Jackfield ware
Ceramics imitation of Japanese lacquer ware initially produced at Jackfield in Shropshire from c. 1750. It is also known as japanned ware and is covered in a glossy black glaze with gilded decoration. It was also produced by astbury, whieldon and wedgwood.

Jacob, Georges
(1739-1814) French master menuisier whose work spanned the Louis XVI and empire periods. His early Rococo work soon gave way to a Neoclassical Louis XVI style, and by the early 1780s he was one of the leading chair-makers in Paris. After the Revolution, he worked for the designers fontaine and Percier before forming Jacob-Desmalter & Cie in 1803 with his second son, Francois.

Jacobean period
Reign of James I in England, 1603-25.

Jacobite glass
Wine glasses, tumblers and decanters used for loyal toasts to James II and his descendants, Roman Catholic Pretenders to the British throne. Production began in 1688 and the objects were engraved with mottoes, portraits and symbols of the Jacobite cause, supposedly including a thistle, an oak leaf, a caterpillar and a carnation, and a six, seven or eight-petalled rose which represented the British crown. The cause was lost in 1770 and production of the glassware ceased a few years later. Since then all Jacobite glassware has been widely faked especially in the late 19thC.

Jacquard loom
See looms.

Jacquet-Droz
Firm of watch and automata makers. The partnership between Pierre Jacquet-Droz and his son, Henri-Louis, was set up in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1787. The firm was known for its exquisitely decorated enamelled and automata watches in the first half of the 19thC. They also created life-like automata of human figures drawing and painting.

jade
General term for the minerals nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite, from Turkestan, Siberia and the Far East, is hard and translucent, and 'rings' when struck. It ranges in colour from white (the highly prized 'mutton-fat jade') to various shades of brown and green ('spinach jade'), and has a greasy look when polished. Jadeite is rarer, harder and more easily fractured. It is dark green, emerald or variegated white with emerald, or green and lavender; the translucent emerald green 'imperial' or 'true' jade is the most precious form of jadeite. Both minerals are too hard to be carved with cutting tools and instead are shaped by abrasives. Nephrite figures and ritualistic implements have been sculpted by the Chinese from Neolithic times, but the 18thC was a particularly prolific period. At this time too, they began to work in jadeite, but mainly for items of jewellery. Real jade remains unmarked when scratched with a steel tip.

jambiyah
A curved dagger with a double-edged blade. It is a traditional Arab weapon but found in various forms from North Africa to Iran and from East Africa to western India. The jambiyah was often contained in an ornamental scabbard and tucked through a belt at the front of the body.

japanning
British term for imitation Oriental lacquer introduced in the latter half of the 17thC. Metal or wooden surfaces are coated with several layers of various gums such as shellac, as distinct from the resin of the Oriental lacquer tree which is used in true lacquer. High quality japanning is done with spirit-based varnishes which have a transparency that almost matches the finish of genuine lacquer. It can usually be distinguished from true lacquer by the Westernised designs and greater range of ground colours including black, dark green, and the British speciality of sealing-wax red. The initial spate of japanned cabinets, mirror frames and boxes at the end of the 17th and early 18th centuries was followed by a fashion for japanned longcase clocks 1720-70. Then there was a lull until the 18thC, when the Victorians revived the craft, especially in the form of japanned Ppapier mâché. See pontypool ware, bilston enamels, jackfield ware.

japonaiserie
European decoration copied from imported Japanese porcelain and lacquer. In the late 18thC, Japan patterns (see imari) appeared on British ceramics at worcester and derby. This fashion declined in the 1820s, but in the 1860s a craze for Japanese style swept every area of design.

jardinière
A term used for the ornamental container for a plant pot. Heavily moulded and glazed majolica jardinières, usually on a stand, were a feature of Victorian drawing rooms, and ornately wrought-iron versions combining table or stand with inset pot were also popular.

Jargon
See zircon.

jasperware
A smooth, matt-finish fine stoneware introduced by Josiah wedgwood in 1774. Jasperware was much imitated in its time, and is still produced today. It is unglazed, similar in texture to biscuit porcelain, and colours include tones of green, lavender, yellow or black as well as the famous 'Wedgwood blue', with relief designs in neoclassical style applied in white. The paste itself was stained with metal oxides such as cobalt to produce 'solid jasper', but after 1777, a coloured surface wash was applied to a white base resulting in jasper dip. Jasperware can be burnished to a glossy finish - which is sometimes seen on cups and bowls. It is mainly seen unpolished, however, in the form of vases, plaques, cameos and other ornaments.

Jazz Modern style
See art deco.

Jeanneret, Charles Edward
See le corbusier.

jelly glass
One or two-handled 18thC glass, usually with a long vase-shaped bowl and short stem, for serving a single portion of jelly or similar type of sweet dessert.

Jennens & Bettridge
English manufacturers of PAPIER-MÂCHÉ furniture and works of art, 1816-64. They patented a form of inlaid decoration in pâpier-maché using coloured glass, ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell and gemstones

Jensen, Gerreit
(fl. 1680-1715) Anglo-Dutch cabinet-maker, whose rich Dutch version of Louis XIV style influenced william and mary furniture. Jensen's furniture was noted for its metal inlay marquetry that was similar to boulle work.

