Victorian

Period in English furniture during the reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1901. Consists of a resurrection of many previous periods and revival imitations including: Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, Rococo, and Neoclassic style. This period had a focus on dark woods, heavy fabrics, embellishment, engagement with newly developed imitation materials that were facilitated by the Industrial Revolution, and a tendency towards eclecticism.

Bronze doré

A French 18th and 19th Century gilding technique of applying an amalgam of fine, high-carat gold with mercury to copper, brass, or most commonly bronze objects. The bronze is exposed to high heat in a kiln burning off the mercury leaving a thin gold coat behind that is adhered to the metal. Commonly used by the craftsmen, Fondeurs-ciseleurs (founders and finishers), for decorative mounts in furniture, clocks, candelabras, and porcelain. Due to the health hazards of mercury, the technique waned into the late 19th Century and was replaced by electroplating.

Guéridon

A small occasion table or pedestal with a circular top supported by one or more columns. Often ornate, guéridon tables have decorative work referencing mythological forms and antiquity. The form arose in 17th and early 18th Century France as a small table to hold candelabras, candlesticks, and vases.

Stretcher

A stretchers is a stabilizing support rail which runs horizontally between furniture legs. These often form X, H, or Y shapes in conjunction with the outside rails.

Porcelain

Porcelain is a hard, non-porous pottery. Porcelain is white, has a fine-grained body and usually translucent. Porcelain differs from earthenware in that earthenware is porous, opaque and coarse. True porcelain is made of kaolin or china clay.