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More furniture terms: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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- Abacus: Furniture term for a Roman sideboard, adopted from Asia where it was originally introduced around the 2nd century B.C.
- Acajou: French for mahogany.
- Acanthus: Decorative ornament resembling the scalloped leaves of the acanthus plant. The leaf has been used in furniture carvings since classical times.
- Acorn-shaped finial: A distinctively shaped finial topping the uprights of chairs of many styles.
- Aesthetic Movement: An English movement which popularized furniture in the Japanese taste during the mid- to late 19th century.
- Alcove cupboard: 18th century built-in corner cupboard. Used in the dining room for the disposition of silver, glass and porcelain.
- Alloy furniture: Furniture with aluminum or magnesium as there main metal. Both alloys have one important characteristic; their extreme lightness combined with strength. Often used for garden furniture since world war II.
- Almoner's cupboard: Or "dole cupboard" is a kind of livery Elizabethan cupboard used in churches in which bread was kept to be doled out to the poor.
- Alsace: Province in France, known for furniture making inspired and reflecting the cabinetwork of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the French provincial period.
- Ambry: (or "aumbry") A large cupboard enclosed with doors and having shelves, movable or built in the wall. Used during the Gothic period in England, and was the English equivalent of the French word "armoire".
- Amorini: Cupids or cherubs used in decoration. Popular in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century as well as in Adam designs.
- Angel bed: A "half tester bed" (without the two front posts) in the Queen Anne period.
- Anlhemian: Another decoration, this time like the flower of the honeysuckle. Again used in Adam designs and also during the Regency period.
- Annular clock: A kind of mantel clock mounted in bronze doré having an annular or horizontal ring-shaped dial in white enamel with Roman numerals. Introduced during the Louis XVI style.
- Anthemion: Furniture term for a flat, carved ornament, based on the Greek honeysuckle flower and leaf.
- Applique: Fixed wall scones with branched supports for candles, occasionally designed with a mirror to reflect the light. Popular in the Chippendale period.
- Arabesque marquetry: Also called "seaweed" marquetry, especially fashionable in the William and Mary period.
- Arca: Spanish chest, important in the Spanish renaissance, but also found in early Egyptian, Grecian and Roman furniture.
- Arcaded panel: Panel carved with a series of arches supported by columns.
- Archebanc: Furniture term for "coffre-bench", a massive wooden bench in French Gothic style, with back and arms, designed to seat several persons. The portion between the seat and the floor was enclosed to form a coffre.
- Architect's table: Introduced in the Queen Anne period (first quarter of the 18th century), and especially designed for the needs of draftsmen, artists and architects. Some varieties included, a table size easel, adjustable rising tops, and pull-out fronts fitted with many small compartments.
- Arles: French provincial city and center for Provençal cabinetwork.
- Armadio: Italian renaissance, tall, rectilinear, single-bodied, movable cupboard or wardrobe. Similar to the French "armoire".
- Armario: Spanish renaissance movable cupboard.
- Armarium: Roman movable cupboard. It had a rectangular body mounted on short feet, fitted with shelves and cupboard doors.
- Armoire: French domestic cupboard.
- Armoire à deux corps: Tall two body cupboard in the French renaissance period (2nd half of the 16th century). As a rule the front and sides of the upper body were recessed, and the lower body, which was generally more oblong in appearance, was mounted on ball feet.
- Arqueta: A miniature chest, used as a receptacle for jewels in the Spanish renaissance period.
- Arrow-back Chair: Late Windsor chair with a row of thin flaring splats within its back.
- Art Furniture: One taste within the Aesthetic Movement, click for more.
- Art Moderne: click for more.
- Art Nouveau: An anti-historical European design reform movement popular between the 1890s and early 1900s which created an elaborate curvilinear style. The "whiplash curve" and organic ornamentation are characteristic of the style, click for more.
- Astragal: A moulding used on the glazing bars of bookcases.
- Astragal-end table: Work table with rounded sides, popular in the Federal style.
- Athénienne: A small decorative stand or table introduced under Louis XVI. Based on the antique Pompeiian tripod with decoration similar to that of the classical originals.
- Aubusson: French city, important during the Louis XV period for there high standard woven furniture coverings.
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