Classical Furniture

Classical taste was established before the 19th century. By 1760 the curvaceous Louis XV style. Excavation of the Roman ruins at Pompeii inspired the classical designs of Robert Adams, George Hepplewhite, and Thomas Sheraton which was later reflected in American Furniture of the Federal Period, 1787-1820. Egyptian and Grecian forms such as Klismos chairs, lyres, winged griffins, urns, columns & capitals, and hoofed or paw feet dominated the classical revival of the 1820s and 1830s. As production technology changed in the 1830s and 1840s brightly polished mahogany & rosewood veneers covered large, bold & often architectural furniture.