B

Baccarat Founded in 1764, a leading French glassworks. The first products were soda glass tableware and window glass. High quality lead crystal and decorative glassware started to be produced from 1816. Particularly noted for Millefiori paperweights and sulphides, which have been popular and collectable from the mid -19th Century.

Bacchus, George & Sons Birmingham glassworks founded in the early 19th Century that produced some of the finest pressed glass in Britain. The works also specialised in cut, engraved and coloured tableware and paperweights.

bachelor’s chest A compact, low chest of drawers made during the first half of the 18th Century. The top folds out and forms a table.

back board The wooden backing to case furniture or a framed mirror. Higher quality 18th and early 19th Century furniture usually has back boards. Plywood became more popular from the late 19th Century.

back plate The back of the pair of metal plates which hold the mechanism of a clock in place. They can sometimes be engraved with decorative motifs or the makers name.

back screen Introduced in the early 19th Century, an article normally of woven cane, that was attached to the back of a dining chair to protect its user against the heat from of a fire.

backstaff Navigational instrument that has rods supporting two scaled arcs, this was invented by an Englishman called John Davis in 1954. The observer would stand with his back to the sun and align one scale on the horizon, the other on the shadow cast by its sighting piece. Both the readings added together gave the sun’s height and then the latitude could be calculated.

backstamp The mark printed on the underneath of pottery wares, this term was used by commercial potteries.

backstool An early form of an armless chair first introduced in the late 16th Century. It is either a three or four legged stool with a back extending from the rear legs. For at this time the word chair only applied to a seat that had arms. From the early 18th Century the backstool became known as a single or a side stool.

bacon cupboard A type of settle, that was made up of a long bench with a panelled cupboard doubling as a back rest, and often drawers set beneath the seat. It was a common item of farmhouse furniture.

BADA British Antique Dealers’ Association, and organisation of antique shops and individual dealers, formed to maintain standards within the trade.

baff The Farsi word for ‘knot’ in the context of carpets. Armeni-baff are knotted by Armenians; bibi-baff are, strictly speaking, very finely woven rugs knitted by a bibi (princess) of the bakhtiari nomads of central Persia, but came to be used to describe any finely knitted bakhtiari rug.

baguette Jewel cutting

bail handle A simple, curved metal handle, as in a semicircular drawer pull, or the handle of a kettle.

Baillie Scott, Mackay Hugh (1865-1945) British architect of international repute, who designed plainly shaped furniture decorated with colourful INLAID work and metalwork, in the style of the ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT.

Bain, Alexander (c.1811-77) Scottish clock-maker and scientist who patented the first ELECTRIC CLOCK in 1840.

baize Loose-woven, woollen material, usually dyed green or red and used from the 17thC to describe a flannel-like cloth produced in the eastern counties of England. It was used for covering card and billiard tables, and for lining drawers.

Bakelite A durable, opaque, easily dyed plastic patented by Leo Backland in 1907. It is a ‘thermosetting’ plastic – the ingredients heated under pressure in a mould, resulkting in a very hard, heat-resistant material. Bakelite was used for cheap ART DECO jewellery, in the form of imitation amber or jet buckles, for example – ornaments and numerous other articles, from ashtrays to radio cabinets.

balance A wheel in a clock or watch that regulates the action of the ESCAPEMENT mechanism and thus of the timepiece itself. Its effect was erratic before the invention c.1675 of the balance spring. This uses a spiral hairspring to make the movement of the balance wheel more regular and ISOCHRONUS; it was as significant a development in the field of portable clocks and watches as the PEBDULUM was for standing clocks. However, the elasticity of the spring is very susceptible to heat and cold, making a spring balance less acurate than a pendulum. The problem was overcome by the development of various forms of compensation balance form the mid-18thC, especially in association with the development of CHRONOMETERS.

baldric Sword belt, usually of leather which is worn over the shoulder and diagonally across the chest.

ball turning A series of turned wooden spheres of equal size used as ornamentation on the legs and horizontal STRETCHERS of chair and table legs, mid-17th to early 18th centuries.

baluster A turned column or post, usually one of many supporting a rail to form a balustrade. The shape is seen in table legs and chair backs, drinking-glass stems and silverware.

bamboo furniture Furniture made either from, or in imitation of, bamboo. It was popular during the vogue for CHINOISERIE in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, usually crafted in strong woods such as beech and then turned, curved and painted to imitate real bamboo. A late Victorian craze for genuine bamboo furniture resulted in an abundance of rather fragile tables, bookcases, chairs, WHATNOTS and pot stands; in the USA at the same time, sturdier simualted forms were fashionable.

banding A decorative, INLAID or VENEER strip, in contrasting wood or sometimes metal. Banding may be used as a border on a door panel, table top or drawer front. Straight banding is cut along the grain of the wood; cross banding is cut across the grain; feather banding or herringbone banding is formed of two narrow pieces of veneer laid at an angle to each other to give a chevron effect. Very fine banding is known as stringing or line inlay.

banjo barometer See WHEEL BAROMETER

banjo clock Pendulum WALL CLOCK resembling an upturned banjo, introduced by the Willard family of clock-makers in Boston, USA. Many reproductions were made in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. See also GIRANDOLE.

Bank of England dollar Silver coin struck for a few years at the beginning of the 19thC. Circulating examples, also known as bank tokens, were all dated 1804, inscribed with the word ‘dollar’ beneath an image of Britannia on the reverse, and had a face value of 5s (25p). The 3s and 1s6d denominations were struck in 1811. The entire coinage was made obsolete in 1816.

