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Usually associated with clocks, where spandrels decorate the four courners of a dial. On furniture, it's the triangular space formed between the curve of an arch and its square framing. Without the arch, the shape is that of a bracket.
See Braganza .
Spelter [metal] is an alloy composed chiefly of zinc. It was much used around the latter part of the C19th as a cheaper substitute for bronze, principally in cast decorative pieces, and was often painted or patinated to simulate ivory or bronze. It is very soft and malleable, but when cast tends to be crystalline and brittle, and which when broken shows a granular, silvery fracture plane. In many cases it was copper-plated before any other finish such as gold plating was applied and therefore a worn piece may look coppery. It as quite fragile if thin and there is no really satisfactory method of repair. In some cases such as figurines, a filler such as plaster may be added to give weight and strength. Spelter can often be detected by a scratch in an inconspicuous place showing a bright silver colour where otherwise one might expect bronze or copper.
A slender turned baluster , often decoratively used in rows, such as can be seen in the back of (say) a Windsor chair .
See barley twist .
The angled taper of the sides of, for instance, a splay foot. When curved, this is termed flared .
A vertical board, usually flat, and often with shaped sides and frequently pierced or carved, which is the central upright of a chair back, between the top and seat rails. Such a chair is known as a splat-back.
A subsidiary vertical framing member of a muntin , or the outermost vertical section of a panelled construction.
Fluting where part of each channel is filled with a reed of wood or brass (see counter-fluting ).
The front of a cabinet or chest that is flat and not recessed (see break-front ).
A large spoon with a vertical strainer in the middle of the bowl, used for serving soups or stews.
Originally used in the mid C16th to mid C17th, and then revived in the late C18th, this is a symmetical and repeated carved ornament of flat, interlaced bands or ribbons, resembling plaited strips.
A horizontal strut connecting and bracing chair or table legs, sometimes used decoratively, such as a cross-stretcher or arched ( Crinoline ) stretcher.
A thin decorative inlaid line of brass or contrasting wood, generally in veneer .
A small tenon which does not go completely through the timber. See through-tenon .
A long-handled spoon (12" or more).
Usually refers to a piece made in the manner of a previous period.
Refers to the forms fashionable in a particular period, usually identified by the monarch (e.g., Georgian) or designer (e.g., Chippendale).
A form of dropleaf table which has a top that is so shallow as to be almost useless as a functional table, at least until the flaps are extended, and which typically sits atop end columns joined by a central stretcher . First recorded in about 1850, almost exactly 100 years after the similar Pembroke was first made, they were named after Harriet, the Duchess of Pembroke, and reached their height of popularity in the late C19th.
See Festoon
See Bow-front
A leg such as is used on a gateleg table , in which one side is hinged or more usually pivoted, and the other swings out to support the table leaf . In effect, it's another word for a gate-leg.