Sheraton Revival is the late Victorian and Edwardian revival of the light, neoclassical style of the 1790s associated with Thomas Sheraton, popular from about the 1880s until the First World War. It reflected a reaction against heavy mid-Victorian furniture and a growing appreciation of Georgian design.
Leading London firms such as Edwards and Roberts, Wright and Mansfield, Gillows and Maple & Co produced fine Sheraton Revival furniture, alongside a great many lesser makers. Typical pieces include display cabinets, bonheurs du jour, writing tables, occasional tables, tub chairs and bedroom suites, made in satinwood or mahogany and decorated with crossbanding, stringing, marquetry of urns, swags, shells and ribbons, and sometimes painted panels in the manner of Angelica Kauffman. The best examples are of outstanding quality, with figured veneers and precise inlay, and are collected in their own right rather than as copies. Sheraton Revival furniture can be told from period work by its machine-cut dovetails, thinner veneers, construction details and often by stamped makers' names. Its elegant proportions and decorative charm make it well suited to drawing rooms and bedrooms today, and good pieces often represent excellent value.