Banko ware Pottery made by, or in the style of, Japanese 18thC potter Numanami Shigenaga. The wares are typically decorated with human figures, monkeys or other animals picked out in enamels or glazes with touches of UNDERGLAZE blue. The style was revived in the late 19thC. Most common are enamelled grey stoneware teawares, often in the form of a lotus or other flower.

banner screen See POLE SCREEN

bantam work See LACQUER

bar back See CHAIR

barbeau See ANGOULEME SPRIG

barber’s bowl Shaving dish, usually ceramic but also silver or other metal, used by barbers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. A semicircular section cut out of the rim fitted beneath a client’s chin. This could also be placed around an arm and used as a bleeding bowl for blood-letting (surgery being one of the barber’s major functions until the 19thC)

Barcelona chair See MIES VAN DER ROHE, LUDWIG

barefaced tenon See JOINING

barge ware A dark brown, glazed EARTHENWARE with white clay relief patterns, produced in Derbyshire, c.1860-1910. Motifs of birds and flowers were tinted green, blue and pink. Practical containers such as large teapots (with a miniature teapot FINIAL), jugs and chamber pots were the main lines. It was sold at Measham, Leicestershire, on the banks of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal, and is also known as bargee or measham ware.

bargello Embroidery design in which the colours, usually worked in pointed or flame-shaped patterns, graduate through their various shades. It is also known as flame stitch, Florentine stitch and Hungarian stitch.

bargueno See VARGUENO.

barion cut See JEWEL CUTTING

barley-sugar twist See TURNING

Barnack, Oscar (1879-1936) German microscope designer and inventor of the Leica camera, launched in 1925 by the German company Leitz. The Leica was the miniature precision camera of its kind.

barograph A type of ANEROID BAROMETER that records air pressure, introduced in the 18thC. The aneroid mechanism moves a pen against a slowly turning drum on which a graph is mounted.

barometer Instrument for registering atmospheric pressure and forecasting weather conditions, first made in the late 17thC. See ANEROID, ANGLE, FITZROY, STICK and WHEEL BAROMETERS.

baroque pearls Pearls of irregular shape that were widely used in Baroque and Renaissance jewellery of the 15th to 17th centuries. The pearls were often decorated with gemstones or enamelling to take the form of mythological figures.

Baroque Style An extravagant and heavily ornate style born from the architechture of 17thC Italy. For the first time, sculptors played a crucial role in the design of furniture, ceramics, ivory and silver, joining forces with gilders and earning recognition as craftsman in their own right rather than as the employees of joiners and CABINET-MAKERS. Their influence was evident in elborate, rather architectural furniture and in the abundance of cupids, carnucopias, and other such decoration set in symmetrical, curvaceous designs. The style dominated the decorative arts thoughout Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and in a less elaborate form in the USA during the first half of the 18thC. It paved the way for the lighter, more frivolous and colourful ROCOCO.

Barr, Flight & Barr See WORCESTER

barrel A hollow, cylindrical metal box or drum in a clock or watch that contains the driving or going spring and is connected ti the first wheel in the TRAIN. The casing has, from c.1580-1600, almost universally been of brass. A going barrel has the first wheel of the train mounted in the same ARBOR, thus dispensing with the two-part FUSEE. It was used for the striking trains of the 17thC German Renaissance clocks from c.1680, as it gives adequate timekeeping for most domestic purposes.

Bartoluzzi, Francesco (1727-1815) Pioneer of the process of stipple ENGRAVING and owner of large print works in london in the 18thC. He produced society portraits and domestic and rural scenes.

Barum ware Earthenware pottery made in Barnstaple, North Devon, and popular from c.1879 until the early 20thC. Specialities include simple jugs and vases with respresentations of birds, flowers, marine life or dragons painted in SLIP in soft colours, and sometimes wuth outlines incised.

bas d’armoire French term for a low 18thC chest with double doors enclosing cupboards and drawers.

bas relief See RELIEF

basal rim See FOOT-RIM

basaltes ware A very hard abd fine-grained STONEWARE made by a number of Staffordshire potters and improved by WEDGEWOOD c.1768. It found a ready market as a relatively cheap medium for reproducing, in ceramic form, the Classical bronzes abnd cameos which were popular in the late 18thC. Products included vases (some examples are bronze-glazed), large busts, medallions and domestic pots.

base metals The term for all non-precious metals including copper, lead, iron and tin and their alloys such as brass, pewter, bronze and nickel silver.

basin stand See WASHSTAND

Baskerville, John (1706-75) Although best known as a typographer, Baskerville was also a key manufacturer of JAPANNED metalware. He was based in Birmingham and is credited with intriducing polychrome painting on japanned bases.

basket glass Glass container in the shape of a basket, for sweets or fruit. OPENWORK sides, attached to a moulded base, are made from pieces or threads of glass pincered together.

basket-top clock A BRACKET CLOCK with either a REPOUSSE metal dome or a cushion-moulded (flat-topped with curved edges) wood dome.

basketwork A generic term for chairs and other furniture made of wicker, cane, or woven, coarse sea grass. Wickerwork furniture, in which the basket weave is worked around a frame of stiff rods, was popular in Victorian times for use both indoors and outside, and ranged from round-seated single chairs to lounge chairs with foot-rest extensions. See also LLOYD LOOM.

basse-taille See ENAMELLING

bassine-cased watch Shallow, circular pocket watch dating from the mid-17thC, with a rounded cover and back which curves gently into the central band. The case is often finely decorated with enamel.

bassinet A hooded WICKERWORK basket used as a cradle, and later used to describe late 19thC baby carriages with a hooded basketwork body.

Batavian ware Early 18thC CHINESE EXPORT PROCELAIN named after the Dutch East India Company trading station in Batvia (now Jakarta), Java. It is typically in the form of tea services decorated with blue nad white, often fan-shaped panels, and with a coffee-brown glaze on the outer side of bowls and saucers. Copies of the style made at MEISSEN in Germany and LEEDS, England, were also known as Batavian and Kapuziner ware.

Bateman family London family of silversmiths producing domestic silverware in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hester Bateman (1708-94), the best known member, was trained by her husband John, and on his death carried on the business with her sons. A vast amount of domestic silver marked by its grace of line and simplicity of decoration was produced with her mark, including tableware, snuffboaxes, seals and wine labels. Hester retired in 1790, and her sons Peter and Jonathan, and Jonathan’s wife, Ann carried on the firm. The change in management was marked by substituting a thread decoration for Hester’s beading. Ann Bateman’s son William took the business – and the style of Bateman silver – into the Victorian era.

Bath metal An inexpensive bronze-like alloy used by some independent 18thC coiners (ass opposed to the Royal Mint) and from the late 18thC for small bozes and buttons.

batik Distinctive patterned and dyed fabric from the East Indies, brought to Europe by the Dutch in the 16thC. In the batik process, melted wax is applied to parts of the design not intended to take colour, and the cloth is then dyed. This is repeated as necessary for other colours, the wax being washed out with hot water after each dyeing. Some batik is also hand-painted. The process was used in the 16th and 17thC Europe for dyeing expensive facbrics such as velvet, but the bold batik colours and patterns were printed on cotton and dyed by other processes from the 19thC.

bat-printing See TRANSFER-PRINTING

Battersea ENAMEL factory based in Battersea, London, specialising in items such as snuffboxes, plaques, wine labels, and watch and toothpick cases. Early porcelain boxes made at CHEALSEA had Battersea enamel lids. Designs were often transfer-printed onto a white enamel ground, then painted in delicate colours. The factory, run by John Brooks, pioneer of the TRANSFER-PRINTING process, only lasted three years (1753-6) but its influence lived on in enamelware produced in South Staffordshire and Birmingham.

