The furniture of this period of transition, which is occasionally sombre from the abuse of ebony, has already a degree of pomp announcing the century of Louis XIV.; and when we say furniture, we do not mean pieces of outward show, more luxurious than useful. This is one of the characteristics of the period of the great king; everyone has witnessed what remains of Versailles, and the wonderful pieces inherited by the Louvre, after the revolutions, which had swept them away from the royal residences; of such was composed the fittings-up of the palaces of the great.

Germain Brice, describing Mazarin's palace in 1698, says: -

High-backed Chair of Walnut of the reign of Francis I. (Collection of M. A. Moreau.) Semi-circular Revolving Chair, painted, gilt, and varnished, German workmanship of the Fifteenth Century. (Collection of M. Recappe)

"II n'y a point de lieu dans Paris ou il y ait plus de curiosites, ni qui soit rempli d'une plus grande quantite de meubles precieux que celui-ci . . . Pour des meubles, on en voit partout de magnifiques, dont on change a chaque saison de l'annee . . . Aprcs avoir passe plusieurs chambres de plein-pie, tendues de riches tapisseries rehaussees d'or et d'argent, on entre dans une longue galene, remplie de chaque cote de cabinets garnis de pierreries et de cise-lures d'or et d'argent qui sont sur des tables de marbre ou de pierres rapportees. On y verra aussi des vases de jaspe et d'albatre, de diverses grandeurs, avec de petites statues de bronze, d'un travail exquis. Le plancher de cette galerie est couvert d'un tapis de Turquie tout d'une piece, d'une longueur extraordinaire. Lcs appartements d'en bas ne sont pas moins magnifiques. Toutes les salles qui le composent sont pleines de cabinets d'Allemagne et de la Chine, avec des coffrcs de vernis du Japon, d'une legerete et d'une odeur admirable . . . Dans une autre chambre qui est proche, il y a de grandes tables de pierres rapportees et de marbre. La galerie basse et le salon par oil on doit passer sont aussi remplis de bustes et de statues antiques. Cette galerie est de la meme longueur que celle dont on a deja parle. Enfm, on ne saurait trouver ensemble une plus grande variete de belles choses, des horloges, des pendules extraordinaires, des statues d'argent et de vermeil dore, des vases de meme matiere et en grand nombre".

A more complete picture, more clearly proving the absence of useful furniture could not be desired. In order to find such, in an intimate and coquettish form, we must pass to the reign of Louis XV., the king who deserted the state apartments to take refuge in by-places with secret doors and back staircases.

But here, if the "grandiose" style has disappeared, that of exaggerated caprice takes its place; everything is distorted; broken and complicated (tarabiscole), the exuberant curled endive appears in everything; simplicity is unknown. It is the period above all others the most difficult for the man of taste; ugliness jostling with what is mere extravagance of fancy or of elegance; while by a judicious choice, discarding the exaggerations which are the evident work of artists of inferior merit, who can only be impressed with ideas from their extremest point of view, the elements of a charming set of furniture for the bedchamber, the boudoir, or the retiro, may be found. Here begins the remarkable era of metal chasing, and the bronzes applied to cabinet work, as in flambeaux, girandoles, and lustres, are often of admirable workmanship, and talented conception.

We shall say little about the period of Louis XVI.; public taste leads everyone in that direction, and it is perfectly well known. The coquettish simplicity of its style is an intelligent protest against the "rocaille" and looseness of the preceding furniture. We find in it all that our present wants demand, united to the most delicate designs. The only dangers that connoisseurs may meet with, are scarcity, high prices, and the fear of imitations.

It may be seen by this rapid sketch what difficulties exist in the formation of an historical set of furniture, and what care and tact must be used in order to avoid anachronisms. From the earliest ages, the love for rare and curious things had introduced that happy variety into private houses, which so well characterises the taste of the collector. The Romans liked to surround themselves with the valuable objects which conquest or distant commerce could procure them; the Middle Ages had the same tendency, and the search for exotic treasures increased with time. In our own country, the crusades were a first revelation, the wars in Italy completed the work, and gave rise to our Renaissance.

Oriental works, rich carpets, and antiquities have therefore a right to take their place amongst ancient furniture, in order to heighten its charm; this is evident from the preceding descriptions. In the seventeenth century India and China mingle their products with those of our national industry; under Louis XV. porcelain intrudes itself everywhere; it is the period of the development of our national manufacture, and of the discovery in Saxony of a hard paste similar to that of the Chinese. Not only the table, but chimney pieces, furniture, and console tables are covered with groups, vases, and girandoles of novel invention, which does not, however, cause oriental works to be proscribed. These novelties lose part of their vogue under Louis XVI., and French porcelain tends to take their place, with its delicate paintings, and soft and varied colouring. Sevres porcelain harmonised wonderfully with the rose-wood veneering, and chasings rivalling jewellery, with the dead gilding of the bronzes, and the fine goldsmith's works emulating the antique. Art, then, or to say more, science, consists in knowing how to choose these different elements, and so to combine them, that taste may be satisfied without injury to historical truth; the impression is then complete, and the visitor can imagine himself living at some other period.

To attain this is doubtless difficult. Not only great sacrifices have been made, but a combination of fortunate circumstances have enabled some connoisseurs to complete a salon, a bed-chamber, a boudoir, with things not only ancient, but of a precise epoch. Thus everyone quotes the Louis XIV. salon of M. Leopold Double, and Duthe's charming boudoir, in which the ceiling and painted panellings are accompanied by all the accessories of the same origin, patiently collected, purchased under the excitement of public auctions, or snatched from the hammer of demolitions. The sumptuous apartments of the Rothschild family are also much admired; where every moment one expects to see appear the sympathetic forms of Marie Antoinette and Madame de Lamballe, who are everywhere recalled to one's recollection.