered.

Another room at Knole, known as the “Spangled Bedroom,” on account of its ceiling, is hung with tapestry and contains a handsome bed which is represented on Plate IX. The stools and chairs in this room are covered with crimson silk embroidered in the same pattern as the bed-furniture.

The massive Elizabethan “four-posted” bed died hard. Although in many homes the new styles were being introduced, the “beddes of tymbre” were treasured and still formed objects of special bequests. Oliver Cromwell’s bed, which is still in existence, is similar in general style to the “Great Bed of Ware,”^[8] which was so large that it could hold twelve persons. In 1598, Paul Hentzer, visiting Windsor, notes the beds belonging to princes of preceding reigns measured 11 feet square and were covered with quilts shining with gold and silver.

The large Tudor bed was the richest piece of furniture. Apart from the sheets of finest linen, the soft and handsome blankets, the counterpane of marvellous needlework, the quilts of silk and rugs of fur, and the curtains of tapestry, samite, silk or velvet, it was a mass of superb carving luxuriantly expressed upon headboard, canopy, tester, columns, and panels. The columns were often carved to represent the “four gospellers,” or evangelists, and angels: which explain the old rhyme:

One of the popular decorations of the columns was the acorn-shaped central bulb on the posts, and the arch panel on the headboard. Even the under side of the canopy is formed of carved panels. On either side of the headboard, the terminal figures of men or women or angels were not merely decorative, but formed supports for looping back the curtains. Many of these carved oak bedsteads were imported from Flanders, especially those whose testers are carved with designs suggested by drapery or fringe. Under this great bed, which sometimes stood upon a low platform, the “trundle” or “truckle” bed was rolled.

The bed shown on Plate IX. is of the new style which lingered with a few changes far into the reign of Queen Anne. It is therefore a typical Jacobean or Stuart bed. The proportion is entirely different to that of the Tudor four-poster. The pillars, or supports, for the tester are taller, and the whole framework is of lighter build. This interesting specimen is still preserved at Knole, the home of the Sackvilles at Sevenoaks, Kent. Its hangings, tester, valance and counterpane are of crimson silk lined with satin and richly embroidered with gold and silver.

No. 1 on the same Plate shows the bed with light, spiral column that was also in use. The post is surmounted by an ornament, or knob, or bunch of feathers which, in France are called “pomme.”

This is the kind of bed which appears on Plate III., No. 3.

It will be noticed that there is no carving on this bed which depends for its elegance upon the richness of its furniture. At this period, green, yellow and crimson were the favourite colours for draping the bed. The materials chosen were silk damask, worsted damask, plain satin, silk, or serge, according to the wealth of the owner; and when it is remembered that the windows were hung with the same stuff, and the chairs, stools, cushions, table-carpets and cupboard cloth and cushions were of similar stuff, it will be admitted that a Jacobean bedroom is lacking neither in beauty nor richness.

The rich materials mentioned above were often embroidered in gold or silver as is the case in bed shown on Plate IX.

Striped silk was another favourite for the hangings of the bedroom. As a rule, when worsted materials were used, the curtains of both bed and windows were lined with silk. There was a great variety of silks, known variously as lutestring, paduasoy, tabby, taffetas, sarcenet, chaney, cheney or China, etc.; while the woollen goods included serge, darnick or dorneck, perpetuana, mohair, camoca or camak, camlet, say, serge, rateen, watchet, fustian, damask, and kitterminster or kidderminster, some of which were mixed with camel’s hair or threads of silk. There were also dimity, flowered chintz, and callimanco (a glazed linen), as well as Turkey-work and “wrought” (which, of course, was needlework). East India goods, such as printed calico and seersucker, were also used at the end of the period. White curtains for the bed are rarely employed.

The modern upholsterer will have no difficulty in finding suitable and equivalent materials for furnishing a Jacobean bed and bedroom.

The valance hanging from the tester, as shown on Plate IX., is adorned with fringe, as is also the stool that stands at the foot of the bed.

Beside the bed, there was always laid a narrow strip of carpet, or tapestry, or rug, always referred to as a “bedside carpet.”^[9]

In the bedroom, we always find a large “trussing chest,” used as a receptacle for the bed clothes, and there may be another chest for the preservation of wearing apparel. The latter is more likely to be a chest-with-drawers, consisting of the chest proper, below which are two long drawers, appearing to the eye as four on account of the panels, mouldings and knobs. On lifting up the top, a deep well is revealed, at the side of which there is a “till,” or compartment, for small articles, trinkets, etc.

At first, the chest was decorated with carved panels and mouldings, and was usually rendered secure with a lock and great iron hinges that were extremely decorative. The date and the initials of the owner were carved upon it, as well as a fanciful motto or legend. At a later period, the chest was placed on a frame of short square legs. The next development was the addition of a long drawer below the chest. Another drawer was added, and another, until this piece of furniture gradually became, instead of a simple box or trunk, a “chest-of-drawers,” a “chest-with-drawers,” a “nest-of-drawers,” a “case-of-drawers,” a “press,” a “cupboard-press,” etc., etc. The bureau, or desk, or “screetore,” is another development; and, of course, the cabinet in its simplest form is nothing but a chest-of-drawers with shelves inside shut in by doors.