Bauhaus A German school of design founded in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius, an architect-designer. The Bauhaus aimed to produce prototype designs for everyday, mass-produced items. It explored the amnufacturing processes and new materials of the ‘machine age’ such as stainless steel and plastics, and coordinated the skills of architects, engineers, painters, sculptors and designers. The school was closed by the Nazis in 1933, but revived in the German city of Ulm after the war and insired industrial design in the mid-20thC.

baywood See MAHOGONY

bead moulding See MOULDINGS

beadwork A form of embroidering textiles using small, coloured glass beads with, or instead of, needlework. Beadwork was a popular covering for small boxes and mirror frames in late 16th and 17th-century Europe, particularly in Britain, and in the 19thC for chair covers, purses, pictures and other objects.

beaker Drinking cup without handles or stem, and usually with a foot rim. Early beakers were made in wood, glass and pottery, although from the 11thC there were silver, silver-gilt and gold examples. British beakers are usually more plainly decorated that their continental counterparts. In the 18thC, glasses generally replaced beakers for table use.

bearskin Tall, military black fur hat, originally made from bear skin. It has been worn by British guardsmen since the 18thC, and is now part of their ceremonial dress.

Beauvais Centre for weaving in northern France. The Beauvais Tapestry Factory was founded in 1664, and ultimately amalgamated with GOBELINS in 1940. Typical Beauvais tapestries – in the form of wall-hangings, carpets and furniture covers – have COMMEDIA DELL’ART scenes or extracts from contemporary paintings, framed by heavily festooned drapes; Classical and CHINOISERIE motifs are also seen. They are brilliantly coloured, often with a dominant yellow ground known as ‘Spanish tobacco’. From 1725, imitation Beauvais tapestries were made in Berlin. The 19thC brought specialisation in furniture covers.

Becker, Carl (d.1830) Notorious German forger of ancient Greek coins, who operated in the early 19thC. Fortunately for modern collectors, his extensive repertoire of copies was exposed and published after his death.

bedstead The framework of a bed, which raises mattress and bedding material above floor level. Bedsteads only became widespread in Europe from the early 17thC. Monument-like bedsteads with eleborately carved wooden canopies were made during the RENAISSANCE, the canopies designed to provide privacy, protection from draughts, dirt and insects. The emphasis shifted from woodwork to fabric hangings in the mid-17thC, and a host of different bed styles were introduced over the next century. 19thC bed designs tended to be more functional.

beech A pale, smooth and straight grained wood, one of the most inexpensive hardwoods available. Beech was often stained and used as a substitute for walnut in coun try furniture, expecially chairs, of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is also seen gilded or painted. Although subject to woodworm, beech has the advantage of taking close nailing without splitting.

Behrens, Peter (1868-1940) German illustrator, architect, craftsman and designer of industrial and domestic fittings. Behrens’s early furniture, ceramics, jewellery and glass designs were in ART NOVEAU style, but by 1898 he was designing simple, stream-lined household onjects for commercial production. He was a founder member of the DEUTSCHER WERKBUND, 1907, a group of German artists and manufacturers. LE CORBUSIER, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe all worked under Behrens c.1910.

Beilby, William and Mary A brother and sister team of glass enamellers in the late 18thC. They decorated wine glasses and decanters with colourful heraldic designs or rustic scenes with romantic ruins and creepers, usually in white enamel.

bellarmine Bulbous brown STONEWARE jug with a bearded head in low relief on the narrow neck, and frequently with relief coats of arms on the body. Bellarmines originated in 16thC Germany, the bearded head said to be that of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino, a leader of the Counter Reformation much hated by German Protestants. Many Bellarmines were exported t Britain (where they were also known as greybeards), and copied particularly at John DWIGHT’s Fulham pottery in London. Reproductions were made in Germany until the late 19thC.

belle epoque French for ‘fine period’, generally used to describe an elaborate and sumptuous decorative arts style which was prevalent in Europe from the end of the 19thC up until World War I.

Belleek A ceramics factory in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, founded in 1857. Its speciality was a delicate PARIAN procelain. Wares are wholly or partly treated with a clear or pearlised, and sometimes iridescent, glaze. Belleek table and ornamental items are often decorated with or in the shape of shells and other marine life. Porcelain strips woven into baskets and perforated designs are also typical.

bell-metal A tough bronze alloy used for bells and occasioanlly for cooking utensils such as skillets.

Belter, John (1804-63) German-born US cabinet-maker, after whom Belter Furniture (carved and upholstered bentwood suites) was names. Belter’s revived ROCOCO style was very popular and he displaced cabinet-maker Duncan PHYFE as New York’s leading craftsman. He patented a plywood process using rosewood which was then ornately carved.

Benares brassware Indian-style brassware, including trays and table tops. The genuine articles were made in India, but imitations were produced in Birmingham from the late 19thC, and sometimes exported to India and imported back again to suggest authenticity.

bends The curved runners of rockers of a ROCKING CHAIR located between the back and front feet.

Benson, William (1854-1924) British architect and leading furniture and metalwork designer in the ARTS and CRAFTS movement. Unlike the more purist members of the movement, Benson was not dismissive of mass-production methods, and his factory at Hammersmith, London, produced commercial domestic objects such as chandeliers, 1883 – 1923.

bent-limb doll Doll with limbs that are in one carved piece rather than jointed. The bent-limb style is normally reserved for baby dolls and was first introduced on COMPOSITION dolls in 1910, and on vinyl models from the late 1930’s.

bentwood Lightweight solid or laminated timber, usually birch, soaked in hot water or steamed to make it pliable so that it is easily worked into curves. The technique was originally used for 18thC WINDSOR CHAIRS, but a distinctive style of bentwood furniture really became established in the mid-19thC with the work of the Austrian furniture-maker Michael THONET. Thonet Bentwood is strong, light, graceful and made from solid timber; it was soon seen in homes, cafes and hotels throughout Europe. In the 20thC, designers such as Alvar Aalto, marcel Breuer and others, widened the range of the bentwood styles, usually by using laminated timer.

