Rococo French Armoire, Walnut and Oak, 20th Century

• Rococo - A stylistic development covering the period from about 1730 to 1770, during the reign of Louis XV in France. The rococo style falls between the rather overbearing manner of the Baroque and the formal elegance of Neoclassicism. The Rococo style reached its full maturity in France, though many of its features were used by English furniture makers. The style is marked by asymmetrical forms, especially pierced and intricate scroll work as in mirror frames, chair backs etc., and the use of shells and floral motifs. The term derives from the French 'rocaille', meaning rock work, as in gardens and fountains. There was a major Rococo revival in the mid-19th century and indeed much of what is now considered to be typically Victorian furniture is influenced by the Rococo. It is essentially feminine in feeling, and for this reason, perhaps, was regarded as rather frivolous by its successors.
• Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.
  
  Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,
  
  Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.
  
  Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.
• Pediment - The uppermost section of a tall usually double-heightened piece of cabinet furniture, surmounting the cornice. The pediment can take a variety of forms derived from the architecture of classical antiquity. A broken pediment is of triangular shape, however, the two raised sides do not meet at the apex but are 'broken' the gap between them often ornamented with an urn or finial. Swan-neck pediments are of similar form, although the uprights are gracefully arched, resembling a swan's neck. They are often found, for example, on longcase clocks.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• armoires 301