Antique Italian Furniture- How It Came About What It Is Today
Decorating one's house with antique Italian furniture is an excellent way to give a touch of informal yet ostentatious look. Italian furniture makers produce a wide variety of antique furniture so that if a person is thinking of adorning his house in Italian way then he can look up to the Renaissance, classic, Tuscan and modern contemporary designs. Designing antique furniture is the skilled trade that is passing on from one generation of furniture makers to the subsequent generation. Though time has forced craftsmen to change their style, the quality and the skill of creating elegance has not changed.
Renaissance style of furniture contains features like large, heavy, exclusive design and ornate styles that were amalgamated beautifully with Roman and Gothic style like carving fruits, birds, animals and human shapes. The design of these pieces of furniture was big. Hence, large space area is suited for this kind of furniture. In the early Renaissance period the furniture design was large, magnificent, highly decorative and ornate. These designs were fit for the kings. Although the furniture design was inspired from the Roman antique furniture but the craftsmen never copied that. Later a second type of Italian Renaissance furniture was developed that used motifs and fantasy nature deriving them from foreign origin. This time design became lurid and wild which were anti-classical. The final phase of Renaissance furniture was much more a copy of Roman furniture, inspired by the art of Raphael. This form was, and still is, known as High Classicism. Furniture that came in this category was more serious, massive and plainer. Renaissance furniture can be, in all, explained as chaotic and blustery. Tuscan furniture was the most famous furniture of Italy. But this furniture can be broadly divided into two categories. One was the traditional style or the common style. It was simple, rustic and sturdy in nature, coming from the rural parts of Italy. This furniture was made for houses and farmhouses. The other had origins in Florence and it was more elegant in design. Woods like chestnut, fir and cypress were used in the making of this type of furniture. The most famous wood that was used for making antique Italian furniture was oak and pine. The craftsmanship of decades had allowed the workers to produce furniture in beautiful and unique designs. That is why the furniture made in the earlier era was simple. But gradually Italian workers incorporated heavy and ornamental designs too. Today, the major items produced by the workers which can attract the interest of antique collector are Italian chairs, tables, cabinets, and cassone chests. |