Berain, Jean (1637-1711) French draughtsman, engraver and designer, and one of the originators of the LOUIS XIV style. Berain worked as court designer from 1674, and his published symmetrical designs influenced ornamentation on contemporary furniture, carpets and silverware. Mid-18thC Moustiers FAIENCE was very often decorated in so-called style Berainesque.

bergere French name for a deep, tub-chaped, upholstered armchair of the early 19thC, with continuous top and arm rails and a slightly concave back. Some versions are caned between the arms and seat and have a loose seat cushion.

Berlin German ceramics centre with FAIENCE factories from 1678, a minor porcelain factory founded 1751, and a factory established 1763 which was known mainly for the production of dinner services and figures in restrained ROCOCO style. In the 19thC this factory produced BLANKS which were sent to outside decorators for painting.

Berlin iron jewellery Early 19thC cast-iron jewellery made principally in Germany. People were given Berlin iron in exchange for their precious jewellery to boost the Prussian State gold reserves. Items such as brooches, necklaces and crosses in CLASSICAL or GOTHIC-style designs were typically crafted in delicate OPENWORK patterns and laquered black. Production continued in Germany and Paris until the end of the 19thC.

Berlin woolwork Home-worked embroidery popular in the 19thC in Europe and the USA, using wool which was originally dyed in Berlin. German wool manufacturers marketed the wools by providing coloured pattern charts that could be easily transferred onto canvas.

beryl A mineral that forms several varieties of gemstones, notably EMERALD and AQUAMARINE. The stone in its purest form is colourless, but impurities cause pale-coloured varieties of gems including yellow, pink and green beryl.

bevel General term for any edge cut at an angle to a flat surface.

bezel 1 Metal rim or band set around the edge inside the shutting edge of a container. 2 Rim or setting edge of a ring that holds the stone or ornament, often loosely applied to the whole setting. 3 Metal rim holding the glass or watch or clock face.

bi Flat jade disk, also spelt pi, with a hold in the centre. It symbolised heaven and was used ritualistically in China until the end of the reign of the last emporor in 1912.

bianco-sopra-bianco Itlalian for ‘white-on-white’, referring to TIN-GLAZED EARTHENWARE with white-painted decoration introduced by the Italians on MAIOLICA in the 16thC. It is seen in mid to late 18thC Lambeth and Bristol DELFTWARE and Chinese and English porcelain.

Bible box 17thC box, usually of oak with a hinged lid. Bible boxes were designed to hold the family bible or other books or writing materials. Some, designed to double as a lectern, have a sloping lid.

bidri Indian metalwork – copper, lead and tin alloy, blackened with a mixture of sal ammoniac and saltpetre, and INLAID with silver or brass. Bidri ware such as spice boxes and the bases for hookah pipes was imported from India in the 19thC.

Biedermeier A restrained NEOCLASSICAL decorative art style originating in Germany in the early 19thC, which was most evident in furniture design.

Biemann, Dominik (1800-57) Prominent BOHEMIAN glass engraver. He specialised in portraits but also engraved hunting scenes, landscapes and Old Master paintings. His work appears on glasses, beakers and medallions, usually signed with various pellings of his name (Bieman, Biman or Bimann).

biggan Late 18thC and 19thC style of British coffee pot in silver or SHEFFIELD PLATE. The design is attributed to the London silversmith George Biggin (d. 1803). The pots have a cylindrical or barrel-shaped body and a short spout with built-in filter for ground coffee; the handle is usually of hardwood, such as ebony, or ivory. Biggins were either warmed on a stand over a spirit lamp or placed on a fire hob.

billet 1 A Romanesque (pre-GOTHIC) ornamental motif of moulding using alternating blocks or cylinders. 2 The THUMBPIECE on tankards and flagons.

Billies and Charlies 19thC forgeries of medieval amulets, pilgrim badges, figures and seals. Many were cast by William Smith and Charles Eaton of London – hence the name. The men claimed to have found the objects in the Thames’ riverbed. The forgeries were often made in poor-quality pewter with relief decoration.

Billingsley, Willian See DERBY; SWANSEA.

Bilston enamels Articles of jewellery and OBJECTS OF VERTU made in Bilston and other parts of Staffordshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Most enamelled objects made in Britain at this time, including boxes, scent bottles and candlesticks, came from the Bilston area. Some incorporated small enamel plaques, others were coated in white enamel and then painted with motifs of landscapes, flowers and birds.

birch A native timber of northern Europe, creamy in colour, tinged with pink or yellow, and with a fine, even, wavy grain. It has been used mainly as a solid wood for chairs and country furniture, especially in the 18thC, and is seen in BIEDERMEIER furniture. Selected pieces were occasionally used as a cheap substitute for SATINWOOD. In the 19thC cheap birch furniture was mass-produced, and after the invention of the rotary cutting lathe in 1890, it was common as a veneer and for PLYWOOD.

birdcage The wooden hinged mechanism which is found on some 18thC TRIPOD TABLES. It is fixed at the top of the the pedestal and enables the table surface to swivel, tilt, fold or be fixed horizontally.

bird’s-eye maple See MAPLE.

biscuit Fired but unglased ceramics. Biscuit procelain has a crisp, dry appearance that was used for statuettes and reproductions of Classical sculptures, initially by SEVRES from 1753, and later by DERBY and porcelain factories throughout Europe. Biscuit-firing is the term for the first firing prior to glazing. See BISQUE and PARIAN.

biscuit barrel Barrel-shaped biscuit container dating from bear the end of the 19thC. Some examples have a matching tray to catch falling crumbs. Biscuit barrels were made in various materials including electroplated silver, solid silver or ceramics, and often with metal mounts.

biscuit warmer Late 19thC silver stand for serving and keeping warm biscuits at the table. The warmers, also known as folding biscuit boxes, consist of a stand with a central column with either a handle of finial and two or more bowls which open out horizontally and close vertically onto the column.

bisque Term for the unglazed, matt-surface BISCUIT porcelain that was the most popular material for doll’s heads from the mid-19thC to the 1930’s, and revived 1960-80. Flesh colour and features are painted on after an initial firing, then fired again at a low termperature to fix the colours. The term all-bisque refers to a doll with head, limbs and body made of bisque.