Jesuit ware
Chinese porcelain of the mid- 18thC often decorated en grisaille with Christian subjects meticulously copied from European engravings. The term is misleading, however, as many of the subjects were erotic and not always aimed at the Jesuit market.

jet
Black, glossy, fossilised wood - a very hard form of coal - that is carved and highly polished to make jewellery and ornaments. Jet has been used for decoration since the Bronze Age. It was mined extensively on the Yorkshire coast near Whitby and widely exported c.1805-75. It was popular for buttons and mourning jewellery in Victorian times. Spanish jet is softer and cheaper than the British form, and French jet is the term used for glass imitations.

jewel cutting
Process of shaping a gemstone to give it symmetry, and enhance its brilliance, beauty and value. The resulting shapes are either in smooth cabochon form or with many facets. Diamond and precious-stone cutting is said to have begun in Belgium in 1475. See box above.

jewel setting
1 The mount in which a gemstone is set in a ring, pendant, brooch or other item of jewellery. 2 The style in which a gemstone is secured in a finger ring. In a closed setting the underneath of the stone is enclosed and may be backed with coloured foil to enhance its colour. In an open setting the underneath of the stone is exposed. In the 19thC several variations of the open setting were introduced and largely superseded the closed setting.

jewelled decoration
Ceramics decoration like brightly coloured gems, created by fusing drops of coloured enamel over gold and silver foil. The technique was employed at sevres c. 1778-86, and used in the mid-19thC at worcester, coalport and minton porcelain factories, though not always on a foil ground.

jewelling
Term that refers to the use of hard gemstones (usually synthetic rubies or diamonds) as bearings in watches or clocks to reduce the wear (and hence deterioration in timekeeping) caused by the pivots of cog spindles in their pivot holes. Jewelling was first patented in London in 1704, and was a jealously guarded secret among British makers well into the 18thC. As a result it is not generally found in continental watches until the 19thC,

Joel, Betty
(1896-1985) British furniture designer who, with her husband David, designed simple, functional furniture for wide domestic use in the 1920s — often in teak or oak, but also in exotic woods such as Indian laurel and silverwood. Pieces have the date of manufacture, the name 'Joel' and the name of the craftsman on a card fixed behind glass.

Johnson, Thomas
(1714-78) British furniture-maker, designer, carver and gilder in Rococo style. He published several pattern books of elegant display pieces, such as mirror frames, candlesticks and side tables.

joined stool
16th-17thC, four-legged oak stool with pegged joints, turned legs and a deep apron.

joined table
See refectory table. panelled construction

joining
Technique of fitting pieces of wood together to the standard required in furniture-making. The words joined or joint indicate that a piece has been constructed using mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joints, rather than pegged with wooden dowels or iron pins at the angles, as in boarded construction. In the 16thC came panelled construction - panels held in grooves cut into vertical timbers called stiles (at the comers) and muntins, and horizontal timbers, or rails. By the end of the 15thC the mortise-and-tenon joint was in general use in furniture construction. Two sections of wood are joined at an angle by means of a projecting tenon, which fits into a cut-out section of corresponding shape and size called a mortise. A tenon ridged on one side only is known as a barefaced tenon, whereas a barefaced tongue refers to a join where the protruding 'tongue' of wood fits flush on one side of the join. Two pieces of wood can be joined at an angle by means of wedges or dovetail-shaped projections in one piece fitting into corresponding cut-out sections in the other. This is known as a dovetail joint. A through' dovetail shows through the front of the piece of furniture, resulting in a slightly uneven surface for veneering. A refinement of the through-dovetail is the stopped or lapped dovetail in which the jointed wood does not show on the outer surface of the furniture.

Jones, Inigo
(1573-1652) Leading classical architect of the Jacobean period. Many of his buildings are the earliest in British architecture to adopt Classical themes, and his ideas had considerable impact on the work of later designers such as William kent and Robert Adam.

Jones, Owen
(1809-74) British designer, architect and writer who influenced Victorian decorative styles and the art nouveau movement. Following visits to the Middle East and Spain, Owen popularised the mathematical structure and stylised natural forms of islamic and HispANO-MoRESQUE styles in his book The Alhambra, and world design in Grammar of Ornament. Jones' influence extended to Christopher dresser and Frank Lloyd wright.

jufti knot
See carpet knots.

Jugendstil
Name of the German art nouveau movement, which peaked 1896-1900. It is named after a Munich magazine called Die Jugend (Youth). The style incorporated languid, stylised flowers and figures in its early stages, and later showed a more geometrical tendency inspired by British designer Charles Rennie mackintosh.

jumping jack
Wooden or cardboard doll, known as a pan tin in France, and Hampelmann in Germany, with a length of string hanging between the legs which is connected to each loosely jointed arm and leg. When the string is pulled the limbs jerk upwards and outwards. Jumping jacks have been made from the late 17thC.

Kaga ware
See kutani.

kagamibuta
See netsuke.

Kakiemon
The name given to a distinctive palette of colours used initially on Japanese porcelain c. 1660, comprising turquoise, dark blue, yellow, iron-red, black and occasionally brown. The name is that of the potter credited with the palette's invention, Kakiemon I, although the palette is more likely to have evolved gradually. It was copied at the early European porcelain factories during the first half of the 18thC, especially at meissen, chantilly, chelsea and Bow. Only blue and white wares with no evidence of Kakiemon enamels have been unearthed at the known Kakiemon kiln site near arita, suggesting that the enamelling was done elsewhere.

kakihan
Script mark of a Japanese artist (equivalent to the British monogram), which is used to identify Japanese metalwork, netsuke, ceramics and lacquer.

kaleidoscope
Optical toy consisting of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of coloured glass or paper, popular during the 19thC. Changing patterns appear when the tube is rotated.

Kandler, Charles Frederick
(fl. 1727-73) London silversmith, regarded as second only to Paul de lamerie. Kandler made some highly decorated pieces such as wine coolers, tea kettles and tableware, in Rococo style; they typically had handles cast in the form of birds. Later, neoclassical designs were simpler.

