A French Commode from Paris,
circa 1755-1765
Made by Pierre Roussel
(Paris 1723-1782 Paris), maítre in 1745
Stamped: P*ROUSSEL JME

Advice to Collectors

Part 5
By Helen Costantino Fioratti

There are a number of things on which to concentrate one's attention in order to detect spurious pieces although imitators have many different methods of giving false pieces the appearance of being genuine and they are diabolically clever at it.

The first step in acquiring knowledge is to read, look, touch and familiarize oneself with the history of the periods in which one is interested and the shapes and general character of the objects of that time. Practice is indispensable and one must persevere in observing details, analyzing and comparing, and turning over thousands of pieces of furniture and other objects.

It is impossible to explain how to recognize different types of wood but when, in a catalogue of an exhibition or a museum, the description mentions the wood, it should be carefully observed and memorized so that one will recognize it in the future. In the Gothic period oak was used to a large extent and was stained a dark brown. The Renaissance brought walnut into use and its lighter tones and close grain gave a somewhat less austere appearance to the furniture made with it. Ebony was a popular wood for the deluxe furniture of the seventeenth century; often incrusted with brass or ivory and accompanied by tortoiseshell in various tints; sometimes inlaid with semiprecious stones. Walnut continued, nevertheless, to be the chief wood used for chairs and for simpler cabinets and tables. In the short Regence period and during the early years of the Louis XV reign some very finely carved and gilded chairs and consoles were made of oak, to match the wood-work of the period.

The Louis XV period saw the use of beech wood for much of the best seat furniture but walnut continued to be used for chairs, especially in the provinces. For commodes, cabinets, and tables veneered bois de rose, bois de violette, and amaranth, together with other exotic woods became the favorites, while the provinces continued to use walnut and a considerable amount of merisier (fruitwood). In the seaport towns, mahogany from the Indies was used as early as the Louis XV period, but was only in general use in the Louis XVI period in Paris. Beech wood, either painted or gilded continued to be the preferred wood of the menusiers of the Louis XVI period and mahogany, so very popular for all other furniture was rarely used for chairs until the end of the Louis XVI period, but then continued throughout the Directoire and Empire. Oak was again used in the Louis SVI period for finely carved and gilded frames, mirrors and consoles.

The paint used on furniture in the Louis XV period was a soft blue, celadon green, grayish-white, sometimes with touches of rose or gilded outlines. The chief color of the Louis XVI reign is known as gris Trianon, a name given in the nineteenth century to describe what had originally been white. With the Directoire, colors grew somewhat brighter and heavier, with yellow and olive green a popular combination, or bright blue with gray. Most Empire case-furniture was made of mahogany, but painted pieces were of other woods and followed the general color schemes of their silks; a strong green or red ground with pattern carried out in a gold color. Citronnier (lemonwood) which had been introduced in the Louis XVI period became the wood in highest favor during the Restoration and the reign of Charles X.

Very obvious imitations in the realm of furniture are those in which the wood has been "distressed" through artificial means, such as hitting it with heavy chains, hammer blows, etc. Old rusty tacks are apparently left in chairs and rows of nail holes with bits of old fabric still attached are made to suggest much previous upholstery. Completely spurious pieces are the easiest to detect. Much more difficult to recognize are those which were made years ago, with more care. There are meticulously made copies of eighteenth century models which date from the second half of the nineteenth century with no intentional attempt to mislead. Somehow they make an unsatisfactory impression on a trained eye, however, for details were frequently exaggerated and over-accentuated.