Aalto, Alvar
1898-1976) Finish architect and furniture designer whose work during the 1920s and 30s had an enormous impact on 20thC design. Although mass-produced, Aalto's furniture is highly original, distinguished by clean, simple lines and curves, and the innovative use of materials such as moulded plywood and tubular steel.

abacus
See COLUMN.

Abbotsford style
Term introduce in the late 19thC for imitation Jacobean, Stuart, Tudor and Gothic furniture made in the 1820s and 30s. It was named after Abbotsford, the Scottish home of the 18th-19thC poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott, which was furnished in this style.

abrash
Term for the faint banding of colour shades usually found in vegetable-dyed Oriental carpets made by nomadic tribes. This is due to slight variations in shade of different batches of wool that were dyed at different times. Abrash is most obvious over a large, plain field of uniform colour. Unfortunately, unscrupulous modern weavers often fake an abrash to try to make a rug look older.

acacia
Very durable, whitish-yellow wood with brown veining, also known as robinia. Acacia was used as a veneer in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as a decorative crossbanding on 18th and early 19thC country furniture, and occasionally for chairs and small cabinet work such as boxes in the ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT of the late 19thC.

acanthus
See DECORATIVE MOTIFS

accordion pleat
A series of narrow, machine-made, overlapping pleats, often used on lightweight fabrics for soft furnishings.

achromatic lens
An 18thC development combining FLINT GLASS and crown glass to remove distorting colour fringes from the image. It was patented by Englishman John Dollond in 1758 and used in telescopes and microscopes.

acid etching
See ENGRAVING

acid gilding
See GILDING

acid polishing
A chemical process which restores a polished surface to glass after it has been cut. The glass is dipped in acid solution which removes a fine surface layer.

acorn flagon
Pewter vessel about 12in (30cm) high, with its base in the shape of an acorn cup, and a domed, acorn-like lid capped by a FINIAL. It was used for serving wine or ale in Yorkshire in the first half of the 18thC, and is also known as York Flagon.

Act of Parliament Clock
See TAVERN CLOCK.

Adam, Robert
(1728 - 92) NEOCLASSICAL architect and interior designer.

adjustment marks
File marks found on many pre-19thC coins which have been 'adjusted' (filed down) to the correct weight. It was a worldwide practice which occurred from ancient times until the early 19thC, when new manufacturing techniques made it possible to cut blanks from consistently rolled metal sheets. Excess metal was filed off overweight blanks before the coins were struck to ensure that they were of consistent weight. Sometimes blanks were made deliberately overweight to avoid the more expensive remelting process necessary for underweight coins.

adze
Long-handled axe with the blade at right angles to the shaft, used in furniture-making, for heavy trimming and shaping. The slightly hollowed-out seats of WINDSOR CHAIRS, for example, were shaped with an adze with a curved cutting edge.

AE or Æ
Common abbreviation for bronze and copper from the latin aes, found in coin catalogues and also seen as ae.

aerography
Late 19thC technique of applying colours to ceramics through a stencil with an airbrush or atomiser. It resulted in a gradual transition of colours ad soft-edged, slightly grained images, and was often used to 'dress up' cheap pottery and porcelain.

Aesthetic movement
Decorative arts movement with a Japanese influence, which flourished in Britain from c.1870 - a precursor to ART NOVEAU. The movement was recognised in the USA but not in France or elsewhere in Europe. It overlapped with the ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT although it had begun to decline by the late 1880s.

affenkapelle
A set of porcelain monkey musicians - the term is German for 'monkey band'. The sets, each one comprising some 20 figures, were introduced by MEISSEN in Germany during the mid-18thC, and were reproduced there and at many other European factories in the 19thC. See also SINGERIE.

agate
Fine-grained quartz used as a semiprecious stone in CAMEO and INTAGLIO work and in jewellery such as signet rings and brooches, particularly during the 19thC. When polished, agate reveals variegated tones of soft browns and oranges, blues, greys or greens, foten with irregular milky bands.

agate ware
Staffordshire pottery resembling the veinings and colouring of natural agate. It was produced in the 18thC by firms such as WEDGWOOD and WHIELDON. There were two types: solid agate, made from kneading together two or three different coloured clays to give a marbled effect all the way through the body; and surface agate, in which a plain earthenware body was applied with a 'joggled' liquid clap SLIP of mixed agate-like colours to give a surface-only finish.

aide-memoire
Slim, decorated case fitted with a pencil and note pad, usually measuring about 31/2 x 21/4 x 1/4in (90 x 55 x 5mm). The ivory leaves of the 18thC aides-memoire, or tablettes, continued until the early 20thC, although some have been replaced with paper. The cases were decorated ub materials such as gold, silver, ivory, enamel and tortoiseshell. See also CARNET DE BAL.

aigrette
Hair or hat ornament, usually of gold or silver, made in the shape of a feather or as a holder for a feather. Aigrettes were fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries and from the lat 19th to early 20thC.

air twist
See TWIST

air-beading
Circular or tear-shaped bubbles of air incorporated into glassware for decorative effect. The molten glass is pricked with a metal point, and glass drawn over the hole. A tear is formed when the glass is drawn into shape.

Akerman, John
(fl. 1719-55) London glass merchant who introduced CUT GLASS to Britain c.1890.

albarello
Cylindrical, slightly waisted ceramic drug pot, with a groove around the neck for securing a parchment cover. Albarelli originated in 12thC Persia, but ornamental MAIOLICA versions were made in Spain and Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries, with a revival in the 19thC, and in Dutch and English DELFTWARE from the second half of the 16thC.

albert
Single or double metal chain with a bar for securing ina buttonhole at one end, and a swivel attachment to hold a pocket watch at the other. A Virmingham jeweller presented Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, with one of these in 1845, and so the name was coined.

album quilt
Personalised patchwork quilt, its design being of particular significance to the recipient. A typical design might have names and dates stitchted into some of the patches. The quilts were fashionable in the USA in the mid-19th C.

alburnum
See SAPWOOD

alder
Durable wood native to northern Europe which polishes to a flesh-colour, knotty finish. It is an easy wood to turn, and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for country furniture, occasionally for the turned members of Windsor chairs.

alderglas
See HUMPEN

ale grass
Stemmed glass dating from the 18thC used for drinking ale, which was more potent than today's beer. The glasses are similar to wine glasses but with a slimmer, more elongated bowl. From 1740, some examples were engraved with hops and ears of barley, or enamelled. 19C ale glasses are similar in shape to champagne flutes. Short-stemmed versions are known as dwarf or short ales.

ale warmer
Copper or brass sup with a long wooden or iron handle used for warming ale over an open fire. Early 18thC examples were shaped like a large boot or shoe; cone-shapped cups ('donkey's ears') were introduced in the late 18thC. Both styles were widely produced in the 19thC, and modern reproductions abound.

Alençon lace
Venetian lace-makers established the Alençon lace factory in north-west France in 1675. Production declined in the 18thC but flourished again under Napoleon and the Second Empire. Point d'Alençon refers to needlepoint LACE with destinctive modes (fillings) between the basic mesh, made both Alençon and elsewhere.

alentours
Wide tapestry with a central picture surrounded by a border simulating gilded wood, in turn bordered by rich ornament such as tromp l'oeil figures and flowers. Alentours tapestry was first introduced in 1714 at the GOBELINS tapestry factory in France

alexandrite
A green or greenish-brown gemstone which glints varying shades of red under artificail light. The gem was discovered in the Ural mountains, Russia, in 1830, on the birthday of Tsar Alexander II. A synthetic form of CORUNDUM exhibits similar colour changes ad is sold in the Middle East as alexandrite, but is of little value.

alexandrite glass
Transparent ART GLASS with colour gradations of citron-yellow through to rose and blue produced by successive reheating of individual parts of the glass. The process was patented by Thomas WEB & Sons, a stourbridge glasshouse, in 1886. in a later version, designs were cut through an outer shell of rose and blue glass to reveal a clear yellow base beneath.

all over
A carpet design based on a pattern or motif that is repeated all over the main area or field of the piece, stopping at the borders.

Alloa Glassworks
Scottish glass factory established in 1750. It specialised mainly in dark green bottles which were roughly stipple engraved and commemorative events, names and dates. The most common dates found are from 1830 to about 1850.

alloy
A metal such as bronze, pewter or brass formed by melting together two or more elements such as copper, zinc and tin. Metals are normally used in the form of alloys to make them more durable and easier to work; STERLING STANDARD silver, for example, contains a proportion of copper or some other base metal.

aluminium
Very light, silver-coloured metal discovered in 1827. From the 1850s it was occsionally used for figurinesand plaques, and sometimes combined with gold for bracelets. Aluminium was back in fashion from the early 1920s onwards for ART DECO cocktail equipment, cigarette collectables such as ashtrays, and useful household articles such as jelly moulds and teapots.

amalgam
Any of various ALLOYS in which mercury is combined with another metal, for example, tin, silver or gold.

amatory jewellery
Brooches, rings and other with amorous motifs or inscriptions desgned to be given as love tokens. Examples of amatory jewellery include posy rings, which are plain rings with messages inscribed on the inside and were very fashionable in the 16th and 17th centuries, 16thC betrothal rings with a heart-shaped mount set with a miniature portrait, and jewellery made of, or set with, locks of hair. There was a surge of demand for love brooches in late Victorian times.

amber
Soft, fossilised resin from a prehistoric variety of pine tree, ranging in colour from pale yellow and honey to a redish-brown, brown, red, and almost black. Sea Amber mainly occurs along the southern shores of the Baltic sea, especially near Lithuania, although it is also found on the coasts of eastern England and the Netherlands; pit amber is mined in Burma, Sicily, Romania, Poland and Mexico. Amber was popular in Celtic Britain, and again in the Victorian era. The best-quality amber is clear, and rare specimens contain embedded insects (although these can be introduced artificially) Amber has been imitated in plastic and glass.

Amberina
Type of ART GLASS shading from golden-amber at the bottom to deep red at the top, devolped by Joseph Locke at the New England Glass Co, in 1883. Amberina was widely manufactured in the USA and was also made in a PRESSED-GLASS form in north-east England.

amboyna
Durable mottled reddish-brown wood with a tight grain from the East Indies. It is a variety of PADOUK, and was used by the cabinet-makers, mainly for its highly decorative effect, in VENEERS, INLAID DECORATION and BRANDING in the 18th and 19th centuries.

ambulante
General term for a light, portable 'occasional' table used during the second half of the 18thC in France. It might apply to a work table ot bedside table, for example, that had no fixed position but was moved around as required.

amen glass
Rare British wine glass with a DRAWN STEM produced c.1745, the bowl engraved with a jacobite hymn ending with the word 'amen'.

American Cononial style
All-embracing term for North American furniture and architectural style dating from the early 17thC pioneer settlements to the establishment of federal government in 1789.

American Federal style
Furniture of the early years of American independence (1789-1830) generally adorned with patriotic or military symbols such as the eagle.

amethyst
Semiprecious, pale mauve to deep purple form of QUARTZ. Amethysts turn golden-yellow with HEAT TREATMENT to form CITRINE.

amorini
Italian term often used for the winged cupids which were popular ornamental subjects during the RENAISSANCE and after. They were a particular feature of the CRESTING and front STRECHERS of chairs, cabinet stands and tables, and on ceramics 1660-80

amphora
Two-handled jar with a rounded body and narrow neck. Amphorae were used in ancient Greece, Rome and China for storing wine and oil. They re-emerged in an ornamental guise in 18thC Europe, particularly in NEOCLASSICAL silverwear and as a decorative motif-on ANTWERP lace, for example.

ampulla
A two handled container used for wine or water in ancient Rome; and since as decorative vessel; a small version of an amphora.

an hua
Chinese for 'secret decoration'. The description reders to a delicate design incised or scored on a porcelain body before glazing and only visible when the finished piece is held against the light. It occurs rarely in the MING DYNASTY porcelain of the yongzheng emperor's reign (1723-35).

Anatolia
Major area of Turkey that is part of the Asian continent, as opposed to Thrace, which is on the European mainland, often referred to in the context of carpets.

andirons
The precursors to fire grates, consisting of a pair of metal fire irons placed at either side of an open hearth to support burning logs. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, coal-burning stoves largely replaced andirons excapt in country areas. With the grates of the 19thC, a shortenedform of andirons made a comeback as purely decorative features or to suport long-handled FIRE IRONS. Andrions are also known as firedogs, as 16thC example (now rare) were often cast in the shape of seated hounds. Versions with many feet are called firecats, because if dropped they always land, catlike, on their feet.

anemometer
Instrument for messuring wind force.

aneroid barometer
A barometer introduced to the domestic market, c.1850, which used disk-like, flexible metal bellows containing a partical vacuum, instead of a collumn of mercury, to measure changes in air pressure. The term aneroid is derived from a Greek word meaning 'liquid-free'. As the air pressure changes, the movement of the bellows is enlarged by being linked to a pointer set againsta dial.

angel
HAMMERED gold coin current 15th-17thC which depicts St Michael spearing a dragon. Angels were first issued in Britain in the 1460s to replace the NOBEL, which a face value of a third of a pound (6s 8d or 33½p). Later Angels revalued at up to IIS (55p) and were sometimes pierced for use as TOUCHPIECES.

Angell, Joseph, II
(c.1816-91) British silversmith who exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition. His claret jugs, table centrepieces, tea and coffee sets are elaborate in style with ornately chased relief work, Rococo scrolls and ENAMELLED decoration.

angle barometer
Baromter in which the upper part of the mercury tube is nearly horizontal. In this form, the visable movement of the mercury id spread over a longer scale than in a STICK BAROMETER, and readings are clearer. Angle barometer, also known as signpost or diagonal barometers, were introduced in the early 18thC.

angle chair
See CORNER CHAIR

Anglo-Indian furniture
Furniture made on the Indian subcontinent, from the mid-18thC onwards, to European designs and often inlaid with ivory. Most of the work was for colonial administrators and their families, although aristocratic Indians were also commissioning it by the early 19thC. Production continued until the end of the 19thC.

