Lace
Lace is an openwork textile made by looping, twisting or knotting thread, either by hand (needle or bobbin lace) or machine, used for garments, table linen and trimmings, with antique handmade lace especially prized by collectors.
Lace is an openwork textile made by looping, twisting or knotting thread, either by hand (needle or bobbin lace) or machine, used for garments, table linen and trimmings, with antique handmade lace especially prized by collectors.
Lacquer is a hard, glossy finish built up from multiple thin coats of resin, historically derived from the sap of the lacquer tree in East Asia or from shellac-based substitutes in Europe. It was used to decorate cabinets, boxes and panels, often with painted or
Lacquerware refers to finished decorative objects, such as boxes, trays and panels, coated in multiple layers of lacquer, historically produced in China and Japan and imitated in Europe through japanning.
A Ladder-Back Chair has a back formed of horizontal slats stacked between the uprights like the rungs of a ladder. The form dates from the 17th century and remained popular in vernacular and Arts and Crafts furniture into the 20th century.
A Ladies' Writing Desk is a small, elegant writing desk of modest proportions, typically fitted with slender legs and delicate fittings, designed for use in a lady's private sitting room during the Georgian and Victorian periods.
A Lady's Companion is a small fitted case or box containing sewing implements such as scissors, thimble and needle case, a fashionable accessory for genteel needlework from the 18th to early 20th centuries.
A Lambrequin is a decorative, shaped drapery or valance hung across the top of a window, doorway or shelf, and also refers to a related carved or moulded ornamental border found in furniture and silverware of the Baroque and Rococo periods.
Lambswool is soft wool shorn from a young sheep's first fleece, prized for its fineness and used historically in fine woven textiles, blankets and upholstery fabric.
A Lamp Table is a small occasional table sized and positioned specifically to hold a table lamp beside a chair or sofa, a form that became common as electric lighting spread through the home in the early 20th century.
Lampas is a luxurious figured weave combining a foundation weave with a supplementary pattern weft, historically used for fine upholstery and drapery fabrics in grand European interiors.
A Lampshade is a cover fitted over a light source to soften and direct illumination, made in materials ranging from silk and parchment to leaded glass, with antique examples, particularly Tiffany-style leaded glass shades, highly collectable.
A Lantern Clock is an early English weight-driven wall clock, typically brass-cased and shaped like a traditional lantern, made from the 17th century onward. Its single hand and verge escapement make it one of the most collectable early domestic clock forms.
Lapis Lazuli is a deep-blue semi-precious stone, historically mined in Afghanistan, used since antiquity in jewellery, inlay and small decorative objects, and ground to produce the pigment ultramarine used by old master painters.
Latticino Glass, also called filigrana, is Venetian glass containing embedded threads of opaque white or coloured glass arranged in twisted or netted patterns, a technique developed on Murano in the 16th century and later widely copied.
Lead is a soft, heavy metal used since antiquity for garden statuary, cisterns and roofing, valued in decorative arts for its ability to hold fine detail in casting and for the attractive grey patina it develops over time.
Lead Crystal is glass containing lead oxide, which increases its brilliance, weight and refractive quality, making it prized for cut glassware. English lead crystal, developed by George Ravenscroft in the 1670s, became the foundation of British fine glassmaking.
A Lead Figure is a cast lead sculpture, historically used to depict classical or allegorical subjects in formal garden settings, valued for the soft grey patina lead develops with age and weathering.
Leaded Glass is glasswork made from small pieces of glass held together by strips of lead came, used for windows, lampshades and decorative panels since the medieval period and revived extensively in the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau eras.
A Leaded Window is a window composed of small panes of glass held within a lattice of lead cames, a traditional glazing method predating large sheet glass, characteristic of Tudor and Gothic Revival buildings.
Leather is tanned animal hide used extensively in furniture upholstery, bookbinding and desk accessories, valued for its durability and the rich patina it develops with age and use.
Leatherette is an early synthetic leather substitute, typically coated fabric or paper finished to resemble genuine leather, used from the late 19th century for book covers, boxes and budget furnishings.
A Lectern is a tall reading stand with an angled top for holding an open book, historically used in churches and libraries, often carved in oak and sometimes fitted with a revolving top.
Leeds Pottery was an English earthenware manufacturer active from 1770, celebrated for fine creamware with distinctive pierced and twisted handle decoration, exported widely across Europe.
A Letter Rack is a desk accessory with divided compartments for sorting and storing correspondence, made in materials from leather and wood to silver, common on Victorian and Edwardian writing desks.
A Letter Scale is a small balance instrument used to weigh letters for postage, a common desk accessory from the mid-19th century following the introduction of weight-based postal rates.
A Levelling Instrument is a historic surveying tool used to establish horizontal reference lines, typically incorporating a telescope and spirit level on a graduated stand, collected today as fine examples of scientific brasswork.
Liberty & Co. is a London department store founded in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, hugely influential in promoting Art Nouveau design through its Cymric silver and Tudric pewter ranges and imported Eastern textiles.
Liberty Style is the Italian term for Art Nouveau, named after the London department store Liberty & Co., whose fabrics and designs strongly influenced the movement's reception in Italy from the 1890s.
A Library Globe is a terrestrial or celestial globe mounted on a decorative stand, both an instructional instrument and a handsome library furnishing, particularly fine examples produced in the 18th and 19th centuries by makers such as Newton and Cary.
Library Steps are a set of folding or fixed steps designed to reach high bookshelves, sometimes ingeniously disguised within a chair, table or stool when not in use, a clever furniture form of the Georgian period.
