[Illustration: An elaborately carved and gilded Chippendale mantel
mirror, showing French influence.]

[Illustration: One of the most beautiful examples of Chippendale's
fretwork tea-tables in existence.]




_Chippendale and the Eighteenth Century in England._


The classification of furniture in England is on a different basis from
that of France, as the rulers of England were not such patrons of art as
were the French kings. Flemish, Dutch and French influences all helped
to form the taste of the people. The Jacobean period lasted from the
time of James I to the time of William and Mary. William brought with
him from Holland the strong Dutch feeling that had a tremendous
influence on the history of English furniture, and during Anne's short
reign the Dutch feeling still lasted.

It was not until the early years of the reign of George II that the
Georgian period came into its own with Chippendale at its head. Some
authorities include William and Mary and Queen Anne in the Georgian
period, but the more usual idea is to divide it into several parts,
better known as the times of Chippendale, Adam, Hepplewhite and
Sheraton. French influence is marked throughout and is divided into
parts. The period of Chippendale was contemporaneous with that of Louis
XV, and the second part included the other three men and corresponded