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| MAIN GLOSSARY | GLOSSARY OF wood | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z BALUSTER A short sculpted column, usually turned and vase-shaped toward the middle used extensively in Classical architecture on staircases, balconies and railings. Also used as a decorative motif in furniture design. BALUSTRADE A series of balusters joined by a decorative railing at the top binding the balusters together to form a continuous architectural element. BANQUETTE A long upholstered bench which was originally used against the walls of great rooms. BAROCCHETTO PERIOD (1720-1740) Italian period of Furniture design referring to the Late Baroque. BAROCO PERIOD (1600-1720) Italian Period of furniture design concurrent with the Baroque period in other parts of Europe. BAROQUE A symmetrical and boldly decorative rectilinear style derived from Italian architecture. In furniture the early Baroque style was decorated with ornamentation using elaborate scrolls, figural motifs, twisting columns, and pediments. Surface finishes such as that of Boulle, wood marquetry and elaborate inlay contributed to this masculine style. BAS-RELIEF Sculpture in which the carved decoration projects outward from the solid flat background. BERG?RE French term for an upholstered or caned armchair with filled-in upholstered or caned side arms popular since the 18th Century. BEVEL A flat edge detail comprised of a form sloping to a narrow edge as a finish to glass, wood, or other materials. Most often referred to in reference to mirrors. BIANCO SOPRA BIANCO A decoration on tin glazed earthenware in white on a slightly blues or grayish ground. BIBLIOTH?QUE Used by the French to refer to large bookcase furniture. BIEDERMEIER A German Neoclassical style of distinct character designed between 1815 to1830. Rectilinear in form with smooth curves, utilizing beautiful light golden wood veneers trimmed with ebony accents with little or no ornament. Comfort and functionality took precedence in this elegant style. BISCUIT Unglazed fired porcelain with a characteristic delicate matte finish used for figurines and objects for the table. BLACKAMOOR A representation of an African figure in beautiful and exotic clothing used as an element of furniture such as the carved pedestal of an eighteenth century gueridon, or the elegant pair of torcheres popular during the Napoleon III period. BLANC DE CHINE Used for highly translucent Chinese porcelain of the finest quality ranging in color from ivory to chalk white highly prized by 17th and 18th Century Nobility. BOIS DORE Wood that has been gilded with pure gold over a smooth gesso base that often was highly carved. Also GILT WOOD BOISERIE The product of expert carving of wood panels created for the walls of the finest French palaces and grand rooms throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. BOMBE A term used to describe the character of the design detail of Furniture such as commodes where the curvaceous form bows out at the middle of the front of the piece. Particularly characteristic of both French and Italian cabinet furniture of the 18th Century. BONE CHINA Hybrid porcelain of clay with the addition of bone ash especially important to the English manufacture of tableware. BONNETI?RE A French cabinet that is tall and narrow and deep enough to accommodate the elaborate bonnets of the 18th century. BOUILLOTTE LAMP A distinctive style of French lamp either by candle or later electric used to light the writing surface of a Bureau-plat. It was said that every important Minister?s desk had a Bouillotte Lamp upon it. BOUILLOTTE TABLE A small French round table encircled with a delicate bronze railing often used in the Drawing Rooms of great homes in the 18th century as a side or lamp table. BOULLE WORK A unique and elaborate type of marquetry to decorate fine furniture using tortoiseshell, ebony and ivory inlaid within precison cut scrolling yellow and white metal, usually brass or silver, perfected by Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) during the reign of Louis XIV. BRASS Golden-colored alloy with a composition of 70-90% copper and 10-30% zinc. BRITANNIA STANDARD Silver alloy composed in the proportion of 95.84% silver to 4.16% other metals. The standard was enforced in English silver form 1697-1719 and optional thereafter. New Hallmarks were ordered with the new standard being marked with a headless Lion torn off at the neck and a figure of a woman?commonly called Britannia which replaced the Lion Passant and the Leopard?s Head Crowned. The highest quality mark issued for English Silver. BROKEN PEDIMENT An architectural element open at the top of the apex commonly used at the apex of mirrors or tops of cabinets in the first half of the 18th century. BRONZE DOR Refers to the gilt finish on objects created in bronze and then coated with a layer of gold by a mercury/ gold powder gilding process that binds the gold to the surface of the bronze. Also known as Ormolu. BUREAU-PLAT A flat top writing table or desk usually highly decorated with bronze dore mounts surmounted by an inset gold stamped leather writing surface. BURL OR BURR Growths on trees that produce some of the most prized veneers. The tight area of grain that is mottled or speckled where a branch would have grown or at the root. Can also be caused by disease. Usually available in smallish sheets, burls feature swirling grain around clusters of dormant buds, rings or eyes. Varieties include "cluster burl" or "cat's paw burl". A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |