MATERIALS AND METHODS
BASALT WARE
A black porcelain pottery developed by Josiah Wedgwood in 18th-century England.
BIRD’S EYE
A figure on wood that resembles small birds’ eyes, caused by cutting on a tangent
through the indentations which sometimes appear on the annual rings of the log. Often noted on
maple wood (bird’s eye maple).
BISCUIT/BISQUE POTTERY & JASPERWARE
Pottery that has been fired once and has no glaze or a very thin one. Dull in color, tan or
red terra-cotta, depending upon the clay used. Bisque also refers to white, unglazed porcelain
figurines and groups, made at Sevres in France during the latter part of the 18th century. Jasper
ware is an 18th century type of hard biscuit ware (pottery) introduced by Wedgwood in England.
BONE CHINA
First produced in England in 1800. Originally, oxen bone ashes were pulverized and
added to the kaolin.
BOULLE WORK
The special inlay technique of Charles Andre Boulle, using tortoiseshell and German
silver, brass, or pewter. A sheet of metal (usually brass) and a sheet of tortoiseshell were glued
together, and the design was cut out of both pieces at the same time. The pieces of brass which
dropped out during the cutting could then be set into the tortoiseshell, making a decorative inlay
(premiere partie); or the tortoiseshell could be used to fill in the brass sheet (contrepartie). Boulle
work is most often associated with the Louis XIV and Regence periods. The English term for
Boulle work is ‘Buhl Work’.
BRASS
An alloy of one part zinc and three to seven parts copper. Antiqued brass is given an aged
look through oxidation and can be artificially produced on new brass.
BRONZE
A compound metal originally used for sculpture in ancient Greece and Rome as well as
China and Africa, made up mainly of copper and tin. As bronze ages and reacts with chemicals,
it takes on a greenish tint and matte surface called a patina. A patina can be chemically induced.
Bronze has been a popular material for cast sculpture since the 15th century.
CARVING
A sculptured, incised, gouged, or appliquéd three-dimensional decoration or ornament.
CELADON
A light-grayish sea-green color. The word is also used to describe pottery or Chinese
porcelain of this color.
CERTOSINA
An Italian term for an inlay of marble, ivory, or blond woods on a darker background. It
has an oriental character since it is generally set into small geometric patterns. The name was
derived from the Carthusian monks who excelled in this type of inlay work.
CHINA
The European name given to porcelains imported from the Orient. A hard, translucent
porcelain with a large percentage of bone ash.
COROMANDEL
Also called coromandel ebony, calamander, and Macassar ebony. A hard, dark, brown
wood with black stripes. It resembles black rosewood, and was used for banding and veneering
in late-18th-century furniture.
CRAZE
A small crack or patterns of cracks in a ceramic object.
CRYSTAL
A clear, transparent quartz which resembles ice. It is usually cut and faceted to sparkle
and reflect light. Crystal is often imitated in glass. Full-lead crystal is at least 24 percent lead.
DECOUPAGE
An art form created by cutting and pasting down assorted materials in interesting new
patterns and arrangements. It became popular in the 18th century as the “poor man’s” method of
embellishing wood furniture.
DELFT
Brilliant blue-colored, heavily glazed pottery produced in Delft, Holland. The rich blue
designs are on a white field, either scenic or provincial patterns. Ceramic tiles are also made in
this particular blue and white. Used to face fireplaces and walls and on floors.
EARTHENWARE
Pottery made of course clay. Heavy, soft, porous, and opaque like a common red
flowerpot. May also be glazed.
EBONY
A tropical, hard, dense, heavy brown-black wood with a fine grain, popular in France
during the Louis XIV period, and again in the Empire and mid-19th century. True ebony comes
from Ceylon, and black ebony is found in North India and the Himalayas.
ENAMEL
A colored glaze used to decorate metal or ceramics. After firing it becomes hard and
permanent. It is applied to pottery or porcelain after a preliminary glaze. The piece is then fired
again to fuse the enamel to the original glaze. Enamel is also a generic name for a paint which
dries with a hard, shiny surface.
FAIENCE
French for pottery. Terra-cotta. A peasant type of glazed pottery originally made at
Faenza, Italy. A glazed biscuit ware. Used as a facing for buildings or walls in the form of tiles
or blocks. Also used as a flooring material.
INTAGLIO
Designs cut out of a surface, leaving a relief in reverse. The finished design is below the
plane which has been worked upon.
LACQUER
A colored or opaque varnish made of shellac dissolved in alcohol, sometimes with
pigment added. Chinese and Japanese lacquer is a hard varnish made from the sap of the lacquer
tree. It has a shiny, lustrous quality.
LACQUER WORK
Articles covered with a lacquer surface on which flat or relief designs are drawn. A
fashionable furniture finish and form of decoration in Europe from the mid-17th to the late-18th
century.
MAJOLICA
Italian and Spanish pottery coated with a tin enamel, and decorated with bright colors.
The name is derived from the island of Majorca.
MARQUETRY/PARQUETRY
Pattern made by setting contrasting materials into a veneered surface. The resultant
decoration is flush and level. Usually, the material set in is finely grained, interestingly colored
woods, but tortoiseshell, horn, metal, and mother-of-pearl are also used. Popular in the
Renaissance period and also in 18th-century France and England. Marquetry can be imitated with
lithographed transfers. Parquetry is inlay work in geometric patterns like the checkerboard
pattern, etc.
ORMOLU/GILDING
Gilded bronze. A bright goldlike metallic alloy with a high percentage of copper plus
zinc and tin. Also bronze ornaments, hand-chased and surfaced with gilt, particularly popular in
France in the 17th and 18th centuries. Mounts, moldings, and medallions were used as applied
decoration on furniture. Gilding is the art of ornamenting furniture, accessories, and architectural
details with gold leaf or gold dust. Parcel gilding is a form of decorating in which only selected
parts of a frame, carving, or surface are gilded.
OYSTERING
The process of veneering furniture with certain burr veneers during the early 18th century.
PORCELAIN
A hard, vitreous, nonporous ceramic ware made of kaolin.
SCRATCH CARVING
A simple country-style carving done with a V-shaped chisel.
SHELLAC
A natural resin soluble in alcohol. When applied to wood, it produces a shiny surface.
Often used as a prime coat on unfinished wood pieces, as a sealer.
STERLING SILVER
A standard of pure silver content. Also silverware, jewelry, etc. which is made of silver
that is at least 92.5 percent pure, meeting the standard.
STONEWARE
A heavy opaque nonporous nonabsorbent pottery made from siliceous paste.
TROMPE L’OEIL
French for deceive the eye. A polished technique of using pictorial elements, perspective,
foreshortening and shadows, to render objects in paint or inlay so realistically that they appear to
be actually three-dimensional.
VARNISH
A finishing coating applied to woodwork to create a glossy, transparent, washable
surface, made of resinous matter in oil or alcohol. In the 16th and 17th centuries, an oil varnish
that sank into the wood was used. In the early 18th century, lac dissolved in wine spirits was
used. Vernis Martin became a popular finish in Europe in the mid-18th century.
VERMEIL
A French term for silver gilt. Gilded metal. Also a vermillion-red color.
Pegler, M.M. (2006). The Fairchild Dictionary of Interior Design (2nd ed.). New York: Fairchild.