Kandler, Johann Joachim
(1706-75) German porcelain modeller responsible for the eminence of the meissen factory where he was chief modeller 1733-75. Kandler established the porcelain figure - both human and animal - as an art form and influenced figures produced at other German factories from the 18thC until the 20thC. His work was imitated throughout Europe.

kaolin
See china clay.

kard
Indo-Persian straight-bladed, single-edged knife, rather like a kitchen knife. It was carried in a wide scabbard covering much of the hilt.

kashira
See kodogu.

katar
Pointed, double-edged Indian dagger with an H-shaped hilt which was gripped on the crossbar and used with a forward-thrusting action.

Kauffmann, Angelica
(1741 -1807) Swiss-born painter. Kauffmann lived in England (1766-81) before moving to Italy with her husband, artist Antonio zucchi. Her work included wall, ceiling and furniture designs for architect Robert Adam.

kenares
See runners.

kendi
lobular ceramic or metal drinking vessel with a breast-shaped spout, made in the Far East. Chinese porcelain kendi were exported to the Middle East from the 15thC.

Kent, William
1684-1748) Painter, architect, designer and landscape gardener. Kent's buildings were inspired by the austere, Classical lines of palladian style architecture, which he had studied in Italy 1709-19, and influenced also by Inigo jones. Kent's house interiors, however, had a more ornate, baroque style and richly carved, architectural-style furniture, which formed part of a unified scheme. Kent was an acknowledged authority on taste in his own lifetime, and had a great influence on contemporary style.

Kerr & Binns
See worcester.

keyless watch
Watch which is wound by means of an attached key, a ribbed knob or button, rather than by a separate key. The keyless, or button-wound watch was first patented 1820 and much modified and improved during the 19thC, but not generally adopted in Britain until after 1880.

kick
Indentation in the base of glass objects, designed to increase stability.

Kidderminster
Key centre for carpet-making from the late 17thC. The Worcestershire factories initially produced flat-weave carpets, which were largely superseded in 1749 by hard-wearing moquette carpets. The town was the first British carpet centre to use the Jacquard loom in the early 19thC, and the industry continued to expand throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

kilim
1A flat-weave rug. Technically, the word as used in the East refers only to 'slit-tapestry' weavings, so called because the weft is discontinued with each change of colour, creating slits. The word kilim is of Persian (Iranian) origin, but the rugs are mainly associated with Anatolia in central Turkey, although they are also made in the Caucasus -where they are known as palas - and elsewhere. Kilims are noted for bright, almost garish, colours and bold designs, often incorporating stylised animals and birds. 2 Kilim can also refer to the flat, woven fringe used to finish off the edges of a pile carpet

kindjahl
A double-edged sword or dagger of south-east Europe and Iran. The hilt tapers inwards from the shoulder to form the handgrip then broadens out again to provide a handstop; there is no crossguard.

king's pattern
See cutlery.

kingwood
See rosewood.

kinji
Japanese term meaning 'ground gold', used for highly polished gold lacquer on furniture and other decorative objects. Powdered gold is painted or sprinkled onto a lacquered base and then covered with several layers of clear lacquer.

kiseru
See tabako-ire.

Klint, Kaare
(1888-1954) Danish architect, furniture designer and academic who was largely responsible for the Europe-wide popularity of Scandinavian furniture in the 1920s and 30s. His furniture designs made effective use of natural materials such as unvarnished wood and undyed leather and textiles. They were simple, highly practical and geared to the principles of ergonomics.

klismos
A Classical chair style from ancient Greece with a shallow, concave backrest and slightly splayed legs. It was said to be the first chair which provided a comfortable, relaxed sitting position. The style was revived in Europe during the late 18th and early 18th centuries.

kneehole
A recess or opening to provide leg space, introduced to desks, dressing tables and bureaux in the late 17thC. The kneehole desk, introduced in the 18thC, is a desk made in one section with a central recessed cupboard below the frieze drawer and three drawers either side.

knives
See cutlery.

knock-down furniture
Term (often abbreviated to KD) used from the late 19thC for furniture that is readily dismantled or folded.

Knole sofa
Upholstered sofa which transforms into a day bed when the arms are lowered on an iron ratchet. The Knole sofa dates from the early17thC, named after an example at Knole, Kent, and was much copied in Victorian times.

knop
Decorative knob of various shapes, and seen, for example, as part of the stem of a drinking glass or as a turned feature in furniture. When the knop forms an endpiece, as on a spoon handle, lid or chairback, it is known as a finial.

Knox, Archibald
See tudric.

knuckle joint
Interlocking joint of wood used as a hinge on the brackets of drop-leaf tables.

knurling
A decorative edging seen particularly on late 19thC gold and silver. It is an irregular version of gadrooning with grooves cut at varying intervals to create an effect similar to oblong bead moulding.

kobako
Small, shallow Japanese lacquer box, sometimes with a tray, for storing incense, and similar in style, shape and decoration to a kogo.

kodansu
Japanese for 'small box-chest', describing a small lacquer cabinet containing a nest of drawers enclosed by a door for holding personal accessories. It often has engraved silver mounts.

kodogu
Japanese term for the metalwork and metal mountings on a sword. Kodogu includes the tsuba (sword guard) , fuchi and kashira (terminals at the top and bottom of the hilt) , menuki (hilt ornaments) , kogai (skewer), mekugi (rivet securing the blade of a sword) and kogatana (utility knife). The kozuka is the long, flat handle of the kogatana and sometimes refers to the knife itself.

