Furniture mounts are the metal fittings applied to furniture for protection, function and ornament. They include handles, escutcheons, corner mounts, sabots on the feet, keyhole surrounds, galleries, capitals and decorative appliqués, typically made of cast brass or bronze and often gilded.
The finest mounts were produced in France, where gilt-bronze or ormolu mounts became an essential feature of luxury furniture from the late seventeenth century. Designers and cabinetmakers such as André-Charles Boulle and Charles Cressent and later bronziers such as Pierre Gouthière raised the mount to an art form, chasing and mercury-gilding them to a superb finish. In England, brass handles and escutcheons follow a recognisable sequence of styles, from small drop handles and pierced plates of the late seventeenth century to swan-neck handles, oval stamped plates and Regency lion masks and rosettes. Because mounts are so closely tied to period, they are a useful guide to dating, though they are frequently replaced. Collectors examine the inside of drawers for redundant fixing holes and check that the patina of the mount matches the wood, as later reproduction fittings can affect value.
