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Furniture Finishing

During Tudor times furniture was painted—a difficult thing for us to realize, due to the fact tnat on the few surviving originals the paint has worn off, revealing the oak, unpreserved by wax, oil or polish. Thus while there is little for us to go by in the way of finish color, oak reproductions are customarily stained Jacobean or variations ranging from greyish to reddish. The grain is left unfilled, protected with clear lacquer, varnish or shellac and wax. High-lighting, shading and antique dusting greatly enhance the effect, the latter being largely confined to odd living room pieces.

There is no standard shade for walnut although two-toning is largely practiced to emphasize and partially to take the place of the rectangular panels so characteristic of the originals. Inlaying with ebony and vein lining with gold bronze are examples of purely modern decorative treatment, The walnut after staining is shaded where not two-toned, then filled and finished with clear lacquer or varnish to a smooth, rubbed effect.

Jacobean (The Stuart-Cromwellian-Restorian Era, 1603-1689)


With the death in 1603 of England's virgin queen, Elizabeth, the English sovereignty passed to the house of Stuart in the person of James I of Scotland, thus for the first time uniting the two crowns in one. The term Jacobean is derived from "Jacobus," the Latin for James, and is used to describe a period in the development of English furniture and architecture comprising the reigns of both James and his ill-fated son, Charles I, beheaded by order of Parliament in 1649.

During the succeeding eleven years England was ruled as a commonwealth by the stern Puritan dictator, Oliver Cromwell. The wandering Stuart claimant was not able to mount the throne until 1660, two years after Cromwell's death. His reign, with that of his successor, James II, is known as the Restoration or Carolean period. As we are still in an era when furniture styles drew their inspiration from the court of the reigning monarch, a familiarity with the political background is important.

Up to the time of Cromwell, English furniture was chiefly Renaissance modified to suit the less ornate English taste. The Commonwealth, frowning on love of comfort and the decorative arts, introduced straighter lines and a general atmosphere of rigidity and repression. With the return of the pleasure and luxury-loving Charles, came a violent reaction in favor of all the continental flourishes and refinements with which he had become so familiar in his exile.

The home of the Jacobean-Cromwellian period was made up of various low-ceilinged rooms to which may be attributed the squat character of the furniture. Notable pieces include the curved X and wainscot or panelled back chairs and a profusion of tables—gate-leg, three-cornered, refectory and draw top.