The Home Beautiful: A French Footstool, 1750

Footstool
France, c. 1750
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This lovely little stool was  made in France in the 1750.  

When the Victoria & Albert Museum acquired this stool in 1862, it was painted white and adorned with gilt decoration.  The upholstery had been changed to a silk dress material. 

Of course, the curators knew that the 1862 state of the piece was not its original look.  White and gold decoration was thought at that time to be typical of 18th-century French furniture, however, the curators knew this was a falsehood since, in reality, very little French seating furniture was gilded in the 18th century. 

Upon examination, it was found that underneath the white paint, were  the remains of dark and pale blue paint, which was most probably the original decoration. 

In the 1970s the stool was repainted in these colors, and also reupholstered with its present blue silk cover.

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Tatham Stool, 1800

This majestic footstool from the Victoria & Albert Museum has a design similar to that of a marble seat that been discovered in Rome. Though it appears to be made of marble, the stool is made from beech wood, painted in white and grey to simulate the appearance of stone. The use of beech wood allowed for easier carving and much less costly (and less weighty) medium to marble. 

The stoolmwas designed by Charles Heathcote Tatham (1772-1842) who studied ancient architecture in Rome in July 1794 under the patronage of his employer and mentor, Henry Holland (1745-1806)--architect to the Prince of Wales.

This stool is one of a pair from the Neave Collection.  Its twin is at Temple Newsam House, Leeds.