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Glossary
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AntiqueHOME.com
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Aldergrove Shop Guide
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| Baccarat | Decorative glass works. Originated with the Sainte-Anne factory at Baccarat (Lorraine) and now includes the Vareche factory in Belgium and Trelon (Nord). Known for all manner of glass ware including glasses, paper weights and opaline. |
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| Bacchus | Roman/Greek god of the feast. |
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| Bachelor chest | A modern term used to describe an 18th century chest of drawers of small proportions and a fold-over table top. |
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| Bahut | Traditionally and smaller curved top travelling chest holding the travelling essentials. Later used to refer to any domed chest and finally any chest made in the medieval style. |
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| Ball foot | A style of foot where the bottom of a leg is spherical. Used primarily in english furniture from the late 17th and early 18th century. |
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| Balloon back | A popular mid 19th century chair back style where the back rail is curved to resemble a balloon. Derived by Hepplewhite from France. |
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| Baluster | A bulbous design form where the stem bulges out on the middle and returns to its original diameter. Usually turned or round in form. |
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| Banjo clock and barometer | A later term used to refer to clocks and barometers whose case resembles an inverted banjo. |
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| Barley twist | Also refered to as Barley-sugar twist. A decorative turning of a spiral nature. Borrows from the baroque style of columns. |
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| Baroque style | Late Renaissance classicism from the early 17th century to the early 18th century. Heavily carved or ornamented and a result of the Counter Reformation in Italy. Not to be confused with the Rococo style which followed. |
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| Barye, Antoine-Louis | (French 1795-1875) An Animalier bronze sculptor. Best known of the Animaliers. |
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| Basin Stand | Or wash stand, an 18th century piece of furniture used to house a wash basin, sometimes with a hinged top that open to reveil the basin, or triangular to fit in a corner. |
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| Bell metal | Bronze made of copper, tin and zinc. Used for bells and mortars although many smaller items were also made either from reclaimed bell metal or special castings. |
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| Belleek | A factory in Northern Ireland that produced a thin walled porcelain with an iridescent glaze. Similar to parian ware. There are makers of "Belleek" style porcelain. |
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| Beluch or Beluchistan rugs | A mountianous area of north western India. Carpets from this area are deemed "nomadic" and usually utilize deep reds, browns and natural colored hair. The design incorporates hexagonal, octagonal and occasionally floral motifs. Made using the Sehna knot. |
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| Bench | One of the oldest forms of furntiure the bench is a long seat with no back. |
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| Bent wood | A way of steaming wood (usually Beech) to form the frame of the chair. Developed in the mid 19th century with mass production starting in 1849. A common café chair of the 19th century |
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| Bergamo rugs | Often called Holbain carpets due to them being depicted in his paintings. Uses red, green, yellow, blue and white with designs varied and geometric. Bergamo rugs are rare due to very few having survived. |
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| Bergere | A french upholstered armchair, popular during Louis XV, of larger proportions. Similar to the English wing arm chair. Very similar to the duchesse chair. |
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| Berlin porcelain | First factory was founded in 1752 by Wilhelm Kaspar Wegely and forced to close 5 years later. 1761 saw a second factory that eventually became a royal factoru for Frederick the great and the mark was the sceptre of the Brandenburg arms. Ernst Heinrich Reichard retained the "secret" to bone china porcelain. Several Meissen painters were hired to decorate the wares. It is still in production today. |
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| Bidet | A French low stool with a violin shaped basin used for feminine hygiene. Today refers to a toilet type fixture used for the same purpose. |
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| Biedermeier | A style , mainly of furniture, of the first half of the 19th century and is a restrained version of the French Empire with which Germany and Austrian empires had recently ended hostilities with. Concentrates on function rather then form. Named after two characters Biedermann and Bummelmeier. Uses lighter woods with dark accents similar to the later Art Deco period. |
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| Birdcage | A mechanism used in late 18th and early 19th century tilt-top tables by which a table top is allowed to rotate on the base as well as hinge. The name comes from the fact that a "cage" that is created by the turned supports connecting the top and bottom sections of the rotating coupling. This "cage" is usually held in by a wodden wedge. Also a place to keep live birds as well and automata. |
