The 18th century saw the height of court culture in Europe as well as the beginnings of its demise with conflicts such as the American and French Revolutions.
The Scientific Revolution, which had begun in the preceding centuries, also ushered in a new intellectual era which advocated the use of reason to effect change in government and to advance progress in society. For furniture, this meant ever-higher standards of luxury in the designs, techniques and materials utilized for the best pieces, and more structure and specialization in the furniture-making process itself.
Furniture also came into its own during this period as a collectable work of art on its own merits.
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, M. B. Aldrich with Sylvain Cordier 1. Design and Motifs, Barbara Lasic 2. Makers, Making, and Materials, Yannick Chastang 3. Types and Uses, Mary-Eve Marchand 4. The Domestic Setting, Antonia Brodie 5. The Public Setting, Jeffrey Collins 6. Exhibition and Display, Frederic Dassas 7. Furniture and Architecture, Peter N. Lindfield 8. Visual Representations, Michael Decrossas and Sylvain Cordier 9. Verbal Representations, Tessa Murdoch Notes Bibliography Index
Sylvain Cordier is Paul Mellon Curator and Head of the Department of European Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, USA. Christina M. Anderson is Principal Research Fellow, SELCS-CMII, University College London, UK Laura Houliston is Former Senior Curator, English Heritage, UK