A Library Table is a large, freestanding writing and reading table, often with drawers on both sides for use by two people, or a single pedestal fitted with drawers. Georgian and Victorian examples are typically made in mahogany or walnut.
Lignum Vitae is an exceptionally dense, oily tropical hardwood, historically used for turned objects such as bowls, mallets and mortars, valued for its natural self-lubricating properties and rich olive-brown colour.
Lime Plaster is a traditional wall and ceiling finish made from slaked lime, sand and water, used in period buildings before the widespread adoption of gypsum plaster, valued by conservators for its breathability and compatibility with old masonry.
Limed Oak is oak furniture treated with lime to whiten and highlight the grain, a finish popular in Arts and Crafts and Art Deco furniture of the early 20th century for its pale, matte appearance.
A Limoges Box is a small, hinged hand-painted porcelain trinket box produced in the Limoges region of France, a popular decorative collectable since the 18th century, often shaped to resemble everyday objects.
Limoges Enamel is a French enamelling technique developed in the medieval period, using fused powdered glass on copper to create richly coloured devotional and decorative panels, historically distinct from Limoges porcelain.
Limoges Porcelain is fine hard-paste porcelain produced in and around Limoges, France, since the late 18th century, valued for its whiteness, translucency and elaborate hand-painted or gilt decoration on tableware and decorative pieces.
Linen Damask is a reversible figured linen weave in which the pattern is created through contrasting satin and plain weave structures rather than added colour, traditionally used for fine table linen.
A Linen Press is a large cupboard, typically with panelled or glazed doors above and drawers below, designed for storing folded household linen. English examples from the 18th and 19th centuries are commonly made in mahogany or oak.
Linenfold Panelling is carved wooden panelling made to resemble folded linen cloth, a decorative technique popular in late Gothic and Tudor furniture and wall panelling from the 15th and 16th centuries.
A Linocut is a print made from a design carved into a sheet of linoleum, a technique developed in the early 20th century and favoured by artists including the Grosvenor School printmakers for bold, graphic compositions.
A Lintel is a horizontal structural beam spanning the top of a door or window opening, supporting the wall above, often decoratively carved or moulded in period stone and timber architecture.
A Lion Mask is a decorative motif depicting a stylised lion's face, widely used on furniture mounts, door knockers and silverware handles as a classical symbol of strength dating back to antiquity.
A Lion's Paw Foot is a furniture leg terminal carved or cast in the form of a lion's paw, a classical motif revived extensively in Regency and Empire furniture to convey strength and grandeur.
A Lithograph is a print produced from a design drawn onto a flat stone or metal plate using a greasy medium, a process invented in the late 18th century that allowed for detailed, tonal reproduction of artwork, widely used for prints, posters and book illustration.
Liverpool Porcelain encompasses several distinct porcelain manufactories active in Liverpool during the 18th century, producing both useful and decorative wares, notable for transfer-printed maritime and floral designs.
A Lock Plate is a decorative metal plate surrounding a furniture lock mechanism, both protecting the surrounding wood and providing ornamental detail, often matching a suite's other brass or steel fittings.
Loetz was a Bohemian glassworks active from the 1830s, internationally celebrated for its iridescent Art Nouveau art glass produced from the 1890s, rivalling Tiffany's Favrile glass in technical and artistic achievement.
A Log Basket is a woven or metal container kept beside a fireplace for storing firewood, made in materials from wicker to brass and copper, often decorative as well as functional in Victorian and Edwardian interiors.
Log Tongs are long-handled fireside tools used to lift and position logs on a fire without direct contact with the flames, typically forming part of a matching fire companion set.
A Loggia is a covered exterior gallery or corridor open on one or more sides to a garden or courtyard, a classical architectural feature adopted extensively in Italianate and Renaissance Revival country houses.
A Long Gallery is an elongated room found in Tudor and Jacobean great houses, originally used for exercise, displaying portraits and entertaining, and a defining architectural feature of the English country house.
A Longcase Clock, popularly known as a grandfather clock, is a tall, freestanding weight-driven clock housed in a wooden case, developed in the late 17th century following the invention of the anchor escapement, which allowed for greater accuracy in a taller pendulum case.
Longquan Celadon is Chinese stoneware from the Longquan kilns, celebrated from the Song dynasty onward for its subtle jade-green glaze, among the most widely exported and imitated Chinese ceramics in history.
Longwy is French faience produced in the town of Longwy since the 18th century, particularly known for its later Art Deco period cloisonné-effect enamelled decoration on ceramic vases and plates.
A Lorgnette is a pair of eyeglasses mounted on a long handle, held up to the eyes rather than worn, a fashionable accessory of the 18th and 19th centuries often crafted in tortoiseshell, silver or gold.
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) was an American artist and designer celebrated for his innovative Favrile glass and leaded glass lamps, becoming one of the most influential figures of American Art Nouveau design.
Louis Philippe Style is a French furniture style of the 1830s-1840s, named after the reigning king, characterised by simplified, comfortable forms in dark woods such as mahogany, bridging Restoration classicism and the eclecticism of the later 19th century.
Louis XIV Style is the grand, formal French decorative style of the late 17th century associated with the court at Versailles, characterised by symmetry, gilt bronze mounts, boulle marquetry and rich classical ornament.
Louis XV Style is the French Rococo style of the mid-18th century, marked by curving asymmetrical forms, cabriole legs, floral marquetry and gilt bronze mounts, representing a lighter, more naturalistic reaction to the formality of Louis XIV style.
