Louis XIV
Straight, majestic lines, strict symmetry, powerful often-stretchered legs, solar-inspired decors and acanthus leaves. The piece asserts order.
Craftsmanship · Expert page
How do you tell Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI apart?
Three cues give a first reading: the line (straight under Louis XIV, curved under Louis XV, straight again under Louis XVI), the leg (powerful, cabriole, then tapered and fluted) and the ornament (solemn acanthus, asymmetrical rocaille, neoclassical repertoire). Certain attribution, however, requires examining the construction.
By the AZ Ameublement atelier — period furniture restored and executed at the bench, by the rules of each period.
Reading cues
Louis XV
Curved lines, cabriole legs without stretchers, asymmetrical rocaille ornament, shells and flowers. The piece embraces movement.
Louis XVI
A return to the straight line, tapered and fluted legs, neoclassical ornament — ribbons, pearls, interlacing. The piece returns to measure.
The atelier's method, in five steps
01
Identify the style and the date of making
A 'period-style' piece may be of the period or later: reading the joinery, timbers and tool marks tells them apart, without value judgement.
02
Document the existing piece
Surveys, photographs, mapping of earlier restorations: nothing is altered before it has been documented.
03
Choose the protocol
Conserve, consolidate or restitute: the protocol depends on the heritage value of the piece and its intended use, never on appearance alone.
04
Execute by the rules of the style
Joinery, moulding profiles, ornament and finishes are executed according to the rules of the style concerned, with compatible materials.
05
Finish and document
The finish respects the reference period; the work carried out is recorded in a dossier delivered with the piece.
Glossary
- Period piece
- A piece made during the period of the style it represents.
- Period-style piece
- A piece executed by the rules of a style, at a later date.
- Cabriole leg
- The curved leg characteristic of the Louis XV style.
- Fluting
- A vertical groove cut into a leg or upright, typical of Louis XVI.
- Stretcher
- A rail joining the legs of a piece to stiffen it.
The limits of this page
- These cues are simplifications: transitional styles and regional variants escape general rules.
- The atelier does not issue attribution expertise or market valuations: that is the profession of experts and auctioneers.
- No restoration protocol is settled before examining the piece itself.
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