intd 301 furniture & fittings history of furniture design ...€¦ · intd 301 furniture &...
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INTD 301 FURNITURE & FITTINGS
History of Furniture Design- Medieval & Renaissance
PREPARED BY: JOSHIMA V.M., UNIVERSITY OF NIZWA, OMAN
Emergence of Islamic Furniture circa 610 • Roots of Islamic furniture can be traced back to
pre-Islamic and Persian societies
• Most of the earlier ones were functional and simple furniture that later developed into more artistic and complex designs.
• Use of ornamentation appeared in woven textiles and carved and inlaid chests.
• Calligraphy, vegetal patterns and geometric patterns were later referred to as arabesque.
• Besik – cradle
▫ the first bed of a child. A rocking bed with a holding bar above.
• Kavukluk- shelf
▫ mounted on a wall in a home at the height of an average person. To either support the head piece of a cleric or lighting equipment.
• Rahle- support for Koran.
▫ Designed for a person to read Koran. A small and often folding support in X-shape wood panels.
• Sandik- a chest
▫ to store goods, clothes etc. Has locking systems and compartments.
• Sedirs- divans for sitting-
▫ early form of mattresses developed into divans.
▫ Sehpas- portable stools.
▫ Kept next to the divans and carry food. Circular, Hexagonal or octagonal.
Romanesque
• Marked by the spread of Christianity as a unifying culture throughout Europe.
• Most of the furniture were for the wealthy; people often
sat on rugs, simple stools and platforms. • Classical furniture lost its main features and became
more rougher during the Romanesque period. • Furniture became more portable and mobile.
Furniture types
• Seating furniture
• The most common seats were benches with or without backrests.
• Two typical chairs were:
▫ Faldstools & Cathedra
▫ made of iron or bronze used in churches.
▫ Shows authority for the person sitting on it.
Furniture types
• From the 13th century Beds started having canopy used by the noble men.
• Always had fabric coverings and upholstery.
Furniture types
• Armoire a large stationary piece of furniture popular during medieval period in Europe.
• Initially fabricated for holding armor and weapons.
• Over time this developed into domestic furniture for storing textiles.
Gothic
• Most of them were religious furniture.
• Novelty of furniture was in food storage with holes in doors for ventilation.
Types of Furniture
• Characteristics of Romanesque
chair: ▫ Boxlike shape with emphasis on
verticality.
▫ Paneling was done on its back, arms and underneath the seat.
▫ Storage under the seat.
▫ Panels were carved or textiles were draped.
Types of Furniture
• Storage pieces: ▫ Freestanding or built-in
▫ Some for display and for closed storage.
▫ Buffet shelves were also introduced.
Materials
• Wood was the primary material for furniture.
▫ Oak, Deal and chestnut- England
▫ Walnut- France
• Carving, painting and textiles were primary means of decoration.
• Ivory and iron was also used.
Characteristics of Furniture design
• Verticality, tracery designs, specific motifs, ogee arch, lancet arch, crockets, motifs of religious symbolism etc.
• English and French furniture was similar in its
simplicity of form- rectangular, vertical, bulky and sturdy.
• French furniture were highly finished and showed
greater skill with more impressive aesthetic character.
• Furniture purposes: Utility and Hierarchal position
▫ Chest for utility and Chair was used to express status.
Renaissance furniture
• Renaissance period in Europe began in early 15th century.
• Renaissance period witnessed entirely new ideas in decoration and styles.
• The age is known as the golden age for furniture.
• Renaissance began in Italy.
• Renaissance furniture was most purely expressed in Florence, Rome and Venice.
Characteristics
• Renaissance furniture strived for beauty and proportions.
• Science, engineering, mathematics, human anatomy, perspective drawing and new materials fueled the rebirth.
• Characterized by naturalness, individuality and delicate majesty.
• Vertical construction of meddle ages were replaced by more horizontal lines of classical balance.
• Furniture were for common man than for religious purposes.
Materials
• Basic material was wood.
• Iron was used for ornamentation works.
• Other popular materials were leather, velvet and brocade.
Italian Renaissance 1460-1600
• Renaissance started in Florence, Italy in 15th century. • Rich heritage of Roman arts provided the base and
inspiration. • Classical antiquity was the main fascination during the
period. • Factors responsible for this were:
▫ Treatise on Architecture by Vitruvius ▫ Readily available models of classical antiquity.