bizarre silk A FIGURED silk cloth fashionable for dresses in Europe c.1695-1720. Designs were inspired by Oriental textiles, typically with tropical foliage, flora and jagged lines, woven in gold or silver thread. The cloth was produced in Britain at the SPITALFIELDS SILK FACTORIES.

black basaltes See BASALTES WARE

black jack British tankard-shaped leather jug, popular until the 18thC. It was lined with pitch to make it water-tight, and often had a metal rim.

blackamoor See GUERIDON

blacking A rust-resisting treatment applied to guns or armour, using either chemicals or paint.

blanc-de-chine 18thC French term for porcelain made in Fujien province in south-eatern China from the 17thC (late MING dynasty) to the present. Unpainted wares, including small, finely modelled figures, large sculptured models of deities and other wares often with relief decoration were exported to Europe. The ware was copied by nearly all early European porcelain factories including ST CLOUD, MENNECY, BOW and CHEALSEA during the 18thC.

blank 1 A prepared piece of metal ready for striking into a coin, also known as a flan, or, particuarly in the USA, as a planchet. 2 Undecorated glass or ceramic item (also called in-the-white in ceramics) that is passed to an outside decorator for painting or printing.

bleeding bowl See BARBER’S BOWL; PORRINGER

Bleu persan See NEVERS

blind earl See DECORATIVE MOTIFS

blind fret See FRETWORK

blind tracery Typical GOTHIC decoration carved in relief on a solid background, often found on furniture.

blockfront An Americal 18thC CASE FURNITURE design in which the centre section is a flattened concave curve flanked by outer section of flattened convex curves.

bloom Dull, matt surface on old glassware. This may be caused by too much alkali in the glass, by the presence of sulphurous smoke during reheating, or by wearing away of decoration such a gilding.

blue and white The most widely-used and longest-lasting decorative ceramic colour scheme, in which cobalt blue is an UNDERGLAZE colour. Cobalt blue retains its true colour over a wide range of firing temperatures, from low-fired earthenwares to the most highly fired porcelains.

blue cloth helmet Cloth-covered helmet with a top soike worn by the British army from 1879 and still worn by some military bands.

blue dash Simple blue on white decoration comprising oblique, regularly spaced, cobalt-blue dashes. The decoration is found on the rim of 17th-18thC London and Bristol delftware CHARGERS.

blue john A type of Crystalline fluorspar with bands of yellow, purple, blue and white, mined in Derbyshire. It was popular in the late 18th and late 19th centuries, when it was used for OBJECTS OF VERTU, candlesticks and candelabra.

blueing The heat treatment of iron or steel which forms a thin surface layer of blue oxide. This retards rusting, and was also used to decorate armour.

blunderbuss A shoulder gun with a flared muzzle for scattering shot widely, increasing the probability oif a hit without taking aim. In the 18thC it was commonly used as a house or coach defensive weapon.

boarded construction See JOINING

board-ended stool The dining seat of the 14th, 15th ad 16th centuries. Instead of legs, the stools were supported on boards which were vertical or inclined inwards towards the seat and held firm by horizontal APRON pieces.

bob pendulum A short, light-weighted PENDULUM which swings through a wide arc, and is associated with a verge ESCAPEMENT. It can be either pear or lens-shaped.

bobbin See LACE, TURNING.

bocage A French term meaning ‘thicket’, used to describe ceramic foliage or flowers that provide a background for a central subject. Bocage is typical of ROCOCO style, often framing figures in a canopy or arbour, and was particularly popular from the 1750s to the 1770s.

body Mix of materials that forms the basic structure of an article, as in the paste of PORCELAIN.

body colour See GOUACHE.

Bohemia Region of what was later Czechoslovakia, renowned for its elaborately engraved glass. The earliest wares, dating from the 14thC, were made of WALDGLAS (forest glass) – a crude, mould-blown product which used wood as a source of potash for the FLUX. Venetian techniques were introduced in the 16thC and wheel engraving was common. The development of LIME GLASS a century later provided a better medium for decoration and led to facet CUTTING and elaborate engraving. One of the most noted engravers was Ludwig Moser who specialised in portrait work. Although independent artists produced much of the finest work under the patronage of German princes, factories such as those at Haida (now Novy Bor) and Karlsbad (now Karlovy-Vary) also produced fine-quality ware from the mid 19th to early 20th centuries, including CASED GLASS and FLASHED GLASS in brilliant colours.

bois clair See RESTAURATION STYLE.

bois durci Mid-19thC EBONY substitute, made from sawdust and animal blood or other water-soluble protein. The mixture coagulated on heating and could be die-stamped into decorative mouldings for furniture, medallions and trays.

boiserie French term for 17th and 18thC wooden wall panelling ornately decorated with carving. Boiseries were often painted white with the ornamentation highlighted in gold or bright colours, and might also incorporate paintings.

bole Red or yellow, fine ochre clay used as a ground by gilders prior to applying gold leaf (see GILDING).

bolection moulding A furniture moulding used where two surfaces of differing levels meet.

bombard A large jug made of sewn leather and lined with pitch or resin to make it watertight; used from medieval times to the 18thC.

bombe Literally translated form the French as ‘bulging’, a term used for a swelling shape seen originally on chests of drawers and commodes of the Louis XIV period. The outward swell or curve towards the base of a piece was a popular feature during the Rococo period.

bonbonniere Small container for sweets, popular in the 18thC. Also known as comfit and sweetmeat boxes, they were crafted in a variety of materials, particularly silver and porcelain, and often in novelty shapes such as a shoe or a head.

bone ash Calcium phosphate from burned and ground animal bones, which was used as a fusing and stabilising agent in soft-paste porcelain, particularly in 18thC English factories, in BONE CHINA, and as a whitening agent in CREAMWARE.

bone china A modified hard-paste PORCELAIN containing up to 50 per cent bone ash. Its introduction by SPODE in 1794 was an important step in the development of European ceramics; by the early 19thC, most British porcelain factories were making bone china, and the recipe is still used today. Bone china is tougher and cheaper to make than soft-paste porcelain, and slightly softer but again cheaper to mass-produce than thard-paste porcelain.

bone lace See LACE.

bonheur-du-jour A lady’s elegant, clender-legged writing table often fitted with toilet accessories. Shelves and pigeonholes, sometimes enclosed by a TAMBOUR or CYLINDER FALL, are set at the back of the table surface. There may be a cupboard or shelves above for ornaments. Bonheurs-du-jour were introduced in France in the 1760s and soon afterwards produced in Britain.

bore Inner surface of a gun barrel. The diameter of the bore is the calibre.

