The Big Steal (37 page)

Queen Anne tilt-top table circa 1750

Queen Anne chair circa 1735 – 50

Queen Anne furniture dominated the first half of the eighteenth century, roughly until the mid-1750s. It is distinguished by its lovely curves and graceful lines. The legs, called cabriole legs, swell outward, as do the rounded feet. Those curvy lines are repeated at the top of the highboy and in the design of the drawer pulls, called escutcheons. Notice the round column of the tilt-top table and the curves of the vase-shaped back and arched crest rail of the chair back—these are characteristic of Queen Anne furniture. Keep the soft, flowing lines of these
pieces in mind as you move into the Chippendale period, which followed Queen Anne.

Chippendale chest circa 1760

Chippendale dropleaf table circa 1775

Chippendale chair circa 1780

Chippendale (more commonly called Georgian in England, after the first four King Georges who ruled after Queen Anne on into the nineteenth century) was all the rage by the 1750s and remained so through the 1780s. Chippendale pieces are easily distinguished from Queen Anne furniture by their straighter, longer lines, which give them a heavier, bolder, and more solid look. Remembering to begin at the feet and legs, notice how the Queen Anne curvy lines have been replaced by angular lines. Moving your eye upward, you see each Chippendale piece has a totally different, more substantial feel to it. True, there are bends and scallops at the chair back, but they lack the sweep of those of the Queen Anne chair.

American furniture designed between 1785 and 1815 is given a broad name: Federal, so called in honor of the new federal form of government following our independence from England. But in England, the furniture of this era is known by the names of the designers who originated it: George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton. Those names can also be used to distinguish
differences among American Federal furniture pieces. Once again, by beginning with a piece's feet and legs, you can tell which pieces are Hepplewhite and which are Sheraton.

Hepplewhite chest circa 1790

Hepplewhite dropleaf table circa 1800

Hepplewhite chair circa 1795 – 1810

Hepplewhite continued to use straight, angular lines, as had Chippendale, but in a more delicate way. Proportionally, Hepplewhite furniture is slimmer and often is inlaid with lighter colored woods. While a Chippendale desk or chest would be low to the floor, corresponding Hepplewhite pieces have taller, longer legs. To see this difference, compare the Chippendale chest with the Hepplewhite chest. Next compare the legs on the Chippendale and Hepplewhite dropleaf tables and chairs. The Chippendale legs are straight; the Hepplewhite legs are tapered, giving the pieces a lighter, airier appearance. Did you notice that the Hepplewhite chest has a slightly rounded, or bowed, front? This graceful touch combined with its taller, splayed outward feet makes it look freer, lighter.

Now compare the Hepplewhite inlaid and straight-lined pieces with the carved and rounded lines of the Sheraton period, which were made during the same 1785 – 1815 time frame.

Sheraton secretary/bookcase, circa 1805

Sheraton console or card table, circa 1800

Sheraton chair circa 1810

While Hepplewhite legs are almost always square and tapered, Sheraton legs are generally round and often reeded, though sometimes plain. Many Sheraton legs also have a rounded ball or orb at the base of the leg. And while Hepplewhite pieces were often inlaid with lighter woods, carving was frequently used in the Sheraton pieces to add a design element to the basic lines. But because Hepplewhite and Sheraton furniture was being made simultaneously, often there is a combination of both design elements, as you see in the console or card table pictured above. Also note how the base of the secretary/bookcase has taller feet than those in the Chippendale chest. The eagle at top center (finial) is a common symbol of the Federal period.

That covers the “classical” antiques most often seen in eighteenth-century homes and museums, but antiques shops and malls and auction houses are filled with copies of the period pieces. Some of these, sadly, are fakes—pieces made purposely to deceive the public (and thus they are sold at high prices). But many are good, honest reproductions—pieces made “out of period” but in the “style” of an earlier design.