Saloon
A Saloon is the principal formal reception room of a grand English country house, historically used for receiving important guests and grand entertaining.
A Saloon is the principal formal reception room of a grand English country house, historically used for receiving important guests and grand entertaining.
A Salt Cellar is a small open dish or covered vessel for serving salt at the table, made in silver, glass or pottery, a standard piece of formal dining silver from the 17th century, often produced in pairs.
Salt-Glaze Stoneware is stoneware fired with salt introduced into the kiln, producing a distinctive pitted, glossy surface, widely used for durable domestic pottery from the 17th to 19th centuries.
A Salver is a flat serving tray, typically silver, raised on small feet, used from the 17th century for presenting letters, drinks or refreshments and often finely engraved with a coat of arms.
A Samovar is a heated metal container traditionally used in Russia to boil water for tea, often elaborately decorated in brass, copper or silver, and a striking decorative antique in its own right.
A Sampler is a piece of embroidery demonstrating a range of stitches and motifs, traditionally worked by a young needleworker, valued as both folk art and social history when dated and signed.
Satinwood is a pale golden-yellow hardwood with a naturally lustrous, satin-like sheen, prized in late 18th-century English and American furniture for veneers and fine inlay work.
Satsuma is Japanese crackle-glazed earthenware richly decorated with gilt and enamel figures and landscapes, produced from the 17th century and especially prized in export markets during the Meiji period.
Satsuma Ware is Japanese earthenware with a distinctive crackled cream glaze, richly decorated with gilt and enamel paintings of figures and landscapes, produced from the 17th century and especially popular in export markets during the Meiji period.
A Sauce Boat is a shaped serving vessel for gravy or sauce, made in silver or porcelain, developed in the early 18th century and a standard part of fine dining services.
A Savonarola Chair is an Italian Renaissance X-frame folding chair, constructed from interlocking curved wooden slats, widely reproduced in the 19th century for its striking architectural form.
Scagliola is a technique of imitating marble and semi-precious stone inlay using coloured plaster, developed in Italy and used from the 17th century for tabletops, columns and architectural decoration.
Scandinavian Modern describes the clean, functional furniture design that emerged from Denmark, Sweden and Finland from the 1930s onward, characterised by organic forms, fine joinery and honest use of natural materials.
A Scent Bottle is a small decorative bottle for holding perfume, made in materials ranging from cut glass and porcelain to enamelled gold, popular as both a functional item and a collectable decorative object from the 18th century.
A Sconce is a wall-mounted light fixture, historically holding a candle and often backed with a reflective plate to enhance its illumination, evolving into electric wall lights from the late 19th century.
Scottish Baronial is a 19th-century architectural revival style drawing on Scottish castle architecture, characterised by turrets, crow-stepped gables and rugged stonework, popularised by Balmoral Castle.
A Scroll, in East Asian art, is a painting or calligraphy work mounted on a long roll of silk or paper for hanging or storage, and, in furniture, a decorative curled motif seen on chair arms and pediments.
A Seal is a small carved implement, historically set with an engraved intaglio design, used with wax to authenticate documents, made in materials from carnelian and agate to silver and gold.
Second Empire is a French decorative and architectural style of the mid-19th century under Napoleon III, characterised by opulent ornament, mansard roofs and dark, richly upholstered furniture.
A Secretary Desk is a tall writing desk combining a fold-down or fall-front writing surface with drawers below and often a bookcase above, a versatile and popular form from the 18th century onward.
A Segmental Arch is an arch formed from a shallow section of a circle rather than a full semicircle, commonly used over Georgian windows and doorways for its refined, understated profile.
Serpentine Marble is a dark green mottled stone, historically used for tabletops and decorative objects, valued for its rich colour and the fine polish it takes.
A Settee is an upholstered seat for two or more people, typically lighter and more open in construction than a sofa, popular from the 18th century with exposed show-wood frames.
Sevres Porcelain is French porcelain produced at the royal (later national) manufactory since 1756, celebrated for exceptional gilding, rich ground colours and fine hand-painted decoration under royal and imperial patronage.
A Sewing Box is a fitted box for storing needlework tools such as thread, needles and scissors, ranging from simple wooden boxes to elaborate Tunbridge ware and mother-of-pearl inlaid examples.
A Sextant is a navigational instrument used to measure the angle between a celestial body and the horizon to determine position at sea, refined in the 18th century and prized today as fine brass and wood scientific instruments.
Shaker Style is the furniture tradition of the American Shaker religious community, prizing simplicity, function and fine craftsmanship over ornament, a style highly influential on later modernist design.
Shapland & Petter was an English furniture manufacturer based in Barnstaple, active from the 1850s, notable for quality Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic Movement furniture production.
Sheffield Plate is silver-fused copper produced from the 1740s to the mid-19th century, offering the appearance of solid silver at a fraction of the cost, and a distinct and collectable category in its own right.
Sheraton Style is an English Neoclassical furniture style of the late 18th century, named after designer Thomas Sheraton, characterised by straight, tapering legs, fine inlay and refined, geometric proportions.
