438 THE RENAISSANCE MOVEMENT

The Jacobean or Stuart Period

The term Jacobean is derived from the Latin form of the name
James. Jacobean here refers to the reigns of James I (1603-1625)
and Charles I (1625-1649), although it sometimes includes the
Commonwealth period (1649-1659) and the Restoration (1660-
1689).

The furniture of the Jacobean period was more English than
that of the preceding or following periods. Like the Tudor it was
made of oak in rather squat, sturdy forms, but it was more plenti-
ful. Turning, both spiral and plain, paneling, carving, painting,
marquetry, the application of split turned ornaments such as balus-
ters and lozenges, and applied moldings provided the decoration.
The motifs on the furniture were about the same as the Tudor and
resembled those of the interior architecture. The melon bulb
had now become elongated and was used as part of a balustrade.

The pieces of furniture in use during this period were cupboards,
cabinets, Bible boxes, buffets, dressers, chests, hutches, bedsteads,
day beds, tables, settles and settees, chairs, forms, stools, and foot-
stools. See pages 441 and 442. The small gate-leg tables were
interesting; chairs were lighter and had upholstered seats and backs.

Needlework, the chief occupation of women of leisure, was pro-
duced in enormous quantities, particularly the hand-embroidered
linens which were employed as bed draperies. Weaving factories
were encouraged also. James I established the Mortlake tapestry
manufactory with the help of Flemish weavers.

The Commonwealth

The inefficient rule and unpopularity of the Stuart kings and the
rise of Puritanism brought about a civil war and the execution of
Charles I. Oliver Cromwell, the new director of the Common-
wealth, and his followers, the Puritans, hated the luxurious sur-
roundings of the aristocracy, so the contents of the nineteen
palaces of Charles I were sold abroad. Cromwellian furniture was
chiefly oak and was a severely simplified version of Jacobean fur-
niture without any decoration except turned supports. Although
this period was brief (1649-1660) it is particularly interesting to
us because it produced the type of furniture that was brought to
New England by the Puritan colonists.