Refectory Table Baroque Walnut Italy Early 18th Century

Style: Baroque (1630-1730)

The term derives from the Spanish barrueco or Portuguese barroco phoneme and literally means "shapeless pearl".

Already around the middle of the eighteenth century in France it was synonymous with uneven, irregular, bizarre, while in Italy the term was of Medieval memory and indicated a figure of the syllogism, an abstraction of thought.

This historical period was identified with the derogatory term baroque, recognizing in it extravagance and contrast with the criteria of harmony and expressive rigor to which it was intended to return under the influence of Greco-Roman art and the Italian Renaissance.

Baroque, seventeenth-century and seventeenth-century were synonymous with bad taste.

As far as furniture is concerned, freedom of ideation, the need for pomp and virtuosity gave rise to a synergy destined to produce unsurpassed masterpieces.

The materials displayed were worthy of competing with the most amazing tales of Marco Polo: lapis lazuli, malachite, amber, ivory, tortoiseshell, gold, silver, steel, precious wood essences and more dressed the furnishings that in shape and imagination virtually gave life to the Arabian Nights of many of our powerful people.

Typical of the period were load-bearing or accessory parts resolved with twisted column motifs, clearly inspired by Bernini's canopy of St. Peter's, parts with rich sculptural carving in high relief and even in the round within a vortex of volutes, scrolls and spirals, curved and broken profiles, cymatiums agitated by gables of articulated shape, aprons adorned with ornaments, corbels, buttresses and anything else needed to enliven forms and structures.

The Baroque is also the century of illusionism: lacquers and thin temperas crowd furniture and furnishings to imitate with the marbling effects of marble veining or games of veining of precious briar.

Find out more about the Baroque with our insights:

FineArt: Il Barocco

Classic Monday: a double-body sideboard, late Venetian Baroque

Classic Monday: a pair of candle holders between the Renaissance and Baroque

Classic Monday: a pair of mirrors between Baroque and Late Baroque

Classic Monday: a superb Austrian Baroque console table

YouTube - Pillole di storia del mobile ep1: il Baroque

Age: 18th Century / 1701 - 1800

18th Century / 1701 - 1800

Main essence: Walnut

Walnut wood comes from the plant whose botanical name is juglans regia , probably originally from the East but very common in Europe. Light or dark brown in color, it is a hard wood with a beautiful grain, widely used in antique furniture. It was the main essence in Italy throughout the Renaissance and later had a good diffusion in Europe, especially in England, until the advent of mahogany. It was used for solid wood furniture and sometimes carvings and inlays, its only big limitation is that it suffers a lot from woodworm. In France it was widely used more than anything else in the provinces. In the second half of the eighteenth century its use decreased significantly because mahogany and other exotic woods were preferred.

Material: Solid Walnut