Antique Furniture

For the student and lover of old furniture, or for the collector of antiques, there is no asset more useful than a trained eye, quick to detect and remember the slightest variation of line or proportion. such practice of critical scrutiny incalculably benefits the sense of appreciation and further more stands one in good stead in a thousand other ways.

It is not too much to say that anyone who thoroughly knows the contours of furniture in its successive periods, and has conscientiously followed the steps of its evolution, has learned the most important part of the whole subject and gained a grasp and mastery of which no expert need feel ashamed.

To the practiced observer of contour, the Flemish scroll legs of late Carolean chairs, the cup-turned legs of William and Mary highboys and tables or the bun feet of their cabinets, the broken swan-neck pediments and cabriole legs of Queen Anne's reign, the bombé fronts of Chippendale's French work, the serpentine fronts or the tapered legs and spade feet of Hepplewhite's dainty productions, all mean infinitely more than they do to someone who is not in the habit of observing.

Understanding these details will allow a collector of antique Furniture to have an assurance and confidence in his own judgement that he may rely on, in large part, while growing his collection.