Angoulême sprig
Porcelain decoration used at a Paris factory owned by Louis, Duke of Angoulê in the 18th C, and copied at DERBY, WORCESTER and LOWESTOFT in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is also known as a barbeau (French for 'cornflower')

aniline dyes
Chemical for carpets and other fabrics, introduced c.1870. They tended to run or fade and were replaced by colour-fast CHROME DYES in the early 20thC.

animal furniture
Late Victorian craze for articles made from or fashioned around birds or animals fresh from the taxidermist. Examples included hollowed-out elephant feet used as liqueur stands, lamp bases of stuffed birds, and tiger-skin chairs, complete with paws and head, or supported on giraffe or zebra legs.

animal interlace
A decorative ornament or motif often seen in CELTIC STYLE work representing interwined elongated and stylised animal forms.

Animaliers, Les
19thC French sculptors of small, lifelike models of wild and domestic birds and animals, usually in bronze.

annealing
Process of strengthening glass or metal objects during manufacture by a controlled and gradual reheating and cooling. This avoids the build-up of internal stress that could lead to cracking.

annulet
1 In architecture and cabinet-making, a flat, narrow band encircling a COLUMN. 2 In heraldry, a small circle or ring in coats of arms.

anthemion
Stylised honeysuckle motif. See DECORATIVE MOTIFS.

antimacassar
Piece of loose material draped over an upholstered chair back to protect it from stains from the users head. The term comes from macassar oil, a common hair dressing for men in the 19thC. Victorian antimacassars were commonly oh white crochet; they were preceded in the 18thC by silk versions that guarded against the powered wigs and greasy make-up of the Georgians.

antimagnetic watch
Watch in which mechanism is made of materials that are unaffected by magnetic fields (which cause inaccuracies). Gold and palladium, for example, were used in CHRONOMETERS from the late 18thC, and palladium alloys and nickel steel have been used since then.

antimony
Metallic element with hardening properyies, used in a range of alloy, including pewter.

antique
Object valued for its age, workmanship, beauty or rareity. Generally only objects that are more then 100 years old.

Antwerp
Centre of tapestry, lace making and pottery in the Netherlands (since 1832, Belgium). The antwerp tapestry industry reached its peak in the 17thC, with designs reminiscent of the paintings of Rubens. Antwerp pottery produced TIN-GLAZED EARTHENWARE in the 16thC and work inspired by Italian MAIOLICA in the latter part of the century. Its importance declined with the establishment of DELFT.

Ao
See KUTANI

aogai
Japanese mother-of-pearl decoration introduced c.1620 on lacquered articles . The use of the blue-green inside of the abalone (aogai in Japanese) was introduced to Japan from China, where it was used during the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In the 18thC, the Japanese Somada school originated a type of mosaic work using fine slivers of aogai, a style that was extensively copied throughout the 19thC.

Apostelhumpen
See HUMPEN

apostle spoons
Spoons traditionally made in sets of 13, the handles topped with figures of Christ and his 12 apostles. The figures are identified by different emblems held in the right hand. Usually in silver, but sometimes in pewter or brass, the earliest known part of a set dates from c.1460. The spoons were made throughout Europe, and were popular, either singly or in sets, as christening presents in the 16th and 17th centuries. the 19thC Britain, coffee spoons, usually all depicting the same apostle, were mass-produced.

apple
Very hard, reddish-brown fruitwood with an irregular grain. Like other fruitwoods, it is particularly suited to TURNING. It has mostly been used for the legs, stretchers and spindles of country-made chairs and tables, especially in the 17thC, applewood was often stained black (ebonised) or gilded and used for applied carvings, INLAID DECORATION and picture frames.

applied decoration
Surface ornament made, modelled or carved and then fixed to the body of an item.

apron
Lower front edge of a piece of furniture, beneath the surface of a table, or seat of a CHAIR, for example.

aquamarine
Blue to green variety of the gemstone BERYL. Greenish aquamarines were fashionable in the 19thC, but since the 1920s sky-blue stones have been popular, produced mainly by HEAT TREATMENT

aquatint
PRINT made by an etching process invented in the 1760s that enables several tones of varying intensity to be produced. Tiny particles of resin are dusted onto the metal printing plate and fused on by heat. Areas not to be printed are coated with a special varnish. The plate is exposed to acid which bites into the exposed metal, producing tonal areas like those of an ink or wash drawing when printed.

AR
Abbreviation of the Latin word argentum (silver), used in coin catalogues; it is also seen as ar or AR.

arabesque
Interwoven, symmetrical patterns of branches, tendrils and scrolls. It is familiar motif in Islamic and HISPANO-MORESQUE designs, and throughout Europe c.1760-90. See DECORATIVE MOTIFS.

arbalest
See CROSSBOW.

arbor
A shaft, axle or spindle carrying a wheel and PINION in a clock, watch or music-box mechanism. See TRAIN.

Arcadian
Stoke-on-Trent pottery producing CRESTED WARE in the 19th and 20th centuries including militaria and animals, particularly black cats in various poses.

arcading
Decoration composed of a series of rounded arches often found on furniture backs and panels of the late 16th and 17th centuries.

architect's table
18thC table used by artists, architects and draughtsmen, the top of which tilts on a ratchet to make a drawing board.

architectural style
General term for furniture and clock CASES, bearing architectural features, for example, COLUMNS and PEDIMENTS.

architrave
Term describing the moulded frame around doorways, windows and panelling in furniture.

argand lamp
Oil lamp invented in Geneva c.1782 and widely made in the USA and Europe. From 1810 argand lamps were fitted with an adjustable burner.

argentan
See NICKLE SILVER

argentan lace
A form of French needlepoint lace, typically showing flowers on a hexagonal backround and first made in the late 17thC.

Argyle
A late 18thC gravy container, also spelt argyll, usually of silver or sheffield plate and said to have been designed by the Duke of Argyll. Gravy in an inner vessel is kept warm by hot water in an outer cavity.

Ariel glass
Type of ART GLASS devolped in Sweden c.1936. It contains trapped bubbles or channels of air. Patterns are sandblasted into a glass core, which is then encased in another layer of glass, thus trapping channels of air where the pattern has been cut away.

Arita
Japanese ceramics centre from the early 17thC, the home of IMARI and KATIEMON porcelain.

ark
A chest (made by an arkwright) typically made of oak, with a canted lid. Arks were used for storing flour or meal, especially in the north of England, until the 19thC.

armada chest
An iron-bound strongbox for storing valuables in the 16th and 17th centuries, often with a large, complicated lock on the underside of the lid. Some were for the use of officers at sea, and would have been bolted to the deck of the owner's cabin. Usually of German make, the chests could be anything from a few inches to 6ft (1.8m) long. the name itself was a fanciful Victorian invention recalling chests imagined to be used by the Spanish Armada.

armchair
Any single chair with arms, as distinct from a SIDE CHAIR or a CORNER CHAIR.

armet
Medieval helmet enclosing the head and with a pivoted visor.

armiliary sphere
a scientific globe used for teaching astronomy and cosmography from c.1500 onwards. 16thC examples show the movements of the planets in the solar system, and were often made in Paris; one showed Ptolemaic (Earth-centred) universe, the other the Copernican (Sun-centred) universe.

armoire
French name for large a plain cupbored or PRESS, from the 16C onwards. An armoire usually has two doors, and sometimes one or two selves inside. The German version of an armoire is known as a kas.

armorial
The term used to describe a coat of arms. Armorial is also used to describe designs in which heraldic motif are prominent. CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN dinner services decorated with family crests or armorial were commissioned by the European aristocracy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and are known as armorial porcelain.

Arnold, John
( 1736-99 ) British clock and watch maker, noted for his work on pocket and marine CHRONOMETERS and precision watches. Arnold made highly accurate REGULATOR clocks for the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. From 1787, Arnold was in partnership with his son John (d.1843), who continued the business after his father's death. the firm was subsequently run by Edward Dent (1830-40), and three years later by Charles Frodsham, a leading marine chronometer-maker.

Arras
French 13th-16thC TAPESTRY centre from which the word 'arras'-used generally for high-quality wall-hanging or tapestry - is derived. Arras porcelain factory produced noted tableware, 1770-90, and Arras lace, pure white and gold, was sought after in the 17th to 19th centuries.

Art Deco
Style affecting all forms of design from the mid-1920s to the 30s. The name comes from the French arts décoratifs (decorative art), following the PARIS EXPOSITION DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS in 1925.
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Art furniture
Part of the eclectic mid to late 19thC British and US AESTHETIC MOVEMENT. Art furniture rejected earlier Victorian opulence and comfort in favour of simpler shapes showing Japanese influence. The movements name , first coined by designer Charles EASTLAKE, was taken from the Art Furniture Company, which manufactured pieces by architect William GODWIN. Early pieces were often made from black wood such as black walnut, but satinwood and mahogany were later used. Turned legs and supports and minimal decoration (usually shallow carvings of incised lines heightened with gilding) were typical. Designers who influenced or were associated with the movement included Bruce TALBERT, Charles VOYSEY, Robert EDIS, Charles Eastlake, William BURGES and Christopher DRESSER.

art glass
A general term for late 19th and early 20thC glasswork produced principally for decorative effect, and including AGATE, ALEXANDRITE and TORTOISESHELL GLASS.

Art Nouveau
Decorative arts style distinguished by curves and flowing lines, asymmetry and flower and leaf motifs, prevalent from the 1880s to the First World War.

Arts and Crafts movement
The work of British artist-craftsmen in the late 19th and early 20 centuries who rejected machine-made goods in favour of those made by hand. The rather purist attitudes of it followers and high cost of their products led to the decline of the movement in Britain after 1900. its influence was apparent in the USA until the First World War, and also in the continental Europe, especially Scandinavia and Austria.

ash
A tough, springy, whitish-grey wood native to Britain. Readily available and inexpensive, the solid wood was much used in making country furniture in the 18th and 19th centuries. As a veneer, it is found on some Georgian furniture, and ash BURRS are sometimes seen in CABINET work. Ash is still traditionally used for BENTWOOD chairs.

Ashbee, Charles Robert
(1863-1942) British architect, designer and writer who became a leading light in the ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT. He designed furniture - a lighter version of the movement's country style - and ART NOUVEAU-style silver and metal ware. He founded a school of arts and handicrafts in London which later moved to Cotswolds. Ashbee later recognised the inevitable role and advantages of machinery in 20thC arts and crafts, but his early work played a significant part in breaking away from Victorian traditions.

asmalyk
Rectangular, five-sided or seven-sided weavings made by Turkoman nomads and designed to hang on camels' flanks.

asparagus tongs
Scissor-action or pressure-grip 18thC tongs, often of ornamanted silver or SHEFFIELD PLATE, for serving asparagus. They are also known as chop tongs as they couldbe used for serving meat. Usually, the lower jaw is serrated and has an upturned end, and a clip holds the jaws together when not in use. Asparagus eaters, like small sugar tongs, were intoduced in the 20thC.

aspidistra stand
Three or four-legged wooden, wickerwork or ceramic plant stand for holding a flowerpot. The stands were fashionable in the late 19thC, when aspidistras were popular plants; they are sometimes known as JARDINIÉRE stands.

Asprey
London retail company, founded in 1781, producing and dealing in gold and silver, jewellery and other luxury items. It was particularly known for elaborate vanity case containing bottles and mirrors mounted in chased silver and gold. The firm, based in New Bond Street, is still run by the family.

assay
1 The testing of metals for purity of gold or silver content, carried out by an assay office or an institution such as a guild, according to standards set by the government. In Britain there are currently four active assay offices: London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh, each with its own distinctive hallmark. 2 The term is also used to describe a sample piece of work by a craftsman or registration with a guild. See HALLMARK, STERLING STANDARD.

Astbury ware
Lead-glazed earthenware made by John Astbury (1686-1743) and his contemporaries c.1730-70, in Staffordshire, and later Yorkshire. Relief decoration was SPRIGGED onto a red or brown body, then covered with a thick honey-brown, green or yellow GLAZES. Models of horses and riders, figure jugs of sailors and musicians, and useful wares were produced. Astbury is also credited with the addition of ground flint and white Devonshire clay to Staffordshire earthenware, which improved its colour and plasticity. Thomas WHIELDON was an apprentice of Astbury's. Astbury-Wheildon ware is Astbury style pottery with Whieldon's coloured lead glazes. Typical articles have relief decoration in clays that contrast with the main body, and lead glazes stained with metallic oxides.

astragal
Small, semicircular beading or MOULDING used on the glazing bars or glass-cabinet doors.

astrolabe
A circular instrument with a moveable arm for calculating the altitude of the sun and plotting the positions of the stars, for astronomical and navigational purposes. Astrolabes were used from the 2nd century, and although obsolete in Europe by the 18thC, forgeries continued to be made in the Middle East.

astronomical dial
Clock or watch dial that shows the movements of the sun, moon, planets and stars as well as telling the time.

athénienne
A multipurpose lidded urn, set on highly ornamented, three-legged stand. Invented by the Frenchman J.H. Eberts in 1773, it could be used as a plant or washstand, perfume burner or candelabra.

atlas
1 Any volume or book of tables, charts, maps or plates that systematically illustrates a subject. 2 The singular of atlantes, male figures used as columns in architecture or furniture.

atmos clock
A clock in which the movement is wound by changes in atmospheric pressure. The clock was devised by J.E. Reutter in 1928 and manufactured by the Swiss firm of Jaeger-le-Coultre.

Aubusson
Town in central France famous for its carpets and fabrics since the 16thC. Aubusson tapestry-woven carpets in LOUIS XVI and EMPIRE styles were widely used in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Aubusson tapestries with scenes from the fables of La Fontaine and contemporary prints were popular in the 18thC. Interest was revived this century with designs from artists such as Raoul Dufy and Graham Sutherland.

