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A rich vocabulary of ornamentation is
represented by early fancy furniture. While the ornamental painter
might bring to a commission the skills of a fine artist, ornamental
painting on furniture was not a lucrative profession. As new routes
of transportation opened up by the 1820s, the great demand for fancy
chairs resulted in marketing and production innovations. With this
increased demand, it is easy to see how stenciled patterns superseded the
more exacting and time-consuming freehand decoration. Even Thomas
Sheraton acknowledged that "stenciling is the cheapest and most
expeditious method of decorating".
Technological advances on many fronts
abetted the rapid style changes of the nineteenth century. About 1815
stencils made their appearance. This innovation permitted more rapid decoration
and gained immediate success. Both high style and vernacular
furniture incorporated stenciling into a variety of ornamentation.
Stencils permitted a more rapid decoration of running borders and other
repetitive designs. Central motifs could be stenciled, and only
details needed to be hand painted. In the case of gilding, less costly
bronze powders were substituted for gold leaf. Stencils were also
used to simulate the ormolu (gilt or bronze metallic material) mounts
and gold striping of Empire furniture.
The introduction of bronze powders and
different colored varnishes as well as other powdered metals such as
brass, zinc, aluminum, silver and gold, created a whole new aesthetic
for ornamental painters. Decorating furniture with
bronze powders involved painting a base coat of paint, usually
white, yellow, vermillion, green, tan or black, overlaid with
a coat of binder such as varnish and turpentine. When dried to
the tacky stage, a stencil was laid flat on the surface. Metallic
powders were then brushed onto the stencil using small leather
or velvet pads. Several stencils might be used to achieve a single
design, each adding different details to the overall design.
After all stencils were applied and the varnish dried, details
and shading were added. When dry, the whole was given a final
coat of varnish.
Suites of stenciled furniture,
including bedsteads, window cornices, dressing tables, wash stands and
accessories, began to appear and gained immediate success, captivating
urban and rural homeowners.
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