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Acanthus Leaf
Found throughout the realm of classical design, this
popular Greek decorative motif is adapted from the acanthus
plant.
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Acorn
A turned ornament resembling an acorn. It is
commonly used in Jacobean furniture as finals on chair
posts and bedposts, as pendants and as the profile of
leg turnings.
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Acroterium
Known as the ornament used on the roof corners
of Greek templates, a similar design is applied on the
corners of some traditional furniture such as secretaries,
bookcases and highboys.
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Apron-Scroll/Straight
Refers to the horizontal piece of wood that
is found just underneath the top of a table or chair.
This piece forms part of the frame of the piece and
can be plain or decorative. Aprons can be straight or
scrolled (shaped or curved) and can be solid or pierced
with open spaces carved into it.
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Banding
Decorative application of veneer usually in a contrasting
wood. Normally associated with table tops and drawer
fronts. It is often applied perpendicular to the grain
of the top or drawer front for maximum contrast.
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Beading
A simple half round edge carving. Beading can be applied
to tops, legs, drawer fronts and aprons. Beading is
used for decorative purposes.
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Bergere
A comfortable French exposed wood arm chair with upholstered
backs and sides and squab cushions. This design was
popular in Louis XIV and Louis XV periods.
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Blockfront
Generally refers to the front shape of a chest.
Features a recessed center panel flanked by a block
or projecting panel on either side.
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Bobbin Leg
Gets its name from turnings that appear as bobbins or
spools.
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Bow Front
Usually refers to the front profile of a chest. The
middle of the pieces curves outward away from the sides.
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Bracket Foot
Normally associated with the base of a chest or cabinet.
The bracket foot is a simple, 'L' shaped foot that resembles
a shelf bracket. Bracket feet can be solid or pierced
with open spaces carved into it.
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Bunn Foot
A foot shaped like a bunn or flattened ball. Normally
associated with William & Mary designs.
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Cabriole Leg
A furniture leg that curves outward from the top, inward
toward the middle and back outward slightly where it
terminates at a foot. The foot could be a pad, hoof
or ball and claw. This leg takes on the shape of a double
"S".
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Chamfered Edge
A beveled edge, usually at 45 degrees to the face. Chamfered
edges can be found on legs, posts and other vertical
portions of a chair, chest or table.
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Corner Block
A structural element, of wood, plastic, or metal used
to reinforce the corners of frames. Usually associated
with chairs but also used in case construction.
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Corner Bracket
A decorative piece found at the right angle junction
where a leg meets an apron on top. Corner brackets can
be simple or carved and can be in wood or metal.
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Cornice
A horizontal moulded projection that completes or crowns
a piece of furniture or architecture. The cornice can
be as simple as a carved edge of a top or as elaborate
as a combination of various mouldings used together.
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Dentil Moulding
Rectangular block evenly spaced and found underneath
a crown moulding or cornice.
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Distressing/Antiquing
Process where a piece of furniture is made to look old.
Physical distressing is where the wood is made to look
old. Physical distressing is where the wood id dinged
and dented, holes can also be added for the look of
worm holes. Antiquing is accomplished by the use of
various stains, paints or glazes that are wiped on and
back off. Fly-specking is sometimes used with darker
paint or stain is spattered onto the finish.
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Dovetail Joint
A type of joint, most often associated with drawers,
where two pieces of wood are joined together by interlocking
wedges that resemble a dove's fanned tail. This joint
is very strong and hard to pull apart.
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Escutcheon
A protective and often decorative shield around a keyhole
or piece of cabinet hardware.
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Finial
A decorative top often found on bedposts and case pediments.
Can be simple or ornately carved.
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Frame & Panel - Raised/Plain/Beaded
Normally refers to the construction of doors, but can
also apply to cabinet construction. The frame or outer
perimeter of the door encloses a panel. This panel can
be solid or veneered and can be plain, beaded (grooved),
or raised (a portion of the outer edge on all four sides
is carved away making the center portion appear to be
raised).
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Gallery
A metal or wood railing around the top edges of a table,
chest or cabinet. This gallery can be plain or decorative.
Galleries can be found on all four sides and most often
just the back and two sides. Galleries are most often
found on sideboards.
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Inlay
Decorative application of contrasting wood veneer in
the form of straight lines or patterns such as flowers
or shells.
