As a company, Kipper both repairs and replicates antique furniture. To do this, it is important we know the history and background of the pieces we are introduced to through the restoration business. What follows is a brief history of furniture and the types of finish used since the end of the gothic high period in Europe.

Furniture design and surface finish are inseparably linked. Early furniture was built on the very principle of fastening planked lengths together, and it was only after the twelfth century that beds, chairs and cupboards were embellished with stereotyped systems of carved pattern.

From the fifteenth century, in the royal and ducal courts in Paris, Burgundy, southern Germany and in the commercial center at Flanders, decorative paneling became common. During this same time period the Flemish introduced linenfold carving, a representation of linen in vertical lines used on chests, presses paneling and chimneypieces.

The Renaissance in Italy caused a decline of the European Gothic influence. Italian decoration favored gilded and painted gesso. Walnut was used exclusively where it was carved and polished by faux artists to resemble bronze. The late sixteenth century in Germany developed forms of surface decoration utilizing precious materials such as ivory, silver and mother of pearl. In the seventeenth century this technique was further elaborated on through the use of red tortoise shell and ebony; in the age of baroque however these methods were surpassed by the introduction of pietre dure (hard stones). This was a method of mosaic using precious polished stones to create an effect of polychromatic brilliance.

In France during this time the effect we now know as French polishing was being evolved. Nowadays, the technique is mostly used with mahogany but when the technique was first introduced an enormous number of woods were used, sometimes with success, often with failure.

Today, we understand the subtleties and historical context of all these finishes and more, which informs us both on how to act when restoring and gives inspiration when replicating.