LATE CROMWELLIAN CHAIR BACK DETAIL WITH VARIED BALUSTER TURNINGS. and not a few of the chair backs exhibited the same motif ingeniously incorporated in their designs. In the hands of intelligent craftsmen it was susceptible of most graceful and agreeable treatment, and, long after the close of the period to which its advent belonged, a slight modification of its curves. gave us some of the most beautiful chair backs of the William and Mary and Queen Anne periods. The mutual interaction between architectural and mobiliary forms was more visibly synchronous in the case of Grinling Gibbon, the father of English wood carving, and the followers whom he inspired. During the reign of the Merry Monarch they wrought marvelously, and with such consummate skill and delicacy that their work has never been surpassed. Nearly all of Gibbon's own work was architectural, and not a little of it was done in situ. Indeed, it is doubtful whether he ever turned his hand to the carving of any pieces of furniture other than mirror frames. Nevertheless, his influence upon furniture was most potent, and the sort of carving that Gibbon himself lavished upon screens, overmantels, cornices, balustrades and over-door embellishments the school of carvers, whom he had inspired, imitated, so far as conditions would permit, in the adornment of furniture. MIRROR FRAME CARVED IN MANNER OF The character of carving, beginning with the Restoration, was greatly modified by another cause also. Up to that time oak had been the staple wood for all furniture construction. While other sorts of wood had occasionally been used, oak was the rule, the "standby" for all cabinet making From the Restoration onward, however, walnut rose rapidly into favor and popular use, and the difference in the character of the wood, which lent itself more readily to carving in the round as well as to greater delicacy of workmanship, inevitably exerted a farreaching influence which made itself felt in both the design and adornment of furniture. purposes. For the more elaborate carving, where all manner of intricate devices had to be wrought with the most scrupulous nicety and precision, pine or lime wood afforded the best medium and made possible the execution of work that would have been practically impossible in a wood of such texture as oak or even walnut. Following the lead of Gibbon, furniture makers availed themselves of this more amenable material and produced intricately carved tables, consoles, cabinet stands and other articles which were either wholly gilt or painted and parcel gilt. To sum up, then, briefly, we find the rich and wonderful carvings of fruit. flowers, foliage and figures used for architectural bellishment, reflected in the better sort of furniture and em the Flemish scrolls, which came back with the Royalist refugees from the Continent. dominating much of the furniture design and reflected a few years later under more rigid architectural forms. These two points of contact and relationship between the furniture and the architecture of the period are the most significant and furnish the key to the whole situation when one is seeking a foundation upon which to establish a standard of historically accurate, decorative congruity for the period under consideration. Bun feet, Span CHEST OF DRAWERS, LATE CROMWELLIAN, ish feet, spiral DECORATED WITH ELABORATE AND MUL- turnings and various other furniture details ordi the marqueterie and inlay now so extensively applied to the adornment of furniture. Much of it was exceedingly delicate in execution, and its decorative value was of an high order. It was during the latter part of this period, tco, that the taste for lacquer amounted to a positive mania. It was impossible to supply the demand with importations, and so, perforce, the people fell to doing their own "Japanning" as they termed it. Indeed it became a fashionable pastime and polite accomplish LATE CAROLEAN SOFA SHOWING VARI-COLORED PETIT-POINT narily met with in the chairs, tables and In addition to carving, many other decorative processes were finding more and more favor. With the refugees and the courtiers who attended the king. when he returned from exile, came a taste and demand for rich upholstery stuffs and hangings. Luxury was everywhere rampant, and the materials to gratify each latest fancy were eagerly sought for and imported, often at great price. Full account must be taken of the gorgeously colored and deftly woven fabrics to be found in the houses of the great and wealthy if we would thoroughly understand the mobiliary history of the period in all its bearings. Besides the gorgeous hued fabrics which delighted the eye, we find another polychrome element to reckon with in ment. In a careful and critical consideration of the furniture resources in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. one cannot fail to be impressed with the fact that decorative possibilities were vastly increased. Both variety and elegance marked the mobiliary development and gave brilliant promise of the achievements of the Eighteenth Century. CHARLES II. CHAIR SHOWING TYPICAL SPIRAL TURNING. LIGHTING A STVDY THEORETICAL SCIENTIFIC & PRACTICAL CONSVLTING LIGHTING SPECIALIST IX.--Lighting of the Home.