The furniture we choose to spend our day sitting in front of, writing, reading and working, has changed considerably over time. In this development of design and manufacture - and even the changing use - of pieces of household furniture you can follow the evolution of productivity and working practices from Medieval times to the present day.

The eminent furniture scholar Robert Wemyss Symonds (1889-1958) opens his comprehensive study English Furniture by declaring:

The eminent furniture scholar Robert Wemyss Symonds (1889-1958) opens his comprehensive study English Furniture by declaring:

'The history of the looking glass throughout the world is interwoven with tales of wonder mixed with fear and superstition.' So begins Geoffrey Will's volume on English Looking-Glasses, which continues with long-standing legends and beliefs surrounding reflections and mirrors, which, along with their material fragility and high cost, has accorded them value and esteem. Mirrors can prove to be wonderful additions to any home, adding depth and light to different spaces. As you will see from the photographs below, the galleries of Reindeer Antiques have many on display, varying in size and style to suit any taste. However, making mirrors in the eighteenth century was no easy task, and mirrors which survive with original glass are rare and highly prized.

'The history of the looking glass throughout the world is interwoven with tales of wonder mixed with fear and superstition.' So begins Geoffrey Will's volume on English Looking-Glasses, which continues with long-standing legends and beliefs surrounding reflections and mirrors, which, along with their material fragility and high cost, has accorded them value and esteem. Mirrors can prove to be wonderful additions to any home, adding depth and light to different spaces. As you will see from the photographs below, the galleries of Reindeer Antiques have many on display, varying in size and style to suit any taste. However, making mirrors in the eighteenth century was no easy task, and mirrors which survive with original glass are rare and highly prized.

Gilding is the process of covering a material with a thin layer of gold. Adding golden hits to furniture dates back to the seventeenth century in England and the outcome has remained highly prized ever since. During the eighteenth century, gilding was used in imitation of French styles of furniture which were popular at in the period.The application of gold to wooden surfaces involves a number of materials and takes place in numerous stages. First, Gesso, a type of plaster, is applied to the wood in layers. Many thin layers are built up to create the appropriate thickness or depth of Gesso. Once the right depth is achieved, the gesso is craved to create new decorative elements on the existing wooden framework. When the carver is happy with the designs, the gesso is coated with a mix of finely ground red clay water and glue called bole. This layer gradually polished to create to create a smooth and even surface which facilitates the application of the gold coating. Finally, sheets of gold leaf are applied to the carving, and carefully overlapped so as to cover the entire surface. The covered area is then burnished with stone tools. This final polish brings out the luminescence of the gold leaf.Gilding is used to add decorative details to furniture, or to give a piece the appearance of solid gold. Several fine examples of gilding are on display at in the galleries of Reindeer antiques, the earliest of which dates from c.1700. This exceptional William III carved settee was commissioned by Sir Thomas Osborne, the First Duke of Leeds for his house at Wimbledon, Surrey or for Kiveton Park, Yorkshire. The wonderful carved gilt gesso decorations of this piece are in the Baroque taste and clearly inspired by the designs of Daniel Marot.From c.1760, we have a carved George III Chippendale period mirror in the rococo taste. Surrounding the mirror, the gilding highlights the contrast of light and dark in the profusely carved with C and S scrolls of acanthus leaves, bull rushes and Ho Ho birds.

Veneers, Inlay and MarquetryMarquetry and inlay are two distinct decorative techniques used extensively in Georgian furniture design. Both techniques use veneers to add decorative elements to the surfaces of various types of furniture. Veneers are thin sheets of wood which are often glued to a ‘core’ panel to give a surface greater visual appeal. On the Georgian cabinet pictured below, the flame mahogany veneeres are a wonderful addition to the piece.

Under the heading Fashionable Furniture in the popular the magazine of the early nineteenth century, Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, appear two library chairs. These are described by the author as “two of the most convenient and comfortable chairs perhaps ever completed.” One of two the chairs in question is a Bergère Library Armchair, on the left of the illustration below. Bergère armchairs were noted for their utility as they regularly featured ‘arms’ to hold a small movable desk and a candlestick. Each piece, Ackermann suggests, “has become a favourite piece of furniture for the library, boudoir and other apartments.”

The connections between architecture and furniture design are longstanding. Zaha Hadid, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Robert Adam are all known to have designed both buildings and furniture and supplied inspiration and patronage to furniture makers. At Reindeer Antiques we focus on Georgian furniture and it is clear, even to an untrained eye, that there are many similarities between this period of furniture design and the classical vocabulary used for buildings. It only seems right that the interior design of great houses should marry that of their framed envelope. At Reindeer Antiques we have several pieces of furniture from the George I period (1714 – 1727), a time when great Palladian mansions such as Moor Park, Holkham, Chiswick and Houghton were built. These Kentian houses were designed like classical temples and their interiors were similarly grand. Gilded furniture incorporated architectural motifs which were theatrical and flamboyant. Side-tables and console tables had Italian marble tops and were gilt decorated with friezes worked with Vitruvian-scroll moulding. Heads of gods, sphinx, eagles, dolphins, satyrs and nymphs could be used in equal measure on both buildings and furniture. On display we presently have a pair of beautifully carved George I period giltwood wall brackets supported by Greek styled female masks. Their design bears a strong resemblance to the female masks carved on the entablature of the marble hall at Raynham Hall, Norfolk by William Kent.