O  OAK  Popular wood for country and provincial furniture. Oak has a strong grain that darkens with age.

OBELISK  Tall, square stone monumental shaft with pyramidal top used in ancient Egypt. The form, on a small scale in alabaster, is used as a decorative ornament in Directoire, Empire and contemporary interiors.

OCCASIONAL TABLE  A generic term for small tables like end and tilt tables.

OEBEN  Jean-Francois Oeben (1715-1763). Notable French furniture maker who worked between the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles.

OGEE  1) A molding with a cyma or “S” shaped profile. 2) A pointed arch that has a reversed curve on each side near the apex. 3) A term used to describe an “S” shaped double curve, particularly those on bracket feet as used on first class mid-18th century furniture. 4) A continuous double curve in the shape of an “S”, referred to by Hogarth as ‘the line of beauty’; used for moldings. If concave above and convex below, called an ogee molding, or cyma recta; if convex above and concave below, a reverse ogee molding, or cyma reversa.

OGEE BRACKET FOOT  An ogee shaped foot that wraps around two sides of a piece of case furniture.

OGEE-CROSS SPLAT  Open back chair splat composed of two conjoining ogee curved elements.

ONION FOOT  An oval, bulbous
foot suggesting a somewhat flattened onion.

OPENWORK  Work constructed so as to show openings through its substance (such as by perforations or piercings). See also Fretwork.

ORDERS  Term referring to standardized ornamental types of columns, based on ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The three Greek orders are the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The five Roman orders are the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite.

ORIENTAL RUG  Luxurious
richly colored and highly patterned hand woven or hand knotted rugs, originally native to the Middle or Far East.

ORMOLU  From the French moule, “ground gold”; powdered gold used to decorate bronze, or other metal, furniture mounts; also refers to the mounts themselves. The term is often used to refer to cast hand-chased mounts of gold or gilded brass or bronze which were enhanced by mercury-gilding and applied to furniture or art objects. Ormolu mounts and objects d'art were all the rage in French society of the 18th century, reaching a high water mark under the Imperial regime. The ornamentation continued to be made and reproduced throughout the 19th century. Although the English produced ormolu, it was never as fine as the best French products and ormolu is practically synonymous with French style furniture. Ormolu is also known as gilt-bronze, bronze doré or doré bronze.

OS DE MOUTON  (French) Literally, "mutton bone." Refers to the sinuous stretchers in Louis XIV furniture.

OTTOMAN  Turkish influenced upholstered seat without arms or back. Often used as a footstool.

OVAL BACK  Chair in which the back is shaped like an oval.

OVOLO MOLDING  Classical convex molding consisting of repeated oval shapes. Much used in the 14th and 15th century, it enjoyed a revival in Victorian England. The opposite of cavetto molding.

OYSTER VENEER  Late 17th and early 18th century veneer, made from symmetrically arranged cross-sections of small branches or roots from trees such as walnut, olive, laburnum and kingwood. The name comes from the resultant patter of the grain, which resembles oyster shells. Primarily a Dutch decorative technique.

OYSTERING  Veneer showing cross-sectional grain in irregular concentric rings, resembling the shape and markings of oyster shells.

P  PAD FOOT  Club foot resting on an integral disc.

PALMETTE  Fan-shaped pattern derived from the shape of a palm-tree frond. Neoclassical motif.

PANETIERE  (French) Provençial piece of furniture, originally from Arles, that was used to store bread. Was hung on the wall or placed on top of a pétrin. Has turned spindles, hand carved ornamentation, and finials.

PAPIER MACHE  Technique using sand, chalk, size and paper pulp molded while wet into decorative forms and furniture. Popular during the Napoléon III period and in 19th century Europe and America.

PARAVENT  (French) Folding screen.

PARQUETRY  Form of marquetry based on a repeated geometric pattern worked in contrasting woods. Similar to Marquetry, but the patterns formed are geometrical only (marquetry designs may be flowers, birds, leaves and the design is generally more pictorial in shape).

PARTNER’S DESK  Desk large enough to set two people facing each other with working drawers on both sides.

PASSEMENTERIE  Fancy edgings or trims that emphasize the shape of the curtain, such as fringe, tassels, braid, and ruffles.

