Antique furniture guide to Western styles, articles and information for collectors

Empowered slightly by societal change, and mostly by society's obsession for change itself, furniture and art movements have historically swept from country to country. Sometimes, the "Period" or "Style" titles in those various lands are much more differing and confusing than the inspiration behind them.

Circa	WORLD STYLE	ENGLISH	FRENCH	GERMAN	AMERICAN
1550	Gothic	Elizabethan	Renaissance	Renaissance	Pilgrim
1610	Gothic	Jacobean	Renaissance	Renaissance	Pilgrim
1620	Gothic	Jacobean	Louis XIII	Renaissance	Pilgrim
1625	Baroque	Cromwellian	Louis XIII	Renaissance	Pilgrim
1650	Baroque	Commonwealth	Louis XIV	Baroque	Pilgrim
1660	Baroque	Restoration	Louis XIV	Baroque	Early Colonial
1690	Baroque	William & Mary	Louis XIV	Baroque	Early Colonial
1715	Baroque	Queen Anne	Rengence	Baroque	William & Mary
1725	Rococo	Queen Anne	Louis XV	Baroque	William & Mary
1730	Rococo	Queen Anne	Louis XV	Rococo	Queen Anne
1740	Rococo	Chippendale	Louis XV	Rococo	Queen Anne
1750	Rococo	Chippendale	Louis XV	Rococo	Chippendale
1760	Neo Classic	Chippendale	Louis XV	Neo-Classicism	Chippendale
1790	Neo Classic	Hepplewhite	Louis XVI	Neo-Classicism	Federal
1795	Neo Classic	Sheraton	Directoire	Neo-Classicism	Federal/Hepplewhite
1800	Empire	Sheraton	Empire	Empire	Federal/Sheraton
1815	Regency	Regency	Restauration	Biedermeier	Federal/Neo Classic
1830	Eclectic Style	Regency	Louis Philipps	Biedermeier	Late Federal
1840	Eclectic Style	William IV	Louis Philipps	Biedermeier	Empire
1860	Eclectic Style	Victorian	2nd Empire	Revivale	Victorian
1880	Arts & Crafts	Arts & Crafts	3rd Republic	Jugendstil	Vict. / Arts & Crafts
1900	Art Nouveau	Edwardian	Art Nouveau	Jugendstil	Art Nouveau/Mission
1930	Art Moderne	Edwardian	Art Moderne	Art Moderne	Art Deco

Major Furniture Period or Style Definitions

Gothic: Medieval church architecture influences this style-characterized by pointed arches, counterbalancing buttresses, open tracery and vertical grandiose emphasis.

Elizabethan: Elizabeth I Reign 1558-1603 England's Renaissance interpretation.

Renaissance: Derived from Italian Renaissance style-mainly oak functional furniture with scroll & arabesque carving, etc. with horizontal emphasis. A "pendulumatic" reaction to Gothic style.

Pilgrim: Spartan utilitarian American furniture reflecting 17th C. English country styles

Jacobean: Roughly spanning James I (1602-25) & Charles I (1625-49) reigns. Restrained ornament, Moorish influence.

Louis XIII: King reigned (1589-1643), Baroque style including cherubs, cartouches, gilding, and spiral turning.

Cromwellian: Also known as Carolean era. Probably alluding to Irish influence in the era roughly surrounding Charles I.

Louis XIV: The Sun King's reign (1643-1715) noted for splendor of courts in Versailles and Paris. Marquetry inlaid furniture distinguished by opulence and grandiose size.

Baroque: Flamboyant, heavy, decorative rectilinear style derived from 17th C. Italian architecture.

Commonwealth: Unadorned style that flourished under protectorate of Oliver Cromwell (1649-60) in a revolt against aristocracy.
Cont'd Part Two

Antique Talk's Guide to Western Furniture Styles