MOD 13: Return to Europe and Grand Design

Question 1

bergère

Answer 1

a low French armchair with upholstered arms and a cushion

Question 2

bobbin

Answer 2

a turned wood piece composed of a series of narrow, raised rings separated by gaps of approximately their own width: together, two rings plus the gap between them resemble a bobbin, a short spool for thread.

Question 3

boullework

Answer 3

designs cut out of brass and pewter and inlaid into a tortoiseshell veneered panel

Question 4

bureau de dame

Answer 4

a small ladies’ desk with sloping fall front

Question 5

cartouche

Answer 5

a motif with curved or rolled edges suggesting a scroll shape or piece of paper with curling edges; often used as a surround for crests and inscriptions

Question 6

Catholic Counter Reformation

Answer 6

The 16th and 17th-century military, diplomatic, and theological campaign against Protestantism lead by Papacy in Rome. The goal was to inspire devotion and piety in the population. Art and architecture were major tools in the Counter Reformation campaign to bring people back to the Catholic Church.

Question 7

chinoiserie

Answer 7

the use of decorative elements derived from Chinese traditional design in 18th century France and England.

Question 8

corner block

Answer 8

a structural member of the frame of a piece of seating furniture; a block or other shape fastened into a corner of the framing. The corner block joins two sides that meet at a corner with each other and with the leg below; this allowed a chair to be built without stretchers

Question 9

cross-banding

Answer 9

the setting of a narrow band of veneer around the outer edge of a panel or tabletop with the grain running at right angles

Question 10

ebeniste

Answer 10

a French word for someone who works with the veneering of ebony

Question 11

fauteuil

Answer 11

a French Renaissance upholstered chair with open arms

Question 12

Flanders

Answer 12

The historical region of northwest Europe including parts of northern France, western Belgium, and southwest Netherlands along the North Sea. Today it is the Dutch-speaking region of northern Belgium.

Question 13

gesamtkunstwerk

Answer 13

The German term for a “total work of art” that employs more than one medium such as paint, sculpture, architecture and stained glass. Multi-media. (An example: Ecstasy of St. Teresa, by Bernini, Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, 1647–1652)

Question 14

japanning

Answer 14

the technique of applying gesso, paints, and varnish to furniture in order to simulate the appearance of lacquer.

Question 15

menuisier

Answer 15

the French word for the maker of furniture that uses solid wood, such as chairs

Question 16

miter joint

Answer 16

a corner joint used from the 17th century onwards. Pieces of wood are cut at an angle so that when joined they form a right angle; they are then glued and/or nailed together

Question 17

ormolu

Answer 17

the gilded bronze used as a decorative detail on furniture of the Neoclassical period

Question 18

oyster veneering

Answer 18

made by setting crosscuts of veneer, from the branches of such trees as laburnum that are cut in ovals or circles that resemble oysters

Question 19

sail vault

Answer 19

a vault of flattened curvature forming the ceiling of an interior space; often painted or decorated with frescoes.

Question 20

sotto in su

Answer 20

a technique for representing perspective in ceiling paintings. Literally means “from below upwards.” (An example: Glorification of Saint Ignatius by Andrea Pozzo, Church of St. Ignatius, Rome, 1685-1694)

Question 21

stringing

Answer 21

a very thin strip of inlaid wood contrasting in color with the surrounding veneer

Question 22

tortoiseshell

Answer 22

an ornamental material; mottled, semi-transparent shell of certain tortoises, used on European furniture in sumptuous inlay work. The rich appearance of tortoiseshell is often made more striking by mounting it over a sheet of colored metal foil whose tint, most often red, can be seen through the shell