Descriptionary

mask a grotesque carving of a human face, used as an ornament in Renaissance, baroque, and rococo furniture.

molding any decorative trim used to dress an edge of a surface.

monopod the leg of a chair or table carved into the shape of an animal head or body, used in French Empire-style furniture.

motif design elements or ornamentation, often repeated to create a theme.

palmette a palm leaf motif, used as decoration on Renaissance and neoclassical furniture.

parquetry a geometrical pattern of contrasting woods, inlaid on a piece of furniture.

paw feet table or chair feet carved in the shape of animal feet, most popularly, a lion's.

piercing carving that cuts all the way through wood, creating open decorative work.

Prince of Wales feathers popular in the 18th cen­tury and found on Hepplewhite furniture, a deco­rative motif of three standing ostrich feathers tied together, the heraldic symbol of the Prince of Wales.

putto on European Renaissance and later styles, an ornament in the configuration of a winged infant or cupid.

quatrefoil a cloverlike ornament enclosed in a cir­cle, found in Gothic and Neo-Gothic styles.

rabbet a channel cut into wood to act as a recep­tacle to the butt end of another piece of wood, form­ing a joint.

rail any horizontal bar or member supported by vertical members, as on a chair back.

rake the lean or slant of a vertical element, as the inclination of a chair back.

ram's horn arm a decorative scroll resembling a ram's horn at the end of a chair arm, found on baroque furniture.

rattan any furniture made from the bark (caning) or reeds (wicker) of the rattan palm of Asia, originating in the West in the early 1800s.

reeding carved vertical ridges, similar to fluting, on table and chair legs, especially in the late 18 th century.

reel and bead turning turned wood comprised of alternating balls and ovals, found on medieval furniture.

relief any ornamental element projecting from a flat surface.

ring pull a drawer handle comprised of a ring of brass or other metal.

ring turning turned wood consisting of close-set, grooved rings.

rosette a carved, inlaid or painted ornament resem­bling a flower.

roundel a circular ornament often containing a dec­orative motif.

saber leg a chair or sofa leg reminiscent of a slightly curving sword, popular in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

scroll any decorative spiral, usually carved.

scroll foot a footing carved into the shape of a spi­ral or scroll, found on baroque and rococo furniture, especially at the end of cabriole legs. Also known as French foot or French scroll.

scrollwork any carved or incised spirals.

serpentine undulating or curving in form, as the front of some cabinets, popular in rococo furniture.

singerie a decorative motif featuring clothed mon­keys in various human activities, including card-play­ing, found on rococo furniture, often with chinoiserie.

skirt see apron.

strapwork a geometrical pattern of interlaced bands, either painted or carved, reminiscent of leather strappings, found in mannerist and Renaissance fur­niture.

suite any matching set of furniture.

teardrop handle a drawer pull in the shape of a teardrop, popular during the Victorian period.

trumpet turning turned wood resembling an upturned horn with a domed top.

turned referring to any wood carved, or "turned," on a lathe.

twist turning turned wood resembling rope, found on the legs of some 17th-century furniture.

varnish a special tree resin dissolved in oil, turpen­tine, or alcohol, rubbed on wood to create a hard, glossy surface.

vase and ball turning turned wood in the shape of small vases alternating with spheres.

veneer a thin layer of expensive or more visually appealing wood attached over a cheaper wood.

water leaf an ornamental motif resembling undulat­ing laurel leaves, found on American Empire furniture and others of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

wicker generic term for either rattan strips or wil­low twigs used in making wicker furniture, originat­ing in ancient Egypt.

styles

Adam a style made popular by architect Robert Adam, from 1760 to 1790, characterized by the use of light-colored woods with classical motifs and inlays but an overall reduction in ornamentation from the previously popular rococo style of the 1750s.

Adirondack a rustic or camp-style furniture, made of hickory and hickory bark, from 1898 to the 1940s.

American Empire a style derived from French Empire and British Regency from 1810 to the 1830s, characterized by the use of reeding, paw feet, and water leaf motifs.