This lavishly illustrated and comprehensive volume is the first devoted entirely to the subject of Irish furniture and woodwork. It provides a detailed survey-encompassing everything from medieval choir stalls to magnificent drawing-room suites for the great houses-from earliest times to the end of the eighteenth century. The first part of the book presents a chronological history, illustrated with superb examples of Irish furniture and interior carving. In a lively text, the Knight of Glin and James Peill consider a broad range of topics, including a discussion of the influence of Irish craftsmen in the colonies of America. The second part of the book is a fascinating pictorial catalogue of different types of surviving furniture, including chairs, stools, baroque sideboards, elegant tea and games tables, bookcases, and mirrors. The book also features an index of Irish furniture-makers and craftsmen of the eighteenth century, compiled from Dublin newspaper advertisements and other contemporary sources.
Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