Ault Pottery
British art poetry founded by William Ault at Swadlincote, Derbyshire, in 1887. It produced ornamental earthenware, sometimes with ADVENTURINE glazes, including articles designed by Christopher Dresser.

aumbry
A simple cupboard dating from medieval times. Originally the aumbry, ambrey or almery consisted of a recessed shelved area in a wall enclosed by wooden doors, and later developed into a freestanding cupboard fir storing food, with pierced ventilation holes in the doors, which was used until the 16thC.

automata
Mechanical figures of varying sizes animated by clockwork, and later by battery, and in the 18th and 19th centuries produced mainly by clock-makers. Automata were created for display and for adults. They were often elaborately dressed and capable of detailed movements such as drinking and smoking, or depicted an animated scene with birds or figures. In the late 19thC, automata were largely replaced by mass-produced, mechanical toys aimed at the children's market.

autoperipatetikos
Smooth-moving walking doll patented in the USA and Europe in 1862. It has brass leg casings shaped like boots and the walking movement is made by a rotating curved bar concelaed within the legs or appearing beneath the feet. The name is derived from the Greek for 'self-propelling'.

AV
Abbreviation for the Latin aurum (gold), commonly used in coin catalogues; it is sometimes seen as av and AV.

aventurine
1 Translucent glass containing metallic specks. The name comes from avventurina, Italian for the brown quartz (also known as 'goldstone') that the first form of the glass resembled. This 'gold avnturine', developed in the early 17thC, owed its appearance to copper oxide used in its manufacture. The addition of chromium in the 1860s led to green aventurine, while chrome and tin combined led to pink aventurine. Other processes for producing these colours were subsequently developed in France and the USA. 2 A term also used to describe a LACQUER or GLAZE of the same speckled appearance as aventurine glass. It may be applied to wood or pottery. 3 The name sometimes given to the minute clippings of gold wire sprinkled over furniture in the process of JAPANNING.

Axminster carpets
1 Hand-knotted carpets for the luxury market in the 18th and 19th centuries at the Axminster Carpet Factory in Devon. The factory, founded in 1750 by two French Huguenot refugees from the SAVONNERIE FACTORY, was merged with Wilton Carpet Factory in 1835. 2 Mechanically woven, double-wefted carpets made at the Wilton factory following its takeover of Axminster, and copied at KIDDERMINSTER.

Ayrshire work
Type of CUTWORK embroidery on white muslin which hails from the Scottish county of Ayrshire. The work was most widely used during the mid-19thC for christening robes, women's collars, cuffs and caps.

Baccarat
Leading French glassworks founded in 1764. Its first products were SODA GLASS tableware and window glass. From 1816 it began to produce high-quality lead crystal and decorative glassware. It is especially noted for its MILLEFIORI paperweights and SULPHIDES, which became popular in the mid 19thC and remain highly collectable to this day.

Bacchus, George, & Sons
Birmingham glassworks founded in the early 19thC that produced some of the first PRESSED GLASS in Britain. Its high-quality CASED-GLASS wares were shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The works also specialised in CUT, ENGRAVED and coloured tableware, and paperweights.

bachelor's chest
A low, compact chest of drawers made during the first half of the 18thC, with a top that folds out to form a table. A bachelor's table has compartments for dressing and shaving equipment and surfaces for playing cards or writing.

back board
The wooden backing to an ite,m of CASE FURNITURE or a framed mirror. Good-quality 18th and early 19thC furniture usually has panelled back boards. From the late 19thC, PLYWOOD became more common.

back plate
Hindmost member of the pair of metal plates which holds the mechanism of a clock in place, sometimes engraved with decorative motifs and/or the maker's name.

back screen
An article, usually of woven cane, which was clipped to the back of a dining chair to shield its user against the heat of a fire, introduced in the early 19thC.

backstaff
Navigational instrument with rods supporting two scaled arcs, invented by Englishman John Davis in 1594. It was the precursor of the 18thC octant. The observer stood with back to the sun and aligned one scale on the horizon, the other on the shadow cast by its sighting piece. The two scale readings added together gave the sun's height and thus latitude could be calculated.

backstamp
Term used by commercial potteries fo the mark printed on the underside of their wares.

backstool
An early form of armless chair introduced in the late 16thC. It is a three or four legged stool with a back extending from the rear legs. At the time, the word 'chair' only applied to seats with arms, and it was not until the early 18thC that the backstool became known as the single or a SIDE CHAIR.

bacon cupboard
A type of SETTLE, made up of a long bench with a panelled cupboard doubling as a backrest, and often drawers set beneath the seat. It was a familiar item of farmhouse furniture from the Middle Ages to the 19thC.

BADA
British Antique Dealers' Association, and organisation of antique shops and individual dealers, formed to maintain standards within the trade.

baff
The Farsi word for 'knot' in the context of carpets. Armeni-baff are knotted by Armenians; bibi-baff are, strictly speaking, very finely woven rugs knitted by a bibi (princess) of the bakhtiari nomads of central Persia, but came to be used to describe any finely knitted bakhtiari rug.

baguette
Jewel cutting

bail handle
A simple, curved metal handle, as in a semicircular drawer pull, or the handle of a kettle.

Baillie Scott, Mackay Hugh
(1865-1945) British architect of international repute, who designed plainly shaped furniture decorated with colourful INLAID work and metalwork, in the style of the ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT.

Bain, Alexander
(c.1811-77) Scottish clock-maker and scientist who patented the first ELECTRIC CLOCK in 1840.

baize
Loose-woven, woollen material, usually dyed green or red and used from the 17thC to describe a flannel-like cloth produced in the eastern counties of England. It was used for covering card and billiard tables, and for lining drawers.

Bakelite
A durable, opaque, easily dyed plastic patented by Leo Backland in 1907. It is a 'thermosetting' plastic - the ingredients heated under pressure in a mould, resulkting in a very hard, heat-resistant material. Bakelite was used for cheap ART DECO jewellery, in the form of imitation amber or jet buckles, for example - ornaments and numerous other articles, from ashtrays to radio cabinets.

balance
A wheel in a clock or watch that regulates the action of the ESCAPEMENT mechanism and thus of the timepiece itself. Its effect was erratic before the invention c.1675 of the balance spring. This uses a spiral hairspring to make the movement of the balance wheel more regular and ISOCHRONUS; it was as significant a development in the field of portable clocks and watches as the PEBDULUM was for standing clocks. However, the elasticity of the spring is very susceptible to heat and cold, making a spring balance less acurate than a pendulum. The problem was overcome by the development of various forms of compensation balance form the mid-18thC, especially in association with the development of CHRONOMETERS.

baldric
Sword belt, usually of leather which is worn over the shoulder and diagonally across the chest.

ball turning
A series of turned wooden spheres of equal size used as ornamentation on the legs and horizontal STRETCHERS of chair and table legs, mid-17th to early 18th centuries.

baluster
A turned column or post, usually one of many supporting a rail to form a balustrade. The shape is seen in table legs and chair backs, drinking-glass stems and silverware.

bamboo furniture
Furniture made either from, or in imitation of, bamboo. It was popular during the vogue for CHINOISERIE in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, usually crafted in strong woods such as beech and then turned, curved and painted to imitate real bamboo. A late Victorian craze for genuine bamboo furniture resulted in an abundance of rather fragile tables, bookcases, chairs, WHATNOTS and pot stands; in the USA at the same time, sturdier simualted forms were fashionable.

banding
A decorative, INLAID or VENEER strip, in contrasting wood or sometimes metal. Banding may be used as a border on a door panel, table top or drawer front. Straight banding is cut along the grain of the wood; cross banding is cut across the grain; feather banding or herringbone banding is formed of two narrow pieces of veneer laid at an angle to each other to give a chevron effect. Very fine banding is known as stringing or line inlay.

banjo barometer
See WHEEL BAROMETER

banjo clock
Pendulum WALL CLOCK resembling an upturned banjo, introduced by the Willard family of clock-makers in Boston, USA. Many reproductions were made in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. See also GIRANDOLE.

Bank of England dollar
Silver coin struck for a few years at the beginning of the 19thC. Circulating examples, also known as bank tokens, were all dated 1804, inscribed with the word 'dollar' beneath an image of Britannia on the reverse, and had a face value of 5s (25p). The 3s and 1s6d denominations were struck in 1811. The entire coinage was made obsolete in 1816.

Banko ware
Pottery made by, or in the style of, Japanese 18thC potter Numanami Shigenaga. The wares are typically decorated with human figures, monkeys or other animals picked out in enamels or glazes with touches of UNDERGLAZE blue. The style was revived in the late 19thC. Most common are enamelled grey stoneware teawares, often in the form of a lotus or other flower.

banner screen
See POLE SCREEN

bantam work
See LACQUER

bar back
See CHAIR

barbeau
See ANGOULEME SPRIG

barber's bowl
Shaving dish, usually ceramic but also silver or other metal, used by barbers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. A semicircular section cut out of the rim fitted beneath a client's chin. This could also be placed around an arm and used as a bleeding bowl for blood-letting (surgery being one of the barber's major functions until the 19thC)

Barcelona chair
See MIES VAN DER ROHE, LUDWIG

barefaced tenon
See JOINING

barge ware
A dark brown, glazed EARTHENWARE with white clay relief patterns, produced in Derbyshire, c.1860-1910. Motifs of birds and flowers were tinted green, blue and pink. Practical containers such as large teapots (with a miniature teapot FINIAL), jugs and chamber pots were the main lines. It was sold at Measham, Leicestershire, on the banks of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal, and is also known as bargee or measham ware.

bargello
Embroidery design in which the colours, usually worked in pointed or flame-shaped patterns, graduate through their various shades. It is also known as flame stitch, Florentine stitch and Hungarian stitch.

bargueno
See VARGUENO.

barion cut
See JEWEL CUTTING

barley-sugar twist
See TURNING

Barnack, Oscar
(1879-1936) German microscope designer and inventor of the Leica camera, launched in 1925 by the German company Leitz. The Leica was the miniature precision camera of its kind.

barograph
A type of ANEROID BAROMETER that records air pressure, introduced in the 18thC. The aneroid mechanism moves a pen against a slowly turning drum on which a graph is mounted.

barometer
Instrument for registering atmospheric pressure and forecasting weather conditions, first made in the late 17thC. See ANEROID, ANGLE, FITZROY, STICK and WHEEL BAROMETERS.

baroque pearls
Pearls of irregular shape that were widely used in Baroque and Renaissance jewellery of the 15th to 17th centuries. The pearls were often decorated with gemstones or enamelling to take the form of mythological figures.

Baroque Style
An extravagant and heavily ornate style born from the architechture of 17thC Italy. For the first time, sculptors played a crucial role in the design of furniture, ceramics, ivory and silver, joining forces with gilders and earning recognition as craftsman in their own right rather than as the employees of joiners and CABINET-MAKERS. Their influence was evident in elborate, rather architectural furniture and in the abundance of cupids, carnucopias, and other such decoration set in symmetrical, curvaceous designs. The style dominated the decorative arts thoughout Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and in a less elaborate form in the USA during the first half of the 18thC. It paved the way for the lighter, more frivolous and colourful ROCOCO.

Barr, Flight & Barr
See WORCESTER

barrel
A hollow, cylindrical metal box or drum in a clock or watch that contains the driving or going spring and is connected ti the first wheel in the TRAIN. The casing has, from c.1580-1600, almost universally been of brass. A going barrel has the first wheel of the train mounted in the same ARBOR, thus dispensing with the two-part FUSEE. It was used for the striking trains of the 17thC German Renaissance clocks from c.1680, as it gives adequate timekeeping for most domestic purposes.

Bartoluzzi, Francesco
(1727-1815) Pioneer of the process of stipple ENGRAVING and owner of large print works in london in the 18thC. He produced society portraits and domestic and rural scenes.

Barum ware
Earthenware pottery made in Barnstaple, North Devon, and popular from c.1879 until the early 20thC. Specialities include simple jugs and vases with respresentations of birds, flowers, marine life or dragons painted in SLIP in soft colours, and sometimes wuth outlines incised.

bas d'armoire
French term for a low 18thC chest with double doors enclosing cupboards and drawers.

bas relief
See RELIEF

basal rim
See FOOT-RIM

basaltes ware
A very hard abd fine-grained STONEWARE made by a number of Staffordshire potters and improved by WEDGEWOOD c.1768. It found a ready market as a relatively cheap medium for reproducing, in ceramic form, the Classical bronzes abnd cameos which were popular in the late 18thC. Products included vases (some examples are bronze-glazed), large busts, medallions and domestic pots.

base metals
The term for all non-precious metals including copper, lead, iron and tin and their alloys such as brass, pewter, bronze and nickel silver.

basin stand
See WASHSTAND

Baskerville, John
(1706-75) Although best known as a typographer, Baskerville was also a key manufacturer of JAPANNED metalware. He was based in Birmingham and is credited with intriducing polychrome painting on japanned bases.

basket glass
Glass container in the shape of a basket, for sweets or fruit. OPENWORK sides, attached to a moulded base, are made from pieces or threads of glass pincered together.

basket-top clock
A BRACKET CLOCK with either a REPOUSSE metal dome or a cushion-moulded (flat-topped with curved edges) wood dome.

basketwork
A generic term for chairs and other furniture made of wicker, cane, or woven, coarse sea grass. Wickerwork furniture, in which the basket weave is worked around a frame of stiff rods, was popular in Victorian times for use both indoors and outside, and ranged from round-seated single chairs to lounge chairs with foot-rest extensions. See also LLOYD LOOM.

basse-taille
See ENAMELLING

bassine-cased watch
Shallow, circular pocket watch dating from the mid-17thC, with a rounded cover and back which curves gently into the central band. The case is often finely decorated with enamel.

bassinet
A hooded WICKERWORK basket used as a cradle, and later used to describe late 19thC baby carriages with a hooded basketwork body.

Batavian ware
Early 18thC CHINESE EXPORT PROCELAIN named after the Dutch East India Company trading station in Batvia (now Jakarta), Java. It is typically in the form of tea services decorated with blue nad white, often fan-shaped panels, and with a coffee-brown glaze on the outer side of bowls and saucers. Copies of the style made at MEISSEN in Germany and LEEDS, England, were also known as Batavian and Kapuziner ware.

