Antique Collecting: Dictionary of English pieces

Antique Collecting: Dictionary of English pieces

Page 1 of 6

Barometers. The barometer was invented and came into use during the seventeenth century and until the introduction of the modern 'Aneroid' type it consisted of a tube of mercury standing in a cup of the same metal. The pressure of the atmosphere on the surface of the mercury in the cup caused it to vary in height in the tube, and the level could be read off against a scale. Alternatively, the rise and fall could be shown on a circular dial and indicated by a movable pointer. The earliest barometers were made by the eminent clockmakers of the day, were often enclosed in cases of walnut and are very rare and valuable. In the later eighteenth century many were made in mahogany cases and included a thermometer and a damp-detector (hygrometer). These are not hard to find, and their price varies today according to condition and whether or not they are in working order.

Beds. In the past, people spent more money on their beds than on any other article of furniture. The wood framework which was usually of four-poster type, was only a part of the expense, the majority of the time, labour and money going on the elaborate hangings which enclosed it and kept the occupant warm and draught-free. The oldest to survive in any numbers is the Elizabethan carved four-poster, with its elaborate headboard and carved roof (tester), and of these the best known is the Great Bed of Ware. This was mentioned by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night, and has found a final home in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Mahogany beds were made in much the same form as oak ones had been, although taller and more graceful in appearance, and it was not until 1850 that the four-poster went out of fashion and the brass bedstead took its place.

Buckets. Buckets made of mahogany bound with brass and with brass handles were made from about 1760. They were used to carry plates to and from kitchen and dining-room, and have a long vertical opening from rim to base so that the plates could be removed easily. Rare examples were made with flat sides decorated with fretwork. Brass-bound buckets without the vertical opening are described as Peat Buckets.

Bureaus. A bureau is a form of writing desk, and has a number of names: including escritoire, scriptor and secretaire. The earliest type, dating from about 1675, was a cabinet on an open stand, with a hinged front that let down to make a writing surface. Shortly after that date came a similar piece, but with the top sloping instead of upright. Later again, drawers were used in place of the stand, and the pattern that is still made came into being. Many sloping-top bureaus were made in the form known as a bureau-bookcase; that is, with a bookcase above the bureau.

Another variety is in the form of a straight-fronted chest, the front of the upper dummy drawer (or upper two drawers) hinged and falling to reveal a writing-space with pigeon-holes and smaller drawers. This type is called generally a secretaire.

Bureaus and secretaires, with or without upper bookcases, were made in one form or another from about 1700 onwards, and not only in walnut and mahogany but also lacquered. It is important to make sure that a bureau- or secretaire-bookcase remains as it was made, and has not been 'married' subsequently. Often, a straightforward bureau has had a bookcase, more or less fitting and matching, placed on it and the value falsely increased.

Butler's Trays. A large oblong tray on a folding X-shaped stand, usually of mahogany, was used by the butler as an extra and movable sideboard. Late eighteenth-century examples are of various types: plain, brass-bound at the corners, and with all four sides of the tray hinged to fall flat. Another type has the rimless top hinged across the centre and in one with the base, and the whole article folds up. These are sometimes known as 'coaching tables'.

Cabinets. Cabinets with hinged doors, with or without drawers inside, were made in the later seventeenth century, and much attention was paid to their decoration. They were veneered with rare woods, inlaid with marquetry and embellished with plates of embossed silver. They were placed on stands of turned wood, and later on elaborately carved giltwood bases. Many lacquered cabinets were imported from the Far East, and placed on similar stands for use in English rooms.

Cabinets on stands did not retain their great popularity in the
eighteenth century, but their place was taken by book and china cases with glazed doors. About 1800 low cabinets standing on the ground came into fashion, and many of these had marble tops and the doors were inset with panels of silk or with gilt brass trellis.

Caddies. The caddy owes its name to a Chinese weight, a catty or kati, which equals about one and a third pounds. Much of the tea coming from the East was doubtless packed in amounts of one catty, and the name of the quantity became corrupted into that of the box to hold it. Although tea-caddies were made from different materials, many were of wood and it is proper therefore to mention them under the heading of Furniture. Few, if any, survive from before about 1740, but in 1752 Chippendale showed in his Director designs for a number of them, elaborately shaped and carved. Each succeeding designer influenced the shape, colouring and ornament of the tea-caddy, and the immense number of variations in pattern are too numerous to list. Many of them had silver containers inside a wooden outer case, others had removable wooden boxes. In the nineteenth century it was common to fit them with two boxes, one each for green and black tea, and a glass bowl; the latter described variously as for holding sugar and for blending the teas.

Canterbury. This is the name given to a low open stand with divisions, a drawer beneath and short legs, for holding music. They were made in mahogany from about 1800, and later in rosewood and walnut. No one knows how they got their name, but it is assumed that one was designed in the first instance for an Archbishop of Canterbury. They are very popular nowadays, not always for holding sheet music but for newspapers.

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