kogo
Shallow, lidded, miniature Japanese box for storing incense (kogo means 'incense box'). Kogo are normally of wood covered with lacquer, but sometimes of ceramic or metal, and are of various shapes. They are usually highly decorated. Kogo first appeared in the 12thC for use at incense and tea ceremonies. Peak production was in the 19thC, when many were exported to the West.

kokeshi
Traditional wooden Japanese folk doll with a cylindrical body, round head and painted features. Dating from the 17thC, kokeshi are thought originally to have been mementos from healing springs,

kraak porselein
Dutch term for blue and white chinese export porcelain of the late 16th and early 17th centuries usually decorated in underglaze blue. Kraak was later extensively imitated at the delft potteries. The term comes from the Portuguese carracks, ships carrying cargoes of Oriental china, which were captured by the Dutch.

kris
A traditional dagger of Malaya and the East Indies. The blade is usually rough and either straight or serpentine, widening at the hilt; the grip is straight or acutely angled.

Krog, Arnold
See copenhagen.

kufic script
Ancient Arabic writing, often used in a stylised form.

kukri
The traditional knife of Nepal, with a curved, broad blade. Those that were carried by Gurkha troops have a black leather scabbard containing two implements; one for use as a small knife, the other a sharpening steel.

Kurfiirstenhumpen
See humpen.

kurk
The name used in the carpet trade for the finest wool available for weaving carpets. It is shorn from the underbelly of sheep and is used to make extremely soft and fine carpets. The word is Armenian for 'wool'. It is most commonly used in the context of 19th and 20thC rugs from Kashan, a major weaving centre in Iran.

Kutani
Various wares made in the region of Kutani, Japan, from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. They include the following: 1 Thin eggshell porcelain tea and coffee services which are painted predominantly in shades of grey and gold, and sometimes marked 'Kutani'. lithophanes are occasionally incorporated into the base of the cups. The quality can be good, but this is rare. More common are items mass-produced in the 20thC, which tend to have transfer-printed outlines filled in with sloppy painting. 2 A relatively heavy porcelain decorated predominantly in iron-red enamel with detailing in black, greys and gilding, occasionally with other colours. It is seen on large dishes, pairs of vases and figures of the meiji period (1868-1912). 3 Oatmeal-coloured earthenware, sometimes called Kaga ware, covered in brocade and panel designs, often carrying the Kutani mark. Wares, made from c. 1860, include steep-sided dishes, incense burners with a figure or shi-shi (Buddhist lion) handles and finials. 4 Ao (green) or Ko (old) Kutani are mainly dishes with a porcelain or straw-coloured stoneware body, the inner surface painted with asymmetrical brocade or geometric panels outlined in black and filled in with a palette of thick but translucent enamel colours. Deep green is most common; smoky yellow, aubergine, blue and occasionally dark iron-red are also seen. The undersides are often completely green with a black wavy line. Some pieces date from the 17thC, but most found in Europe date from the 19thC.

kwaart
A second, lead glaze added to tin-glaxed eartheware after decoration and firing. It was introduced on delft ware in the 17thC, to enhance the brightness of the colours and give a smooth, glassy finish. The idea was taken up by the British, at bristol for example, during the early 18thC, but with less striking results.

Kyoto
Centre of Japanese ceramic production 1615-1868, noted particularly for enamelled and gilt pottery initiated by the 17thC potter Ninsei. Much satsuma ware of the meiji period (1868- 1912) was made or enamelled in Kyoto.

laburnum
Hard, dense yellowish wood with variegated brown streaks. It was a popular choice for inlaid and veneered decoration, especially oystering after the Restoration, and at the end of the 18thC for crossbanding.

lac burgauté
French term for Oriental lacquer work with mother-of-pearl INLAID DECORATION.

lacca contrafatta
Italian term for cheap, imitation lacquer, used on furniture in Italy, especially Venice, since the 18thC. Paper scraps or cut-out prints are stuck to the surface and covered in layers of varnish.

lace
Delicate, openwork fabric of silk, cotton or other thread used mainly as a trimming or accessory to clothing. Designs generally take the form of central motifs made up of numerous threads, several of which may be collected at the edge with a whipping stitch to create a ridged effect known as a cordonnet. The elements are joined either by slender threads known as brides or by a fine mesh, known as the reseau. Any additional decorative motifs used to replace the reseau are known as modes. Lace developed from an embroidery technique known as drawn thread work. Two distinct types evolved in Italy and Flanders (an area now mainly in Belgium) during the 16thC. In bobbin lace (also known as pillow or bone lace), threads attached to bobbins are intertwined to form the pattern. Needlepoint lace is sewn with a needle and a single thread, using embroidery buttonhole stitches. The various forms of needlepoint are often named after their supposed town or country of origin, such as point de Venise. However, point d'Angleterre is not, as the name suggests, English needlepoint, but a very fine pillow lace made in Flanders, notably Brussels, during the 17thC. Flemish and Belgian lace are often interchangeable terms although strictly speaking Flemish should be restricted to 18thC laces and Belgian to 19thC ones. Machine-made lace was a product of the Industrial Revolution. The net was machine-made andlater hand-embroidered. The first machine-made net appeared around 1764. Chemical lace is an imitation lace produced in Germany and Switzerland in the 1880s. It is in fact a machine-embroidered technique identified by the soft, fuzzy texture of the design.

lace glass
See latticing.

Lacewood
See plane.

lacework
A very fine openwork technique for decorating porcelain developed in the 18thC, probably at meissen. A mesh-like gauze is dipped into liquid clay. When fired, the gauze burns away, leaving a hard skeleton behind. The technique was used on porcelain figures by many European factories from the 19thC onwards.

lacis
See filet.

