The Chippendale style
(1755-1780)
History and Illustrations
In about 1755, this style was introduced to colonial America from England and flourished in the 1760s and 1770s. As a reaction, Baroque and Queen Anne forms took on a new delicacy and a playful character. Mahogany, which was available through trade, became the most widely used wood in cabinetmaking, and rich ornamental carving was favored over veneer and inlay. The claw-and-ball foot became extremely popular.
Origins of the Chippendale Style.
Originating in England during the late 1730s and 1740s, the Chippendale style combined three ingredients: French
Rococo; Chinese ornamentation, known from imported objects; and the Gothic style. These elements were often added to furniture that reflected the Baroque architectural influences that had been so popular during the William and Mary and Queen Anne periods. Thus, the broken pediment, pilaster, and classical entablature remained essential parts of furniture design, though the Chippendale style introduced new elements as well.
The Rococo style, widely accepted in England during the 1740s, originated in France about two decades earlier when lighter forms and more playful curvilinear lines were introduced. The name derived from the French words rocaille, referring to rockwork or rock forms, and coquille, or shell patterns. The fanciful and fantastic combinations of these two motifs in asymmetrical patterns formed the Rococo elements of the Chippendale style.
The Chinese influence on the Chippendale style had two chief components: the adaptation of actual Far Eastern furniture from pieces that were being widely imported from the Orient; and the imaginative Western interpretations of Chinese designs, called chinoiserie.
As an architectural influence, Gothic detail has never altogether disappeared from the English design vocabulary. However, the Gothic influence had had little or no impact on actual medieval English furniture, and Gothic elements were often so blended with Rococo and Chinese forms that it is difficult to distinguish them.
It was Thomas Chippendale (1718(?)-1779) who codified this style, which was later named after him in both England and America. Although he, his father, and his sons were all furniture makers, Chippendale is remembered primarily for his pattern book called the Gentleman and Cabinet-Makers Director, which was first published in 1754. This book, and the two editions that followed, illustrated furniture that combined Rococo, Chinese, and Gothic elements. The Director was circulated among the nobility as well as among the cabinetmakers and other craftsmen both in England and America, but its exact influence on American cabinet shops has not been determined. Chippendale's name probably did not become identified with the style until the 19th century.
Regional Characteristics in America.
Regional characteristics were highly pronounced during the Chippendale period. In Massachusetts, furniture remained conservative, still slower to change there than in other areas. The slender and highly refined cabriole leg was typical of this area, and a block-and-spindle stretcher was often used, a holdover from the Queen Anne period. The Massachusetts claw-and-ball foot was crisply carved, with the side talon turned back sharply, forming a triangle with the center claw when seen from the side.
The same feeling of delicacy in Massachusetts furniture is displayed in the tall, slender cabriole legs of tables. The turreted or buttress-top tea table is particularly identified with Massachusetts: circular projections, resembling turrets, extended from the top to hold teacups. Chests-on-chests and secretary-bookcases often had flattened pilasters to frame the upper section. Corkscrew finials were popular, and carved human figures occasionally were used as well.
Blocked fronts were also characteristic of Massachusetts furniture, although the blocking was somewhat flatter than that found on Newport pieces. The master of the blockfront in the Boston area was the cabinetmaker Benjamin Frothingham (1734-1809).
Of all the innovations characteristic of the Massachusetts school, the most ambitious was the kettle or bombé form
on case furniture. Derived from Continental Baroque and Rococo designs, these great bulging forms had sides that were fashioned from a single piece of wood, as in blocking. The Boston cabinetmaker John Cogswell (known to be active in 1769, died in 1818) is most closely identified with this technique.
In Newport, three generations, including twenty-three members, of the Goddard and Townsend families made furniture that ranged stylistically from the Queen Anne to the Empire style, and their handling of the blockfront and shell represents a unique contribution to American cabinetmaking. Using primarily highly patterned Santo Domingo mahogany, the Goddards and Townsends created skillful blockfront surfaces. Shells, which were sometimes applied, were carved in high relief and contained fine carved detail. The pieces were often adorned with a flattened finial, which has been termed a "cupcake", with a corkscrew extending from it. The ogee-bracketed foot contained a small scroll, and a palmette was sometimes carved on the knees. The claw-and-ball foot was oval, and the talons were sometimes undercut.