Bateman family
London family of silversmiths producing domestic silverware in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hester Bateman (1708-94), the best known member, was trained by her husband John, and on his death carried on the business with her sons. A vast amount of domestic silver marked by its grace of line and simplicity of decoration was produced with her mark, including tableware, snuffboaxes, seals and wine labels. Hester retired in 1790, and her sons Peter and Jonathan, and Jonathan's wife, Ann carried on the firm. The change in management was marked by substituting a thread decoration for Hester's beading. Ann Bateman's son William took the business - and the style of Bateman silver - into the Victorian era.

Bath metal
An inexpensive bronze-like alloy used by some independent 18thC coiners (ass opposed to the Royal Mint) and from the late 18thC for small bozes and buttons.

batik
Distinctive patterned and dyed fabric from the East Indies, brought to Europe by the Dutch in the 16thC. In the batik process, melted wax is applied to parts of the design not intended to take colour, and the cloth is then dyed. This is repeated as necessary for other colours, the wax being washed out with hot water after each dyeing. Some batik is also hand-painted. The process was used in the 16th and 17thC Europe for dyeing expensive facbrics such as velvet, but the bold batik colours and patterns were printed on cotton and dyed by other processes from the 19thC.

bat-printing
See TRANSFER-PRINTING

Battersea
ENAMEL factory based in Battersea, London, specialising in items such as snuffboxes, plaques, wine labels, and watch and toothpick cases. Early porcelain boxes made at CHEALSEA had Battersea enamel lids. Designs were often transfer-printed onto a white enamel ground, then painted in delicate colours. The factory, run by John Brooks, pioneer of the TRANSFER-PRINTING process, only lasted three years (1753-6) but its influence lived on in enamelware produced in South Staffordshire and Birmingham.

Bauhaus
A German school of design founded in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius, an architect-designer. The Bauhaus aimed to produce prototype designs for everyday, mass-produced items. It explored the amnufacturing processes and new materials of the 'machine age' such as stainless steel and plastics, and coordinated the skills of architects, engineers, painters, sculptors and designers. The school was closed by the Nazis in 1933, but revived in the German city of Ulm after the war and insired industrial design in the mid-20thC.

baywood
See MAHOGONY

bead moulding
See MOULDINGS

beadwork
A form of embroidering textiles using small, coloured glass beads with, or instead of, needlework. Beadwork was a popular covering for small boxes and mirror frames in late 16th and 17th-century Europe, particularly in Britain, and in the 19thC for chair covers, purses, pictures and other objects.

beaker
Drinking cup without handles or stem, and usually with a foot rim. Early beakers were made in wood, glass and pottery, although from the 11thC there were silver, silver-gilt and gold examples. British beakers are usually more plainly decorated that their continental counterparts. In the 18thC, glasses generally replaced beakers for table use.

bearskin
Tall, military black fur hat, originally made from bear skin. It has been worn by British guardsmen since the 18thC, and is now part of their ceremonial dress.

Beauvais
Centre for weaving in northern France. The Beauvais Tapestry Factory was founded in 1664, and ultimately amalgamated with GOBELINS in 1940. Typical Beauvais tapestries - in the form of wall-hangings, carpets and furniture covers - have COMMEDIA DELL'ART scenes or extracts from contemporary paintings, framed by heavily festooned drapes; Classical and CHINOISERIE motifs are also seen. They are brilliantly coloured, often with a dominant yellow ground known as 'Spanish tobacco'. From 1725, imitation Beauvais tapestries were made in Berlin. The 19thC brought specialisation in furniture covers.

Becker, Carl
(d.1830) Notorious German forger of ancient Greek coins, who operated in the early 19thC. Fortunately for modern collectors, his extensive repertoire of copies was exposed and published after his death.

bedstead
The framework of a bed, which raises mattress and bedding material above floor level. Bedsteads only became widespread in Europe from the early 17thC. Monument-like bedsteads with eleborately carved wooden canopies were made during the RENAISSANCE, the canopies designed to provide privacy, protection from draughts, dirt and insects. The emphasis shifted from woodwork to fabric hangings in the mid-17thC, and a host of different bed styles were introduced over the next century. 19thC bed designs tended to be more functional.

beech
A pale, smooth and straight grained wood, one of the most inexpensive hardwoods available. Beech was often stained and used as a substitute for walnut in coun try furniture, expecially chairs, of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is also seen gilded or painted. Although subject to woodworm, beech has the advantage of taking close nailing without splitting.

Behrens, Peter
(1868-1940) German illustrator, architect, craftsman and designer of industrial and domestic fittings. Behrens's early furniture, ceramics, jewellery and glass designs were in ART NOVEAU style, but by 1898 he was designing simple, stream-lined household onjects for commercial production. He was a founder member of the DEUTSCHER WERKBUND, 1907, a group of German artists and manufacturers. LE CORBUSIER, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe all worked under Behrens c.1910.

Beilby, William and Mary
A brother and sister team of glass enamellers in the late 18thC. They decorated wine glasses and decanters with colourful heraldic designs or rustic scenes with romantic ruins and creepers, usually in white enamel.

bellarmine
Bulbous brown STONEWARE jug with a bearded head in low relief on the narrow neck, and frequently with relief coats of arms on the body. Bellarmines originated in 16thC Germany, the bearded head said to be that of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino, a leader of the Counter Reformation much hated by German Protestants. Many Bellarmines were exported t Britain (where they were also known as greybeards), and copied particularly at John DWIGHT's Fulham pottery in London. Reproductions were made in Germany until the late 19thC.

belle epoque
French for 'fine period', generally used to describe an elaborate and sumptuous decorative arts style which was prevalent in Europe from the end of the 19thC up until World War I.

Belleek
A ceramics factory in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, founded in 1857. Its speciality was a delicate PARIAN procelain. Wares are wholly or partly treated with a clear or pearlised, and sometimes iridescent, glaze. Belleek table and ornamental items are often decorated with or in the shape of shells and other marine life. Porcelain strips woven into baskets and perforated designs are also typical.

bell-metal
A tough bronze alloy used for bells and occasioanlly for cooking utensils such as skillets.

Belter, John
(1804-63) German-born US cabinet-maker, after whom Belter Furniture (carved and upholstered bentwood suites) was names. Belter's revived ROCOCO style was very popular and he displaced cabinet-maker Duncan PHYFE as New York's leading craftsman. He patented a plywood process using rosewood which was then ornately carved.

Benares brassware
Indian-style brassware, including trays and table tops. The genuine articles were made in India, but imitations were produced in Birmingham from the late 19thC, and sometimes exported to India and imported back again to suggest authenticity.

bends
The curved runners of rockers of a ROCKING CHAIR located between the back and front feet.

Benson, William
(1854-1924) British architect and leading furniture and metalwork designer in the ARTS and CRAFTS movement. Unlike the more purist members of the movement, Benson was not dismissive of mass-production methods, and his factory at Hammersmith, London, produced commercial domestic objects such as chandeliers, 1883 - 1923.

bent-limb doll
Doll with limbs that are in one carved piece rather than jointed. The bent-limb style is normally reserved for baby dolls and was first introduced on COMPOSITION dolls in 1910, and on vinyl models from the late 1930's.

bentwood
Lightweight solid or laminated timber, usually birch, soaked in hot water or steamed to make it pliable so that it is easily worked into curves. The technique was originally used for 18thC WINDSOR CHAIRS, but a distinctive style of bentwood furniture really became established in the mid-19thC with the work of the Austrian furniture-maker Michael THONET. Thonet Bentwood is strong, light, graceful and made from solid timber; it was soon seen in homes, cafes and hotels throughout Europe. In the 20thC, designers such as Alvar Aalto, marcel Breuer and others, widened the range of the bentwood styles, usually by using laminated timer.

Berain, Jean
(1637-1711) French draughtsman, engraver and designer, and one of the originators of the LOUIS XIV style. Berain worked as court designer from 1674, and his published symmetrical designs influenced ornamentation on contemporary furniture, carpets and silverware. Mid-18thC Moustiers FAIENCE was very often decorated in so-called style Berainesque.

bergere
French name for a deep, tub-chaped, upholstered armchair of the early 19thC, with continuous top and arm rails and a slightly concave back. Some versions are caned between the arms and seat and have a loose seat cushion.

Berlin
German ceramics centre with FAIENCE factories from 1678, a minor porcelain factory founded 1751, and a factory established 1763 which was known mainly for the production of dinner services and figures in restrained ROCOCO style. In the 19thC this factory produced BLANKS which were sent to outside decorators for painting.

Berlin iron jewellery
Early 19thC cast-iron jewellery made principally in Germany. People were given Berlin iron in exchange for their precious jewellery to boost the Prussian State gold reserves. Items such as brooches, necklaces and crosses in CLASSICAL or GOTHIC-style designs were typically crafted in delicate OPENWORK patterns and laquered black. Production continued in Germany and Paris until the end of the 19thC.

Berlin woolwork
Home-worked embroidery popular in the 19thC in Europe and the USA, using wool which was originally dyed in Berlin. German wool manufacturers marketed the wools by providing coloured pattern charts that could be easily transferred onto canvas.

beryl
A mineral that forms several varieties of gemstones, notably EMERALD and AQUAMARINE. The stone in its purest form is colourless, but impurities cause pale-coloured varieties of gems including yellow, pink and green beryl.

bevel
General term for any edge cut at an angle to a flat surface.

bezel
1 Metal rim or band set around the edge inside the shutting edge of a container. 2 Rim or setting edge of a ring that holds the stone or ornament, often loosely applied to the whole setting. 3 Metal rim holding the glass or watch or clock face.

bi
Flat jade disk, also spelt pi, with a hold in the centre. It symbolised heaven and was used ritualistically in China until the end of the reign of the last emporor in 1912.

bianco-sopra-bianco
Itlalian for 'white-on-white', referring to TIN-GLAZED EARTHENWARE with white-painted decoration introduced by the Italians on MAIOLICA in the 16thC. It is seen in mid to late 18thC Lambeth and Bristol DELFTWARE and Chinese and English porcelain.

Bible box
17thC box, usually of oak with a hinged lid. Bible boxes were designed to hold the family bible or other books or writing materials. Some, designed to double as a lectern, have a sloping lid.

bidri
Indian metalwork - copper, lead and tin alloy, blackened with a mixture of sal ammoniac and saltpetre, and INLAID with silver or brass. Bidri ware such as spice boxes and the bases for hookah pipes was imported from India in the 19thC.

Biedermeier
A restrained NEOCLASSICAL decorative art style originating in Germany in the early 19thC, which was most evident in furniture design.

Biemann, Dominik
(1800-57) Prominent BOHEMIAN glass engraver. He specialised in portraits but also engraved hunting scenes, landscapes and Old Master paintings. His work appears on glasses, beakers and medallions, usually signed with various pellings of his name (Bieman, Biman or Bimann).

biggan
Late 18thC and 19thC style of British coffee pot in silver or SHEFFIELD PLATE. The design is attributed to the London silversmith George Biggin (d. 1803). The pots have a cylindrical or barrel-shaped body and a short spout with built-in filter for ground coffee; the handle is usually of hardwood, such as ebony, or ivory. Biggins were either warmed on a stand over a spirit lamp or placed on a fire hob.

billet
1 A Romanesque (pre-GOTHIC) ornamental motif of moulding using alternating blocks or cylinders. 2 The THUMBPIECE on tankards and flagons.

Billies and Charlies
19thC forgeries of medieval amulets, pilgrim badges, figures and seals. Many were cast by William Smith and Charles Eaton of London - hence the name. The men claimed to have found the objects in the Thames' riverbed. The forgeries were often made in poor-quality pewter with relief decoration.

Billingsley, Willian
See DERBY; SWANSEA.

Bilston enamels
Articles of jewellery and OBJECTS OF VERTU made in Bilston and other parts of Staffordshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Most enamelled objects made in Britain at this time, including boxes, scent bottles and candlesticks, came from the Bilston area. Some incorporated small enamel plaques, others were coated in white enamel and then painted with motifs of landscapes, flowers and birds.

birch
A native timber of northern Europe, creamy in colour, tinged with pink or yellow, and with a fine, even, wavy grain. It has been used mainly as a solid wood for chairs and country furniture, especially in the 18thC, and is seen in BIEDERMEIER furniture. Selected pieces were occasionally used as a cheap substitute for SATINWOOD. In the 19thC cheap birch furniture was mass-produced, and after the invention of the rotary cutting lathe in 1890, it was common as a veneer and for PLYWOOD.

birdcage
The wooden hinged mechanism which is found on some 18thC TRIPOD TABLES. It is fixed at the top of the the pedestal and enables the table surface to swivel, tilt, fold or be fixed horizontally.

bird's-eye maple
See MAPLE.

biscuit
Fired but unglased ceramics. Biscuit procelain has a crisp, dry appearance that was used for statuettes and reproductions of Classical sculptures, initially by SEVRES from 1753, and later by DERBY and porcelain factories throughout Europe. Biscuit-firing is the term for the first firing prior to glazing. See BISQUE and PARIAN.

biscuit barrel
Barrel-shaped biscuit container dating from bear the end of the 19thC. Some examples have a matching tray to catch falling crumbs. Biscuit barrels were made in various materials including electroplated silver, solid silver or ceramics, and often with metal mounts.

biscuit warmer
Late 19thC silver stand for serving and keeping warm biscuits at the table. The warmers, also known as folding biscuit boxes, consist of a stand with a central column with either a handle of finial and two or more bowls which open out horizontally and close vertically onto the column.

bisque
Term for the unglazed, matt-surface BISCUIT porcelain that was the most popular material for doll's heads from the mid-19thC to the 1930's, and revived 1960-80. Flesh colour and features are painted on after an initial firing, then fired again at a low termperature to fix the colours. The term all-bisque refers to a doll with head, limbs and body made of bisque.

