Illustrated History of Furniture, fifth ed. / From the Earliest to the Present Time

by Frederick Litchfield

In King and Tulip Wood, with Sêvres Plaques and Ormolu Mountings.

PERIOD: EARLY LOUIS XVI.

It would be unfitting to close this chapter on French furniture without paying tribute to the munificence and public spirit of Mr. John Jones, whose bequest to the South Kensington Museum constitutes in itself a representative Museum of this class of decorative furniture. Several of the illustrations in this chapter have been taken from this collection.

The money value alone of this collection of furniture, porcelain, bronzes, and articles de vertû, mostly of the period embraced within the limits of this chapter, amounts to about £400,000, and exceeds the value of any bequest the nation has ever had. Perhaps the references contained in these few pages, to the French furniture of this time, may stimulate the interest of the public in, and its appreciation of, this valuable national property.

CLOCK.

By Robin, in Marqueterie Case, with Mountings of Gilt Bronze.

(Jones Collection, South Kensington Museum.)

LOUIS XVI. PERIOD.