OLD FURNITURE
io8
which might fetch anything from five to ten pounds if the case were of plain oak, would have a selling value of from ten to twenty pounds clock,
if
lacquered.
Evidence points to the fact that, in the majority
The
of cases, the lacquer was an afterthought.
furniture of the day was turned out, in the
course
ordinary
of
trade,
quite
innocent
of
and afterwards treated by professional japanners sometimes maltreated by amateurs. Not long since, in our own day, there was a similar craze for covering furniture with enamel
lacquer,
—
paints.
Fig. 74
is
an interesting china cabinet in black
lacquer of William and
and
S ft.
Mary period,
mahogany
7
ft. 5 in.
high
A first-class modern
wide, priced at ^30.
walnut-wood cabinet of the size made for the money, whilst the old lac, apart from its intrinsic charm, has an additional sentimental value as marking a or
could scarcely be
phase in the history of furniture decoration.
In
development in form of a period
cabinet
this
when the
;
it is
—
a
phase in
we have
also
palpably the product
rage for collecting porcelain
was prevalent, and in the same connection
no
less
useful
to-day.
Bcarcely invents anything is
a
The modern
it is
designer
more appropriate.
It
interesting to note this cabinet as an example