bizarre silk
A FIGURED silk cloth fashionable for dresses in Europe c.1695-1720. Designs were inspired by Oriental textiles, typically with tropical foliage, flora and jagged lines, woven in gold or silver thread. The cloth was produced in Britain at the SPITALFIELDS SILK FACTORIES.

black basaltes
See BASALTES WARE

black jack
British tankard-shaped leather jug, popular until the 18thC. It was lined with pitch to make it water-tight, and often had a metal rim.

blackamoor
See GUERIDON

blacking
A rust-resisting treatment applied to guns or armour, using either chemicals or paint.

blanc-de-chine
18thC French term for porcelain made in Fujien province in south-eatern China from the 17thC (late MING dynasty) to the present. Unpainted wares, including small, finely modelled figures, large sculptured models of deities and other wares often with relief decoration were exported to Europe. The ware was copied by nearly all early European porcelain factories including ST CLOUD, MENNECY, BOW and CHEALSEA during the 18thC.

blank
1 A prepared piece of metal ready for striking into a coin, also known as a flan, or, particuarly in the USA, as a planchet. 2 Undecorated glass or ceramic item (also called in-the-white in ceramics) that is passed to an outside decorator for painting or printing.

bleeding bowl
See BARBER'S BOWL; PORRINGER

Bleu persan
See NEVERS

blind earl
See DECORATIVE MOTIFS

blind fret
See FRETWORK

blind tracery
Typical GOTHIC decoration carved in relief on a solid background, often found on furniture.

blockfront
An Americal 18thC CASE FURNITURE design in which the centre section is a flattened concave curve flanked by outer section of flattened convex curves.

bloom
Dull, matt surface on old glassware. This may be caused by too much alkali in the glass, by the presence of sulphurous smoke during reheating, or by wearing away of decoration such a gilding.

blue and white
The most widely-used and longest-lasting decorative ceramic colour scheme, in which cobalt blue is an UNDERGLAZE colour. Cobalt blue retains its true colour over a wide range of firing temperatures, from low-fired earthenwares to the most highly fired porcelains.

blue cloth helmet
Cloth-covered helmet with a top soike worn by the British army from 1879 and still worn by some military bands.

blue dash
Simple blue on white decoration comprising oblique, regularly spaced, cobalt-blue dashes. The decoration is found on the rim of 17th-18thC London and Bristol delftware CHARGERS.

blue john
A type of Crystalline fluorspar with bands of yellow, purple, blue and white, mined in Derbyshire. It was popular in the late 18th and late 19th centuries, when it was used for OBJECTS OF VERTU, candlesticks and candelabra.

blueing
The heat treatment of iron or steel which forms a thin surface layer of blue oxide. This retards rusting, and was also used to decorate armour.

blunderbuss
A shoulder gun with a flared muzzle for scattering shot widely, increasing the probability oif a hit without taking aim. In the 18thC it was commonly used as a house or coach defensive weapon.

boarded construction
See JOINING

board-ended stool
The dining seat of the 14th, 15th ad 16th centuries. Instead of legs, the stools were supported on boards which were vertical or inclined inwards towards the seat and held firm by horizontal APRON pieces.

bob pendulum
A short, light-weighted PENDULUM which swings through a wide arc, and is associated with a verge ESCAPEMENT. It can be either pear or lens-shaped.

bobbin
See LACE, TURNING.

bocage
A French term meaning 'thicket', used to describe ceramic foliage or flowers that provide a background for a central subject. Bocage is typical of ROCOCO style, often framing figures in a canopy or arbour, and was particularly popular from the 1750s to the 1770s.

body
Mix of materials that forms the basic structure of an article, as in the paste of PORCELAIN.

body colour
See GOUACHE.

Bohemia
Region of what was later Czechoslovakia, renowned for its elaborately engraved glass. The earliest wares, dating from the 14thC, were made of WALDGLAS (forest glass) - a crude, mould-blown product which used wood as a source of potash for the FLUX. Venetian techniques were introduced in the 16thC and wheel engraving was common. The development of LIME GLASS a century later provided a better medium for decoration and led to facet CUTTING and elaborate engraving. One of the most noted engravers was Ludwig Moser who specialised in portrait work. Although independent artists produced much of the finest work under the patronage of German princes, factories such as those at Haida (now Novy Bor) and Karlsbad (now Karlovy-Vary) also produced fine-quality ware from the mid 19th to early 20th centuries, including CASED GLASS and FLASHED GLASS in brilliant colours.

bois clair
See RESTAURATION STYLE.

bois durci
Mid-19thC EBONY substitute, made from sawdust and animal blood or other water-soluble protein. The mixture coagulated on heating and could be die-stamped into decorative mouldings for furniture, medallions and trays.

boiserie
French term for 17th and 18thC wooden wall panelling ornately decorated with carving. Boiseries were often painted white with the ornamentation highlighted in gold or bright colours, and might also incorporate paintings.

bole
Red or yellow, fine ochre clay used as a ground by gilders prior to applying gold leaf (see GILDING).

bolection moulding
A furniture moulding used where two surfaces of differing levels meet.

bombard
A large jug made of sewn leather and lined with pitch or resin to make it watertight; used from medieval times to the 18thC.

bombe
Literally translated form the French as 'bulging', a term used for a swelling shape seen originally on chests of drawers and commodes of the Louis XIV period. The outward swell or curve towards the base of a piece was a popular feature during the Rococo period.

bonbonniere
Small container for sweets, popular in the 18thC. Also known as comfit and sweetmeat boxes, they were crafted in a variety of materials, particularly silver and porcelain, and often in novelty shapes such as a shoe or a head.

bone ash
Calcium phosphate from burned and ground animal bones, which was used as a fusing and stabilising agent in soft-paste porcelain, particularly in 18thC English factories, in BONE CHINA, and as a whitening agent in CREAMWARE.

bone china
A modified hard-paste PORCELAIN containing up to 50 per cent bone ash. Its introduction by SPODE in 1794 was an important step in the development of European ceramics; by the early 19thC, most British porcelain factories were making bone china, and the recipe is still used today. Bone china is tougher and cheaper to make than soft-paste porcelain, and slightly softer but again cheaper to mass-produce than thard-paste porcelain.

bone lace
See LACE.

bonheur-du-jour
A lady's elegant, clender-legged writing table often fitted with toilet accessories. Shelves and pigeonholes, sometimes enclosed by a TAMBOUR or CYLINDER FALL, are set at the back of the table surface. There may be a cupboard or shelves above for ornaments. Bonheurs-du-jour were introduced in France in the 1760s and soon afterwards produced in Britain.

bore
Inner surface of a gun barrel. The diameter of the bore is the calibre.

Boreman, Zachariah
See DERBY.

borne
Circular, upholstered Victorian OTTOMAN-type sofa, sometimes known as a conversation seat, which has three or four seat divisions and a central cone providing a backrest.

Boston rocker
See ROCKING CHAIRS

boteh
One of the most common motifs used on Oriental weavings, and the inspiration for the European PAISLEY pattern.

Bottger, Johan
(1682-1719) German alchemist and inventor of European hard-paste PORCELAIN. Bottger also pioneered a very hard RED STONEWARE (1709), a glazed, white procelain (1709) and Bottger lustre, a pale purple lustre glaze made with gold (c.1715). In 1710 he was appointed director of the newly formed MEISSEN procelain factory.

bottle stand
See COASTER

bottle ticket
A small plaque. Also known as a bottle label or wine label, for hanging around the neck of a wine bottle or decanter, which bears the name of the contents. Bottle tickets were first made in silver in the 1730s, and later in enamel on copper, SHEFFIELD PLATE, procelain or glass. Some bottle tickets carry the name, initials or family crest of the owner.

boudoir doll
Elaborately and fashionably dressed, long limbed doll designed as an ornament for an adult's bedroom, rather than as child's toy. The dolls were popular c.1915-1930, but continued to be made in the 1940s. Most have cloth bodies, although there are also some COMPOSITION, wax and ceramic examples.

bough-pot
See FLOWER-BRICK

boulle
A MARQUETRY technique, also known as buhl work, using metal (usually brass) and tortoiseshell in reverse patterns, sometimes combined with other materials and often set in an ebony veneer. It was a popular technique in France from the late 17thC through to the 19thC, and in Britain from 1815. The term is associated with the French cabinet-maker and EBENISTE Andre Boulle (1642-1732) of the Louis XIV period in France. He specialised in elegant, highly ornamental furniture - mainly for the nobility. He also produced cases for LONGCASE CLOCKS and barometers, gilt-bronzed chandeliers, candelabra and ANDIRONS.

Boulton, Matthew
(1728-1809) Inventor, entrepreneur and leading metalware manufacturer. His factory at Soho, Birmingham produced not only furniture mounts, buckles, buttons, snuffboxes and sword hilts, 1759-66, but also, as a private mint, struck Britain's first copper pennies in 1797. Boulton established the Birmingham assay office in 1773 and his factory, using the designs of Robert Adam and a a host of local craftsmen, greatly contributed to the city's successful silver industry. From the 1760s he specialised in SHEFFIELD PLATE, becoming Britain's primary producer. ORMOLU objects, such as vases, candlesticks and clock cases, and mounts for ornaments and ceramic pieces were also produced. Much of Boulton's later work was staff-designed for mass production.

bourdalou
Oval-shaped receptacle, designed for use by woman when travelling. Bourdaloues, also known as coach pots or slippers, date from c.1710 and were generally made of porcelain or pottery, occasionally of silver, japanned metal or glass. They look rather like sauceboats, but the front lip curves inwards rather than out.

Bow
With CHELSEA, one of the first soft-paste porcelain producers in Britain. It was the largest of the 18thC English porcelain factories, and made a broader range of products for a wider market than Chelsea. Bow was founded in the East end of London by Irish painter Thomas Frye in 1744. Soft-paste procelain was produced in 1748, introducing the use of BONE ASH. The body is tougher than that produced at Chelsea, but has a 'lumpy', bluish tinge to the glaze and an orange TRANSLUCENCY when held to the light. Until the late 1750s, the bulk of Bow's output imitated Oriental procelain. For a time it was the largest producer of BLUE AND WHITE porcelain in Europe and also made BLANC-DE-CHINE wares. Figures were a feature too, and often of native British design. They are less finely modelled and more thickly glazed than those made at Chelsea ad often unpainted. Some table and decorative ware followed a modified ROCOCO style and contemporary fashions in silverware, with applied shells and seaweed on table centrepieces and scrolled bases for figures, for example. From the late 1750s, Bow decorations were inspired by MEISSEN, SEVRES, and WORCESTER, but with lower-quality results. Some 30 years after its foundation, Bow was bought by Derby following a period of decline. Few Bow wares carry a mark, although the device of a dagger and anchor painted in dark iron red is occasionally found on flatwares and figures.

bowenite
See SERPENTINE

bow-front
A curving, convex front on a chest of drawers, commode, cabinet or sideboard, also known as swell front.

bowie knife
A knife with a broad curved-back blade, named after James Bowie (1796-1836), a Kentuckian colonel. It was popular in the USA but most were manufactured in Britain.

box bedstead
Bed enclosed on three sides by framed panelling, on the fourth side by curtains or sliding panels, and above by a flat TESTER. Box bedsteads were seen in poor households in Scotland and the North of England and Wales u to the mid-19thC.

box stool
a 17thC JOINED oak stool with a box beneath a hinged seat.

boxlock
A FLINTLOCK or percussion firearm with the firing mechanism mounted centrally on the stock.

boxwood
A very close-grained, yellow HARDWOOD native to Europe. It was expecially popular for stringing (see BANDING) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was also ideal for blocks for wood ENGRAVING and for moulds. The undulating figure of the wood from its roots and branches made box a popular material for INLAID WORK and MARQUETRY in the 16th and 17th centuries.

bracket clock
A general term for a spring driven clock, usually wooden-cased, with a vertical dial on the front face and generally with a PENDULUM-controlled ESCAPEMENT. The movement, or mechanism, is contained between two vertical plates. The term originates from the fact that lthough most clocks of this type stood on pieces of furniture, some were furnished with a suporting wall bracket. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they were called spring clocks.

bracket foot
See FEET

braganza foot
see FEET

Brandt, Edgar
(1880-1960) The most renowned French metalworker of the ART DECO period, and designer of furniture, screens and decorative panels. He used a combination of mettals, such as iron, brass and copper and is also known for this wrought-iron work, often with a hammered finish. Brandt formed a company in New York called Ferrobrandt.

brandy bowl
Shallow, oval bowl with two opposing handles, used both for tasting and for drinking brandy. Brandy bowls were made in Holland in the 17th and 18th centuries abnd revived in the 19thC; in the early 18thC, versions made in New York were exported to Britain.

brandy saucepan
See PIPKIN

brass
A strong yellow alloy of copper and zinc; a higher level of zinc prouces a yellower metal. Brass is malleable and easy to work. It has been worked in Britain from the Middle Ages. Large-scale production came c.1700, with better quality metal from c.1720. Some small brass ornaments and mounts for clocks were silvered. In the 19thC, thin sheet brass was introduced and designs were stamped out under presses to produce ornaments, inkstands, letter racks and door furniture.

breakfast can
See COFFEE CAN

breakfast table
A small, light, four-legged table with two extendible hinged flaps. The custom of entertaining friends to a late breakfast died out towards the end of the 18thC, and the term becamse more generally applied to lighter and smaller versions of dining tables for use in the breakfast room.

breakfront
Term used to describe a piece of furniture with part of its fromt projecting. Breakfront bookcases, sideboards, wardrobes and clothes presses were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

breech
The closed end of a barrell, where the charge or cartridge is placed. Beech=loading weapons were easier to load than muzzle-loading ones. Although they were used from the 15thC, it was not until the 19thC that they were perfected.

breguet, Abraham-Louis
(1747-1823) Swiss born watchmaker working in Paris from c.1762. He specialises in subscription watches or souscription watches which were made to order for clients or subscribers, and self-winding watches. In 1795, Breguet invented an escapement mechanism-called the tourbillon which reduced errors caused by the changing position of a watch as it was carried around. He also developed montres a tact which have knobs set at each hour for telling the time by touch in the dark. Breguet's watch cases are often very thin, with gold or silver dials. He signed his pieces 'Braguet a Paris' until 1791, when he developed a hidden signature to discourage forgeries. He went into partnership with his son Louis-Antoine c.1807.

breloque
Small ornament worn on a watch chain or CHATELAINE. It was typically made of gold or enamel and often in the form of a tiny statuette. Porcelain breloaques were made at CHELSEA and DERBY in the 18thC.

