When the monarchy was restored in Britain in 166o, and Charles II became king, he and his courtiers brought back a desire for the luxurious style of life they had briefly shared during their exile in the royal households of Europe, especially at the French court. Released from the pious austerity of the Commonwealth, Britain’s upper classes indulged in lavish comforts in the home, sensuous clothing, enjoyment ofthe arts, and robust entertainments at the theatre, at horseraces and at the gaming table.

With parliament and monarch in accord, a standing army established to back up their authority, and new banking, investment and insurance organisations growing to fund commerce, the nation prospered. Overseas trade grew and London was rapidly becoming the greatest port in the world, bringing in spices, tea, coffee, chocolate, pineapples, Oriental porcelain and lacquerwork, cane, tortoiseshell, ivory, rugs and Indian chintzes.

The basic order and prosperity lasted through the Restoration years and, in 1688, proved sound enough to survive the turmoil of ousting Charles II’s Roman Catholic successor, James II. It continued through the reigns of James’s two daughters — Mary, who ruled jointly with her Dutch husband William of Orange, and Queen Anne — and was ruffled only briefly when the succession of George I, a prince of Hanover, outraged the Jacobites who wanted a Stuart to be king.

Antique Collector MagazineDuring such affluent times, the band of people who could afford luxuries widened. They wanted not only more goods but skilled craftsmanship and sophisticated French style – and, by chance, the demand coincided with a massive immigration of French Huguenots. They were fleeing from persecution after the Edict of Nantes, which had given them freedom of worship, was revoked in 1685. Some 5o , 000 Huguenots came to Britain, among them skilled workers of all kinds, but in particular silk weavers and silversmiths.

Baroque Drama

The most striking development of style, in buildings as well as furnishings, during the Restoration period was the dramatic use of curvaceous ornament – the look known as Baroque. Arising from Italian, Spanish and German influences, and abundantly displayed in the grandeur surrounding King Louis XIV of France (see box, p.28), the Baroque used Classical motifs such as floral swags, cornucopias, fruit, helmets, nymphs, amorini (winged cupids) and scallops. These were now very boldly executed and tended to be overpowering in their profusion and flamboyance. On furniture, the wood was often deeply carved, covered with gesso – a mixture of plaster of Paris and glue – and gilded.

In Britain, the taste for Baroque that seized the court was slower to reach the rest of the country, where many still preferred austere marble floors, oak chests and high-backed chairs. The principal decorations of such furniture were carved panelling and turned supports. Bobbins, barley-sugar twists and inverted cups were a feature of legs, backrests and arm supports through the later 17th century. High-backed chairs were also given a carved, bow-shaped rail under the seat front, a crest along the back, and a woven cane back and seat. Such chairs were not exactly comfortable, even with a quilted pad on the seat, yet they were hugely successful as both dining chairs and withdrawing-room chairs, and they were exported widely in Europe.

But Baroque curves were to prove irresistible and were reflected in a new look in furniture. Walnut, mostly imported from France, now began to replace oak, and walnut veneer (on a deal carcass) made decoration possible without carving. Patterns found in burrs, root wood and ‘oysters’ (cross-sections of small branches, often of laburnum) were used to advantage. Strips cut across the grain were used for crossbanding along edges, and marquetry created floral designs from the differing colours of walnut, rosewood, sandalwood, box and sycamore. Intricate ’seaweed’ or ‘endive’ marquetry constructed a web of arabesques from two contrasting woods.

Cabriole Legs and Curves

The taste for curves embraced the leg, too. It was transformed, first with a scroll or hoof foot (the Braganza leg), then with a projecting `knee’. Eventually, this crooked form was simplified into the cabriole – a leg with a gentle S curve, wide and carved at the knee, tapering to a rounded pad. The first cabriole legs were still linked by stretchers but the finer grain of walnut and greater skill in jointing made stretchers unnecessary, and by 1710 the cabriole leg’s flowing lines frequently stood free. Light, yet strong enough for tables and tallboys as well as chairs and footstools, it heralded an era of shapeliness and delicacy.

With comfort now a major consideration, loose pads and cushions were more and more replaced by fixed upholstery. Padding was held in place by a lining and covered with increasingly lavish fabrics (imported or made by immigrants) such as brocades, silks, velvet and embroidery work. The upholstered armless chair progressed to one with full back and arms and by the 169os to the wing chair in which only the cabriole legs showed wood.

A greater diversity of furniture pieces was designed for particular needs – oval and round gate-legged and drop-flap tables, card tables, kneehole desks and escritoires, glass-fronted display cases, corner cupboards and drop- fronted writing desks. There were kneehole dressing tables too, and some had matching swing toilet mirrors on stands fitted with drawers. These elegant pieces of furniture had handles and hinges in brass, not iron.

By the early 18th century, the robust chests of drawers of 50 years earlier had yielded to walnut-veneered tallboys raised on stands, some with cabriole legs, many with barley- sugar twist legs, flattened-globe ‘bun’ feet and curving X-shaped stretchers. Despite the greater variety of furniture available, however, rooms were still comparatively empty.

The great bed remained a house’s most important item, now taller than ever with its posts often topped by ornate finials and plumes and an increasingly lavish treatment of the tester (canopy) and valance.

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Extravagance gives way to Elegance (Baroque Drama, Cabriole Legs and Curves)