Boreman, Zachariah See DERBY.

borne Circular, upholstered Victorian OTTOMAN-type sofa, sometimes known as a conversation seat, which has three or four seat divisions and a central cone providing a backrest.

Boston rocker See ROCKING CHAIRS

boteh One of the most common motifs used on Oriental weavings, and the inspiration for the European PAISLEY pattern.

Bottger, Johan (1682-1719) German alchemist and inventor of European hard-paste PORCELAIN. Bottger also pioneered a very hard RED STONEWARE (1709), a glazed, white procelain (1709) and Bottger lustre, a pale purple lustre glaze made with gold (c.1715). In 1710 he was appointed director of the newly formed MEISSEN procelain factory.

bottle stand See COASTER

bottle ticket A small plaque. Also known as a bottle label or wine label, for hanging around the neck of a wine bottle or decanter, which bears the name of the contents. Bottle tickets were first made in silver in the 1730s, and later in enamel on copper, SHEFFIELD PLATE, procelain or glass. Some bottle tickets carry the name, initials or family crest of the owner.

boudoir doll Elaborately and fashionably dressed, long limbed doll designed as an ornament for an adult’s bedroom, rather than as child’s toy. The dolls were popular c.1915-1930, but continued to be made in the 1940s. Most have cloth bodies, although there are also some COMPOSITION, wax and ceramic examples.

bough-pot See FLOWER-BRICK

boulle A MARQUETRY technique, also known as buhl work, using metal (usually brass) and tortoiseshell in reverse patterns, sometimes combined with other materials and often set in an ebony veneer. It was a popular technique in France from the late 17thC through to the 19thC, and in Britain from 1815. The term is associated with the French cabinet-maker and EBENISTE Andre Boulle (1642-1732) of the Louis XIV period in France. He specialised in elegant, highly ornamental furniture – mainly for the nobility. He also produced cases for LONGCASE CLOCKS and barometers, gilt-bronzed chandeliers, candelabra and ANDIRONS.

Boulton, Matthew (1728-1809) Inventor, entrepreneur and leading metalware manufacturer. His factory at Soho, Birmingham produced not only furniture mounts, buckles, buttons, snuffboxes and sword hilts, 1759-66, but also, as a private mint, struck Britain’s first copper pennies in 1797. Boulton established the Birmingham assay office in 1773 and his factory, using the designs of Robert Adam and a a host of local craftsmen, greatly contributed to the city’s successful silver industry. From the 1760s he specialised in SHEFFIELD PLATE, becoming Britain’s primary producer. ORMOLU objects, such as vases, candlesticks and clock cases, and mounts for ornaments and ceramic pieces were also produced. Much of Boulton’s later work was staff-designed for mass production.

bourdalou Oval-shaped receptacle, designed for use by woman when travelling. Bourdaloues, also known as coach pots or slippers, date from c.1710 and were generally made of porcelain or pottery, occasionally of silver, japanned metal or glass. They look rather like sauceboats, but the front lip curves inwards rather than out.

Bow With CHELSEA, one of the first soft-paste porcelain producers in Britain. It was the largest of the 18thC English porcelain factories, and made a broader range of products for a wider market than Chelsea. Bow was founded in the East end of London by Irish painter Thomas Frye in 1744. Soft-paste procelain was produced in 1748, introducing the use of BONE ASH. The body is tougher than that produced at Chelsea, but has a ‘lumpy’, bluish tinge to the glaze and an orange TRANSLUCENCY when held to the light. Until the late 1750s, the bulk of Bow’s output imitated Oriental procelain. For a time it was the largest producer of BLUE AND WHITE porcelain in Europe and also made BLANC-DE-CHINE wares. Figures were a feature too, and often of native British design. They are less finely modelled and more thickly glazed than those made at Chelsea ad often unpainted. Some table and decorative ware followed a modified ROCOCO style and contemporary fashions in silverware, with applied shells and seaweed on table centrepieces and scrolled bases for figures, for example. From the late 1750s, Bow decorations were inspired by MEISSEN, SEVRES, and WORCESTER, but with lower-quality results. Some 30 years after its foundation, Bow was bought by Derby following a period of decline. Few Bow wares carry a mark, although the device of a dagger and anchor painted in dark iron red is occasionally found on flatwares and figures.

bowenite See SERPENTINE

bow-front curving, convex front on a chest of drawers, commode, cabinet or sideboard, also known as swell front.

bowie knife A knife with a broad curved-back blade, named after James Bowie (1796-1836), a Kentuckian colonel. It was popular in the USA but most were manufactured in Britain.

box bedstead Bed enclosed on three sides by framed panelling, on the fourth side by curtains or sliding panels, and above by a flat TESTER. Box bedsteads were seen in poor households in Scotland and the North of England and Wales u to the mid-19thC.

box stool a 17thC JOINED oak stool with a box beneath a hinged seat.

boxlock A FLINTLOCK or percussion firearm with the firing mechanism mounted centrally on the stock.

boxwood A very close-grained, yellow HARDWOOD native to Europe. It was expecially popular for stringing (see BANDING) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was also ideal for blocks for wood ENGRAVING and for moulds. The undulating figure of the wood from its roots and branches made box a popular material for INLAID WORK and MARQUETRY in the 16th and 17th centuries.

bracket clock A general term for a spring driven clock, usually wooden-cased, with a vertical dial on the front face and generally with a PENDULUM-controlled ESCAPEMENT. The movement, or mechanism, is contained between two vertical plates. The term originates from the fact that lthough most clocks of this type stood on pieces of furniture, some were furnished with a suporting wall bracket. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they were called spring clocks.

bracket foot See FEET

braganza foot see FEET

Brandt, Edgar (1880-1960) The most renowned French metalworker of the ART DECO period, and designer of furniture, screens and decorative panels. He used a combination of mettals, such as iron, brass and copper and is also known for this wrought-iron work, often with a hammered finish. Brandt formed a company in New York called Ferrobrandt.

brandy bowl Shallow, oval bowl with two opposing handles, used both for tasting and for drinking brandy. Brandy bowls were made in Holland in the 17th and 18th centuries abnd revived in the 19thC; in the early 18thC, versions made in New York were exported to Britain.

