The Carving Design in Mahogany Furniture

There are intricate carving designs that are to be found in mahogany furniture and most of them have a marked resemblance with the period that they are representing. Intricately carved designs render mahogany furniture invaluable and that is perhaps the reason why mahogany furniture is valued by people even in this day and age. The Rococo is a characteristic carving design in mahogany furniture.

The themes associated with Rococo were mainly humorous and the ornately carved designs of that era revealed themselves at a less grandiose scale as compared with the formidable nature of Baroque architecture as well as sculpture. French Rococo art manifested itself in the form of metalwork, porcelain figures, and frills and it was during this time that furniture designs scaled new heights as a result of the intrusion of the French higher classes who deemed it best to equip their homes with the prevalent mahogany furniture.

Rococo style specialized in asymmetrical styles and it was a taste that had, as yet been unexplored, in the European style. The way in which certain elements were kept unfinished for the purpose of effect was referred to, as contraste. Furniture, especially during the Rococo era, was.visually appealing. Mahogany furniture was viewed as a status symbol and led to comfort, and this is the primary reason why it was valued. Furniture was mobilized and certain distinct forms like the fauteuil, the voyeuse chair, and the berger en gondola were in vogue. The variations in the designs of the chairs ranged from cushioned arms of the furniture, as well as the presence of a loose seat. During this era, mahogany was the preferred wood for the purpose of furniture making, as a result of its stability and this led to the removal of the stretcher on the chairs of that particular era.

In France, the style of carving was quite reserved. It manifested itself in the form of less boisterous and natural yet classic styles of carving. This was enhanced by the amalgam of classic as well as superficial forms of all types like plant motives, stalactites representations, grotesques, masks, implements of various professions.

The British style of carving particularly in mahogany furniture was much more somber. The designs of Thomas Chippendale retained the curves and the overall feel of the era, but could not scale the magnificent French heights related with whimsicality. Probably the most renowned and wonderful carver was Thomas Johnson who also specialized in British Rococo.

The well admired and renowned form of art is probably revealed in the "minor" as well as the decorative arts that the cynics claim is a far cry from the classic forms and structures that made it unusable for the purpose of renowned projects and did not agree that it was a proper style pertaining to carvings in mahogany furniture.

Mahogany furniture has an age-old charm that renders an elegant and classy look to it. It is a costly form of furniture but it is undoubtedly valued and that is probably the reason why intricate carvings on mahogany furniture render it priceless.

Source : Ezinearticles