Bretby Art Pottery
Derbyshire earthenware pottery, established 1883. Bretby made pieces to the designs of Christopher DRESSER.

Breuer, Marcel
(1902-81) Hungariab-born furniture designer and architect, specialising in interiors. Breuer trained at the BAUHAUS school of design. His furniture was easily mass-produced and he was largely responsible for introducing chrome into ordinary households for the first time. Many of Breuer's designs were produced by the THONET brothers' furniture factory in Vienna. Breuer left Germany for Britain in 1935 and two years later settled in the USA.

brides
See LACE

bright-cut engraving
method of engraving metal articles especially ADAM-style silverware, developed in late 18thC Birmingham. The engraving instrument, or graver, has a double edge which removes slivers of metal and burnishes the cut surface to produce a smooth, polished, FACETED decoration.

brilliance
Radiant brightness of a diamond or other transparent gemstone, enhanced by the skilled arrangement of FACETS. A stone's brilliance is enhanced if the facets cause a greater deflection of light entering a stone and minimal loss of light through the stone's base.

brilliant cut
See JEWEL CUTTING

brin
See FAN

briolette
See JEWEL CUTTING

Briot, Nicholas
(c.1579-1646) French DIE-sinker who produced machine-made coins of very high quality for Charles I in the 1630s.

brise fan
See FAN

bristle doll
See PIANO DOLL

Bristol
1 A centre for British glassmaking from the mid 17th to 19th centuries. Bristol glass-making was established c.1651; in the 18thC opaque white glass resembling porcelain and often decorated in similar style was important, but the city best became known for its 'Bristol' blue glass made in the late 18thC, most notably by Lazarus and Isaac Jacobs. It was used to make DECANTERS, finger bowls, patch boxes and liners for silver casters, and other wares, which were often gilded. Blue glass was produced at many other factorties in Britain and firm attribution is usually impossible. The city's glass-makers were also noted for their high quality cutting, engraving and enamelling. See also NAILSEA. 2 An important ceramics centre for the production of TIN-GLAZED EARTHENWARE in the 17th abd 18th centuries. This initially followed the style of Italian MAIOLICA, and later of DELFTWARE. In 1750 a soft-paste PORCELAIN formula containing SOAPSTONE was pioneered at a Bristol factory founded by Benjamin Lund. A limited range of BLUE AND WHITE domestic ware as produced. This soapstone formula was perfected by WORCESTER, which took over Lund's company in 1752. In 1770, William COOKWORTHY, the chemist who made Britain's first hard-paste porcelain, transferred his PLYMOUTH factory to Bristol. The Bristol factory closed in 1781, the patent rights transferring to NEWHALL in Staffordshire.

britannia metal
A type of PEWTER containing no lead but a high proportion of tin, and shaped by a process known as SPINNING. This formed objects around a pattern (or model) on a power-driven wheel, which produced thinnner wares than the earlier cast pewter. Britannia metal was made extensively in Sheffield, London and Birmingham. From the second half of the 19thC it was often used as the base metal in ELECTROPLATING instead of copper or nickel silver and marked 'EPBM' (electroplated britannia metal). This is softer that electroplated nickel cilver (EPNS) and melts easily, so is difficult to repair.

Britannia standard
The compulsory standard for silverware in Britain 1697-1720. The proportion of pure silver (95.8 per cent). It was introduced as a deterrent against the practice of melting down sterling silver coinage to make domestic silverware. After 1720, the production of Britannia silver was optional.

broad
Gold £1 coin struck in 1656 which was circulated for only a short period. Broads usually bear a portrait of Oliver Cromwell.

broadsword
A cutting sword with a flat, wide, double-edged blade.

brocade
Finely woven textile with coloured threads added to form a raised pattern on the upper surface of the material, making a richly figured cloth. (The word brocade derives from the Latin brocare meaning 'to figure'.) Originally the ground patterns of flowers and scrolls were in gold or silver, and the fabric was known as cloth of gold; coloured silk threads came later, and today, cotton and man-made fibres are used. Brocade can be made in various weights for dressmaking or furnishings. Brocantine is brocade with a raised pattern that imitates embroidery.

Brocard, Phillippe-Joseph
(1867-90) French glass maker who recvived 13th-century Syrian techniques of enamelling in brilliant colours. Early works copied Islamic lamps and tableware, but later output was original - mainly MOULDED GLASSWARE decorated with more subdued ENAMEL colours.

brocatelle
1 Imitation BROCADE made of cotton or silk, with a raised pattern in the warp and a flat weft background. The term is often used to refer to any cloth with a raised pattern. 2 A variegated marble which was used to make table tops in the 18thC, also known as brocatello.

brockage
A mis-struck coin, on which the design appears normally on one side, but with the same design in INTAGLIO or INCUSE form on the other. It is caused by a previously struck coin failing to eject from the pair of DIES.

Brocot, Achille
(1817-78) French clock-maker who devised the BROCOT SUSPENSION which enabled timekeeping to be regulated by altering the length of the PENDULUM suspension spring by a key turned in the dial. He also introduced a JEWELLED deadbeat ESCAPEMENT, sometimes called a visible escapement as it was often mounted in the middle of the dial.

broderie anglais
Mid-19thC CUTWORK embroidery, usually of linen or cotton, made in Britain and parts of Europe from the late 18thC. Floral patterns are formed by embroidering around holes cut in the fabric in buttonhole stitch.

Brogden, John
(fl.1842-85) London based jeweller who specialised in antique and archaeological styles. Typical Brogden pieces incorporate Classical motifs and reliefs inspired by the Etruscan, Assyrian and Egyptian civilisations and pieces mounted with the claws of tigers or vultures.

bronchit
Matt black decoration painted on glass. The technique, also known as BRONZITE, was developed c.1910 in Vienna. The motifs - flowers, figures, animals and geometrical shapes - anticipated ART DECO style.

bronze
Hard alloy of copper and tin which develops a brown or green surface patina with age. Bronze has been used for various utensils requiring strength and durability, such as buckets, cooking pots and lamps, as well as for weapons, statues, ornaments and furniture. Bronze is usually shaped by CASTING and then chiselled to add sharp detail. 

bronzes d'ameublement
French term used to describe small gilt-bronze fittings, including clock-cases, firedogs, lamps and lighting appliances.

Brown Bess
The nickname for the FLINTLOCK musket used by the British army 1720 - 1840.

brown stoneware
See SALT-GLAZED STONEWARE.

browning
The process of artificially oxidising the metal parts of a firearm to produce a dull brown lustre finish and a guard against rusting.

Brucke, Die
Group of artists founded Dresden, Germany 1905. Although it broke up in 1913, the group's Expressionist style had a considerable impact on public taste, reviving, for example, an interest in WOODCUTS and other graphic arts.

brushing slide
A sliding shelf between the top drawer and the top surface of a chest of drawers or above the middle drawer of a TALLBOY. Its function was to provide a pull-out surface on which clothes could be laid out for brushing prior to wearing.

Brussels tapestry
The most technically refined tapestry in Europe from the 15th to the 17th centuries - when the GOBELINS factory in Paris became the main production centre. Brussels tapestry hangings were prized for detailed, realistic compositions, perfection of technique and colour and fine materials. They continued to be produced to a lesser degree throughout the 18thC.

budai
Buddhist figure signifying long life, prosperity and happiness. It is also spelt butai and putai, and in Japanese as hotei. The figure is depicted either alone or with children tugging at his ear lobes, pot belly or the sack of treasures by his side.

buffet
See COURT CUPBOARD

buhl work
See BOULLE

Bulle clock
The commonest form of electric battery clock, patented in 1922 by the Frenchman Maurice Favre-Bulle. Bulle clocks were marketed from 1924 in Britain by the British Horo-Electric Company until 1939. They are mounted on a circular base covered by a glass dome which contains the clock with its battery, electromagnet and hollow PENDULUM.

bullet teapot
Early 18thC silver or ceramic teapot with a spherical or polygonal, bullet shaped body, and usually a flat lid. The design was revived in the 19thC.

bullion
1 Gold or silver in the form of bars or ingots; th meltdown value of an object on its actual metal content. 2 Silver wire twisted into threads and used to decorate church vestments and military uniforms; also known as bullion lace.

bulls eye
1 See LENTICLE. 2 The bubble shaped glass in the cover of a half-HUNTER CASED watch.

bureau
A chest of drawers with a desk area above, It is enclosed by a sloping flap which opens, supported by pull-out LOPERS, to reveal a writing surface. At the back of this are recessed pigeonholes and small drawers, Bureaux were introduced during the 17thC and over the next 200 years adopted various forms, including the bureau bookcase, topped by bookshelves with glazed or panelled doors and the bureau cabinet with panelled doors above.

bureau bed
Bed that can be folded away into a bureau-like carcass with dummy drawers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, various bed disguises were popular in households where space was at a premium, including library PRESS beds, piano beds - complete with dummy pedals - and table beds.

bureau-plat
French term for a flat-topped writing desk with a FRIEZE containing drawers.

Burges, William
(1827-81) British architect and designer in 19thC GOTHIC REVIVAL style. Burge's interpretation of 13thC furniture style resulted in square, solid pieces covered with surface decoration including paintings.

burgonet
Light metal helmet, with peak, neck guard and hinged cheek flaps, used mainly by light-horsemen in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Burmese glass
An opaque ART GLASS shading from yellow at the bottom to pink at the top, developed by the Mount Washington Company of Massachusetts in 1885. The colours came from mixing uranium or gold oxides with molten glass. From 1886 Thomas Webb & Sons produced 'Queen's Burmese Glass' in Britain, after a tea set bought by Queen Victoria from the US manufacturer.

burr
1 Knotty whorls in the grain of wood where there were dense, fibrous swellings on the trunk or roots of a tree, which were used in decorative veneers. See PARQUETRY. 2 See DRYPOINT

busby
A military fur hat with a bag hanging from one side, often with a plume. It was worn originally by 18thC Hungarian Hussars, but other European hussar regiments adopted it.

Bustelli, Franz Anton
(1723-63) Swiss-born procelain modeller. He was chief modeller at the NYMPHENBURG Procelain factory 1754-63. His COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE characters were unsurpassed in their sense of movement and grace.

butler's tray
Portable tray, usually rectangular, with handholds at each end and mounted either on legs or a folding stand. Butler's trays were used from the early 18thC for serving drinks and removing glasses. They are also known as STANDING TRAYS.

buttoned upholstery
Padded upholstery with a buttoned, quilted effect introduced in the second half of the 18thC. Strong thread is pulled through the covering material and stuffing to the framework or webbing and hidden on the outside by buttons.

buttons
Butons first became widespread in Europe in the 17thC. British buttons from c.1700 were moulded or stamped in metal with hand-painted enamel and porcelain examples later in the century. In the 19thC buttons were mass-produced in a variety of materials.

button-wound watch
See KEYLESS WATCH

cabaret
A small tray, usually of porcelain, with matching set of cups, sugar bowl, milk jug and tea or coffee pot. A breakfast cabaret is known as a dejeuner, a set for two a tete-a-tete, and a set for one person as solitaire.

cabinet
A piece of furniture incorporating both drawer and cupboard space designed for the storage or display of small objects, especially precious ones. The word 'cabinet' - to the end of the 16thC exclusively and to a lesser extent to the early 16thC - referred to a small room in which precious articles and works of art were displayed. Towards the end of the 17thC it was applied to furniture. Their popularity during the Louis XIV and British restoration period and their elaborately veneered surfaces promoted the specialised new skill of cabinet-making. Although cabinet-making is particularly associated with Queen Anne and Georgian furniture, the term is now used generally to apply to all case furniture.

cabinet-ware
Porcelain - usually cups, saucers and plates - which was made for display rather than for practical use. Typical examples include early soft-paste porcelain made at chelsea in the 1740s which is not resistant to hot water but displays a high standard of decoration.

cabochon
See jewel cutting.

cabriole
A curvaceous profile seen in furniture, supposedly inspired by the shape of a wild goat's hind legs. It is usually associated with the shape of legs on chairs and tables, in the form of a shallow 'S' curve, with a broad hip and knee or shoulder tapering to a slim concave leg below. The cabriole leg was so popular that the late 17th to mid- 18thC is sometimes known as the Cabriole Leg Period..

cache-pot
Ornamental container for a pot holding a growing plant, usually without a drainage hole. The name is derived from the French cacher (to hide). See jardinieres

cachou box
A 19thC gold or silver box to hold cachous - pills for sweetening the breath. The boxes, which were made in Britain, are very small-1-2 in (25-50 mm) in length-with a hinged lid, and sometimes a ring attached for hanging from a chatelaine. The boxes are usually decorated with chasing or enamelling. They remained popular until. 1910.

cadogan
Lidless, peach-shaped teapot which is held upside down to be filled at the base. A tube leading up from the base ensures the contents do not spill when it is upright. A Chinese wine pot, brought to Britain by the Hon Mrs Cadogan, is said to have inspired the first examples produced at rockingham in the late 19thC. meissen in Germany, copeland, davenport and other Staffordshire potteries soon followed suit.

