Furniture Terminology: The Gainsborough Chair

In this, the second part of our new series of posts looking at common terminology used in the furniture world and attempting to find the reasons for the names, we are looking at the Gainsborough chair.  Unlike the story of the Pembroke table in our previous post where some amount of debate exists as to …

Furniture Terminology: The Pembroke Table

In this new series of blog posts for 2024 we are taking various examples of furniture terminology, whether the name of a particular piece, or a reference to the decorative treatment used on a series of pieces, and doing our best to explain the origins of the term with references to examples in our current …

Made by Linnell – Designed by Adam: the Shardeloes Urns and Pedestals, 1766

These magnificent sculptural neo-classical urns stand on their original matching pedestals and formed part of one of the early commissions that would confirm Robert Adam's reputation as the leading driver of taste and fashion in 18th century Britain. Their outstandingly well-documented provenance means they can be firmly traced back to Shardeloes, the seat of the …

A Masterpiece in Satinwood: A Bookcase or Secretaire Cabinet Attributed to Mayhew and Ince or Thomas Chippendale, circa 1770

The recent publication of Sir Hugh Roberts' and Charles Cator's Ingenuity and Industry: The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew has seen the firm of Mayhew and Ince and its output given due academic scrutiny at last. Monographs on Chippendale and Linnell have long since revived debate around those two firms and now we can …

The Furniture of John Cobb

One of the most famous of all the 18th century cabinetmakers, John Cobb is believed to have been born in Norfolk in c.1715 and was apprenticed as an upholder in Norwich. The 18th century term upholder refers to someone who executed upholstered furniture but also took care of what we might today term decorative roles in an …

An English Commode in the French Taste

Throughout the 18th century the furniture produced in England and that made in Continental Europe was largely subject to the same changes in taste and fashion. Although there are always exceptions to the rule, it is fair to say that it was normally the French ébénistes who led the way and the fashions from Paris …

The Tallboy or Chest-on-Chest – a versatile and decorative storage solution!

The tallboy or chest-on-chest was a perennially popular piece of furniture throughout the 18th century, first making its appearance in the late Queen Anne period (c. 1710) as the earlier William and Mary period chest on stand evolved in what was known at the time as a "double chest"- to distinguish it from a cabinet-on-chest. …

Small and Very Desirable….Early 18th Century Bureau Cabinets

One of the wonderful things about dealing in antique furniture is that it is often possible to trace the evolution of a particular style by referring to pieces we have handled over the years. It is sometimes also possible to compare those pieces side by side in the gallery at the same time which is …

Attributions may change but Quality always endures

The study of English antique furniture is an ever-evolving field and new discoveries are made every year which shed new light on cabinet-makers and their work, sometimes leading to radical re-evaluations of styles and the dating and attribution of individual pieces. The systematic study of English antique furniture is a relatively new idea - the …

The Impact of Decorative Furniture

In this post, we will be taking a look at a range of decorative tables, of relatively modern creation, that have been specifically designed to harmonise with 18th century furniture in a variety of interior settings. These are not generally reproductions of antique pieces - instead they offer elegant solutions to problems often faced by …