Renaissance revival furniture

1 July 1988

Interior Design

The Renaissance revival in design appeared in America about 1850. It was
first characterized by architectural forms, usually of late 16th- or
17th-century inspiration, and decoration carved with the exuberance of
the French baroque. The style reached its peak at the time of the
Philadelphia Centennial of 1876.

Many of the qualities that characterize the finest furniture of the
Renaissance revival at its height, during the 1870's, are visible in
this illustration of a library table. Made by Allen & Brother for
exhibition at the 1876 Centennial, it is massive in feeling and
architectonic in form. The base is walnut that has been carved, ebonized
and decorated with gilt. The carving is done by hand and it is crisp and
tight; the mythical griffins are fanciful and rococo. The variegated
marble top adds just the right touch of practical luxury to the ornate
base.

Kimbel & Cabus were the most famous cabinetmakers of this period, and
their work dominated in the decade following the Civil War. One of their
most important Renaissance revival pieces, now in the permanent
collection of the Brooklyn Museum, is a richly ornamented cabinet in
rosewood with a striking central portion fitted with a painted ceramic
plaque. Supporting this extravagant roundel are two curved lower
cabinets with marquetry panels. Decorative details like columns and
palmettes are incised and gilded to create a weighty and elaborate piece
of furniture. Other Kimbel & Cabus pieces of this era are distinguished
by their massive appearance and the extravagance of their design.

Alexander-Roux was another well-known cabinetmaker of the time. He came
to this country from France, and he favored the heavily carved French
style. By the early fifties, he was creating furniture for the wealthy
in the rococo and Renaissance revival modes. At the New York Crystal
Palace in 1853 he exhibited a rosewood rococo sofa and a heavy black
walnut Renaissance revival sideboard, its base decorated with four
arched panels framing pendent bunches of flowers, fruit and birds, many
carved in high relief.

Other French cabinetmakers were active in the New York furniture
industry at mid-century. Names like Baudoine, Rinquet LePrince, Marcotte
and Dessoir were represented in the New York and Philadelphia
exhibitions. Julius Dessoir showed an exquisite arcaded rosewood
bookcase in the New York Crystal Palace. This etagere is notable for the
restraint of its design, in contrast to the floridity of much furniture
of the period. It is rococo in its curving shape, Renaissance in the
tight symmetrical carvings and turnings that adorn it.

Renaissance revival was also prominent in the design of silver. Gorham
made many pieces in the current rococo and Renaissance fashion. Bold
naturalistic repousse patterns of flowers, leaves and vines were
festooned on pitchers and tea-pots. The Renaissance fashion known as
"neo grec" in furniture made its appearance in silver, in beading, Greek
key borders, portrait medallions and animal heads and feet. Tiffany &
Company relied on creative artisans like Gustave Herter from Germany to
design silver that would appeal to the newly rich middle class.

By the late '70s, the popularity of Renaissance revival had begun to
wane. For one thing, Grand Rapids took over the manufacture of furniture
in this idiom, and fine hand-made pieces became more and more scarce.
For another, new forms appeared and became fashionable. Eastlake
furniture, named after an Englishman, Sir Charles Eastlake, became the
rage in upper class homes in America. The Arts and Crafts and the
Aesthetic Movement almost eclipsed the Renaissance style with its
earnest espousal of rectilinear shape, honesty of construction and flat
surface decoration.

Because the Renaissance revival period was so short, it is not easy to
find examples of this furniture. There are prime specimens in the
American collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Brooklyn Museum and
the Hudson River Museum. Renaissance revival in furniture and silver can
be viewed in many of the restored mansions along the Hudson River--great
houses like Olana and the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion. Not many pieces
come on the market. The table in the photograph and other examples of
American furniture and silver of this period can be found at a fairly
new gallery. Catherine Kurland and Lori Zabar have a shop on East 71st
Street in New York that is open by chance or appointment; they
specialize in Renaissance revival, Eastlake, Arts and Crafts and
Aesthetic Movement pieces. Their establishment is worth a visit.

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