The Baroque Era - The Netherlands - 2

The precise origin of the kind of colonial handmade furniture is often difficult to decide, especially when more than one European power was in occupation. Simultaneously with, or closely following upon, another, as in the case of Ceylon, first colonized by the Portuguese who were not expelled by the Dutch until 1658, and who left their mark on local interpretations of European requirements long after their departure.

Towards the end of the 17th century a taste for woods more colourful than ebony began to exert itself in the Netherlands. This was fostered by the influence of the Baroque style, especially the French version of it which was given an added bonus when, following the exodus of the Huguenots in 1685, many highly skilled craftsmen, some of them Dutch or Flemish by origin, came to the Low Countries. Included among these was Daniel Marot who became chief designer to William, Prince of Orange, and worked on the interior decoration and furnishing of the royal palace at Het Loo. His style, as demonstrated in his published designs, was a personal interpretation of the Louis XIV manner, with a strong emphasis on luxuriously upholstered beds, chairs and stools. The chairs have high, rather narrow backs, either padded or elaborately fretted and carved with scroll patterns. These seats may be stuffed and upholstered, as is the case with today's reproduction furniture techniques, or caned to receive squab cushions. The legs are either vertical and turned - often to a distinctive shape having a bold protuberance like an upturned cup near the top - or have a hook-like scroll which anticipates the S-shaped curve of the fully developed cabriole leg, which was soon to emerge.

Like many other chairs, stools and tables of the period, particularly Dutch ones, Marot's designs frequently employ stretchers of X or H shape joining the legs to give added strength as well as providing a decorative feature. Some of the grander versions of his style were gilded, but walnut was now the principle wood for fashionable fitted and non fitted furniture in Holland, used both in veneers and in the solid. When William of Orange went to rule England jointly with his wife Mary, Marot followed his master to work there, returning to Holland in 1698. He was especially clever in his use of draped fabrics to create opulent effects, particularly on a type of bed with no posts at the foot but with flounced testers, cantilevered from the wall and suspended from the ceiling.