Cabinet hardware is the collective term for the metal fittings used on furniture, including handles, knobs, backplates, escutcheons, locks, keys, hinges, castors, corner mounts and decorative mounts. It is usually made of cast or stamped brass, but iron, steel, gilt bronze, wood, porcelain and glass were all used at different times.
Hardware is one of the most useful aids to dating furniture. Simple iron fittings and small drop handles were typical of the seventeenth century; the early Georgian period favoured solid cast brass with engraved or pierced backplates and swan-neck handles; later eighteenth-century pieces often have stamped brass oval plates with ring or bail handles; and Regency furniture introduced lion-mask ring handles and turned wooden knobs. Victorian furniture frequently has turned wooden or porcelain knobs. Because handles were often replaced as fashions changed, collectors check the inside of drawer fronts for filled holes or marks from earlier fittings. Original hardware adds value and authenticity, while well-chosen period replacements are acceptable on many pieces. Good-quality reproduction fittings cast from antique patterns are widely available for restoration.