Lacloche
Parisian firm of manufacturing and retail jewellers established by the four Lacloche brothers, 1897. The brothers originally made luxurious, Oriental-style enamelled jewellery, and in the 1920s adopted the art deco style.

lacquer
A hard, glossy, natural resin made from the sap of the Chinese lacquer tree. The sap is applied in thin layers - sometimes as many as 100 - to a base material, normally wood or fabric. Each layer is dried and polished before the next is applied. Eventually a thick, smooth surface is built up which can be dusted with gold or silver flecks or worked in relief. Colours, usually black and red, can be added to the opaque or transparent lacquer. Differently coloured layers were sometimes applied and topped by a black surface, so that various decorative effects could be produced by cutting through the stratified colours. This was known as guri incised lacquer, or coromandel lacquer or bantam work. In Japan a technique known as shibayama was produced by adhering pieces of mother-of-pearl, ivory and stones to a surface - rather like inlaid decoration - and then surrounding with lacquer. See japanning.

ladies’ chair
Small easy chair, with buttoned upholstery, introduced in the mid-19thC and often paired with a larger gentleman's chair. The seat is deep and low, and the back inclined and high. There are both low-armed and armless versions.

lady doll
A bisque doll designed to look like an adult woman in face, figure and dress.

lady's cabinet
See cheveret.

Lalique, René
(1860-1945) Innovative French designer and maker of jewellery and glassware.

Lambeth faience
See doulton.

lambrequin
A design based on a pendent drapery effect. The word originally described a scarf worn across a knight's helmet which was stylised in heraldic designs as the mantel around a coat of arms. In the latter part of the 17thC, the French applied the term to swagged or festooned drapery. The theme was adapted by furniture-makers and carved on picture and mirror frames. Around 1700, a lambrequin border pattern was developed for ceramics decoration at rouen in France, and was much used over the next 50 years. Style rayonnant is a variation in which the lambrequin motif radiates from a central point. A similar motif is seen on mid-17th to mid-18thC English silver cups. See decorative motifs.

lampwork
Glass shaped by heating it over a small flame. The technique is used to make small figures and ornaments.

lance
A spear designed to be carried by mounted soldiers. Although superseded by the sword and firearms from the 17thC, the lance was re-introduced by the French cavalry who adopted it from the Polish lancers during the Napoleonic Wars, and in Britain in 1816.

Langlois, Peter
(fl. 1759-81) French cabinet-maker based in London c. 1760-70 and an exponent of Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. His commodes are noted for their fine marquetry decoration and gilt-bronze mounts, and a number of Adam-style card tables and pier tables are attributed to him.

Lannuier, Charles-Honoré
(1779-1819) French-born cabinet-maker who from 1805 was the leading furniture-maker in New York, USA. His work shows a delicate interpretation of the French directoire style, featuring Classical forms and motifs.

lantern clock
Simple brass clock introduced in Britain in the 1620s, and the most common type of domestic clock throughout the 17thC. Its distinguishing features include a posted-frame construction containing the movement, side panels that can be opened, and a bell on top surrounded by a fretwork gallery. True lantern clocks - or Cromwellian clocks, as they were also called - are weight-driven wall clocks which were sometimes mounted on oak brackets. The first examples were controlled by a balance wheel and verge escapement; by the 1660s, they were fitted with a verge and bob pendulum, and later by a long pendulum with an anchor escapement. A revival of demand for the clocks in the second half of the 19thC produced spring-driven versions, or earlier examples were fitted with spring-driven movements within the original posted frame.

LAPADA
London and Provincial Antique Dealers' Association, an organisation of antique shops and individual dealers formed to maintain standards in the trade.

lapis lazuli
Semiprecious, opaque blue gemstone containing golden flecks of pyrite ('fool's gold').

lapping
Method of finishing edges on metal ware by soldering thin strips of metal over them. It was used particularly for concealing the copper visible on the edges of sheffield plate objects.

larch
Yellowish to reddish-brown timber used for the carcass work of case furniture in the late 18thC. It is fairly hard and durable, but has a tendency to warp.

latticino
Term used to describe glass decorated with a pattern of white, or sometimes coloured, threads of glass. Latticino is from the Italian for 'milk'. The technique is also known as filigrana (thread-grained). It was developed in 16thC Venice and has been used to produce three main effects on glass: vetro a retorti, which has twists embedded in clear glass; vetro a reticello, which has a fine network of crossed threads; and vetro a fili, which has a spiral or helix pattern.

Laub und Bandelwerk
German for 'foliage and scrollwork', a baroque-style framing motif similar to strapwork, common in early 18thC.

lava glass
Dark blue lustre art glass developed by the US designer Louis C. tiffany in the late 19thC. It has iridescent gold streaks - supposed to resemble flows of lava - and was originally called volcanic glass.

laver
Large vessel of brass, bronze or other metal with one or two spouts, used to hold water for washing hands or feet. Earliest lavers, orlavabo, date from the 14thC and continued in use until c. 1800.

lazy Susan
A revolving stand placed in the centre of a dining table and used to hold condiments.

Le Corbusier
(1887-1965) Swiss-born architect whose real name was Charles Edward Jeanneret. Many of his furniture designs of the 1920s were for the leading European furniture-makers thonet, and were exhibited in his building for the exposition internationale in Paris in 1925, the Pavilion de L'Esprit. Le Corbusier's vision of a world where technology and fine design combined to create the ideal living environment was highly influential, although his theories were often misapplied.

