F
rom the late Middle Ages to the 19th century, peasants in the remote Alpine regions of Europe fashioned them selves whatever furniture they needed-a simple table, a bench, one or two trunks for storage. Most villages, however, had carpenters, and there was no need for the peasants living there to build their own furnirure. Peasants in the fertile plains were wealthier than those in the mountains and could afford to pay a carpenter. The term "peasant furniture" has come to mean furniture made both by peasants and for peas ants. It generally refers to trunks, beds, wardrobes, tables, benches and chairs. Basic patterns recur, but their construc tion and style vary widely with regional fashions and tastes.Ornamental designs
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The most prominent characteristicof European peasant furniture is abundant and intricate dec-
oration. Painted or carved geometric, floral, animal and representational motifs abound. The most form of carving was scratching the surface of the some SOrt of pointed tool, such as a nail. It technique was also used to lay out the design some cases, the laid-out design was never
Chip-carving (FWW #19, Nov. ' 79) is technique, widely used for the early geometric originated in old Germanic pagan beliefs. symbol was the sixstar. Its construction was one needed was a compass, which could be a with a nail on either end. The sixstar was thought bol of life. It was originally a letter in
known as the hagalrune, and expressed the
This symbol could also be elaborated into the sevenstar-a
Carvings on wall cabinet. top left. include Ievenstar on door and floral and Gothic-style hanging-curtain patterns on face frame. Peasant-style cradle made by Buchler, nght and bottom left. sports free-flowing floral deSIgns on ends and more abstract daisy and rose patterns on sides.
beautiful arrangement of seven Slxstars.
A related symbol is the sunwhee l , left , another simple compass construc tion . The sun played an i m porta n t part i n t h e peasants' l ife , a n d was thought of as a source of life. The signs used to rep resent the sun were all variations of the sunwheel. Sunwheels and sixstars were thought to bring good luck. Other signs were thought to ban the entry of evil spirits. Many of these were in the shape of an endless knot, and the best known is probably the pentangle, a five-pointed star. Geometric signs and symbols were either arranged to form one big design or strewn over the surface of a piece of furni ture. Often the peasants themselves carved the symbols, and they added on whenever they felt the need.
Reproducing floral patterns required a different tech nique-flat relief. To heighten the effect, the low areas were commonly blackened with a soot mixture. In the heyday of peasant furniture, in the late 18th to early 19th century, full relief carving embellished special representative pieces.
It appears that the discovery of floral design took the lid off the creators' imaginations-the restrictions and limitations of geometric designs were supplanted by the virtually endless flow of stems, leaves and blossoms. Craftsmen did not try to copy the natural model in all its delicate details. It was the symmetry and richness in nature's formations they were after. Grape and pumpkin vines were a favorite for decorating fur niture frames.
Carving panels was different. The ornament had to be cen tered, and the center had to be low because otherwise the or nament looked top-heavy. Balance could be achieved simply by putting the plants into a flowerpot or vase. From this solid base a network of blossoms, leaves and stems could spread over the surface of the panel without seeming uncontrolled. Especially in these flower-pot arrangements, one can see how little attention these carvers paid to the logic ;and laws of nature. OUt of the same stem they let three or more different flowers bloom. Sometimes one blossom " grows" out of the center of another blossom.
Along with floral designs we find animals. All the animals connected with the life of the peasants were represented. Without doubt, however, images of birds were most com mon, and the most commonly pictured bird was the eagle. On peasant furniture one finds both one-headed and rwo headed eagles. Many abstract patterns can be traced back to the eagle image.
A fourth category of ornamentation encompasses themes connected with the life of Jesus Christ. Especially in regions that were strictly Catholic,
s u c h as B a v a r i a a n d Austria, the letters of the wordsJesus and Maria were t u r n e d i n t o s y m b o l i c images that resemble the early geometric s i g n s .
There one can see how the Jesus and Maria symbols resemble old pagan attitudes find pagan geometn'c signs.
Trunk bottom rests on slats through-mortised into front and back.
Lower sideboards are through mortised into legs; upper
sideboards slide into grooves in legs.
Rough-hewn carpenter style trunk
expression even through the mantle of the Another motif was the representation
Here again peasant life is reflected in the subjects. scenes of a plow team and the harvest-or tradesmen cobbler or the joiner. These themes requir
skill and therefore were not as common as geometric, and animal designs.
