furniture

Table of Contents

Introduction
General considerations
- Materials
  - Wood
  - Metal
  - Other materials
- Stylistic and decorative processes and techniques
  - Constructional style and stylization
  - Decorative processes and techniques
    - Carving
    - Turned work
    - Inlay and marquetry
    - Upholstery and covers
  - Imagery and ornamentation
- Kinds of furniture
  - Chair
    - Egypt
    - Greece and Rome
    - China
    - Spain: 17th century
    - The Netherlands: 17th century
    - France and England: 17th and 18th centuries
    - Late 18th to 20th century
    - Modern
  - Table
    - Fixed and mechanical tables
    - Historical forms and styles
  - Bed
  - Storage furniture
    - Chest
    - Cupboard
    - Bookcases
    - Mixed forms
  - Kitchen furniture and furnishings
  - Bathroom furniture and fixtures
  - Specialized furniture
- Kinds of accessory furnishings
  - Clocks
  - Mirrors
  - Fabrics
  - Fireplaces
  - Other accessory furnishings
History
- Egypt
- Mesopotamia
- Greece
- Rome
- Middle Ages
  - Early Middle Ages
  - Later Middle Ages
- The Renaissance
  - Italy
  - France
  - Spain
  - Low Countries
  - England
- 17th century: the Baroque style
  - Flanders and the Netherlands
  - Italy
  - France
  - England
  - The American colonies
- 18th century: the Rococo style
  - France
  - England
  - The American colonies
- 18th century: the Neoclassical style
  - France
  - England
  - The United States
- 19th century
- Modern
  - Functionalist modern
  - Transitional modern
  - Commercial modern
- China
- Japan
- India

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

reproduction of early 18th-century chintz bedspread and hangings

Figure 73: Art Nouveau painted oak cabinet with coloured glass by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1902.

Figure 68: One of a pair of Baroque cabinets inlaid with pietra dura made for Louis XIV by the Italian furniture maker and sculptor, Domenico Cucci, at the Gobelins factory, France, 1681--83.

For Students

French 18th-century dressing and writing table by Jean-François Oeben or Jean-François Leleu; in the Wallace Collection, London.

furniture summary

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furniture

Also known as: furnishings

Written by Joseph T. Butler, Erik Lassen•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Key People:: Robert Adam; William Morris; Eero Saarinen; Alvar Aalto; Charlotte Perriand

Related Topics:: candlestick; bed; chair; table; Chippendale

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furniture, household equipment, usually made of wood, metal, plastics, marble, glass, fabrics, or related materials and having a variety of different purposes. Furniture ranges widely from the simple pine chest or stick-back country chair to the most elaborate marquetry work cabinet or gilded console table. The functional and decorative aspects of furniture have been emphasized more or less throughout history according to economics and fashion. Chairs are always for sitting in, but some are more comfortable or highly ornamented than others. Accessory furnishings are smaller subsidiary items such as clocks, mirrors, tapestries, fireplaces, panelling, and other items complementary to an ...(100 of 23798 words)

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