by Joseph Malek

Created on: June 24, 2009

For your information, Thomas Chippendale is probably the most well known maker of fine furniture during the 18th Century. He was born in Yorkshire within Great Britain in 1718 and was the son of a carpenter. So too, furniture made by this Thomas Chippendale is probably the most valuable antique furniture that was ever built. His son was also named Thomas and he continued his Father's work within a factory that the elder Thomas Chippendale established in London in 1749.

Be that as it may, Chippendale furniture is well known as being solidly constructed with grace of style and elaborate decoration. As a result, his furniture designs were extensively copied by other cabinet makers thus causing many people to believe that Thomas Chippendale built all of those items of furniture.

If you have not already guessed, Thomas Chippendale's furniture was expensive and those items did contain the finest materials available during his time. Royals and the truly rich were his regular customers and to this day most of his surviving furniture is within museums and within the mansions of the super rich.

Style wise, Thomas Chippendale designed and built fine furniture in the Chinese style, the Gothic style and the rococo style. For those of you who are truly interested in the work and the furniture designs of Thomas Chippendale you can see and read one of the many copies of his three publications of a book he first published in 1754 entitled "The Gentleman and the Cabinet Maker's Director." It contains 160 engravings of his furniture designs, some of which are still being copied today.

Subsequently, and in collaboration with an architect known as Robert Adam, Thomas Chippendale created his most beautiful furniture. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and it is lucky for him that the super rich of those long gone days truly liked what Thomas Chippendale built just for each of them. As far as I know, none of his furniture was mass produced for the consumption of just ordinary people.

That is why some of the furniture that he built was acquired second hand from its original owners. So too, that particular furniture was usually damaged by fire, breakage, wood worms, the Sun and/or warped out of shape.

Since there are hundreds of examples of fine furniture in the style of Thomas Chippendale even the experts have a difficult time in determining if Thomas Chippendale actually made the item of furniture in question. Just one mistake in that regard can cost you a whole lot of money.

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