Construction
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A carpenter built furniture from a joiner, whose trade evolved later. The car niques of construction were similar to those house or paneling a room. This is evident mon piece of peasant furniture: the trunk. started OUt with four pieces that formed the legs. off the ground he fitted the bottom sideb with mortise and tenon joints. The rest ofwere then inserted in grooves in the legs. The bottom pair of slats mortised into the front and back.
shaped like the roof of a house. Because these boards were split from the trunk of a tree and then hewn flat,
ture was heavy and looked rather coarse.
Sawmills began to flourish around 1400 and so did the penter who specialized in furniture. The joiner's
tablished. Sawn boards brought advantages: They enabled the joiner to build much lighter furniture
construction possibilities. The trunk,
from the model described above to the Seitenstollentruhe (sideboard trunk) . Here the sides extended to the gr
served as legs. Front and back were butt-joined onto the sides. The bottom was mortised into butt-joined to the front and the back. The
reinforced all the joints were inserted at opposing keeping the joints from coming apart.
A further development was frame-and-panel
which became the most common. The joiners could build sturdy, durable and relatively lightweight which also gave the most opportunities fo
Three-part frame-and-panel trunk construction
their size varies greatly. I have seen examples that measure from 8 in. high by 16 in. wide by 7 Yz in. deep ro 40 in. high by 70 in. wide by 28 in . deep. All kinds of household items were kept in the smaller ones, and folded clothing was srored in the larger ones. The broad surfaces of such a trunk offered ample opportunity for richly carved decoration .
A typical frame-and-panel trunk is builr in three partS. The largest pan is the carcase, and the other twO are the lid and the base. The carcase consists of four sides, joined with what may be called a half dovetail, as shown in the drawing above. Its effect is similar ro a rongue in a groove. Wooden pins in serted at opposing angles secure the front and the back ro the sides. The front is made of frames and panels-the number of panels depends on the size of the trunk. The rails and stiles are grooved on the inside ro receive the panels, with room for the panel ro expand and contract across the grain , which runs vertically. The panels are rabbeted on the face side and planed on (he back ro taper ro a snug fit in the groove. The
sides can be made the same way, but the made from solid wood. The sides are often made wood, roo. In that case, the grain of the wood tally ro give the carcase strength. The bottom of bu((-joined to the carcase sides with glue and Cracked bottoms are common.
The construction of the lid is similar to that of the The lid usually consists of two panels
one panel is enough) . Usually the frame twO panels is rather wide (about a quarter
panel) to add strength . The side members of the frame tend down over the sides of the case. The thickne pieces prevents the lid from warping.
The purpose of the base is to keep the body and ro prevent moisture from seeping in, which rot in the bottom and, even worse, would destroy stored inside. The base consists of four boards dovetails. The middle partS of (he sides are air to circulate under (he chest. A strip wide is glued and pinned into the base about top on the inside. The case rests on (his
Another kind of construction (ypical in 1600 is the common six-board , dovetailed chest framing arches applied to the sides to create frame-and-panel construction. Carving,
pictures decorate the areas between (he arches; themselves were molded with architectural motif
If (he trunk is to be decorated
and the framework, the carving has to be done bly. Although I work out (he ornaments while do start out with a rough draft) , i( would be helpful ple who aren 't familiar with (his kind of ornamentation work OUt the complete arrangement beforehand.
I work with hand tools. I feel that a sincerity trade as well as towards (he wood is necessary ro ture true to the spirit of the material i(
icy is rewarded in the end by a feeling of pride
To construct a trunk I use a bowsaw, a panel saw set for ping and a backsaw. I also have a number of
rabbet, smoothing) and a few chisels. Carving ornaments requires gouges, veiners, car various molding planes.
The last step is finishing. I use only raw beeswax, except on pieces that come into contact There I use mineral oil. The workers I draw from and those who worked a hundred or more only linseed oil, and (heir furniture is still sometimes even still in use.
The growth of furniture factories in the 19th century the development of peasant furniture. The imagination single person no longer gave (he ornaments ind
liveliness. In the factories, pieces were designed trained to do only that. Because most factories were large towns, the furniture they produced was (astes of the townspeople. With the rise of (he peasant furniture was soon looked down upon ning of (his century, and today, it is admi
pression of a bygone way of life.
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Christoph Buchler, a/ Talent, Ore. , learned about hand tools and peasant furniture whzle living in the German-Austntln