Much of the furniture of the Renaissance was architectural in design, many chests and cupboards and cabinets having the appearance of temple facades.  The carving was in both low and high relief and was extremely beautiful, but in the later part of the period became too ornate.  Walnut and chestnut were the chief woods used, and there was much inlay of tortoise shell, ivory, brass, mother-of-pearl, lapis-lazuli, and fine woods.  There was much gilding, and paint was also used, and the metal mounts were of the finest workmanship.  The bronze andirons, knockers, candlesticks, of this time have never been equalled.  There was a strong feeling of balance in the decorations, and the chief motifs were the acanthus beautifully carved, conventionalized flowers and fruit, horns of plenty, swags and wreaths of fruit and flowers, the scroll, dolphin, human figure, and half figure ending in fanciful designs of foliage.  Beautiful and fascinating arabesques were carved and painted on the walls and pilasters.  The chief pieces of furniture were magnificently carved chests and coffers which were also sometimes gilded and painted, oblong tables with elaborately carved supports at each end, usually with a connecting shelf on which were smaller carved supports.  The chairs were high backed with much carving and gilding, and there were others of simpler form with leather or tapestry or damask seats and backs.  The Savanarola chair was in the form of a curved X with seat and back of velvet or leather or sometimes wood on which a cushion was used.  Mirror frames were magnificently carved and gilded and picked out with color.  The rooms were a fitting background for all this splendor, for the woodwork and walls were paneled and carved and painted, the work often being done by the greatest painters of the day.

The French Renaissance followed the general line of the Italian but was lighter and less architectural in its furniture designs and ornament.  Chairs were slowly becoming more common, and rooms began to be more livable.

[Illustration:  This Jacobean buffet is finely reproduced with the exception of the spiral carving of the legs, which is too sharp and thin, and gives the appearance of inadequate support.  The split spindle ornament was much used on furniture of the period.]

The English Renaissance was of slow growth and was always marked by a certain English sturdiness, which is one of the reasons why it is more easily used in our modern houses.  It began in the time of Henry VIII and lasted through the Tudor and Jacobean periods.

[Illustration:  A style that harmonizes with Chippendale furniture.]

[Illustration:  This style of mirror was popular in the early nineteenth century.]

[Illustration:  The painted scene is often an important feature.]

[Illustration:  The Empire style has columns at the sides and gilt ornaments.]

The best modern copies of Renaissance furniture are not to be found in every shop and are usually in the special order class.  There are some makers in America, however, who make extraordinarily fine copies, and there is the supply from Europe of fine copies and “faked” originals—­a guaranteed original is a very rare and expensive thing.