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Lowboy/Highboy
A lowboy is a chest that is set upon four legs, usually
a cabriole design. Early lowboys were used as dressing
tables. Highboys are taller versions with a separate
chest on top of the lower. Highboys were built with
and without pediments and bonnets. The lowboy and highboy
are thought to have originated during the William &
Mary period.
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Marlboro Foot
A block foot normally associated with straight Chippendale
legs. Appears occasionally on tapered legs found on
Hepplewhite and Sheraton designs.
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Mortise & Tenon
A type of joint where two pieces of wood, perpendicular
to each other, are joined. The mortise is a square hole
and the tenon is the square peg that fits into it. This
joint is used on tables, case pieces and chairs.
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Ogee Foot
Normally associated with the base of a chest or cabinet.
The ogee foot is a shaped foot that curves out at the
top and back in at the bottom.
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Pediment
An architectural design element from the Greeks and
Romans. A triangular shaped top or gable found on the
tops of chests, cabinets, secretaries, and headboard
panels. Can be simple or very elaborate with intricate
carvings and mouldings.
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Pilaster
A decorative, flat or carved vertical member applied
to a cabinet, bookcase or chest. Pilasters take on various
shapes including half round columns, reeding and fluting.
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Plank Top
Refers to the top portion of a chest or table. The top
is made up of boards that are joined together edgewise,
often by means of tongue and groove construction. The
edges are most often "beaded" for decorative
purposes. Some tops are carved with a groove lengthwise
to give the appearance of planking.
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Porringer Leg/Spoon Foot
A simple, plainly turned leg which terminates into another
simple, flattened turning. This spoon foot is also referred
to as a pad foot. This leg and foot combination is most
often found on dining tables and side tables.
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Porringer Top
A type of shaped top sometimes found on colonial tables.
The name comes from a porringer (a shallow bowl with
a handle). This shaped top often features curved sections
at each corner which have the appearance of a flat handle.
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Rail/Stile
Refers to horizontal and vertical members of case construction
and door construction. Rails are the horizontal members
and stiles are the vertical members. Various methods
of joinery are employed to keep these two parts together
including mortise & tenon, doweling and dovetailing.
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Reeding/Fluting
A decorative carving applied to vertical members of
a piece of furniture. Normally associated with chair
legs and pilasters on cabinets. Reeding refers to a
convex pattern similar to narrow reeds. Fluting refers
to a concave pattern of grooves.
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Serpentine
Generally refers to the front of a chest, sideboard
or chair rail. A sinuous curved shape, more often a
double "S" curve.
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Sideboard/Huntboard
The sideboard is generally credited to George Hepplewhite.
This piece is normally used for serving and storage
in a dining room. Sideboards normally feature combinations
of doors and drawers and can be rather decorative with
shaped fronts and elaborate inlays or less decorative
and plain for country pieces. The huntboard is generally
less decorative and gets its name from pieces that were
carried outside where riders on horses could lean over
and get food and drink.
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Splat Back-Solid/Pierced
Refers to the center portion of a chair back (usually
a dining chair). Splats were both structural and decorative.
Can be a solid panel, a decorative veneered panel or
can be carved with open spaces.
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Splay Leg
Refers to the leg of a table or chair. The legs are
made so that they angle outward toward the bottom. They
are simply spread apart at one end.
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Stretcher
Horizontal bracings found between legs. Stretchers can
be plain or very decorative. Most often associated with
chair legs, but very often found on end tables and coffee
tables. In addition to being decorative, stretchers
are functional and give more support to the legs.
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Turned Leg
A leg that is shaped on a lathe. The profile is round
as opposed to a square leg. Turned legs can be very
plain and simple or elaborate with various dimensions
along the length of the leg.
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Veneer
As it refers to furniture, a veneer is a thin layer
of wood that is sliced from a larger piece. Veneers
are generally glued to less expensive substrates of
wood. Veneered furniture is very stable and less prone
to warping or splitting. Veneers are necessary for curved
profiles and inlays.
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Windsor-Bowback/Comback
Historians argue that the name comes from either of
two sources - the town of Windsor, England or from the
Buckingham palace by way of the Prince of Wales. However,
the design was made popular in America where the production
of it reached an art form. Windsor chairs generally
take the form of Bowbacks, Fanbacks or Combacks. Sometimes,
a combination of more than one form is used.
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