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Understanding Louis XV antique furniture

History of the period:

Louis XV was the grandson of King Louis XIV and ruled France between 1715 and 1774. He is best known for being one of the most unpopular kings of France. During his reign, he managed to upset almost every social group in his country, but surprisingly, in his own unique way, that segregation of his people has led to antique furniture from the Louis XV period being some of the most sought-after French furniture in the world. world.

Due to the imbalance of their country, the remaining Louis XV furniture is considered a great treasure that heralds a time of grave public unrest in France and symbolizes the determination of its people as a whole but, in particular, in its furniture designers to continue to inspire. , creating and delivering a legacy of beautiful, intricate and detailed furniture that remains a coveted design style to this day.

Despite all the things that went wrong with Louis XV’s reign as King of France, one thing that is undeniable is the detailed quality of the furniture that emerged from this dark time in French history to give the head to something all. the opposite, both elegant and flowing, in a time of sad misery.

What makes Louis XV furniture Louis XV furniture?

There are a number of revealing design features that articulate this design style. It is quite common to hear or see furniture incorrectly described as Louis XV, when in fact it is Louis XIV. What separates the two is quite distinctive, and I will list them below.

Louis XV furniture it is:

  • Designed more curvilinear
  • Shapes and fluid shapes
  • It’s not done with straight lines, straight cuts, or anything that looks angular.
  • Intricately carved and seemingly infinitely detailed
  • Hand painted
  • The shells tend to form the focul points of each design.
  • Symbolic of romance, sensuality and love
  • Light and elegant

Louis XV furniture It is not:

  • Rely on the presence to express your claim, like gothic furniture
  • Made with straight cuts
  • Large, bulky, or angular
  • Strong and masculine
  • Machine painted
  • Machine cut

You will find that Louis XIV furniture is the complete opposite in style to Louis XV, and where I have listed the points above that are not associated with Louis XV, you will tend to find these same features present in Louis XIV furniture, for example, it will be more angular and less elegant, more in line with a masculine style force than an elegant and romantic wisp as seen in Louis XV furniture. This is a very common mistake, probably due to the similarities in the name, but it is vital when identifying your antique furniture to get the correct periods as it can unsurprisingly cause chaos for the buyer at auction!

The next problem that I tend to see quite frequently in my field is selling replicas as originals.

Identification of royal Louis XV antique furniture

Yes, sad as it may be, there will always be those among us who feel the need to misrepresent antiques for personal gain by selling copies or replicas. When shopping for antiques, especially online, be sure to use a respected reseller, such as LJR Windwake & Sons, or a seller who specializes in your desired style – in this case, a Louis XV antique furniture specialist. It is vitally important to be absolutely scrupulous when buying antiques online from auction sites or dealerships, but luckily I have some good advice on how to make sure the piece of furniture you are buying is the right one. real deal.

1. Ask for details on how the closet was made

Be sure to ask the seller to explain how the piece was made, making sure he describes the joints in the wood. If they are visible, and note that an “antique” woodwork would not be machine cut, but would actually be hand cut, ask her to describe them. Hand cut gaskets are most likely rougher and perhaps not as exact as machine cut gaskets which should be a good indication of originality and the age you are buying is actually an ‘antique’ and not something taken off a production line in ShenZhen, China, 2006.

The best way to find a cut is to remove a tie and take a close look at where the front and back of the drawer attach to the sides of the drawer. If a joint were made by hand, it would be attached and have only a few dovetail joints, and they wouldn’t be exactly uniform. If the dovetails are close together and cut accurately, it will have been machine cut. Handmade dovetails almost always indicate a piece made before 1860.

2. Look for blemishes like cuts and cuts

Another great way to help identify the validity of an antique or handmade piece of furniture would be to look closely for notches and cuts on the back, sides, and bottom of the draw. Nicks and cuts generally indicate that a hand tool was used to brush, shave, or cut the wood. Straight cuts, the kind you would get with a straight saw, are also good signs, while cuts that appear circular in appearance mean that the cut was made with a circular saw, which again was not used until after 1860.

3. Exact symmetry? No way!

This is probably the easiest sign to tell of machine-made furniture compared to hand-made. If something looks exactly symmetrical, it has likely been cut by machines, so be sure to request plenty of photos of the furniture you are purchasing.

4. Request a detailed description of the finish.

Finishing style is also a great way to identify the age of a Louis XV piece. Certain finishes were used in different periods, which is a great way to identify the age of your antique furniture. For Louis XV, everything should be hand painted. Hand painting is often identified by slight imperfections in brush strokes or edges, although some of the best Louis XV will not show any signs of human error, because the quality was very high it is always wise to ask for photographs of the entire painting. especially for blemishes as they can ADD to the value of your furniture.

5. Make sure the seller explains the type of wood used in the manufacture.

This is often a simple method of measuring an age because generally, as a general rule of thumb, anything before 1700 was made of oak, 1700 onwards (our era Louis XV), mahogany and walnut were the woods of choice. if it is pine, it usually indicates an American piece of furniture and usually indicates slightly cheaper works. The really valuable antique Louis XV treasures will be made of mahogany or walnut.

conclusion

Always be careful when buying antique furniture, but if you are thinking of buying, be sure to arm yourself with as much research as possible before attending auction houses. It is also highly recommended to go to an auction with a particular item. Visit the open houses, take your notes, go home and research what you have seen and then attend the auctions with a renewed knowledge about your purchase and always, always try to get as much information as possible from the seller, since be it buying online or at an auction house.

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