Sheraton

This neoclassical style of furniture came into existence in the latter part of the 18th century. The furniture was designed by Thomas Sheraton who was the contemporary of Hepplewhite. These two designers had their furniture in vogue during this period. Sheraton’s style had been inspired by the features of Louis XVI, which was known for the tapered round legs and contrasting inlays of veneer. The exotic woods primarily used by Sheraton to create his lighter, almost feminine furniture with delicate straight lines, were rosewood, sycamore, tulipwood, mahogany and satinwood. Apart from the inlaid finish, a lot of the pieces had brass fittings and painted finish.

Thomas Sheraton started life in Durham, England in 1751. Sheraton was a deeply religious man and published numerous papers and religious tracts and was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1800. He moved to London in the late 18th century and taught craftsmen cabinet design and architecture. His books on techniques of making chairs and cabinets influenced other cabinet makers all over the country.

He published several books on the techniques of cabinet and chair making widely influential over a large part of the country. Among his favorite motifs were rams’ heads, festoons, flutings, husks and swags. His style was most reproduced during the Federal Period in the United States. Though he had the gift of a superior craftsmanship, he almost gave up being actively involved in carpentry and was more into designing and publishing books. His fame grew through his books.

One of his publications “The Drawing Book” had 84 designs. This edition is not dated and is very rare and difficult to find. The book had 111 plates. Later he published another edition with 119 plates and then a 3rd one which had 122 plates. An encyclopedia called the “Dictionary” had 125 parts but he lived only till the 30th publication. A book called “Designs for household furniture” was published posthumously. He was popularly known as the last of the great craftsmen.

Though he had carved a niche area for Sheraton furniture when he was alive, he hardly made much money on his superior craftsmanship and died essentially as a poor man.

Amongst Sheraton’s other famous designs were clock cases, canopies of immense grace, pulpits which had spiral stairs, tables which were extremely elegant and elaborate beds. He ridiculed the style of Chippendale which was still popular those days. His book “The cabinet dictionary” had 99 plates but unfortunately some of the designs were bizarre and this brought down the popularity of his later work. His work in later years became grotesque because of brass mounts and carvings that were clumsy. He had undoubtedly lost his earlier touch for the elegant style. However, some of the volumes published posthumously did have some useful designs which were elegant, especially in the upholstery category and also in the chair and cabinet sections.

His final years were spent in Golden Square though he had lived in different parts in London earlier. His death also brought the conclusion to an era of glory for Georgian furniture and saw his own downfall from a great designer to one who had lost the touch for the style of his earlier work. His work was appreciated more posthumously than during his lifetime and also was more popular in the United States than in England.

Tagged as: design, Furniture, neoclassical, Sheraton, Thomas Sheraton