A Ship's Clock is a robust brass-cased clock designed for maritime use, often striking in the traditional ship's bell pattern, now popular as a decorative nautical antique.
A Side Cabinet is a low cabinet designed to stand against a wall, used for display or storage, a common form in Victorian and Edwardian drawing rooms, often with a marble top or glazed doors.
A Sideboard is a long, low piece of dining room furniture with drawers and cupboards, used for storing and serving tableware, developed in the late 18th century as a refinement of the earlier serving table.
Silk Brocade is a richly patterned silk fabric woven with raised, often metallic-threaded designs, historically among the most prestigious fabrics used for grand furnishing and formal dress.
Silk Damask is a reversible figured silk weave in which pattern and ground are formed from the same colour thread in contrasting weave structures, historically among the most luxurious upholstery and drapery fabrics.
A Skeleton Clock is a clock with its case removed or minimised so the working movement is fully visible, typically displayed under a glass dome, a popular Victorian demonstration of horological craftsmanship.
Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock that splits into thin sheets, historically used for roofing, flooring and, decoratively, for Victorian mantel clock cases finished to resemble marble.
A Slipper Chair is a low, armless upholstered chair, originally designed for putting on shoes in the bedroom, and later adopted as an elegant small accent chair.
Slipware is earthenware decorated with liquid clay slip, trailed, combed or dipped onto the surface before firing, a traditional folk pottery technique seen in Yorkshire and Staffordshire wares.
A Smoking Room is a room set aside in a Victorian or Edwardian house for gentlemen to smoke after dinner, typically furnished with leather furniture and darker, masculine decor.
A Smyrna Rug is a carpet historically woven or finished in the Turkish port city of Smyrna (modern Izmir), a major centre of the 19th-century carpet export trade to Europe and America.
A Snuff Box is a small, hinged box for carrying powdered tobacco snuff, a fashionable 18th and 19th-century accessory often made in silver, gold, enamel or papier-mache with fine decorative work.
Soapstone Carving is decorative sculpture worked from soapstone, a soft, easily carved mineral used across many cultures, notably Chinese and Inuit art, for figures and small decorative objects.
A Sofa Table is a long, narrow table with drop leaves at each end, designed to stand behind a sofa, a form especially associated with the Regency period.
Spanish Colonial Style describes furniture and architecture developed in Spain's American colonies, blending Iberian forms with local materials and craftsmanship, characterised by heavy dark wood and wrought iron detailing.
A Spark Guard is a protective mesh screen placed in front of an open fire to prevent sparks and embers from escaping into the room, a standard Victorian and Edwardian fireside safety fitting.
A Spelter Figure is a decorative sculpture cast in spelter, a zinc alloy used from the 19th century as an affordable alternative to bronze for figural ornaments, often finished with a bronze-effect patina.
A Spider-Leg Table is a lightweight folding table with slender, splayed legs resembling a spider, a delicate 18th-century form designed for easy movement and storage.
A Spiral Staircase winds around a central newel post, an efficient use of space found in towers, turrets and grand entrance halls of period houses.
A Spire is a tall, tapering structure crowning a tower or roof, most associated with church architecture, and a frequent decorative reference point in Gothic Revival furniture and clock cases.
Spode is an English pottery manufacturer founded in 1770, credited with perfecting bone china and underglaze blue transfer printing, and producer of the enduringly popular Blue Italian pattern.
A Staffordshire Figure is a moulded and painted earthenware figure produced in the Staffordshire potteries from the early 19th century, depicting subjects from royalty and actors to the famous Staffordshire dogs, and enormously popular Victorian mantelpiece ornaments.
Staffordshire Pottery refers to the vast range of ceramics produced in the Staffordshire potteries region of England from the 17th century, encompassing everything from humble slipware to fine bone china.
A Stained Glass Panel is a decorative panel made from coloured glass held within a leaded framework, historically used in ecclesiastical windows and, from the Arts and Crafts period, adapted for domestic doors and screens.
A Standard Lamp, or floor lamp, is a tall freestanding lamp providing ambient room lighting, becoming a popular furnishing form once electric lighting spread through the home in the early 20th century.
A State Bedroom is a grand, ceremonially furnished bedroom in a great house, historically reserved for important visitors including royalty, often preserved with its original textiles and furniture as a showpiece.
Steuben Glass was an American glassworks founded in 1903, celebrated for fine art glass including Aurene iridescent glass and later clear crystal sculpture of exceptional quality.
A Stick Stand is a hallway container for storing walking sticks and canes, made in materials from cast iron to ceramic and wicker, a common Victorian entrance hall furnishing.
A Stone Trough is a carved stone container, historically used for feeding or watering livestock, widely repurposed as a decorative garden planter valued for its weathered, rustic character.
Stoneware is a dense, non-porous ceramic fired at high temperature, stronger than earthenware though less refined than porcelain, used since antiquity for both utilitarian and finely decorated wares.
