A furnishing of 1730 was of lemon-coloured leather, framed in red leather in large compartments, bordered with a narrow braid and cord of silver. The furniture included a sofa, two forms, twelve tabourets and a folding-screen of six leaves. The sofa was 7 feet, 8 inches long, 25 inches deep and 3 feet, 9 inches high from top to floor. The frame was carved and lacquered, and the leather was fastened to it by means of silver-headed nails. The screen was covered in the same fashion.
We also hear of a set of furnishings, dating from 1732, of white silk with a pattern of honeysuckle branches, with other ornaments forming cartouches of cut-out green taffeta. This was used for covering two arm-chairs, two square pillows, twelve folding-seats, and two screens, as well as for draping the bed and for the wall-hangings. The latter were 3 ells high in 27 lengths. The arm-chairs were trimmed with green silk braid, and the material was fastened by gilt-headed nails to the frames, which were carved and gilt, with curving arms and backs. They were furnished with square cushions, which were adorned with green silk fringe and green silk tassels. The bed was Impériale et à la Duchesse, and stood lengthwise. It was 12 feet high, 6 feet, 10 inches long, and 5 feet, 8 inches wide. It was draped with three outside valances, four inside valances, festooned, a headboard with sweeping top, inside and outside bonnes grâces, counterpane, three lower valances and two curtains of 16 lengths each. All of these were of the white silk with the honeysuckle pattern and green cartouches. The bonnes grâces were looped back and held by two ornamental hooks. On the top of the bed there were four consoles for “pommes,” bearing altogether eighty feathers.
This bed was equipped with four woollen mattresses, a down bolster, a red blanket, a white English blanket, a Marseilles counterpane piqué, a wadded quilt and a coverlet of white silk lined with taffeta.
The cabinet was furnished in the same material, which was used for two portières, two window curtains, a sofa, two arm-chairs, twelve folding-stools and two screens. The sofa was 6 feet long, with curving wings or cheeks, the frame carved and gilt. It had a mattress and two square cushions. The portières, 9 feet, 7 inches long, were lined with white silk, each containing three lengths of material. The windows were 12 feet, 10 inches high, and the curtains contained each two lengths.
The above detailed descriptions will enable anybody to furnish a Louis XV. room in the most fashionable and sumptuous style.
At no period in the history of art have the masters of decoration given proof of more science and skill in the technique of curves than during the Louis XV. period. Some of the skeletonized curves with which Meissonier and his school loved to adorn mouldings and the framework of all kinds of furniture are shown on Plate [XXXII.], Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5. These elements were elaborated in a hundred various ways. This kind of curved ornament used on large pieces of furniture is exemplified in the sketch No. 1 on the same plate. This is a big china cupboard, or double-bodied buffet-vitrine. It is far more sober in its ornamentation than many objects of this class of the Louis XV. period. It was made in Liège.
On the same plate is a beautiful bras de lumière in gilded bronze by Caffieri, with arms for candles. The branches twisted in moulded volutes, enriched with acanthus, palm and oak leaves, flowers and buds, spring with masterly management from a central stem which is robust and in entire harmony with the dimensions of the whole. It is about 32 inches high.
The change from the Louis XV. to the Louis XVI. style, though marked, was by no means violent or sudden. Chairs and settees are often found with clearly defined transitional features in the mouldings and ornamentation of the framework. Some of the Fontainebleau furniture covered with tapestry from Boucher’s designs has the straight grooved leg and other Louis XVI. characteristics. On Plate [XXXVI.], Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 7 are shown the details of a charming causeuse of the transitional period. The general disposition preserves the undulous flexions of the Louis XV. style, and the details of the carving (bunches of flowers) obey the law that proscribes those parts that are too prominent and likely to form too sharp angles. The central cluster on the top of the back, No. 3, soberly follows in its flowers and leaves the Louis XVI. sweep, being in very low relief like the cluster No. 4 that heads the middle leg. The general interlacings that run round the entire framework are also in very low relief. This motive, borrowed from passementerie, harmonizes excellently with the surfaces covered by the woven stuff. No. 5 shows the sections, curves and deep grooves of the mouldings of the arms.
Towards the end of the Louis XV. period, the feet and general outlines of the chairs and other furniture become more restrained and less curved. The straight line that gradually asserts itself, and the knots of ribbon, shepherds’ and shepherdesses’ hats, crowns and garlands that appear as motives announce the coming style Louis Seize.
The bed was of many varieties. The great lit d’ange is still met with, but alcove and sofa-beds are far more popular. One of the new varieties of the latter was the lit d’anglaise, which seems to have come into fashion about 1750. This had three backs, or rather a back and a headboard and footboard. In his Principes de l’art du tapissier, Bimont says “the lit d’anglaise can be used as a sofa at need. Care must be taken that the backs fold exactly one over the other, which, of course, is a matter of mechanical excellence.”