Black Forest Furniture

The Black Forest is a forested mountain range in south west Germany, bounded by the Rhine valley in the west and south.

Woodcarving and clock making became a local cottage industry and survives to this day making souvenirs for tourists. Originating as a way for farmers to supplement their incomes in the winter, the region became famous for its cuckoo clocks and the precision engineering of clock and watches from the 18th Century onwards. The original clocks had wooden wheels but these began to be produced in yellow brass in the second half of the 18th century.

Black forest furniture featured what became known as ‘Black Forest Carving’ which had motifs such as forest animals (mainly bears), forest trees, branches and leaves and fruit . This type of carving became world famous and it featured as many exhibitions including the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

During the 19th century, Black Forest carved wares became a symbol of luxury and wealth and were avidly collected by Victorian travellers with some ending up in Royal collections.