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| MAIN GLOSSARY | GLOSSARY OF wood | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z C-SCROLLS Decorative motif of carved scrolls in a c-shape used in fine French furniture Design especially during the Baroque and Rococo periods. CABOCHON Carved ornament resembling a gem or polished half round stone used throughout timein the decorative arts and fine jewelry. CABRIOLE LEG Refers to the graceful shaped furniture leg outwardly curved at the uppermost section, or ?knee?, which then tapers in an elongated ?S? towards the shaped foot. This shape of leg was introduced during the early and mid 18th century and was used extensively during the Louis XV period. CALCEDONIA Glass of different colors made in Venice to imitate semi-precious stones. CANAPE Refers to a type of 18th century French sofa, originally curtained. CANDELABRUM/CANDELABRA Highly decorative stand designed to support candles. Usually created in pairs with multiple arms to hold candles. CANNELURES Fluting or short vertical grooves arranged side by side to from a frieze. CANTED Term used to describe a right angle corner that has been cut off or beveled, often fluted. CAPITAL Top or crowning decorative feature of a column or pilaster. CARAT Measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is 24 carats; alloyed with 50% of other metals it is 12 carats. Before 1798 all gold plate had to be 22 carat. Now legal standards of purity are 9, 14 and 22 carat. CARCASS The body of a piece of luxury case furniture before the addition of marquetry veneers or lacquer panels. CARTEL CLOCK A wall clock with elaborate decoration mounted on a matching ornate base popular in France during the18th Century. CARTOUCHE A shaped motif often framed by sinuous moldings elaborately decorated, the central field being convex. CARYATID A sculptured female figure serving as an ornamental support in place of a column or pilaster. It was a frequently used motif in architecture, furniture, and garden sculpture during the Renaissance, the 18th century, and notably, the classic revival of the 19th century, when caryatids were popular as mantelpiece supports. The motif appeared in Egyptian and Greek architecture; the most celebrated example extant is the Porch of the Caryatids. Here six beautifully sculptured figures, acting as columns, support an entablature on their heads. Male supporting figures are called atlantes or telamon. CASSONE An Italian chest or box with painted, carved or inlaid decoration. CASTING A process for creating objects where molten material is poured into a mold and allowed to solidify. Various parts of the completed object are cast separately and then soldered together to create the whole. Frequently used to create Objects of Art and furniture components such as feet, stems, escutcheons and finials. CHAIR RAIL The horizontal section forming the base of the seat in a chair. CHAISE LONG(UE) Halfway between a daybed and a settee is an elongated low bergere with soft mattress, cushion and bolster used for reclining or as a daybed. CHASING Ornamentation of metal by etching, engraving or incising.. CHERUB Winged child figure used in decoration from the Renaissance and after. CHIMERAS A decorative motif consisting of female torsos terminating in rinceaux CHINOISERIE General term for European adaptation of Oriental designs in the Decorative Arts popular in the late 17th century, Rococo and R?gence periods. Decorative work produced under the influence of Chinese art, applied particularly to the more fanciful and extravagant manifestations. Intimations of Eastern art reached Europe in the Middle Ages in the porcelains brought by returning travelers from China. Eastern trade was maintained during the intervening centuries, and the East India trading companies of the 17th and 18th century imported Chinese lacquers and porcelains. In the middle of the 18th century the enthusiasm for Chinese objects affected practically every decorative art applied to interiors, furniture, tapestries, and bibelots and supplied artisans with fanciful motifs of scenery, human figures, pagodas, intricate lattices, and exotic birds and flowers. In France the Louis XV style gave special opportunities to Chinoiserie, as it blended well with the established Rococo. Whole rooms, such as those at Chantilly, were painted with compositions in Chinoiserie, and Watteau and other artists brought consummate craftsmanship to the style. Thomas Chippendale, the chief exponent in England, produced a unique and decorative type of furniture. CINQUECENTO (1500-1600) Furniture was dignified by a formal richness achieved by bold carving, free and brilliant, utilizing the whole vocabulary of classical decoration. The motifs of acanthus, animal forms, gargoyles, caryatids, scrolls and volutes were widely used. Paint appears less frequently, gesso is rare and carving in the positive relief is abundant. COLUMN A vertical architectural support, circular or polygonal in plan. A column is generally at least four or five times as high as its width. The columns of classical architecture represent the attempt to design proportions and details that would create maximum structural harmony. It is in the Greek temples of the Periclean Age (5th century B.C.), notably in the Parthenon, that the ideal was obtained. In Greek, Roman, and Renaissance architecture the various column types, taken together with the entablatures that they support, form the classical orders of architecture. The classical column has the three fundamental elements of base, shaft, and capital. The shaft has a gradual upward tapering and the capital that crowns it provides a decorative and structural transition between the circular column and the rectangular entablature. In Greek buildings the columns were usually structurally indispensable, but the Romans used them as a decorative feature, mostly following fixed rules of proportions. The Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian column types advanced toward perfect proportions and details and formed the basis for the columnar architecture of the Romans. Although Greek columns always had vertical channels or flutes cut in their shafts, those of the Romans were often without them. COMMODE French name for a chest of drawers introduced towards the end of the 17th century. The finest period pieces are beautiful examples of the work of the finest ebenistes and bronzeurs of Europe. CONSOLE An ornamental side table finished on three sides and made to be placed against a wall. CONSULATE (1799-1804) Napoleon?s term as First Consul. The style continued the Directoire manner up to the development of the Empire. CONTRE-PARTE Boulle work in which the brass predominates. COQUILLE/COQUILLAGE A decorative carved shell motif used on fine furniture especially popular in the Regence and Rococo periods. CORINTHIAN Architectural order of column capitals with scrolls growing out of acanthus leaves. The most ornate of the Greek form. CORNICE The highest part of the entablature. Also the horizontal moulding projecting from the top of case pieces. CREAMWARE Cream colored earthenware with a transparent lead glaze. CRESTING Carved wooden decoration surmounting a mirror, cabinet or chair. CROSSBANDING Decorative treatment within the main veneer surface of fine furniture which later became a decorative device of its own. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z  |
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