brandy saucepan See PIPKIN

brass A strong yellow alloy of copper and zinc; a higher level of zinc prouces a yellower metal. Brass is malleable and easy to work. It has been worked in Britain from the Middle Ages. Large-scale production came c.1700, with better quality metal from c.1720. Some small brass ornaments and mounts for clocks were silvered. In the 19thC, thin sheet brass was introduced and designs were stamped out under presses to produce ornaments, inkstands, letter racks and door furniture.

breakfast can See COFFEE CAN

breakfast table A small, light, four-legged table with two extendible hinged flaps. The custom of entertaining friends to a late breakfast died out towards the end of the 18thC, and the term becamse more generally applied to lighter and smaller versions of dining tables for use in the breakfast room.

breakfront Term used to describe a piece of furniture with part of its fromt projecting. Breakfront bookcases, sideboards, wardrobes and clothes presses were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

breech The closed end of a barrell, where the charge or cartridge is placed. Beech=loading weapons were easier to load than muzzle-loading ones. Although they were used from the 15thC, it was not until the 19thC that they were perfected.

Breguet, Abraham-Louis (1747-1823) Swiss born watchmaker working in Paris from c.1762. He specialises in subscription watches or souscription watches which were made to order for clients or subscribers, and self-winding watches. In 1795, Breguet invented an escapement mechanism-called the tourbillon which reduced errors caused by the changing position of a watch as it was carried around. He also developed montres a tact which have knobs set at each hour for telling the time by touch in the dark. Breguet’s watch cases are often very thin, with gold or silver dials. He signed his pieces ‘Braguet a Paris’ until 1791, when he developed a hidden signature to discourage forgeries. He went into partnership with his son Louis-Antoine c.1807.

breloque Small ornament worn on a watch chain or CHATELAINE. It was typically made of gold or enamel and often in the form of a tiny statuette. Porcelain breloaques were made at CHELSEA and DERBY in the 18thC.

Bretby Art Pottery Derbyshire earthenware pottery, established 1883. Bretby made pieces to the designs of Christopher DRESSER.

Breuer, Marcel (1902-81) Hungariab-born furniture designer and architect, specialising in interiors. Breuer trained at the BAUHAUS school of design. His furniture was easily mass-produced and he was largely responsible for introducing chrome into ordinary households for the first time. Many of Breuer’s designs were produced by the THONET brothers’ furniture factory in Vienna. Breuer left Germany for Britain in 1935 and two years later settled in the USA.

brides See LACE

bright-cut engraving method of engraving metal articles especially ADAM-style silverware, developed in late 18thC Birmingham. The engraving instrument, or graver, has a double edge which removes slivers of metal and burnishes the cut surface to produce a smooth, polished, FACETED decoration.

brilliance Radiant brightness of a diamond or other transparent gemstone, enhanced by the skilled arrangement of FACETS. A stone’s brilliance is enhanced if the facets cause a greater deflection of light entering a stone and minimal loss of light through the stone’s base.

brilliant cut See JEWEL CUTTING

brin See FAN

briolette See JEWEL CUTTING

Briot, Nicholas (c.1579-1646) French DIE-sinker who produced machine-made coins of very high quality for Charles I in the 1630s.

brise fan See FAN

bristle doll See PIANO DOLL

Bristol 1 A centre for British glassmaking from the mid 17th to 19th centuries. Bristol glass-making was established c.1651; in the 18thC opaque white glass resembling porcelain and often decorated in similar style was important, but the city best became known for its ‘Bristol’ blue glass made in the late 18thC, most notably by Lazarus and Isaac Jacobs. It was used to make DECANTERS, finger bowls, patch boxes and liners for silver casters, and other wares, which were often gilded. Blue glass was produced at many other factorties in Britain and firm attribution is usually impossible. The city’s glass-makers were also noted for their high quality cutting, engraving and enamelling. See also NAILSEA. 2 An important ceramics centre for the production of TIN-GLAZED EARTHENWARE in the 17th abd 18th centuries. This initially followed the style of Italian MAIOLICA, and later of DELFTWARE. In 1750 a soft-paste PORCELAIN formula containing SOAPSTONE was pioneered at a Bristol factory founded by Benjamin Lund. A limited range of BLUE AND WHITE domestic ware as produced. This soapstone formula was perfected by WORCESTER, which took over Lund’s company in 1752. In 1770, William COOKWORTHY, the chemist who made Britain’s first hard-paste porcelain, transferred his PLYMOUTH factory to Bristol. The Bristol factory closed in 1781, the patent rights transferring to NEWHALL in Staffordshire.

britannia metal A type of PEWTER containing no lead but a high proportion of tin, and shaped by a process known as SPINNING. This formed objects around a pattern (or model) on a power-driven wheel, which produced thinnner wares than the earlier cast pewter. Britannia metal was made extensively in Sheffield, London and Birmingham. From the second half of the 19thC it was often used as the base metal in ELECTROPLATING instead of copper or nickel silver and marked ‘EPBM’ (electroplated britannia metal). This is softer that electroplated nickel cilver (EPNS) and melts easily, so is difficult to repair.

Britannia standard The compulsory standard for silverware in Britain 1697-1720. The proportion of pure silver (95.8 per cent). It was introduced as a deterrent against the practice of melting down sterling silver coinage to make domestic silverware. After 1720, the production of Britannia silver was optional.

broad Gold £1 coin struck in 1656 which was circulated for only a short period. Broads usually bear a portrait of Oliver Cromwell.

broadsword A cutting sword with a flat, wide, double-edged blade.

brocade Finely woven textile with coloured threads added to form a raised pattern on the upper surface of the material, making a richly figured cloth. (The word brocade derives from the Latin brocare meaning ‘to figure’.) Originally the ground patterns of flowers and scrolls were in gold or silver, and the fabric was known as cloth of gold; coloured silk threads came later, and today, cotton and man-made fibres are used. Brocade can be made in various weights for dressmaking or furnishings. Brocantine is brocade with a raised pattern that imitates embroidery.

Brocard, Phillippe-Joseph (1867-90) French glass maker who recvived 13th-century Syrian techniques of enamelling in brilliant colours. Early works copied Islamic lamps and tableware, but later output was original – mainly MOULDED GLASSWARE decorated with more subdued ENAMEL colours.

brocatelle 1 Imitation BROCADE made of cotton or silk, with a raised pattern in the warp and a flat weft background. The term is often used to refer to any cloth with a raised pattern. 2 A variegated marble which was used to make table tops in the 18thC, also known as brocatello.

brockage A mis-struck coin, on which the design appears normally on one side, but with the same design in INTAGLIO or INCUSE form on the other. It is caused by a previously struck coin failing to eject from the pair of DIES.