Leach, Bernard
(1887-1979) Founder of the 20thC art pottery movement. Leach went to Japan to study graphics but was instead captivated by the pottery tradition. He returned to Britain to found the St Ives pottery in Cornwall. His own work is greatly influenced by Korean and Japanese forms and glaze.

lead crystal
Glass containing a high proportion - 25-30 per cent - of lead oxide. Lead glass refracts (bends) the light more than non-lead glass, thus giving extra brilliance. It can be blown more thickly than soda glass and is therefore more suitable for cutting and engraving. The original but incorrect name for English lead crystal is flint glass. The misnomer came about when George ravenscroft, a British manufacturer trying to produce a substitute for Venetian cristallo, used finely ground flints and potash instead of the traditional Venetian sources of silica and soda. These new ingredients led to the formation of fine cracks -grizzling - which was remedied by replacing a proportion of the potash with lead oxide.

lead glaze
See glaze.

leather-encased watch
A pocket watch enclosed in a leather strap for the wrist. It was a popular conversion when wristwatches first became fashionable after the First World War.

Leeds pottery
With wedgwood, a leading British producer of creamware from the late 18thC. Leeds creamware was widely exported throughout Europe. It is light in weight, and pierced decoration was a speciality. A common Leeds feature is a handle formed of two intertwined strips ending in a relief motif of flowers, leaves or berries. Most was undecorated, but some black transfer-printing and blue-printed or painted and enamelled ware exists. Leeds pottery also produced fine-grained agate, PEARL, LUSTRE and tortoiseshell wares, some fine stoneware and small figures similar to those of Staffordshire potter Ralph wood. Few genuine products carry factory marks, but other factories copied Leeds ware - often using a Leeds mark - in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

legend
The lettering on a coin, including the monarch's titles and sometimes a motto.

Legrain, Pierre
(1889-1929) Eminent Parisian furniture designer, interior decorator and bookbinder who contributed significantly to art deco style. Most of his furniture was designed in the 1920s. It reflected African and cubist influences and was often incorporated from luxury materials such as ebony, silver, sharkskin and lacquer.

Lehmann, Kaspar
(1565-1622) German engraver of glass and precious stones, who did much to perfect the technique of wheel engraving. He was given the monopoly on glass engraving throughout the Habsburg Empire. He worked mainly on fragile cristallo glass and trained a number of people who later became eminent engravers, including Johannes Hess and Caspar Schindler.

lenticle
Glass panel in the door of a longcase clock, through which the pendulum may be seen. It is sometimes known as a bull's eye.

Lethaby, William
(185 7-1931) British architect and designer of furniture, metalwork and ceramics who influenced the arts and crafts movement. He was principal of London's Central School of Arts and Crafts 1896-1911, and Professor of Design at London's Royal College of Art 1900-18. His furniture was mainly rustic and unvarnished, and often decorated with floral marquetry. He also designed pottery for wedgwood.

letterwood
See snakewood.

Liberty
British retail firm established in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917). The company specialised in imported Moorish, Eastern and Egyptian furniture for resale in Europe, commissioned Art Nouveau designs in fabrics, pottery, silver (see cymric) and pewter (see tudric) , and had a major influence on style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

library steps
Steps for reaching high bookshelves, which came into general use in the libraries of private households in the mid-18thC. Some library steps folded or converted into stools with padded seats or even elbow chairs and were called metamorphic chairs.

lignum vitae
Extremely hard, oily, dense, dark brown wood from the West Indies - one of the earliest woods to be imported to Britain before 1650. The wood was made into drinking bowls, pestles and mortars, and similar items; the 18thCclockmakerJohn harrison even used it for the wheels in his early clocks because of its natural lubrication. Lignum vitae was used for oyster parquetry on late 17thC furniture, and in the 18thC for small areas of veneer.

lime
Soft, fine-grained, creamy-white European wood. Lime proved a great success with woodcarvers as it cuts well with or across the grain. The master carver Grinling gibbons and his school used it extensively.

Limehouse
Porcelain factory in the East End of London. In its brief period of operation, c.1745-8, it became the first British factory to produce blue and white soft-paste porcelain, and possibly the first to add soapstone successfully to the formula for whiteness and plasticity. Teapots and sauceboats, many echoing the silver shapes of the day, and shell-shaped dishes were the main lines.

Limning
An archaic expression derived from the old English word for illuminating (as in manuscripts), and which is now coming back into use to describe the technique of miniature painting.

Limoges
A major centre for European enamel work production since the 12thC, and French ceramic production since the late 18thC. Several families of potters established factories in this city in Limousin, central France, in the 18thand 19th centuries, including the Franco-American Haviland family. Most production was of domestic wares, often finely transfer-printed (in outline or in total) botanical designs. Limoges enamel ware is painted on copper predominantly in white, blue and gold on a dark blue or black ground. The enamelling industry declined in the 18thC, but was revived c. 1820-50 by craftsmen such as Julian Robillard.

line inlay
See banding.

Linen
Durable textile made from the fibre of the flax plant, which is bleached to improve whiteness and texture. Among the best quality is 15th- 18thC Dutch linen from Haarlem. Linen production declined in the 18thC as the yarn broke easily on a power loom. When the problem was overcome in the late 19thC, cotton had taken over the market.

linen press
1 Device for pressing linen, known in various forms from medieval times to the 18thC. It basically consists of two flat boards which can be pressed tightly together (with the linen between) by means of a spiral screw. 2 A term for a cupboard for the storage of linen, normally with sliding trays enclosed by doors with drawers below.

linen smoother
Glass object used for pressing linen in the 18thC. The vertical handle projecting from the middle of the heavy, circular base is often ribbed to give a better grip. In Britain, linen smoothers were also known as slickers, slick stones or smoothing irons.

linen-fold
Style of woodcarving, especially on panelling, to resemble hanging folds of fabric. See DECORATIVE MOTIFS.

liner
Glass container, often blue, that fits snugly inside metal objects such as sugar basins and salt cellars. The glass lining prevents the contents corroding the metal and perhaps being contaminated by it. Blue glass also helps to show off any pierced decoration on the metal container.

