Antique Glossary
The "flap" of a table, as in drop leaf table, or a piece of wood inserted into an extending table.
A rectangular table with frieze drawers, end supports and a central stretcher.
A hybrid coffer/chest of drawers, which may have both drawers and a lift-up top.
Often referred to as simply a Press, or sometimes a Press Chest, this form of cupboard is composed of sliding drawers housed behind doors above a series of drawers, in what looks like (and is!) a chest-of-drawers. As the name implies, its function was to store linen and clothes. The term is also applied to a wooden frame, housing a large wooden screw and two boards, the purpose of which was to "press" linen.
Popular on panelling from the C16th, this relief carved motif, resembles vertical folds of cloth from which it takes its name.
A strip of superior timber added to the most visible part of a board, such as a dustboard made from some inferior timber.
Sometimes referred to by the generic term buffet, this piece resembles a court cupboard in that it's composed of three tiers, but in this case, the centre tier is an enclosed compartment, typically with canted sides.
In silverware, a hollow object (often a candlestick) which has been filled with pitch to give weight.
The firing mechanism of a gun. Lolling Chair (also called Library Chair or Martha Washington Chair): A chair with upholstered back and seat and open arms. An eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century form.
A firearm with a long barrel.
A tall clock with a case containing weights and pendulum and hood housing dial and movement.
A wooden slide or bar pulled out from a slot which is used to support a table leaf or an open bureau fall-front etc.
A dresser made without a plate rack.
A small dressing table, often with a single frieze drawer flanked by a deeper drawer.
Carved decoration in the form of a semicircle resembling a half-moon (hence its name), especially found on early oak furniture. Can appear in repeated bands or can be intersected, and can be embellished with foliate or other decoration.
Tin-glazed earthenwares from Italy.
Enamelled stoneware with high relief decoration developed by Minton in the 19th century.
Pieces of veneers of different coloured woods, natural, stained, and burned (to give shading), laid into a wooden ground (solid or veneer). Often seen on Dutch furniture, especially early examples of marquetry, it always depicts architectural, figural or foliate designs. (See Inlay and Parquetry ).
The joining together of two previously unrelated parts to form a whole.
A utensil with a long narrow scoop at both ends. Used for extracting marrow from
A niche with a pointed arch, seen on prayer rugs.
Glass made by fusing differently coloured rods of glass which resembles "a thousand flowers"; used especially for paperweights.
Typically seen at the corners of a picture frame, this is the oblique bisecting line at the [mitre] joint of two pieces of wood, which is generally (but not always) a right angle.
Large silver bowl, with a shallow scalloped rim.
A cabinet-maker's joint where a square or rectangular projection cut on the end of one piece of wood (tenon) fits into a hole or slot of identical size, shape (and depth) that's been cut into the other piece (mortice). This is a very common joint in cabinet making.