Brocot, Achille (1817-78) French clock-maker who devised the BROCOT SUSPENSION which enabled timekeeping to be regulated by altering the length of the PENDULUM suspension spring by a key turned in the dial. He also introduced a JEWELLED deadbeat ESCAPEMENT, sometimes called a visible escapement as it was often mounted in the middle of the dial.

broderie anglais Mid-19thC CUTWORK embroidery, usually of linen or cotton, made in Britain and parts of Europe from the late 18thC. Floral patterns are formed by embroidering around holes cut in the fabric in buttonhole stitch.

Brogden, John (fl.1842-85) London based jeweller who specialised in antique and archaeological styles. Typical Brogden pieces incorporate Classical motifs and reliefs inspired by the Etruscan, Assyrian and Egyptian civilisations and pieces mounted with the claws of tigers or vultures.

bronchit Matt black decoration painted on glass. The technique, also known as BRONZITE, was developed c.1910 in Vienna. The motifs – flowers, figures, animals and geometrical shapes – anticipated ART DECO style.

bronze Hard alloy of copper and tin which develops a brown or green surface patina with age. Bronze has been used for various utensils requiring strength and durability, such as buckets, cooking pots and lamps, as well as for weapons, statues, ornaments and furniture. Bronze is usually shaped by CASTING and then chiselled to add sharp detail.

bronzes d’ameublement French term used to describe small gilt-bronze fittings, including clock-cases, firedogs, lamps and lighting appliances.

Brown Bess The nickname for the FLINTLOCK musket used by the British army 1720 – 1840.

brown stoneware See SALT-GLAZED STONEWARE.

browning The process of artificially oxidising the metal parts of a firearm to produce a dull brown lustre finish and a guard against rusting.

Brucke, Die Group of artists founded Dresden, Germany 1905. Although it broke up in 1913, the group’s Expressionist style had a considerable impact on public taste, reviving, for example, an interest in WOODCUTS and other graphic arts.

brushing slide A sliding shelf between the top drawer and the top surface of a chest of drawers or above the middle drawer of a TALLBOY. Its function was to provide a pull-out surface on which clothes could be laid out for brushing prior to wearing.

Brussels tapestry The most technically refined tapestry in Europe from the 15th to the 17th centuries – when the GOBELINS factory in Paris became the main production centre. Brussels tapestry hangings were prized for detailed, realistic compositions, perfection of technique and colour and fine materials. They continued to be produced to a lesser degree throughout the 18thC.

budai Buddhist figure signifying long life, prosperity and happiness. It is also spelt butai and putai, and in Japanese as hotei. The figure is depicted either alone or with children tugging at his ear lobes, pot belly or the sack of treasures by his side.

buffet See COURT CUPBOARD

buhl work See BOULLE

Bulle clock The commonest form of electric battery clock, patented in 1922 by the Frenchman Maurice Favre-Bulle. Bulle clocks were marketed from 1924 in Britain by the British Horo-Electric Company until 1939. They are mounted on a circular base covered by a glass dome which contains the clock with its battery, electromagnet and hollow PENDULUM.

bullet teapot Early 18thC silver or ceramic teapot with a spherical or polygonal, bullet shaped body, and usually a flat lid. The design was revived in the 19thC.

bullion 1 Gold or silver in the form of bars or ingots; th meltdown value of an object on its actual metal content. 2 Silver wire twisted into threads and used to decorate church vestments and military uniforms; also known as bullion lace.

bulls eye 1 See LENTICLE. 2 The bubble shaped glass in the cover of a half-HUNTER CASED watch.

bureau A chest of drawers with a desk area above, It is enclosed by a sloping flap which opens, supported by pull-out LOPERS, to reveal a writing surface. At the back of this are recessed pigeonholes and small drawers, Bureaux were introduced during the 17thC and over the next 200 years adopted various forms, including the bureau bookcase, topped by bookshelves with glazed or panelled doors and the bureau cabinet with panelled doors above.

bureau bed Bed that can be folded away into a bureau-like carcass with dummy drawers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, various bed disguises were popular in households where space was at a premium, including library PRESS beds, piano beds – complete with dummy pedals – and table beds.

bureau-plat French term for a flat-topped writing desk with a FRIEZE containing drawers.

Burges, William (1827-81) British architect and designer in 19thC GOTHIC REVIVAL style. Burge’s interpretation of 13thC furniture style resulted in square, solid pieces covered with surface decoration including paintings.

burgonet Light metal helmet, with peak, neck guard and hinged cheek flaps, used mainly by light-horsemen in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Burmese glass An opaque ART GLASS shading from yellow at the bottom to pink at the top, developed by the Mount Washington Company of Massachusetts in 1885. The colours came from mixing uranium or gold oxides with molten glass. From 1886 Thomas Webb & Sons produced ‘Queen’s Burmese Glass’ in Britain, after a tea set bought by Queen Victoria from the US manufacturer.

burr 1 Knotty whorls in the grain of wood where there were dense, fibrous swellings on the trunk or roots of a tree, which were used in decorative veneers. See PARQUETRY. 2 See DRYPOINT

busby A military fur hat with a bag hanging from one side, often with a plume. It was worn originally by 18thC Hungarian Hussars, but other European hussar regiments adopted it.

Bustelli, Franz Anton (1723-63) Swiss-born procelain modeller. He was chief modeller at the NYMPHENBURG Procelain factory 1754-63. His COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE characters were unsurpassed in their sense of movement and grace.

butler’s tray Portable tray, usually rectangular, with handholds at each end and mounted either on legs or a folding stand. Butler’s trays were used from the early 18thC for serving drinks and removing glasses. They are also known as STANDING TRAYS.

buttoned upholstery Padded upholstery with a buttoned, quilted effect introduced in the second half of the 18thC. Strong thread is pulled through the covering material and stuffing to the framework or webbing and hidden on the outside by buttons.

buttons Butons first became widespread in Europe in the 17thC. British buttons from c.1700 were moulded or stamped in metal with hand-painted enamel and porcelain examples later in the century. In the 19thC buttons were mass-produced in a variety of materials.

button-wound watch See KEYLESS WATCH