--Continued NOTE. The subject of local and general lighting is discussed with reference to the location of outlets and to reducing the initial installation expense. A discussion of the lighting of various interiors follows. The purpose of the room is determined, and lighting to satisfy its purpose defined. The results of the author's work are represented by night photographs. The decorative possibilities of lighting in the home are indicated. The next article includes the subject of display window lighting.-Editor. NSTALLATION cost can be greatly reduced by a thorough analysis of the lighting requirements of an interior. Every room has an object-some definite purpose. In the last article a discussion of average conditions, typical of those encountered by the average architect in his practice, began with an analysis of the lighting requirements of a living room, which represented strictly These deaverage living conditions. mand the following observances: 1. Elimination of glare by concealment or modification of light source, and selection of source with respect to mainten ance. 2. Elimination of white light by color modification through amber glass, or by staining bulbs or tinting ceiling (indirect lighting), giving restful amber light. 3. Meeting both general and local requirements by specifying a sufficient number of outlets, particularly on floor and baseboards. 4. In behalf of art as well as utility, refusing to specify lighting equipment for residence lighting which is in the least suggestive of commonplace equipment typical of commercial lighting. An application of these four rules, based upon the information contained in my previous articles, will enable any person to design lighting which is at once satisfying from the physiological, psychological and esthetic viewpoints. In response to numerous inquiries from architects, I am reviewing en passant several points which are germane to the above classifications, and take the opportunity herewith to thank these contributors for their valued comment. As to outlets for gas and electricity, it is well to realize that all of our illuminants, even those of medieval times are in use today, and each and every one has found its individual field, where it shines supreme. Thus the candle and oil lamp are still popular, while gasoline, blaugas and acetylene illuminate a wide field unlighted by the leading illuminants-gas and electricity. One acetylene manufacturer alone has 188,000 installations, and there are 206 acetylene manufacturers in this country and 119 concerns making gasoline equipment. There are 1,102 natural gas distributors in the United States and 116 syndicates, some controlling at least 200 individual distributors of gas. There are 135,780 towns and villages in the United States, but only 7,615 are supplied with gas or electric light, leaving 128,165 dependant upon other illuminants. There are approximately 8,500,000 "houses" in this country or "occupied dwellings," not counting those which are mere shacks or huts, and of this number 700,000, or less than 9 per cent., are using electric light. From these figures it is evident that no one illuminant predominates, and that it is well to view the question of "lighting" from FIG. 1. THE ABSENCE OF CEILING FIXTURES IS SOMETIMES A RELIEF. GENERAL LIGHTING CAN BE OBTAINED BY PLACING ONE OR TWO LIGHTS WITHIN ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTIONS. as wide an angle as possible, in order to discuss the subject intelligently and without prejudice. Outside the large cities electric service is not absolutely dependable, there being frequent interruptions caused by storms which temporarily disable the generating system until wires are restrung or dynamos repaired. During these intervals the consumer, who has been thoughtfully provided with gas outlets by the architect, is indeed fortunate. Architects should consider this question of continuity of service, and familiarize themselves with local conditions before restricting their design of lighting to one illuminant. A word regarding the brilliancy of illuminants. Fortunately, the latest development of electric lamps (the nitrogentungsten) has been attended by such an enormous increase in intrinsic brilliancy that absolute concealment of source is necessary. While these lamps have been made in 100 watt sizes, it will be some time before the smaller sizes suitable for residence lighting will be practical, owing to the tremendous amount of heat generated. As regards local versus general illumination, Article VIII explained a method of obtaining both general and local lighting from the same source-a portable table lamp. The same effect can be accomplished, of course, by ordinary portable lamps in connection with a ceiling fixture, but while the ceiling fixture in some form is always provided for the tenant, there is no provision for the accommodation of his portable lamp. Many persons do not like a table placed in the centre of a small living room. However, if base board outlets are not specified and if there is no center-flush floor receptacle, there is nothing left for the tenant to do but place his portable. lamp on a centre table beneath the fixture and to attach the electric wires or flexible gas tube to the fixture, usually displacing a lamp in so doing and thereby destroying the symmetry of the fixture. |