Cafe, John
(fl. 1740-5 7) A London-based silversmith who is best known for his candlesticks and snuffer trays. John was succeeded by his brother William, who continued the prolific production of candlesticks until 1772.

cage cup.
A cast or blown, thick-walled glass blank carved in relief and then undercut, leaving the decoration in the form of a net or cage still attached to the main body of the vessel. This form of cup was also known as a diatreta, taking its name from the diatretarii, the Roman glass decorators who originated it

cagework
Term for decorative, pierced or chased silver mount that encloses an inner, plain section of an object. The cagework technique probably originated in Germany, but was used in Britain extensively on late 17thC tankards, beakers and two-handled cups. A cagework box is a snuffbox comprising plaques of various materials, such as agate or ivory, set in a pierced metal frame.

caillouté
Porcelain decoration, of a lacy network of oval and circle outlines, usually painted in gold. The word is French for 'pebbled'. The design was introduced at sevres in the mid- 18thC, notably set against a rich dark blue background, and is also seen on worcester, derby and swansea ware. See decorative motifs.

cairngorm
Yellowish-brown to smoky yellow variety of quartz. It is the most important stone in Scottish jewellery. The stones were originally found in the Cairngorm mountains, and have been much simulated in glass (detectable by gas bubbles), and are now usually imitated by applying heat treatment to Brazilian amethysts.

calamander
See ebony

Calcite glass
Creamy-white art glass developed c. 1915 by Frederick carder in the USA. Its translucency, achieved by adding bone ash to the molten glass, made it particularly suitable for lampshades. It was also used in conjunction with aurene glass, to make cameo glass.

calendar clock
Clock with separate indications on the main dial, or with extra dials for the phases of the moon, the day, month and, more rarely, the year. Calendar information appeared on public clocks from the 14thC, and on domestic clocks from the 16thC.

calibre
See bore.

calico
Plain-weave cotton cloth originally imported from Calicut, a port in south-west India, during the 17th and 18th centuries and later manufactured in Britain. It was used, with painted or printed patterns, for soft furnishings especially during the 18th and19th centuries.

calotype
The world's first negative-positive technique of photography, pioneered by British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-77) in 1841. The process allowed an infinite number of prints on paper to be made from a single paper negative. The calotype eventually superseded the DAGUERREOTYPE.

cameo
Gemstone, hardstone or shell cut to reveal a design in relief. Cameos were originally made from gemstones with different coloured layers to provide a contrasting background. They were widespread in the Roman era and revived during the Italian renaissance and neoclassical period. Shell cameos were carved with Classical-style portraits and mythological scenes, in Naples and Rome in the 19thC and exported to Britain to be used as seals and jewellery. They remained fashionable throughout the 19thC.

cameo glass
Glassware made up of two or more layers of glass in contrasting colours (see cased glass ) in which part of the outer surface is carved by hand or etched away with acid to leave a cameo-effect design in relief. Acid-resistant paint is applied to the design area on the white outer casing; when the glass is dipped into an acid solution, the treated design area remains intact while the exposed area around it is etched away to reveal the coloured glass beneath. See SULPHIDES

camera obscura
A dark box with a small opening or lens through which the image of an object is projected and focused onto a facing surface. The device was used particularly by 17th to 19thC artists to produce accurate paintings and drawings.

campaign furniture
18th and 19thC portable furniture, including washstands, writing chests, chests of drawers, beds and chairs, primarily for military use. The furniture is usually of mahogany or teak, with brass fittings and removable feet. Chests would be made in halves and other pieces to unscrew so that they could be stacked flat for travelling.

campana
Inverted bell-shape seen in ceramics and metalware since Classical times and particularly popular in the early times and particularly popular in the early 19thC.

canapé
French term for a settee used from the late 17thC. It is upholstered with some of the wooden structure, such as the top rail or apron, left exposed.

cancellation mark
The means of marking ceramic products that are substandard or part of a discontinued range, by painting or scratching one or two strokes over the original factory mark. meissen, for example, had a range of cancellation marks to denote whether a piece was to be sold in-the-white, unglazed, or rejected.

candelabrum
Branched form of a candlestick, often made as a pair (candelabra) and used in Europe since the Middle Ages.

candle slide
Small wooden support for a candlestick, occasionally found on 18thC desks, tables and bureau cabinets, which slides into a built-in recess when not in use.

candle-stand
See torchere.

candlestick
Utensil for holding a single candle, used in Europe from the 10thC or earlier..

cane
1 The woven fibrous strips from the stems of a group of palms known as rattans, which are used in furniture. Canework came to Europe from China via the Dutch East India Company trade in the 17thC. It was popular in Europe in the second half of the 17th, and again from the end of the 18thC. The Chinese wove the outer fibres of the trees into very fine-meshed, silk-like, opaque panels. The Europeans used wider strips of cane, resulting in a light, straw-coloured, open mesh, usually with octagonal holes. Cane is a reasonably cheap material, strong yet light in weight and elastic. In the 19thC the coarser strips of the rattan palms were used in the production of basketwork furniture. 2 A stick of glass, sometimes multicoloured, made by arranging coloured lengths or rods of glass in a bundle, melting then marvering (rolling) them in clear glass to form a cane. The cane is then reheated and drawn out until it is ?-½ in (3-13 mm) in diameter. When cool, the cane can be sliced into thin crosswise sections to form the millefiore effect commonly seen in paperweights and mosaic glass. Canes can also be combined with twists in drinking-glass stems.

caneware
Cream to light brown fine stoneware developed by Josiah wedgwood from the 1770s, sometimes decorated with bright blue, green and red enamel colours. Caneware vessels were moulded to simulate lengths of bamboo lashed together.

canted
An obliquely angled, chamfered or bevelled edge.

canteen
Set of domestic tableware or cutlery in a fitted wooden case with a hinged lid and often with two or three drawers. There are usually 6 to 12 place settings. The first canteens were portable cases carrying the eating implements of 17thC travellers and military officers.

canterbury
A music canterbury, originally designed in the late 18thC, is a wooden stand divided by rails into sections for storing sheet music. Some examples have a drawer or drawers fitted underneath the top rails. A supper canterbury is a low wooden trolley used in the 18thC for cutlery and plates - similar to a deep partitioned tray on legs

cantilever chair
A chair made using the cantilever principle, in which the load is supported only at one end. Mart stam's 1920s tubular-steel prototype combined strength and lightness, but its shape was so new -the seat appeared to be floating in midair - that the public were afraid to sit on it. More commercially successful examples were produced a few years later by designers Ludwig mies van der rohe and Marcel breuer..

Canton
chinese export porcelain decorated in Canton (Guangzhou). In Europe, Canton generally applies to 19thC Chinese porcelain decorated with panels of flowers and scenes with figures on a gilt and green scrolled ground.2 Canton's enamelling workshops also produced enamel-painted copper known as Canton enamel. The Chinese acquired enamelling techniques from Europe in the 18thC and developed their own distinctive products, almost entirely for export, decorated particularly in famille- rose and famille-verte colours. 3 In the USA, the term is used to describe porcelain decorated with UNDERGLAZE-blue landscapes similar to the British willow pattern, which was exported from the Chinese port, late 18th and early 19th centuries.

capacity marks
Marks, also known as standard or excise marks, found on measures used in public markets and taverns for the sale of both dry and wet goods, such as grain, wine or ale. Originally there were many different local standards, but these were standardised in England in 1826. Scotland retained its own system into the 19thC

cap-and-ball
See percussion lock. capital See column.

capstan table
See drum table.

carat
1 Unit for measuring the weight of gemstones, including diamonds and pearls. It was standardised in 1914 as one-fifth of a gram (200 mg), equivalent to 3.086 grains. 2 Measure of the fineness of gold, based on 24 units. A 22 carat gold piece is an alloy of 22 parts pure gold and 2 parts another metal, such as silver.

carbine
A firearm similar to a musket or rifle but usually with a shorter barrel and firing range and commonly carried by cavalry.

carboy
Large bottle used for storing liquids such as acids or for display purposes in pharmacies. The body of the vessel is often bulbous with a long, narrow neck and matching stopper. Carboys were usually made of clear glass in order to show the colour of the liquid inside.

carbuncle
See garnet.

carcass
The main body of a piece of case furniture, before doors, drawers or shelves are added, and onto which veneers are laid.

card table
which has four hinged triangular pieces that open out to form a square, lined playing surface, often decorated with marquetry.

Carder, Frederick
(1864-1963) British glass designer who (1880-1903) worked for stevens & williams. He moved to the USA, where he co-founded the steuben glassworks. Here, inspired by the art nouveau movement, he experimented with coloured glass, various finishes and the lost-wax process.

Cardew, Michael
(1901-82) A key figure in 2othC British art pottery, who trained with Bernard leach at St Ives in the 1920s. He left to start his own pottery at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, where he made everyday items such as bowls and cider jugs, in SLIP-decorated, lead-glazed earthenware. Unlike Leach, his work followed English rather than Japanese pottery traditions. A period in West Africa from 1942 marked a change to stoneware, African motifs and deep blue and green glazes highlighted by orange-brown brushwork decoration.

carillon
A series of bells rung either mechanically or manually. Mechanical carillons have been used in domestic and public clocks since the 14thC to strike the hours or play les, as in musical clocks.

Carlton House desk
A writing table with a low superstructure and drawers at the back and sides of the writing space. The name derives from the original design made for the Prince of Wales's bedroom at his London residence, Carl ton House.

Carlton Ware
Earthenware and porcelain produced from c. 1890 at Carlton Works, Staffordshire, which traded as Wiltshaw & Robinson. The pottery is known in particular for producing art deco ornamental ware such as porcelain vases with enamelled and gilded decoration and lustre wall masks, vases and plaques painted in delicate pastel shades. The pottery also produced crested ware, coffee sets and cruets.

carnet de bal
Ivory leaves in a decorative case on which the names dancing partners were inscribed in pencil in the 18th and 19th centuries. Tablettes are similar, but the leaves can be removed from the case.

carnival glass
Cheap pressed glass i a highly iridescent finish, produced mainly in the USA c. 1908-1924. It is so called because it was said to have been used as prizes at carnivals and fairs.

Carolean
Style of furniture made during the reign of the British king Charles I (1625-49). The term is sometimes misleadingly used for Restoration style, dating from Charles II’s restoration to the throne in 1660.

Carr, Alwyn Charles Elison
See.ramsden, omar.

carriage clock
The first truly portable type of clock produced in large numbers, developed from coach watches and small portable table clocks. They have a spring-balance escapement, a glazed rectangular brass case, and a carrying handle. Heights range from 3 in (76 mm) to 8½ in (21 cm). Carriage clocks were introduced by French clock-maker Abraham-Louis breguet c. 1796. Over 90 per cent of them were produced in France, particularly during the height of their fashion, 1850-1914. The limited numbers made in Britain are generally larger and of higher quality than standard French versions, and have chain-FUSEE movements, while the French clocks have spring going-BARRELS.

carte à figure
Map incorporating decorative and informative details such as an ornamental border with.town views or inset pictures of local traditional costume. The style was at its height in the 17thC.

carte-de-visite
Portrait photograph, usually full length, but occasionally head and shoulders, mounted on a small card with the photographer's credit on the reverse. The idea was patented by French photographer Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri in 1854. He used a special camera containing a number of lenses; several poses could be achieved on a single negative. Cartes-de-visite were mass-produced during the mid- 19thC.

cartel clock
Spring-driven wall clock set in an ornate, Rococo or NEOCLASSiCAL-style frame or case, and produced in France, Germany, Austria and Italy c.1735-1900. Giltwood versions were also made in Britain .c. 1750-1800, often with a false pendulum in the dial.

Carter, Stabler & Adams
See poole pottery.

Cartier
French jewellery firm founded in Paris in 1847. Cartier at first specialised in enamelled gold set with gemstones, but is perhaps best known for its art deco jewellery and watches. Cartier introduced the first wristwatch in 1904 - of the round-cornered square design still seen today.

carton
See composition.

cartonnier
A piece of furniture fitted with compartments to hold papers, either freestanding with a cupboard below and clock on top, or an accessory for placing on a desk.

cartoon
The full-scale, preparatory design - either drawn or painted - for a tapestry, painting or mosaic. A small sketch, which is enlarged to make a cartoon, is known as a petit patron.

cartouche
A decorative detail or object suggestive of a sheet of paper with scrolled edges. In ceramics or silverware, it may take the form of an oval or shield with a decorative feature or inscription, and a scrolled frame, and in furniture a tablet shape with curled edges. Cartouche borders are seen on old maps and prints.

carver
An elbow chair - a chair with arms within a set of armless or single dining chairs.

carving
The skill of the woodcarver in furniture-making, as opposed to that of the carpenter, cabinet-maker or joiner. The craft gained greater status from the late 17thC until the later part of the 18thC; it became highly specialised particularly for cabinet stands, candelabra, mirror frames and console tables, which might then be gilded.

caryatids
Sculptured female forms, taken from Classical Greek style, widely used as ornamental supports on furniture and chimneypieces from the late 16thC onwards. The 19thC male equivalents are known as atlantes.

case furniture
Term for pieces of furniture which are intended to contain something - cupboards, cabinets, chests, bookcases and clothes presses, for example.

cased glass
Glassware consisting of two or more layers in different colours. The outer casing is blown first into a cup shape. A second layer is blown into it and the two are then reheated so that they fuse together. The process is repeated if further casings are required. The outer layer can then be engraved or cut to reveal the contrasting layer beneath. See cameo glass .

cassolette
1 Glass or ceramic vase, usually one of a pair, with a reversible lid. The inverted lid serves as a candle holder. 2 Ornate, late 18thC pastille burner like a small brazier on a stand (see athenienne) , and made of bronze or gilt metal.

cast iron
Impure form of iron which has been cast and moulded. It has been used since the Middle Ages, but most extensively from the 18thC particularly in the Victorian era. Cast iron is brittle, but cheaper than wrought iron.