Linnell, John
(1729-96) Furniture designer and cabinet-maker. Linnell's early chinoiserie pieces included Rococo-style beds and sofas. His later furniture was designed to fit the interiors of houses by architects Robert Adam and Henry holland, among others, and became increasingly influenced by the neoclassical style.

Linthorpe
British studio pottery , 1879-89, near Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, with Christopher dresser as art director for the first three years. The pottery produced decorative wares, including teapots, distinguished by simple lines, thick richly coloured glazes often with Japanese or Peruvian influences. Later wares used slips and sgraffito as decorative techniques.

lion of Fo
See dog of Fo.

liqueur glass
See cordial glass.

liquid gold
See gilding.

lit-en-bâteau
French for 'boat-shaped bed' - an EMPIRE-style bed with curving head and footboards, often forming S-shaped scrolls.

lithography
A printing process in which an image is drawn on a stone or metal surface with a greasy crayon. When water and then ink are poured over the surface the crayonned areas repel the water but retain the ink. These areas transfer to paper, metal, and other surfaces when printed under pressure.

lithophanes
Thin, translucent porcelain panels or plaques that on being held to the light reveal a picture or design with a three-dimensional effect. Lithophanes were usually made of unglazed, biscuit porcelain, and were set into lampshades and lanterns, hung in windows or moulded into the base of mugs. A wax master of the design was modelled from which a plaster mould was made as a cast for the porcelain paste. Subjects were typically on religious themes or based on paintings. The process was invented in France in 1827 and taken up on a large scale at meissen and berlin 1830-50, and also at minton, belleek and worcester.

Lithyalin glass
An opaque or translucent marbled glass with a surface resembling polished gemstones in a wide range of colours. It was first made by the Bohemian glass artist Friedrich Egermann in 1829, and was copied by other Bohemian and French manufacturers, sometimes with engraved, cut or painted decoration.

Liverpool
Centre for ceramics from 1710 producing tin-glazed earthenware. Specialities of the period were blue-painted punchbowls, and tiles transfer-printed in black or red with contemporary subjects and characters. From the 1780s, cream ware was the main output, decorated in cobalt blue, enamel colours, or with blue or black transfer-printed designs. A number of porcelain factories sprang up in Liverpool, such as Gilbody (1754-61), Chaffers (1754-65), Philip Christian (est.1765) and, in the final decades of the 18thC, Pennington. The history of Liverpool porcelain is still incomplete; fluctuations in the make-up of the porcelain paste and cross-fertilisation of designs between the factories, make identification very difficult without chemical analysis.

livery bed
16th and 17thC term for a servant's bed. Until the last decades of the 19thC, this would be simply a straw-stuffed mattress lying on a wooden pallet.

livery cupboard
15th to 17thC cupboard. It was used for storing food and drink and sometimes rested upon a stand known as a livery board, which doubled as a bench.

Lloyd Loom
Patent name for a tough material woven from wires covered in machine-twisted paper so as to resemble wicker. It was popular in the 1920s and 30s, for linen baskets, chairs and small tables.

loading
A filler such as pitch or resin used to add density and weight to a hollow article made from a thin sheet of metal such as a silver candlestick.

lobing
Rounded decoration which projects horizontally, as on the rim of a plate or dish, or vertically as on the cover of a tureen.

Lobmeyr
Glassworks in Vienna, Austria, that achieved an international reputation from 1864 under the leadership of Ludwig Lobmeyr. The company produced fine cut and engraved glass and iridescent art NOUveau glass until c. 1900.

lock
See flintlock, snaphaunce, matchlock, percussion lock.

Lock, Matthias
(fl.1740-69) Master carver and Rococo-style furniture designer. Lock published several influential books of his designs, and his carving featured natural themes and Rococo shells and scrolls. He is believed to have been employed by Thomas chippendale.

long arm
A long-barrelled shoulder gun.

long Eliza
Attenuated figure of a Chinese woman seen as a decoration on 18thC Chinese porcelain, some Dutch and English delftware, and on worcester porcelain of the 1760s. The name comes from the Dutch Lange Leizen.

long table
See refectory table.

longcase clock
Tall, narrow, floorstanding clock, also known as a grandfather clock. The case protected the pendulum, and was introduced soon after its invention in 1657. The clocks were produced from the 18thC until c. 1820 in London, c.1845 in the provinces, and revived c.1880-1910.

Longton Hall
Probably one of the first Staffordshire producers of soft-paste porcelain. In its decade of operation (1750-60), distinctive wares included dishes, sauceboats and tureens moulded in the form of overlapping leaves, and what came to be known as 'Snowmen' figures -because of their poorly defined features and unpainted but thickly glazed bodies. Although many later figures were based on meissen designs, some were original and notable for their exuberance of form and fresh colours (such as a vivid yellow-green) based on those used for salt-glazed STONEWARE.

loo table
19thC oval tilt-top table supported on a central pillar, designed for an early 19thC card game called lanterloo, or 'loo'.

