Antique Queen Anne Walnut Secretaire Chest / Escritoire, circa 1710 18th C

Anne was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. Anne continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1714.

The Queen Anne style of decorative arts began to evolve during the rule of King William III of England, reached its primacy during the reign of Queen Anne, and persisted after George I ascended the throne. The period has also been called “the age of walnut” because that wood was used almost exclusively in English furniture of the time, replacing oak.

The single most distinctive feature of Queen Anne furniture is the use of the cabriole leg, which is shaped in the form of a double curve—the upper part being convex and the lower part concave—and ends either in a claw-and-ball or paw foot. The Queen Anne chair is identifiable as well for the splat back, which is curved in order to fit the hollow of the spine.

The custom of social tea drinking that developed in the Queen Anne period produced a need for small movable chairs and tables, as well as for china cabinets. Bookcases and secretaries were also designed in the Queen Anne style. Marquetry, inlay, veneering, and lacquer work were all skilfully applied to the decorative furniture of Queen Anne design. Typical motifs in this ornamentation are scallop shells, scrolls, Oriental figures, animals, and plants. The Queen Anne style of furniture design became extremely popular among the upper classes in Britain’s North American colonies.

Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)

was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.

While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.

Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.

The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).

Satinwood

is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.

The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.

It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.