This development will be apparent by glancing at the chest-of-drawers, or case-of-drawers, on Plate X. This contains but four drawers, although at first sight it would seem that there were eight. The panels of these drawers are edged with a flat bevelled moulding stained black, and within that is a sunk panel, in the centre of which is the brass handle-plate. A moulding incised with cuts edges the top slab. The chest-of-drawers stands on four turned knobs or balls. A specimen handle and key-plate of the period appropriate for chest, chest-of-drawers, or cabinet are No. 5 and No. 6 on Plate X. The case-of-drawers is also found in the bedroom, where the other furniture includes a dressing-table and glass, tables, chairs and stools, very often a cupboard, sometimes a desk or “screetore,” and always plenty of cushions.

The “drawing-table,” of course, has no place in the bedroom; such a one as that shown on Plate XI., with either a square or round top is the most usual. Its “carpet” matches the hangings of the room. The cupboard, chairs, stools, and couch and desk do not differ from those already described. The dressing-table is merely a simple table covered with drapery, and upon it or above it stands or hangs a mirror, the frame of which in general design is like the one shown on Plate XI. In very rich homes, this is of solid silver, but more frequently it is carved and gilt, or made of olive-wood, or ebony. Sometimes it has merely a square and unornamented frame, and again the frame may be inlaid.

Turning now to the chairs, we find the heavy wooden chairs, such as are shown on Plate VII., Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, and No. 2 on Plate VIII., are giving place to newer forms. One of the most typical is the “low leather” chair, which we have already spoken of in the preceding chapter. This was generally covered with leather put on with large brass nails, and was sometimes also decorated with fringe. Genoa velvet, silk, serge, needlework, etc., were also used for covering this form of chair. A square straining-rail usually connects the legs close to the floor. It was popularly known as “the Cromwell,” and is shown on Plate V. and in the Frontispiece. Two good variants occur on Plate I., No. 3, and lower right-hand corner. Another typical chair, which is also reminiscent of Abraham Bosse, appears on Plate VII. This shape is frequently met with in the pictures of the old Dutch masters.

This particular specimen, which is preserved at Knole Park, is covered with rose-coloured velvet, divided into squares by means of a braid of mixed gold and silk threads, and adorned with a fringe of the same. The nails that fasten the material are copper-gilt, and a large quatrefoil ornament marks the intersection of the legs. The oval finials on the back are also decorated with copper-gilt nails. The woodwork is painted with red lacquer ornamented with a floral design in gold.

All the styles shown on Plate I. are also known in England. A very characteristic chair is the “high backed” chair, known also to France and Flanders. It is very slender and upright. Examples are shown on Plates V. and VIII. The side-posts are either spiral, as in Plate V., or spindle, as shown in No. 1 and No. 6 on Plate VIII. The back panel and seat are of cane webbing, or stuffed and upholstered. The frame of the panel may be rounded as in No. 6 on Plate VIII., or square as No. 1 on the same plate. The top is usually carved in some kind of scroll-work. Sometimes the cane-webbing is framed with a simple moulding, as shown in No. 6. Plate VIII. and again it may have an ornate combination of scrolls and leaves, as shown in No. 1 on the same Plate. Stretchers render the legs firm. Sometimes there are two spiral front rails as shown on Plate V., but more frequently the rail is an elaborate arrangement of scrolls, as shown on the chair in the upper left hand corner on Plate VII. or on No. 4 and No. 5 on Plate VIII. The feet are often made of a large and somewhat clumsy scroll turned outward, as shown on No. 5, Plate VIII. Another variety occurs on the arm-chair above. Another species of foot is moulded into a kind of embryonic claw, known as “the Spanish foot.” The arm-chair on Plate VIII. is one of the richest productions of the age. It is elaborately carved and gilt. The border or frame surrounding the panel of the back is beautifully carved with the strawberry leaf, and Cupids and other figures enrich the top. The side supports of the back are spirally turned, ending in a decorative acorn (which is repeated in detail on No. 3). The seat and back are upholstered in red velvet. This valuable relic dates from 1660.

A simpler chair, also dating from 1660, occurs on Plate VII. This is of walnut. The side-supports are continuations of the back legs, the front legs curve outward, and the front rail is a series of scrolls. The back is surmounted by a carved and pierced pediment. The stuffed seat and back are covered with needlework on canvas.

Other typical seats of the day are shown on Plate VI., a settee or double chair, and stool, the frames of which are painted black. The back of the settee is very high with a curved or wavy top. The arms curve downward with a bold sweep. The four short legs, curving outwards, with projecting knees and feet, are connected by heavy straining-rails formed of heavy scrolls. Both settee and stool are upholstered in rich Mortlake tapestry of the age, representing sprays of flowers.

1.Taming of the Shrew, Act II., Scene 1.