Amaranth:
a reddish violet colored South American wood used in joinery and cabinetmaking.
Arcade:
an architectural or decorative element composed of an arch resting on supports descending to the floor or base.
Coffer:
the central part of a cabinet's upper body, with lockable doors and a theater-like interior. The often very stylistically affected interior can have a marquetried floor, mirrors on either side and painted or marquetried decoration at the back. Coffers often have mechanically operated sliding partitions concealing hidden drawers.
Fluted:
denoting a column or pilaster decorated with narrow, shallow, parallel grooves along its length.
Corinthian:
one of the architectural orders (elevation systems) defined during the Renaissance, characterized by its capitals composed of two registers of leaves, usually acanthus.
Dorigny, Michel:
painter and engraver (Saint-Quentin, Aisne, 1616−Paris, 1655), who worked in the painter Simon Vouet's studio, whose daughter he married. Working closely with his father-in-law, he became famous for his etchings after Vouet's works.
Tortoiseshell:
pieces of a tortoise's shell used in veneering or inlaying furniture. Tortoiseshell was widely used during Louis XIV's reign, particularly in the furniture of Pierre Gole and André-Charles Boulle.
Quoin:
triangular space in the corner formed by the curve of an arch and the contiguous wall.
Entablature:
horizontal part of an architectural composition or decoration.
Galenite:
grey-black colored mineral consisting of lead sulphide used in wireless telegraphy for its semi-conductive properties.
Marquetry:
a technique of Italian origin consisting in gluing thin strips of wood to a wooden frame to create decorative motifs. A variety of woods can be used, and also materials such as ivory, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl. First practiced in France in the 16th century, it developed remarkably during the reign of Louis XIV with the advent of "Boulle marquetry".
Mica:
a sparkling white or black mineral with a foliated structure, composed mainly of aluminum silicate and potassium.
Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid,
was born in 43 BC at Sulmona in the Abruzzi mountains in Italy, and died in 17 AD, in exile at Tomes (Constanţza, Romania). A prolific Latin author, he became famous for his erotic works, notably The Art of Love, before writing The Metamorphoses, a collection of poems recounting metamorphoses in mythology.
Rosewood:
a tropical hardwood, a variety of Dalbergia, varying from light brown to violet brown and with black veins, used during Louis XIV's reign and the Regency and also fashionable under Louis-Philippe.
Pilaster:
a column-like architectural support with a rectangular section protruding from a wall, usually with a base and a capital.
Veneer:
in furniture making, the technique consisting in gluing thin sheets of precious woods to a non-precious wooden structure.
Predella:
the horizontal lower part of an altarpiece beneath the main panels, composed of a single, long panel or several elements side by side.
In-the-round:
denoting an object sculpted all round, completely detached from the background and which can be viewed from all sides.
Bloodwood:
hardwood with a characteristic light red color and shimmering, satin-like grain, used in veneering, notably by Cressent, who framed it with amaranth.
Sibyl:
in antiquity, the sibyls were kinds of prophetesses who passed on divine oracles to humans. Very early Christians considered them heralds of Christianity.
Sycamore:
a yellowish white wood in the maple family used in furniture making.
Tablet:
in furniture, the carved elements at the base of the facade.
Tempesta, Antonio,
painter and engraver (Florence, 1555−Rome, 1630). After training in Florence under Stradanus and Santi di Tito, he worked on several buildings in Italy, notably in the Vatican for Pope Gregory XIII. An extremely prolific engraver, he produced both religious and mythological subjects and also numerous hunting scenes and depictions of animals.
Titus Livy,
Titus Livius, known as Titus Livy (Padua, circa 60 BC−Rome, circa 10 AD) was a Roman historian who devoted his life to writing the history of Rome from its foundation, recounting the city's major events and the lives of its heroes.