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Armoire.—A large cupboard of French design of the dimensions of the modern wardrobe. In the days of Louis XIV. these pieces were made in magnificent style. The Jones Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum has several fine examples. (See illustration, p. 165.)

Baroque.—Used in connection with over ornate and incongruous decoration as in rococo style.

Bombé.—A term applied to pieces of furniture which swell out at the sides.

Boule.—A special form of marquetry of brass and tortoiseshell perfected by André Charles Boule in the reign of Louis XIV. (See Chapter VI., where specimens of this kind of work are illustrated.) The name has been corrupted into a trade term Buhl, to denote this style of marquetry. Boule or Première partie is a metal inlay, usually brass, applied to a tortoiseshell background. See also Counter-boule.

Bureau.—A cabinet with drawers, and having a drop-down front for use as a writing-table. Bureaux are of many forms. (See illustration, p. 231.)

Cabriole.—Used in connection with the legs of tables and chairs which are curved in form, having a sudden arch outwards from the seat. (See illustration, p. 143.)

Caryatides.—Carved female figures applied to columns in Greek architecture, as at the Erectheum at Athens. They were employed by woodcarvers, and largely introduced into Renaissance furniture of an architectural character. Elizabethan craftsmen were especially fond of their use as terminals, and in the florid decoration of elaborate furniture.

Cassone.—An Italian marriage coffer. In Chapter I. will be found a full description of these cassoni.

Commode.—A chest of drawers of French style. In the chapters dealing with the styles of Louis XIV., Louis XV., and Louis XVI., these are fully described and illustrations are given.

Counter-Boule. Contre partie.—See Chapter VI., where specimens of this work are illustrated. It consists of a brass groundwork with tortoiseshell inlay.

French Polish.—A cheap and nasty method used since 1851 to varnish poor-looking wood to disguise its inferiority. It is quicker than the old method of rubbing in oil and turpentine and beeswax. It is composed of shellac dissolved in methylated spirits with colouring matter added.

Gate-leg table.—This term is self-explanatory. The legs of this class of table open like a gate. They belong to Jacobean days, and are sometimes spoken of as Cromwellian tables. An illustration of one appears on the cover.

Gothic.—This term was originally applied to the mediæval styles of architecture. It was used as a term of reproach and contempt at a time when it was the fashion to write Latin and to expect it to become the universal language. In woodcarving the Gothic style followed the architecture. A fine example of the transition between Gothic and the oncoming Renaissance is given (p. 44).

Inlay.—A term used for the practice of decorating surfaces and panels of furniture with wood of various colours, mother-of-pearl, or ivory. The inlay is let into the wood of which the piece inlaid is composed.

Jacobean.—Strictly speaking, only furniture of the days of James I. should be termed Jacobean. But by some collectors the period is held to extend to James II.—that is from 1603 to 1688. Other collectors prefer the term Carolean for a portion of the above period, which is equally misleading. Jacobean is only a rough generalisation of seventeenth-century furniture.

Lacquer. Lac.—A transparent varnish used in its perfection by the Chinese and Japanese. (See "Consular Report on Japanese Lacquered Work," in Bibliography.) Introduced into Holland and France, it was imitated with great success. Under Louis XV. Vernis-Martin became the rage (q.v.).

Linen Pattern.—A form of carving panels to represent a folded napkin. This particular design was largely used in France and Germany prior to its adoption here. (See illustration, p. 60.)

Marquetry.—Inlays of coloured woods, arranged with some design, geometric, floral, or otherwise, are classed under this style. (See also Parquetry.)

Mortise.—A term in carpentry used to denote the hole made in a piece of wood to receive the end of another piece to be joined to it. The portion which fits into the mortise is called the tenon.

Oil Polish.—Old furniture, before the introduction of varnishes and French polish and other inartistic effects, was polished by rubbing the surface with a stone, if it was a large area as in the case of a table, and then applying linseed oil and polishing with beeswax and turpentine. The fine tone after centuries of this treatment is evident in old pieces which have a metallic lustre that cannot be imitated.

