Popular Antique Furniture Styles Throughout The Ages
March 7th, 2009 | by admin |
The earliest recorded antique furniture styles to be officially recognized at the start of the 17th century is Gothic. Most Gothic furniture were made of oak and had simple lines but massive designs. It was directly influenced by the architectural discipline of that era, mostly straight lines with emphasis on right angles.
Gothic and Colonial furniture
France produced the most admired Gothic furniture known for their foliage themes, like leaves and vines. Rococo and baroque stood out among other Gothic styles for the remainder of the century.
A lot of the famous furniture designs sprang up from England. As Gothic pieces diminished in popularity, the Early and Late Colonial furniture styles were ushered in. With pine as its primary wood source, these heavily-decorated furniture featured square lines. A standard and popular example of this style is the Windsor chair.
Queen Anne and Georgian designs
The early 18th century saw the rising popularity of Queen Anne designs which had simple detailing and graceful curves and lines. These antique furniture styles were usually built using oak, mahogany maple, walnut and cherry.
At the end of the 18th century, four famous types of Georgian furniture style have emerged. Georgian Chippendale were famous for their ornate carvings; Georgian Adam is dominated by straight lines. Georgian Hepplewhite furniture had straight tapering legs, with a design influenced by Adam. Georgian Sheraton added more emphasis on straight detailing. All of the designs were constructed with mahogany.
The Regency and Victorian era designs
The Regency style made its appearance at the beginning of the 19th century. Mahogany was still the wood of choice. Bolder curves were introduced along with color. Meanwhile, in the United States, the emergence of the Federal era saw antique furniture styles heavily influenced by well-known English designs. For about a century, rosewood and walnut became the popular choice in wood. Simple designs of detailing gave way to bulkier and dark-colored furniture. This period is known as the Victorian era and its style is still very popular up to the present.
The most important factor of all
No matter what the style, condition is always the most important factor to consider. You should be able to tell whether the furniture had its original parts or fabric replaced. Antique furniture used crude hand-made pins that displayed uneven tread width and arrangement. Modern furniture construction involves the use of glue and screws to fit joints together. Remove one of the screws to determine the originality and value of a period piece. Although the bonnet top highboy is prized as one of the most valuable antique furniture styles, any furniture that features intricate carvings is likewise considered as valuable.
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