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| Biscuit | Unglazed porcelain. Originated in Vincennes in 1751. Incorrectly referred to as Bisque. |
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| Bisque | An incorrect use of Bisquit (unglazed) porcelain. |
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| Block front | Although Dutch and German in origin, it is considered an American innovation. Usually incorporating a shell motif, the block front is a block type motif used primarily on case furniture. Newport versions are the finest although there are also lesser Massechusetts, conneticut ans New York versions. |
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| Bocage | A branch, bush or flower background on porcelain figures usually of the rococo style. |
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| Bohemian glass | The carving of rock-crystal, and later glass, by means of a grinding type wheel. Origianlly used on clear glass and crystal and after 1830 on glass with a coloured surface that accentuated the carving. |
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| Bokhara rugs | After the city of Bokhara in Turkestan. Used to describe carpets sold here by the nomadic Turcoman tribes. Usually octogons in rows with deep reds (Turcoman red), glue, green and a little white. They use the Sehna knot. |
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| Bombe | The convex shape of the front and sides of the case of a French or Dutch piece of furniture. |
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| Bone ash | An English version of "porcelain" that is not true porcelain and therefore clalled bone ash or bone china due to the content of calcined ox-bones as a fusing agent. |
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| Boulle, Andre-Charles | (French 1642-1732) Best known "Buhl" work for the elaborate marquetry of brass and tortoiseshell. Copied in English furniture in the 19th century. |
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| Boulton, Matthew | (English 1728-1809) Well known English metalworker known for his silver ware. Worked with James Watt in developing the Steam engine. |
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| Bow front | The convex curve of a chest of drawers, table or sideboard. Not to be mistaken with serpentine front. Same as the French term chantourne. |
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| Bracket foot | A bracket shaped foot used on cabinets and chests of drawers. |
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| Brass | An alloy of copper and zinc. Used primarily for utilitarian items such as candlesticks and ornamental moulds. Brass furniture became popular in the late 19th century. |
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| Break front | The projecting centre section of a piece of furniture such as a bookcase, chest of drawers or other case furniture. |
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| Bright cut | Engraving, usually on silver, at an angle that reflects light giving the decoration a "bright" look. |
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| Britannia metal | A pewter type metal, but harder than pewter, of copper and antimony, usually spun. Popular from 1800 to 1820. |
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| British plate | A deceptive alloy meant to resemble silver. Similar to Chinese paktong or German silver. Marks are similar to assay hallmarks although slightly different. |
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| Brocade | A design, in relief, in a fabric. |
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| Bronze | An alloy of copper and tin. As it expands slightly in the form before cooling and therefore very suitable for the casting of "bronzes". Common proportions are 92% copper, 2% tin, 5% zinc and 1% lead. |
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| Bronzing | The application of bronze powder onto plaster with a japanners sizing. Can come very close to imitating bronze except for weight. |
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| Buffet | An ancient form of furniture originating in France as a coffer or chest with a cupboard, with doors, on top. When the top is replaced by open shelves it becomes a dresser. |
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| Buhl | The marquetry done in the manner of "Boulle". |
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| Bun foot | Also called a ball foot. A foot of globular form used on case furniture from the 17th century on. |
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| Bureau | An American term used to define a chest of drawers with a writing surface. In England called a writing-desk. Common after the late 18th century |
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| Bureau-bookcase | Also called a secretary bookcase. It is similar to a bureau but with the addition of a bookcase above the fall front writing surface. |
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| Burr | An extra growth on either the trunk or root of a tree that has a tightly curled grain that, when sliced, makes for an interesting veneer. Usually a burr walnut, elm or yew although it can be any wood. Also called Oyster veneer. Originated in 17th century furniture but very popular in English furntiure in the late 19th century. |
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| Bygones | An older term used to describe items that are outdated or obsolete. |
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