UPPER PORTION OF CHAIR BACK OF CUT LEATHER.
PORTUGUESE. LATTER PART OF SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
(Victoria and Albert Museum.)
With William, too, came over the plain walnut card-table. Clock cases of the style termed "Grandfather" were of Dutch origin. The seats of chairs were shaped and removable. The Dutch trade with the East Indies had brought Oriental china and lac cabinets into Holland, and these, with the coming of William, found their way into this country. Bureaux with a number of secret recesses were introduced, and another Dutch importation from the East was the now celebrated chair or table leg with claw and ball foot. This came directly from China, and as in the case of delft, which is the earthenware replica by the Dutch potter of fine blue porcelain vases, from Nankin and Canton, where the Oriental perspective and design have been slavishly copied, so with the furniture, the old Chinese symbol of a dragon's foot holding a pearl, was repeated in the furniture by Dutch cabinetmakers. Dutch marquetry made an early appearance with simple ornamentation, sometimes enriched by ivory or mother-of-pearl inlay, but later it developed into flowing floral designs with figures, vases, fruit, butterflies, and elaborate scrolls in various coloured woods, of which yellow was the predominant colour.
| £ | s. | d. |
| Armchair, Charles II., oak, carved with cherubs supporting crowns, and with
turned column supports. Christie, November 20, 1903 | 14 | 4 | 6 |
| Chairs, pair, Charles II., oak, with cane seats and oval cane panels in the
backs, spirally turned legs, stretchers and rails at the back. Christie,
March 4, 1904 | 63 | 0 | 0 |
| Armchair, Charles II., oak, with high back carved with arabesque foliage,
with lions' masks and claw legs. Christie, March 29, 1904 | 63 | 0 | 0 |
| Chairs, pair, nearly similar, carved with
foliage. Christie, March 29, 1904 | 39 | 18 | 0 |
| Armchair, Charles II., walnut-wood, of Italian design, carved with masks,
cane seat and panel in back; and cushion, covered with old Flemish
tapestry. Christie, March 4, 1904 | 77 | 14 | 0 |
| Chairs, three, Charles II., oak, with oval panels of canework in the backs,
the borders carved with foliage, flowers, and Amorini, and surmounted
by busts. Christie, April 12, 1904 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| Chairs, set of twelve, Charles II., of chestnut-wood, with high backs carved
with rosette ornaments, scroll foliage, and formal blossoms, on cabriole legs
carved with flowers and shaped stretchers. Christie, July 1, 1904 | 462 | 0 | 0 |
| Chairs, pair of chestnut-wood, with high backs slightly curved, pierced and
carved at the top, and each inlaid with two cane panels, on carved
cabriole legs and shaped stretchers, temp. James II. Christie, June 2,
1904 | 36 | 15 | 0 |
| Cabinet, English marquetry, with folding doors, enclosing twelve drawers and
small cupboard, and with four drawers below, the whole elaborately inlaid
with vases of tulips, roses, and other flowers, small figures, birds, and insects,
on a walnut-wood ground, 69 in. high, 47 in. wide, temp. William III.
Christie, February 12, 1904 | 105 | 0 | 0 |
| Mirror, in case of old English marquetry, inlaid with large flowers and foliage
in coloured woods and ivory on walnut-wood ground, 32 in. by 28 in.,
temp. William III. Christie, February 19, 1904 | 43 | 3 | 0 |
| Chairs, set of six, walnut-wood, with high, open backs, carved with foliage,
the centre inlaid in marquetry, on carved cabriole legs and eagles' claw-and-ball
feet, temp. William and Mary. Christie, June 2, 1904 | 315 | 0 | 0 |
| Chairs, set of four, of similar form, open backs, carved with shell, and gadroon
ornament, and on carved cabriole legs with hoof feet, the stretcher
carved with a shell, temp. William and Mary. Christie, June 2, 1904 | 105 | 0 | 0 |
| Cabinet, William and Mary, marquetry, veneered with walnut-wood, decorated
with oval and shaped panels, inlaid, upon ebony field, 42 in. wide. Christie,
March 18, 1904 | 65 | 2 | 0 |
| Cabinet on stand, ebony, Dutch, seventeenth century, supported by six
beaded columns with stage under and mirror panels at back, the upper part
composed of doors carved in medallions; the centre doors enclose an
architectural hall, inlaid in ivory, &c., with gilt columns and mirror panels,
and fitted with secret drawers, 5 ft. 3 in. wide, 6 ft. 6 in. high and 22 in.
deep. Jenner & Dell, Brighton, May 3, 1904 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Corner cupboard, Dutch marquetry, 8 ft. high, having carved crown-shaped
cornice, with centre vase, four doors, with bow fronts, inlaid with flowers
and carved raised beadings, the interior fitted. C. W. Provis & Son,
Manchester, May 9, 1904 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Table, Dutch marquetry, with shaped front and two drawers inlaid with
sprays of flowers in coloured woods and ivory, on cabriole legs, 32 in.
wide. Christie, March 4, 1904 | 37 | 16 | 0 |
