17th Century Furniture (part 6 of 31)

Italy
By the early 17th century - Rome was once again the seat of powerful Papacy and entered a period of unprecedented prosperity.
Architects, Artists and Sculptors all really wanted to create a great city that reflected the glory of the Catholic Church, creating new buildings, paintings and monuments on a grand scale.
The aristocracy instigated huge building schemes, creating palazzos that became renowned throughout Europe for their ornate displays of wealth.
The influence of Rome spread throughout the Italian cities - turning the country into the fountainhead of the Baroque movement.

Grand Furniture
The new architectural grandeur demanded extremely impressive furnishings. Formal 17th century Italian furniture, now antique furniture, was sculptural and architectural - it was grand in scale and featured three dimensional carvings of foliage and human figures that were heavily influenced by sculpture.
The makers of opulent palace furniture were quite often sculptors by training rather than cabinet makers, and this had a profound effect on the development of the Baroque style.

In the state apartments and galleries of palazzos, very sumptuous sculptural furniture - such as grand console tables and cabinets, were displayed alongside ancient sculptures, and were regarded in much the same light, as works of art to be looked at rather than used.
The stippone - or great cabinet - was mainly produced in the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence. Thought to have been derived from the Augsburg cabinet, it was architectural in appearance and in scale and had various small drawers for housing small collections.
Cabinets were embellished with very costly materials, such as gilt bronze and ebony. Around 1667, Leonardo van der Vinne, who was a cabinet maker from the Low Countries, became the director of cabinet makers at the Grand Ducal Workshops and may have introduced floral marquetry techniques.
Stateroom furniture also included console tables with huge marble tops and pietra dura inlays, with heavily carved gilt bases, often with the features of human figures or foliage.
Chairs often had high backs and were frequently upholstered with rich materials, such as velvets and fine silks made in the city of Genoa.

The Age Of Learning
With all the new buildings and the interest in humanist learning, many wealthy patrons now had important libraries, this required a new form of fitted furniture - built in bookcases.
Influenced again by architecture, these bookcases often had pilasters or columns - and sometimes features statues of carved urns on the cornice.

Grand Beds
Late 17th century Italian beds were really an expression of the upholsterers art, making use of the fine textiles that were locally produced - usually no wood at all was visible.
A tester who was often draped in silk or damask, would be supported from above the head, and upholstered panels surrounded the mattress. This type of bed remained very popular until the end of the 18th century so it is difficult to date them with any certainty.

Eastern Influences
The Venetians were producing lacquered furniture - a skill that local craftsmen learned through the cities trading links with the East.
Green and gold lacquer became a speciality of Venice until the 18th century. Good quality wood was not available locally, which would explain the popularity of techniques such as lacquering, which covers the surface of the wood completely, allowing the craftsmen to make the most out of the materials they had available to them at the time.

Vernacular Styles
In Italy there was a tremendous difference between the furniture made for daily use in the ordinary rooms of a palazzo or villa and that on display in the state apartments.
Utilitarian handmade furniture, such as x-framed chairs, stools, cassone (chests) and tables were made by carpenters or joiners - using local fruitwood or walnut.