Parquetry.—Inlays of woods of the same colour are termed parquetry work in contradistinction to marquetry, which is in different colour. Geometric designs are mainly used as in parquetry floors.

Reeded.—This term is applied to the style of decoration by which thin narrow strips of wood are placed side by side on the surface of furniture.

Renaissance.—The style which was originated in Italy in the fifteenth century, supplanting the Mediæval styles which embraced Byzantine and Gothic art; the new-birth was in origin a literary movement, but quickly affected art, and grew with surprising rapidity, and affected every country in Europe. It is based on Classic types, and its influence on furniture and woodwork followed its adoption in architecture.

Restored.—This word is the fly in the pot of ointment to all who possess antiquarian tastes. It ought to mean, in furniture, that only the most necessary repairs have been made in order to preserve the object. It more often means that a considerable amount of misapplied ingenuity has gone to the remaking of a badly-preserved specimen. Restorations are only permissible at the hands of most conscientious craftsmen.

Rococo.—A style which was most markedly offensive in the time of Louis XV. Meaningless elaborations of scroll and shell work, with rocky backgrounds and incongruous ornamentations, are its chief features. Baroque is another term applied to this overloaded style.

Settee.—An upholstered form of the settle.

Settle.—A wooden seat with back and arms, capable of seating three or four persons side by side.

Splat.—The wooden portion in the back of a chair connecting the top rail with the seat.

Strapwork.—This is applied to the form of decoration employed by the Elizabethan woodcarvers in imitation of Flemish originals. (See p. 68.)

Stretcher.—The rail which connects the legs of a chair or a table with one another. In earlier forms it was used as a footrest to keep the feet from the damp or draughty rush floor.

Tenon.—"Mortise and Tenon joint." (See Mortise.)

Turned Work.—The spiral rails and uprights of chairs were turned with the lathe in Jacobean days. Prior to the introduction of the lathe all work was carved without the use of this tool. Pieces of furniture have been found where the maker has carved the turned work in all its details of form, either from caprice or from ignorance of the existence of the quicker method.

Veneer.—A method of using thin layers of wood and laying them on a piece of furniture, either as marquetry in different colours, or in one wood only. It was an invention in order to employ finer specimens of wood carefully selected in the parts of a piece of furniture most noticeable. It has been since used to hide inferior wood.

Vernis-Martin (Martin's Varnish).—The lacquered work of a French carriage-painter named Martin, who claimed to have discovered the secret of the Japanese lac, and who, in 1774, was granted a monopoly for its use. He applied it successfully to all kinds of furniture, and to fan-guards and sticks. In the days of Madame du Pompadour Vernis-Martin had a great vogue, and panels prepared by Martin were elaborately painted upon by Lancret and Boucher. To this day his varnish retains its lustre undimmed, and specimens command high prices.

Woods used in Furniture.

High-class Work.—Brazil wood, Coromandel, Mahogany, Maple, Oak (various kinds), Olive, Rosewood, Satinwood, Sandalwood, Sweet Cedar, Sweet Chestnut, Teak, Walnut.

Commoner Work.—Ash, Beech, Birch, Cedars (various), Deals, Mahogany (various kinds), Pine, Walnut.

Marquetry and Veneers.—Selected specimens for fine figuring are used as veneers, and for marquetry of various colours the following are used as being more easily stained: Holly, Horsechestnut, Sycamore, Pear, Plum Tree.

Woods with Fancy Names.

King Wood, Partridge Wood, Pheasant Wood, Purple Wood, Snakewood, Tulip Wood.

These are more rare and finely-marked foreign woods used sparingly in the most expensive furniture. To arrive at the botanical names of these is not an easy matter. To those interested a list of woods used by cabinet-makers with their botanical names is given in Mr. J. Hungerford Pollen's "Introduction to the South Kensington Collection of Furniture." At the Museum at Kew Gardens and in the Imperial Institute are collections of rare woods worth examination.