The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe witnessed a significant paradigm shift. Rooted in medieval beliefs and preoccupations, the exploration so characteristic of the period stemmed from religious motives but came to be propelled by commerce and curiosity as Europeans increasingly engaged with the rest of the world. Interiors in both public and private spaces changed to reflect these cultural encounters and, with them, the furniture with which they were populated. Visually, furniture of this period displayed new designs, forms and materials.
In its uses, it also mirrored developments in science, technology, government and social relationships as prints became more widely distributed, the Wunderkammer developed and there was religious strife and resistance to absolute monarchical rule.
Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume
presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of
the period on the themes of Design and Motifs; Makers, Making, and
Materials; Types
and Uses; The
Domestic Setting; The Public Setting;
Exhibition and
Display; Furniture
and Architecture; Visual
Representations; and Verbal
Representations.
List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface Introduction, Christina M. Anderson and Elizabeth A. Carroll 1. Design and Motifs, Martha H. Willoughby 2. Makers, Making, and Materials, Yannick Chastang and Adam Bowett 3. Types and Uses: Medieval Furniture in Social Context, James Yorke 4. The Domestic Setting, Claudia Goldstein 5. The Public Setting, María Paz Aguiló-Alonso and Paul Rem 6. Exhibition and Display, Michael Wenzel 7. Furniture and Architecture, M. B. Aldrich 8. Visual Representations, Jeffrey Collins 9. Verbal Representations, Deborah L. Krohn Notes Bibliography Index
Christina M. Anderson is Principal Research Fellow, SELCS-CMII, University College London, UK Elizabeth A. Carroll is Lecturer in the Department of Art and Art History, San José State University, USA