Castellani, Fortunate Pio
(1793-1865) Italian antique dealer, goldsmith and jeweller based in Rome. From the early 1865 he imitated Etruscan and Roman jewellery and reproduced the ancient technique of making granulated gold. He also produced jewellery with filigree decoration and miniature mosaic work. His sons carried on the family business and their work became popular in Britain, where it has been frequently copied. The Castellani mark is a monogram of interlaced Cs.

caster
Container with a perforated lid used for sprinkling condiments such as sugar, pepper and nutmeg, usually in silver or pewter. Matched sets are known as cruet sets.

casting
Process of forming metal, glass or ceramic objects by pouring the molten material into a mould and letting it cool and harden. Metal items may be sand cast in which a mould shape is pressed into densely packed quartz and sand contained in an iron frame. See also lost wax

Castleford ware
Fine white stoneware with a slight translucency, made at Castleford near Leeds c. 1800-20. It has a smooth texture similar to that of parian ware with low relief decoration. The most common articles made were jugs and teapots, often with distinctive blue enamel trimmings.

cat
See PLATE-WARMER.

cat's eye
General term for several varieties of gemstones which when viewed in a certain direction and light display a streak, likened to a cat's eye. The effect is a result of a fibrous inclusion, such as asbestos, naturally occurring within the gem, and is enhanced by a smooth cabochon cut (see jewel cutting) .

caudle cup
Small, covered, one or two-handled cup with a saucer used for caudle, a spiced gruel of eggs, bread or oatmeal, and wine or ale. Usually intended for invalids or nursing mothers, the cups were made of silver or pottery, principally in the late 18th and early 18th centuries.

Caughley
Shropshire pottery probably founded c.1750, and best known for its soft-paste porcelain, called Salopian ware, produced from 1772. Caughley was noted for the excellence of its potting techniques rather than for the originality of its design. It openly imitated the shapes and designs of articles produced at WORCESTER, 40 miles (64 km) away, sometimes even reproducing Worcester's crescent mark. In the late 1780S and 90s, much of. Caughley's output was decorated in bright enamels with some impressive gilding by the Worcester outside decorator Robert CHAMBERLAIN. Dainty, CHANTILLY-style floral decoration is typical,together with Oriental-style blue and white tableware.The pottery closed c. 1812, business being transferred to coalport.
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cauliflower ware
creamware pottery introduced by Josiah wedgwood and Thomas whieldon in the 1750s. Teaware, lidded bowls, tureens and punch pots were made in the form of a cauliflower. The idea later extended to melons, pineapples and maize and was copied at other potteries and in porcelain at chelsea and worcester. Reproductions were made during the mid- 19thC but are of inferior quality in modelling, glazing and colours.

cauling
A means of flattening a veneer onto a carcass and removing excess glue. The caul, a heated piece of wood, is clamped over the surface. The heat melts the glue coating on the carcass enabling the veneer to stick; the clamps are tightened, squeezing out any excess glue.

cavetto
See mouldings.

cedar
Light reddish-brown aromatic timber from North America and the West Indies. Because of its aroma and insect-repellent qualities it was often used from the 19thC by cabinet-makers for the linings of drawers, boxes and chests, and for trays in clothes presses.

celadon
A European term for Chinese stoneware, initially developed during the song dynasty, with a translucent green glaze, and generally applied to any similar green-glaze. The shade varies according to the iron-oxide content. The word 'celadon' possibly comes from a character of that name in a 17thC French romance by Honoré d'Urfé, who wore a green coat.

cellaret
An all-embracing term introduced in the 18thC, for wine coolers and wine cisterns. It is also used for trays or compartments fitted into a drawer or sideboard, for holding bottles of wine and spirits.

Cellini jug
Heavy, ornate jug, moulded with masks, strap work and caryatids. The style is typical of that employed by the Renaissance goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini.

Celluloid
See plastic.

Celtic style
The decorative style of the Celts, a people who were originally from the western half of central Europe and then spread into Spain, Italy and the British Isles c.250 bc. Celtic motifs, with their curvaceous line patterns and stylised animal and human forms, were absorbed into English and Irish art, and were revived at the end of the 19thC by art nouveau artists, and particularly the glasgow school.

centrepiece
See epergne.

centrifugal casting
See lost wax.

ceramics
Clay-based products which are hardened by firing. The term, from the Greek keramos (clay), embraces all pottery including earthenware, STONEWARE PORCELAIN and BONE china..

chafing dish
Vessel of silver or other metal, used for heating food and warming plates over a charcoal brazier or spirit lamp on the dinner table or sideboard. The dish rests on a stand supported by legs, which afford space for a heating device. Chafing dishes were used extensively from the i6thC. The term is sometimes used to refer to the brazier itself.

chair
See boxes.

chaise longue
French term for an upholstered or cushioned chair with a whole or part back, and a long seat.

Chamberlain
See worcester.

Chambers, Sir William
(1726-96) neoclassical architect and furniture designer, and, with Robert Adam, joint architect to King George III. Chambers was the first British architect to visit China, and as a consequence his chinoiserie work had a more authentic feel to it than much of that popular in the mid-18thC.

chamberstick
Holder for a single candle with the sconce set into a saucer with a carrying handle attached, designed for bedroom use. Chambersticks were made from the 17thC and often had a snuffer attached.

chamfered
Edge that is planed or cut at an angle, usually applied to stone and woodwork.

champagne glass
It is uncertain whether special glasses were reserved for drinking champagne during the 17th and early 18th centuries. From the 1770s until the mid-19thC, flute glasses were favoured - a trend that has returned today, because the narrow mouth retains the bubbles for longer. From c.1830, a wide shallow bowl of 4-6 fl oz (115-175 ml) capacity was popular.

champagne tap
A tap for dispensing champagne from a bottle without removing the cork. Similar in shape and size to a corkscrew, it consists of a pointed tube with a spout and a spigot on one end. With the spigot closed, the champagne retains its bubbles. The taps were made, usually in electroplated silver, from the late 19thC

champleve
See enamel.

Chang ware
Range of art pottery developed by the doulton factory during the early 20thC. Typical Chang ware has a thick, glutinous glaze in shades of red and grey. The glaze, applied in layers, has a pronounced crackle. The name 'Chang ware' is intended to reflect the Chinese inspiration

Chantilly
A soft-paste porcelain factory on the Prince de Condé's estate near Paris, c. 1725-89. Early Chantilly porcelain has a distinctive white tin glaze and often KAKIEMON-style decoration. After 1740, a lead glaze was used and decoration was mainly naturalistic, featuring birds and flowers, including the Chantilly sprig - a cornflower with two leaves, and two sprays of forget me-not flowers. The Chantilly lacemaking industry began in the late 17thC. It is particularly famed for its delicate handmade bobbin lace of the 19thC. This is usually a black silk lace with the pattern outlined in a thicker strand of silk.

chapter ring
Ring on the dial of a clock marked with the time divisions.

char dish
Flat-bottomed pot used from the 17th to 19th centuries for serving potted char (a relative of the trout) and often decorated on the outside with painted fish. The pots are about 1 in (25 mm) deep and 6-10 in (15-25 cm) across, and found in DELFTWARE and CREAMWARE.

character doll
Term used from c. 1890 for a doll with a distinctive, naturalistic expression, or with features modelled on those of a real child or famous person. A portrait doll is a French-made character doll and was popular from the 1850s

charger
Large circular or oval plate used for serving meat or for hanging as a wall decoration. The word is probably derived from the French charger, 'to fill'.

chasing
Any method of decorating silver and other metalware in which the metal is repositioned, rather than removed by chiselling or carving. embossing and repousse are both forms of chasing. Bold, high-relief patterns are embossed; finer detail is added by the repoussé technique. Flat-chasing is also worked from the front using hammers and punches, resulting in very shallow, low-relief patterns similar in effect to engraving.

chatelaine
Ornamental clasp or chain with a hook from which items such as keys, watches, seals and trinkets were hung. Chatelaines were worn at the waist, mainly by women, from the 17thC; they became less fashionable from c. 1830, but made a comeback c.1890-1910. They were made in various metals and often ornamented with enamelling, beading and tassels

Chawner, Henry
(1764-1851) London silversmith who worked with his brother, William, and was known as a spoon-maker. He was the son of a silversmith, Thomas Chawner, and in 1796 established a partnership with the emes family, producing fine-quality silverware.

Chelsea
With Bow, one of the earliest porcelain factories in Britain, founded mid to late 1740s. Chelsea was the only 18thC English factory producing exclusively for the luxury porcelain market. Minor offshoots, including the so-called 'Girl in a Swing' workshop, an elusive establishment named after its most famous figure subject, obscure the early years of production. However, the following periods, named after the factory marks used at the time, are generally agreed.

chenille
1A soft, tufted cord of silk, cotton or woollen yarn used in embroidery or for fringing fabrics. 2 Any fabric made of chenille cord and, more generally, any of various imitation velvets produced from the 19thC. These include Chenille Axminsters, which are large, velvet-like carpets made using a two-loom weaving process at the axminster carpet factory.

chequerwork
A form of decoration on furniture in which alternating squares or rectangles of contrasting colours or textures imitate the pattern of a chess or chequerboard. Chequerwork was used extensively as an inlaid decoration in the 16th and 17th centuries.

cherry
The most popular fruitwood for furniture-making as it is hard and even-textured, with a superficial resemblance to mahogany, and polishes to a good finish. The cut wood of the British species varies in colour from pinkish-yellow to red-brown. Cherry was used particularly on the turned members of country-made chairs and tables in the 17th and 18th centuries, and by artist-craftsmen at the end of the 19th and in the early 20th century.

chest of drawers
Storage chest fitted with drawers which began to supersede the panelled chest or coffer in the 17thC. See commode, tallboy.

chesterfield
Victorian design of well-padded, over-stuffed sofa, often buttoned, and with back and arms of the same height.

chestnut
Horse chestnut is a native European species which produces a pale yellowish wood sometimes with a hint of pink. It has a close, even grain and has been used over the centuries for drawer linings, turned work, carving and inlaid decoration, but it lacks durability. Sweet chestnut is light reddish-brown, sometimes used as a substitute for oak in panelling, but rarely seen in case furniture.

cheval mirror
Long, floor-standing, framed mirror held between two uprights so that the angle can be adjusted. Cheval mirrors were made from c. 1750 and are also known as horse dressing glasses (cheval is French for horse).

cheveret
Small 18thC English writing desk, with slender, tapering legs and a set of small drawers and pigeonholes on top. It is sometimes known as a lady's cabinet.

chiffonie
r French term for a tall chest of drawers, made in Britain from the 1750s. The term came to include small sideboards or side cabinets with a cupboard below, buffets and side tables.

chimera
Decorative motif, seen in the 18th and 19th centuries, which originated in Classical mythology. It combines the features of a winged goat or lion with a serpent's tail.

china
Unspecific(and therefore to be discouraged term for ceramics. See BONE CHINA

china cabinet
A glass-fronted display cabinet for porcelain or cabinet-ware, introduced in the late 17thC when it was fashionable to collect chinese export porcelain.

china clay
A white clay virtually free of impurities such as iron, also known as kaolin. It is used in ceramics for its qualities of strength and whiteness, and is an essential ingredient of porcelain. The Chinese refer to the porcelain formula metaphorically as 'bones and flesh', china stone being the bone, china clay the flesh.

china stone
Feldspathic rock, also known as china rock, which is the essential fusing agent in hard-paste porcelain. When fired at a high temperature, the pulverised rock melts to a glassy paste (vitrifies) and binds with china clay to give true porcelain its special strength and impermeability. It is also combined with lime and potash in a glaze that can be fused onto a permeable earthenware body in a single firing to make it waterproof. The Chinese equivalent of china stone is petuntse

china table
See tea table.

Chinese export porcelain
Chinese porcelain products imported into Europe from the 16thC, and reaching a peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. Technically superior to European ceramics until the 18thC, Chinese porcelain was in great demand, and had a profound influence on European manufacturers who tried to capture its quality and decorative effects. The holds of East India trading vessels, especially from Holland and Britain, might be filled with flint for use in Chinese porcelain manufacture on the outward journey, and with china on the way back. The china was stacked beneath the principal cargoes of tea and silk (which had to be stored above the waterline), providing valuable ballast on the return journey. Most of the wares were of fairly ordinary quality, but there was a thriving private 'super cargo' trade in higher quality porcelain often specially commissioned by the Western aristocracy.

Chinese reign marks
See reign

Ch'ing dynasty
See qing.

chinkhvbori
Japanese lacquer technique, which originated in China. Stylised geometrical or floral diaper (see decorative motifs) patterns are engraved into a lacquer base and then filled with gold powder, foil, or coloured lacquers.

Chinnery, George (1774 - 1852)
George Chinnery was born in London in 1774. After training in England, he moved to Dublin where he became famous for his portraits and miniatures. He left for India in 1802 when he ran into debt, and he settled there for the next twenty-three years. In 1825 Chinnery set foot in Macao, China. where he spent the next 27 years. His frenzied sketching of the streets and alleyways of Macao became legendary.

Chinnery’s prolific and brisk sketches of street scenes have been much proclaimed and praised. He mentored Lam Qua, who eventually became a renowned medical portrait painter. He travelled around the Pearl River Delta, between Macao and Canton (now Guangzhou) and was considered the most influential nineteenth century Western artist in the East.

The period between Chinnery’s departure to the Orient and his death in Macao, coincided not only with the golden era of British Landscape Painting but also with times of great prosperity for Macao which saw its port transformed into one of the greatest trading stations of Asia.

Chinnery, George (1774 - 1852)
George Chinnery was born in London in 1774. After training in England, he moved to Dublin where he became famous for his portraits and miniatures. He left for India in 1802 when he ran into debt, and he settled there for the next twenty-three years. In 1825 Chinnery set foot in Macao, China. where he spent the next 27 years. His frenzied sketching of the streets and alleyways of Macao became legendary.

Chinnery’s prolific and brisk sketches of street scenes have been much proclaimed and praised. He mentored Lam Qua, who eventually became a renowned medical portrait painter. He travelled around the Pearl River Delta, between Macao and Canton (now Guangzhou) and was considered the most influential nineteenth century Western artist in the East.

The period between Chinnery’s departure to the Orient and his death in Macao, coincided not only with the golden era of British Landscape Painting but also with times of great prosperity for Macao which saw its port transformed into one of the greatest trading stations of Asia.