noticeable changes was that rooms were smaller, and the reign of the
boudoir began. It has been truly said that after the death of Louis XIV
"came the substitution of the finery of coquetry for the worship of the
great in style." There was greater variety in the designs of furniture
and a greater use of carved metal ornament and gilt bronze, beautifully
chased. The ornaments took many shapes, such as shells, shaped foliage,
roses, seaweed, strings of pearls, etc., and at its best there was
great beauty in the treatment.

It was during the Regency that the great artist and sculptor in metal,
Charles Cressant, flourished. He was made _ébeniste_ of the Regent, and
his influence was always to keep up the traditions when the reaction
against the severe might easily have led to degeneration. There are
beautiful examples of his work in many of the great collections of
furniture, notably the wonderful commode in the Wallace collection. The
dragon mounts of ormolu on it show the strong influence the Orient had
at the time. He often used the figures of women with great delicacy on
the corners of his furniture, and he also used tortoise-shell and many
colored woods in marquetry, but his most wonderful work was done in
brass and gilded bronze.

In 1723, when Louis was thirteen years old, he was declared of age and
became king. The influence of the Regent was, naturally, still strong,
and unfortunately did much to form the character of the young king.
Selfishness, pleasure, and low ideals, were the order of court life, and
paved the way for the debased taste for rococo ornament which was one
marked phase of the style of Louis XV.

The great influence of the Orient at this time is very noticeable. There
had been a beginning of it in the previous reign, but during the Regency