Connecticut produced an original, though somewhat less sophisticated, type of Chippendale furniture. The favored wood there was cherry, which was plentiful. Elements of Queen Anne design, including the pad foot, persisted for a long time in this area. Although Connecticut furniture reveals the influence of Massachusetts, Newport, and Philadelphia, a simpler treatment of the blockfront, a shallow version of the shell, and carved sunbursts or pinwheel patterns are generally characteristic. More sophisticated design elements included cut latticework pediments and scallops on the skirts of case pieces.
New York furniture was also conservative stylistically, and Rococo ornamentation made only slow headway there. In New York, Dutch Baroque design still tended to combine with the English style. Prior to the American Revolution, the strong reliance on architectural form, reminiscent of the design vocabulary of George Ill's reign, dominated the furniture made in New York City; the tassel and ruffle and strapwork enclosing a diamond in chair backs reflected that earlier style.
The influence of Chippendale can be seen, though, in the use of Gothic motifs and the serpentine form common in New York card tables. These tables, as well as the New York chairs, often had skirts carved with gadrooning, endowing them with elegance and demonstrating the persistence of the Continental Baroque tradition. Acanthus-leaf carving here tended to be stringy. On the whole, New York furniture was generally square and heavy, and had a somewhat squat quality. The distinctive New York claw-and-ball foot had talons closely grasping a squarish ball, while rear legs tapered to a squared foot in the English manner. Although New York Chippendale furniture is known chiefly for its tables and seat furniture, several pedimented secretaries have also survived.
By the third quarter of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the second-largest English-speaking city in the world, so, not surprisingly, very sophisticated furniture was made there. By the late 1780s, more than 100 Philadelphia joiners and cabinetmakers and their journeymen marched in the parade celebrating the ratification of the Constitution. Cabinetmakers
trained in the British Isles, primarily in London and Dublin, immigrated to Philadelphia, bringing with them the influence of
their own tradition.
Philadelphia furniture, generally more elaborate than that of other American centers, often contained details taken directly from Chippendale's Director. For example, the French scrolled toe often depicted in this publication was frequently used here. Surface carving, sometimes illustrating Aesopis fables, embraced delicate Rococo details. The cartouche was highly developed, frequently containing a central asymmetrical element called a cabochon. In Philadelphia, the claw-and-ball foot achieved a sculptural quality, with the talons finely articulated. The cabriole leg was often carved with an acanthus leaf in relief and, in a few rare instances, terminated in a hairy paw foot. Furniture with straight square Marlborough legs, generally terminating in a block or plinth, was also a favorite form of the Philadelphia school.
Furniture made south of Philadelphia was sometimes produced by itinerant craftsmen, so it is more difficult to identify individual cabinetmakers there than in the North. Furniture made in Maryland during the Chippendale period shows the strong influence of Philadelphia taste; Baltimore did not become an important port until after the Revolution.
The many varieties of walnut that grow in the South were generally preferred for furniture, though Charleston, South Carolina, makers tended to use mahogany, sometimes adding walnut as a secondary wood. In Charleston, a thriving school of cabinetmaking developed. It produced sophisticated furniture closely related to English prototypes.
Innovative Forms.
Few new forms developed during the Chippendale period. Chairs and sofas continued to be made in the same shapes as those of the Queen Anne style. Tester beds were made with claw-and-ball feet, rather than pad feet, and the daybed virtually disappeared.
The new and widespread fashion for tea drinking resulted in new furniture forms: the kettle stand, containing a small,
easily movable slide to hold a teacup; the fret-top "China table," used to hold the tea service; and the elaborately carved
"piecrust" top designed for the three-legged tilt-top tea table.
The Chippendale period also introduced the Pembroke table, a breakfast table with short leaves. Candlestands, designed to hold candlesticks, were also developed during this time. Because case furniture remained highly architectural, blocking and bombé were both important during the Chippendale period. The secretary-bookcase came to be supplemented, particularly in England, by the breakfront, a highly architectural piece conceived in several sections, with bookcases, a desk, and closed cupboards. This form is rare in America. Looking-glasses, also architectural in form, often displayed elements borrowed from the Director.
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