Italian Renaissance 1460-1600 • Humanism permeated the Renaissance; man as
the highest form of creation was stressed. • Emphasis was given to symmetry and
horizontality. • Renaissance theory of beauty was enhanced by
calculating mathematical ratios mainly based on measure of human body.
Furniture
• Furniture styles were mostly rectilinear with horizontal emphasis.
• Exceptions were those with strong structural curves.
• Style was imposing, dignified, massive and varied range of ornamentation.
• Main Wood for furniture was walnut, others were pine, cypress, chestnut, elm and poplar.
Decorative works
• Decorative techniques gained more importance. ▫ inlay, veneer application and carving, some had relief
works. ▫ Intarsia : inlay of multi colored woods. ▫ Certosina: using bone or ivory as inlay material. ▫ Incised carving: wood is cut from around the figures
which result in low relief. ▫ Pastiglia: ornament was casted in molds and then
applied to surfaces.
• Turning also became a popular decoration technique.
Furniture Types
• Savonarola and Dante chairs were the principal types of the 15th century. ▫ X-type with strong and structurally
curved supports of curule form.
▫ Back rest for Dante chair was of leather or velvet.
▫ Savonarola chair was made of a series of interlaced wooden strips.
▫ Cushion was often used for seat.
Dante chair
Savonarola chair
• Sgabello- armless back stool.
▫ Octagonal seat with solid trestle support
▫ Back rest was fan shaped
▫ Highly ornamented by the late renaissance.
• Cassone- storage chest ▫ Body were of three types-
rectangular forms, convex (boat-shaped) or contoured.
▫ Inlay techniques or high relief carvings were used.
▫ Continuous carving was done on the surface.
▫ Framed panels or pilasters were used to separate the shelves.
French Renaissance 1450-1600
• French Renaissance marked its beginning in 1495 through the military expedition of Charles VIII into Italy.
• Italian artists were brought to France for employment.
• France had strong Gothic influence on furniture styles.
• New decorative motifs were applied on top of medieval styles during the transitional period.
Furniture
• Transportable Folding chairs and beds were produced in early ages.
• Comfort, elegance and artistic tastes were given importance later on.
• Furniture of French Renaissance can be divided into 2 phases: Francis I & Henry II.
Furniture Types
• Francis I: Rectilinear high panel-back chair, with or without storage under seat, represents the medieval form of furniture still being used in French Renaissance.
• Henry II: Light weight furniture
with minimal decorations, simple and rectangular.
• Henry II: storage pieces became more architectural.
• Features such as entablature, columns or pilasters were carved with reeding or fluting.
English Renaissance 1500-1660 • English renaissance took place during the throne
of Tudor and Stuart.
• Pattern books and migration of craftsmen to England were the foreign influences.
• Inigo Jones is credited for bringing a pure Italian style to England.
• Work was done with strict principles of order and proportion regardless of the material used.
Furniture Design
• Furniture designs were influenced by foreign sources like publications.
• Emphasis on design was on display and comfort.
• Upholstery gained importance.
Ornamentation
• Oak was used for darker values, holly and poplar was used for lighter values and stained wood.
• Checkered ornamentation was capitalized on this contrast.
• Inlay, carving, turning and painting were important decorative techniques.
• Farthingale chair was an upholstered , armless chair designed to accommodate the width of women dress.
• Upholstery was velvet or turkey works.
• Draw table was the improved design during English Renaissance. ▫ Draw tables can be fully
extended by pulling out two under leaves attached to a pair of extended arms.
▫ Fully extended tabletop becomes its original length.
▫ Base of the table was highly ornamented.
▫ Table legs were heavy and exaggerated.
• Two types of cupboards dominated during the period.
▫ Court cupboard and press cupboard.
• Court cupboard was primarily for display with open shelves or one level of enclosed storage space.
• Press cupboards had fully enclosed storage on two or three tiers.
• Beds were large and elaborately decorated. ▫ Canopy became supported by
posts at the foot and by the head board.
▫ Columns had low or tall pedestals sometimes paneled. Columns had fluting or strap works.
▫ An entablature was decorated with carvings or inlay designs.
▫ Realistic paintings were sometimes used.
▫ Textiles were hung from the canopy in some cases.