French Furniture History: The Directoire Style From 1789 to 1804, French furniture took a sharp turn, condemning anything associated with the Ancien Régime. Previously predominant themes revolving around royal extravagance, noble power, and privilege were now perceived negatively. Repressed by the revolutionaries, furniture guilds were no longer able to ensure the same degree of […]
Louis XVI Furniture History From 1760 to 1790, the graceful curves of Rococo faded out of fashion, and Louis XVI style took its place. This is new style emerged during the reign of King Louis-Auguste (1774-1793). Like its Baroque predecessor, it focused on straight lines and included motifs inspired by the classical age. While Louis […]
Louis XIV Furniture: History And Context At the age of four, Louis XIV became King of France, although he didn’t rule until he was 23. His 72 years as king is one of the most notable in history. Louis’s life as a child monarch was lavish. However, the many rebellions against his mother and chief minister […]
French Directoire furniture preserves the elegant and stately characteristics of earlier periods. But, like Gustavian design, the Directoire style is much more restrained. This moderation is evident in the elongated, uncomplicated shapes and clear lines of most pieces. The elegant commode offered here has the typical, straight-lined design, a reminiscent of the Louis XVI period, […]
Cherner Chair, USA 1950-60. Mid century armchair in walnut and beech. The chair was designed in the late 1950s by Norman Cherner (1920-1987) for Plycraft. Even though Plycraft told Cherner that the design would not be produced, the company started the production as its own design. In 1961 the chair appeared in Norman Rockwell’s painting […]
A set of 2 Galvanitas plywood chairs. Mid-Century Modern S16 molded and cherry stained plywood and black patinated pressed steel chairs. Each industrial chair with four steel tapering square legs in a sawhorse or a-frame formation surmounted by backward sloping shaped seat with waterfall front edge, with open form back comprising two tapering black steel supports […]