Antique Definitions E-F

A convex molding with an alternating design resembling an egg and a dart

Emboss:

To raise decorations in relief from a surface.

Escutcheon:

Shaped surface on which armorial bearings are displayed; also a decorative brass plate about a keyhole. This protects the edges of the keyhole.

Faience:

Tin-glazed earthenware, similar to majolica by made in France and Germany.

Famille Rose:

Predominantly rose hued enamel decoration on 18th and 19th century Oriental export porcelain.

Famille Verte:

Predominantly green hued enamel decoration

Fiddle-Back:

The violin shaped solid splat of a chair, a characteristic of the Queen Anne style.

Filigree:

Delicate and intricate ornamental work of silver or gold.

Finial:

A device used as a terminal ornament or a piece that tops a piece of furniture.

Flemish Scroll:

A reversed C or Florid S-Scroll, commonly used on the stretchers and chair lets of the William and Mary period.

Fleur-De-Lis:

A stylized three-petal design representing a lily.

Flint Glass:

Glass of a heavy, brilliant quality containing lead; also called lead glass or crystal

Fluting:

A series of half-round parallel furrows or channels carved into the surface of a piece of wood.

Foliate Band:

A border design incorporating leaves.

Foot Ring:

A rim on which a plate, saucer, cup, or bowl rests.

Form:

Early term for long bench or stool.

Foxing:

Spots of discoloration on paper

Fraktur:

Term used for Pennsylvania German hand-lettered illustrated manuscripts and drawings.

Free-Blown Glass:

Glass blown without molds, given from by the use of hand tools.

French Plate:

silver plate over brass.

Fretwork:

An ornamental design resembling latticework, either applied, free standing, or cut in low relief; popular in the Chippendale period.

Friesian Carving:

Traditional Dutch carving of simple geometric patterns named for Friesland, a province of the Netherlands

Frieze:

In architecture, the flat central division between the cornice and architrave of an entablature; also, a decorative ban extending horizontally around the wall of a room.