Regency Furniture
REGENCY
The Regency Period made a distinctive contribution to English furniture. Previous interest in capturing the spirit of antiquity was now expressed in a detail that surpassed that of earlier decades. Thomas Sheraton's two published works, the Cabinet Dictionary of 1803 and the Cabinet-maker, Upholsterer and General Artists' Encyclopaedia, which came out in parts from 1804 to 1806, show in detail the new trend for the Regency style.
Designs appeared in Britain for the first time that incorporated lion paw feet and other exotic animals onto the ends of Grecian scroll arms. The 1798 Battle of the Nile, fought between the French and the English, led by Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson, was largely responsible for inspiring designs containing Egyptian elements as it established England as a Naval Supremacy in the final years of the Revolutionary Wars in France. Such designs were more archaeologically correct in following the excavated model than had been previously, inspiring furniture to be made with sphinx head finials and crocodiles supports. Nelson's increasing victories also led to furniture incorporating a number of marine elements, including anchors, cordage and dolphins.
