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Article: Market: antiques. (penwork) (column)
- Article from:
- Interior Design
- Article date:
- February 1, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Dictionary of the Decorative Arts defines penwork as a kind of decoration applied to japanned (lacquered) furniture in the late 18th and early 19th century, mainly in England. Pieces were first lacquered in black; patterns were painted on in white casein and then ornamented with shadings and details in black india ink with a fine quill pen. The effect is delicate and lacy, like an etching in reverse, with white figures on a black ground.
Frances Collard, in a book on Regency furniture, described a variation of this formula. Sometimes the area was covered with white japan and the design executed in black. She noted that over the years in many Of these pieces ...