PATERA  Round or oval medallion motif widely used ornamentally usually embossed and decorating a frieze; frequently incorporating fluting, leaves, stylized flowers or rosettes in its design. Often carved, but also painted or inlaid into Neoclassical furniture.

PATINA  Term used to designate the color, texture and accumulations that collect on a surface produced by age, wear, exposure and hand-rubbing. In wood furniture the finish tends to deepen and become more lustrous. Edges are worn smooth and sharp outlines are softened. Also a film, usually greenish, formed on copper or bronze after long exposure.

PAW FOOT  Leg terminal in the shape of an animal’s paw. Originating in ancient Egypt, and used as well in classical Greece and Rome, this form enjoyed a revival from the late 17th century to the end of the 19th century. A variation is the hairy-paw foot. This is another style of foot used with the cabriole leg on chairs and tables of the mid-18th century.

PEAR-DROP HANDLE  A small brass drop used on early chests of drawers of the late 17th and early 18th century.

PEDESTAL  A floor standing column designed to hold art objects.

PEDESTAL TABLE  A table supported by a center base of one or more heavy, wide based columns rather than four legs.

PEDIMENT  1) An ornamental, typically triangular (straight or curving lines), crown on case furniture such as bureau bookcases, high cabinets and secretaries. 2) An architectural term for the triangular end on a roof. See also Bonnet Top.

PEG  A wooden dowel used like a nail to hold furniture parts together. The ends were sometimes left exposed to create decorative interest.

PEG TOP FOOT  A style of foot often used on late 18th century chairs and on some Victorian chairs: the leg ends in a small rounded peg, often jutting out slightly from the foot.

PENCIL-POST BED  Bed with four tall, slim ("pencil thin") posts. The design is generally simple and straight lined. Used alone or with a canopy.

PENDANT  A hanging ornament. Particularly often used in the late Gothic period.

PETIT-POINT  Small-stitch embroidery, which is worked on a single thread net, covering the entire surface. Term usually applies when there are more than 256 stitches to the square inch.

PETRIN  (French) Coffer type piece of furniture on four legs with top that lifts up or off. Was used to store flour or to put dough inside to rise.

PEWTER  An alloy comprised of tin and lead which has a dull gray appearance and is used in the making of tableware and ornaments. Originally, it was intended as a subsitute for silver but its value diminished in the 17th Century with the advent of chinaware for everyday use. 

PICKLED FINISH  Cloudy white patina over light wood, originally produced by using vinegar to remove the plaster base of the painted wood. Now created by rubbing white paint into previously stained and finished wood.

PIE CRUST TABLE  Small, usually round, table whose edge is carved or molded in a scalloped pattern that resembles the crimped edge of a piecrust.

PIED DE BICHE  Deer feet, typically found at the base of the cabriole legs in Regence and Louis XV furniture.

PIERCING  Carved or cutout decorative detail seen in chair splats and other 18th century furniture.

PIER-GLASS  A tall, narrow mirror with a frame hung in a narrow space such as between windows to enhance light coming into a room. An accompaniment hung over a pier-table or commode in the 17th century.

PIER TABLE  A table designed to stand against a pier, that section of a wall between two windows or doors, usually beneath a pier glass.

PIETRE DURE  Form of decorative work using a variety of semiprecious stones perfected in Italy in the 16th century; if only a single type of stone is used, it is correctly called pietra dura. This method proved costly so a cheaper imitation, Scagliola, was often used.

PIGMENTING  Coloring and coating wood or leather to improve the color cover imperfections and make the surface more resistant to wear and tear.

PILASTER  Architectural term for a slender, rectangular architectural feature, usually attached to a façade and designed to resemble a column, but attached to the wall instead of free standing. Used for decoration rather than structural support.

PILE A fabric with a surface of upright ends, cut or looped, like velvet.

PINE Softwood used for making less expensive furniture and often for the frames and carcasses of more expensive pieces.

PLINTH  1) A square of decorative wood installed at the corners of a window frame. 2) The base of a chest of column that rests solidly on the floor, as opposed to sitting on legs.

POINCON  Punched silver hallmarks on French silver.

POPLAR  Even-textured and straight-grained wood, it is available in lumber as well as in thin stock suitable for cross-banding and face veneers.

PORCELAIN  A hard, non-porous pottery. True porcelain is made of kaolin or china clay.

PORTEMANTEAU  (French) Literally, "holds coats." Coat and hat rack or hall tree.