Loos, Adolf
(1870-1933) Austrian Modernist architect who was an early practitioner of functionalism and industrial design that emphasised practicality and minimal decoration. After working briefly with the architect Frank Lloyd wright in the USA, Loos settled in Vienna where he produced several documents, including Ornament und Verbrechen (Ornament and Crime), denouncing the use of ornament. He designed simple furniture in strong, vigorous shapes, and glassware for the Viennese firm J. & L. lobmeyr.

lopers
Sliding wooden rails that support the desk panel of a bureau or the leaf of an open folding table.

lost wax
Method of casting metal or glass objects, used since ancient times, which achieves greater definition than straightforward mould-casting methods. It is also known by its French name of cire perdue. A plaster cast is made of the original model that is to be reproduced. When set, this plaster mould is separated into several pieces and the original model removed. The inside of the mould is coated with wax to the required thickness of the finished article. For hollow objects, the central cavity of the mould is filled with clay and the mould is reassembled. The whole lot is heated to melt the wax so that it drains, or is 'lost', through holes in the mould. The space left by the wax is then filled with the molten material. When cool, the mould is separated and the clay core removed leaving a replica in the new material. Most lost-wax processes use flexible rubber moulds which can be easily removed and reused, and investment casting in which metal is forced into the mould centrifugally.

Lotto carpets
Carpets with a distinctive geometrical pattern of alternating rows of octagons and crosses made up of stylised foliage. Motifs are invariably in yellow with blue details on a red ground. They are named after the 16thC Italian painter Lorenzo Lotto who in fact depicted a far wider range of designs in his paintings. 'Lotto' carpets were made throughout the 16th, 17thand 18th centuries; most are thought to come from the Ushak region of western anatolia. Later examples tend to be coarser in style.

Loudon, John Claudius
(1783-1843) Landscape gardener, architect and author, best known for his comprehensive Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture, published 1833. It was used as a pattern book by builders and furniture-makers throughout the Victorian period.

Louis Phillipe style
An extravagant style prevalent in France during the reign of King Louis Phillipe (1830-48). It featured flamboyant curves and heavy ornamentation including enamel plaques, bronze mounts and marquetry. The style followed on from the empire style of Napoleonic times.

Louis XIV style
The style inspired by the Court of the 'Sun King', Louis XIV (reigned 1643-1715) and his palace at Versailles, which made France the leading influence in European decorative arts. It coincided with the puritan, restoration, william and mary and queen anne periods in Britain. Louis XIV style was opulent baroque modified by Classical lines, and marked by flamboyant craftsmanship. Cabinet-making was notable for fine veneers and intricate marquetry, with lavish expenditure on materials such as pietre dure, exotic woods, tortoiseshell, lacquer work and even precious metals. In ceramics, it was the time of radiating lambrequin designs at rouen potteries and chinoiserie vases at nevers. The king encouraged industries such as these with generous financial incentives. Louis XIV style spread throughout Europe, aided by a flourishing export trade, and the dispersal, to Britain, Holland and Germany in particular, of skilled French huguenot craftsmen after 1685.

Louis XV style
The height of the frivolous excesses of Rococo style in France, roughly covering the period 1720-50, although the king continued to reign until 1774. Although the style had a less wide-ranging impact on fashions elsewhere in Europe, it is notable for some of the finest gobelins tapestries, delicately painted chantilly and marseilles faience and sÈvres porcelain, and the high-legged commode with serpentine front and ormolu ornament.

Louis XVI style
A French style which coincided with the late Georgian period in Britain. Its main characteristic - a Classical reaction against the fussiness of Rococo style -actually predated King Louis XVI's accession to the throne in 1774 by 20 years. The Classical influence gave the style its contemporary 1760s name of goût Grec (Greek taste).

love seat
Small settee or wide armchair popular from the late 17thC in Europe. Love seats were just wide enough to seat two people in intimate proximity. Love seats are also known as courting chairs and the French version as marquise chairs.

loving cup
See tyg.

lowboy
Term for a small, elegant side or dressing table of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, usually with two deep drawers flanking a short central drawer.

Lowestoft
A Suffolk pottery operating c.1757-1802, and making soft-paste porcelain, mostly for the local market. Its output included commemorative souvenirs, tablewares decorated with the words 'A Trifle from Lowestoft' and naive Chinese-influenced landscapes. In the 1770s, an anonymous painter produced memorable tulip designs, often featuring a fully blown bloom. 'Lowestoft' was also a misleading name given to what is now described as chinese export porcelain, possibly because the Chinese wares were unloaded at the port.

lunette
Derived from the French word lune (moon), applied to a semicircular decoration either carved or inlaid on furniture or incorporated into a textile design. See decorative motifs.

Luster
1 Glass or crystal drop, either smooth or faceted, used to decorate light fittings, as on a chandelier, and ornamental glasswares. 2 Vase with crystal drops hanging from the rim, 19thC English style.

lustreware
Pottery with an iridescent or metallic finish. A metal oxide is dusted or painted on the glaze and fired in a reduced atmosphere, converting the oxide back to metal. Gold, silver, copper and metallic pink, purple and dark red are the most common pigments. Lustre finishes are a characteristic technique of hispano-moresque ware, and of some Italian maiolica. In the 18thC meissen used a lustre technique developed by Böttger and known as Böttger lustre or Perlmutter (mother-of-pearl). Towards the end of the 19thC, they were adopted by British studio potters such as Bernard moore and at William de morgan's Fulham factory.

lutestring
A glossed silk fabric with a ribbed pattern, used from the 14th to 16th centuries. It applied specifically in the 17thC to a form of taffeta which was stretched and then coated with a glossy gum. Lutestring or lustring was used in the 17th and 18th centuries particularly as a dress fabric and for bed and window curtains.

Lynn glasses
18thC drinking glasses, tumblers and decanters attributed to glass houses in King's Lynn, Norfolk. The vessels are decorated with horizontal ribbing.