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Early Chippendale Furniture

Chippendale is one of the most famous names in antique furniture. Based on the designs of English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale, this particular style set the tone for much 18th century British and American furniture. Images of the neoclassical ideal, Chippendale pieces are noted for their elegant scrollwork and fine proportions. Early Chippendale pieces, from the 1750s to the 1770s, are highly prized by collectors.
  1. History

    • In 1754, Thomas Chippendale published Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, a collection of his own designs. The work included 161 illustrations of pieces ranging from chairs and tables to highboys and chests. Chippendale himself employed 40 to 50 artisans in a shop in London. Both Chippendale and those who copied his popular designs worked mostly in fine mahogany.

    Significance

    • Mahogany is a dense, dark, close-grained wood. It takes easily to exquisite carving. Chippendale pieces are noted for their fine cabriole legs, that is, legs that curve back on themselves and create a sense of elegant weightlessness. Chippendale legs also usually end in ball and claw feet--powerful eagle's talons grip a wooden orb. The sinuous shapes of the legs and feet are mimicked by the soft forms of the chair backs. They find echoes, too, in the pediments on top of highboys and chests.

    Features

    • The general effect is one of stylized ornamentation combined with classical proportions. Design elements commonly come in pairs or groups of twos. Chair tops sport delicate yokes. Chair splats are often elaborately pierced; an effect that reduces their apparent mass. Many early Chippendale pieces feature the elements of the Queen Anne style, including ornamental carvings of shells and kidney-shaped seats. Rich brocades and damasks add to the luxuriant feel of chairs and settees.

    Geography

    • Slightly different styles prevailed on both sides of the Atlantic. English cabinetmakers replaced the chest on stand with the chest on chest, while American furniture makers largely created the highboy. American highboys are famous for their innovative design of large bodies atop slender legs. Symmetry is preserved by the crowning pediment, or top piece, that imitates the architectural work of the period. The two sides of a broken pediment scroll toward each other, the space in between filled by a delicate finial that ultimately soars above the entire piece.

    Considerations

    • Early Chippendale furniture can appeal to even the most exotic tastes. Thomas Chippendale was a major exponent of chinoiserie--the "Chinese" style that was popular in mid-18th century Europe. Pieces are distinguished by the sweep of pagoda-like roofs, richly colored lacquer and gold. Many are japanned, coated with a mixture of painted and carved gesso and sawdust in imitation of both Japanese and Chinese design. The Asian motifs are European fantasies, dream images of a half-known world far across the globe. The style was extremely popular for bedroom furniture.


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