A Cultural History of Furniture in the Age of Exploration

The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe witnessed a significant paradigm shift: the exploration so characteristic of the period stemmed from religious motives but came to be propelled by commerce and curiosity as Europeans increasingly engaged with the rest of the world. Interiors in both public and private spaces changed to reflect these cultural encounters and, with them, the furniture with which they were populated. Visually, furniture of this period displayed new designs, forms, and materials. In its uses, it also mirrored developments in science, technology, government and social relationships as prints became more widely distributed, the Wunderkammer developed and there was religious strife and resistance to absolute monarchical rule. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.