PORTE-PARAPLUIES  (French) Literally, "holds umbrellas." Umbrella stand.

PORPHYRY  Rock substance composed of quartz crystals, used during the reign of Louis XVI mainly for table tops.

POUDREUSE  Piece of occasional furniture that come into use at the end of the Louis XVI period.  Usually a small table with a mirrored lid in the center which lifted to reveal a compartment for toiletries.

PREMIERE PARTIE  17th century French marquetry in which a pattern of brass and pewter is set on a base of tortoiseshell. The opposite is called "Contre Partie". The greatest artist in creating furniture with these techniques was André-Charles Boulle.

PRIE-DIEU  (French) Literally, "prays God." A late 18th century, but commonly 19th century low-seated armless chair with a high back and wide top-rail on which to rest a prayer book. Used as a kneeler for prayer. Often upholstered with Berlin woodwork.

PROVINCIAL  Countrified versions of formal 17th and 18th century court furnishings produced in various provinces of Europe. The furniture of each region bears its own characteristic signature (e.g., French Provincial).

PURE ANILINE LEATHER Premium select, full, top grain leather that has been dyed with aniline dyes. The dye thoroughly permeates the high quality hide, resulting in a rich color.

PUTTI  A young boy, commonly seen in Italian painting and sculpture.

QUARTERED  Describes boards cut from a log that has been cut into four quarters through the center, and then into parallel boards. Produces a distinctive grain.

QUATREFOIL  Gothic decoration consisting of a conventionalized four-leaf clover enclosed in a circle.

QUIRK  A narrow groove molding, sunken fillet, or channel.

R  RABBET 1) Rectangular slot or groove in joinery. 2) A recess in the meeting stiles of cabinet doors so that when one shuts against the other it forms a dustproof joint.

RAIL  A horizontal piece in the framework of a chair such as a seat-rail meant to support vertical members.

RAILROADING  Uses fabric horizontally. Fabric without a nap or a directional design can be railroaded easily. Provides method to avoid seams in long lengths of fabric (as in dust ruffles).

RAILS  The horizontal members of framed furniture, e.g., the long sidepieces of beds or the side framing in casework.

RAKE  The angling of a slanted or splayed member, such as a chair back or a table leg, which is not strictly vertical.

RANDOM JOINTS  Joints in a surface (e.g., veneer) in which there is no attempt at matching either grain or width of boards.

RATTAN  A climbing palm, remarkable for the great length attained by its stems. Commonly used for wickerwork, seats of chairs, walking sticks, etc.

REBATE JOINT  Formed by cutting a groove, wedge or, most commonly, rectangular section along the edge of one piece of wood and fitting it with another, matching piece of wood; can be glued or nailed. Used in cheaper furniture. Also known as a rabbet joint.

RECAMIER  Chaise lounge shaped like an ancient Roman bed or reclining couch, with one gracefully curved end higher than the other popular in the Empire and Victorian eras. Named after Madame Recamier, a society hostess of the early 19th Century. Sometimes called fainting couches, Recamiers have a sloping back not much higher than the seat at one end, with the other end rising to meet a high and often rolled, arm.

RECESSED STRETCHER  Middle or cross stretcher that is set back from the front legs.

REEDING  A form of ornament resembling that used on classical columns; very popular for chair and table legs during the later 18th century. Reeding is the relief line on either side of a scooped-out channel, these channels are called 'fluting'; they run together in close parallels, divided by the 'reeding'.

REFECTORY TABLE  A long and narrow table having stretchers close to the floor. These were used in monasteries for the monks to take their meals while seated on one side only of the table. American antique dealers often refer to the French draw leaf table as a refectory table as well.

REGENCY or Regence  The Regency or Régence Period in France is named for the regency of Philippe II, duc d'Orleans, which covered the end of Louis XIV’s reign until the accession of Louis XV (about 1715-1725). This is a transitional style that moves from massive straight lines to the gracious, curved, intimate style of Louis XV or Rococo. Characteristics are graceful curves, the cabriole leg, and ornamentation copied from nature rather than mythology. Bright veneers of rosewood and satinwood were widely used.

REGULE  Tin-rich alloy usually containing some antimony, some copper, and sometimes some lead. Used in the 19th century to cast figures that were finished with a bronze coating to resemble their more expensive counterparts cast of solid bronze.