Makers, Periods & Styles Library

A bergère is a type of French upholstered armchair with upholstered armrests and back. It is fitted with a loose, but tailored seat cushion. The frame for the seat is upholstered over, but the rest of the wooden frame is exposed, although some may have padded elbow rests. The wooden frame may be carved or […]

Betjemann & Sons were London based cabinet makers who pioneered various ‘mechanisms’ that automatically folded out trays and compartments of vanity boxes when the lid was opened. They also created a patented mechanism for sprung book slides. Their mechanisms were incorporated into objects created by other...

Bezique, or Bésigue, is a trick-taking card game for two players popular in 19th-century France. It reached the height of its popularity in Paris in 1860 and this spread to England a few years later, where it appears that Christina Rossetti and Wilkie Collins were keen players. The most famous player was Winston...

The Biedermeier period, has come to refer to an artistic style that was popular in Central Europe from 1815, the year of the end of the Napoleonic Wars signified by the Congress of Vienna and 1848 the year of mass popular uprisings across Europe. The style encompassed the visual arts, interior design, literature...

Birdseye Maple is a type of very hard wood from Sugar Maple trees with a distinctive grain structure caused by the presence of the ‘Birdseyes’. During the eras of handmade furniture, Birdseye Maple was only used by the most skilled craftsmen as it required specialist skills and tools to work successfully. The...

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...

Blackamoor figures (Italian moretto, moretti) are stylised renditions of dark-skinned Africans used in decorative art, sculpture, jewelry and armorial designs. They were particularly popular in the Early Modern period (roughly between 1500 and 1800) and represented the ‘exotic’ and mysterious. The figures were...

Bonheur du jour is the name given to a type of lady’s writing desk, with the translation of the French meaning ‘daytime delight’. Introduced by Parisian ‘marchand merciers’ , who were the interior designers and decorators of their day, they commissioned fancy furniture and fashionable novelties to...

Fernando Botero Angulo Is a figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellin, Colombia in 1932. His distinctive ‘Boterismo’ style depicts ‘proportionally exaggerated’ or ‘fat’ people (as he once described them) which he uses in a humourous way or as political criticism depending on the piece. He was...