French Louis XV Marble Buffet with Inlay and Ornate Legs

• Floral Swag / Garland / Festoon - Floral swags are a decorative motif often used in the ornamentation of various objects, such as silverware, glassware, and furniture. The term "swag" refers to a garland or wreath of flowers, foliage, or other decorative elements, which is usually arranged in a loop or curve.
  
  Floral swags can be found in a variety of decorative styles, from ornate Baroque and Rococo designs to more naturalistic Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. They are often used to add a touch of elegance, refinement, or whimsy to an object, and can be seen on a range of items from chandeliers and candlesticks to picture frames and tea sets.
  
  In the decoration of silver objects, floral swags are often used to accentuate the curves and lines of the piece, and to add visual interest to the surface. Similarly, on glass objects, floral swags may be used to frame or highlight a particular area of the object, or to add a touch of color and delicacy.
  
  On furniture, floral swags can be found on a variety of pieces, from cabinets and armoires to chairs and sofas. They are often used to enhance the lines and curves of the furniture, and can be used to create a sense of movement and flow in the design.
  
  Overall, floral swags are a versatile decorative element that can be adapted to a range of styles and applications, and have been used in the decoration of various objects throughout history.
• Bevel / Chamfer - In furniture making, a chamfered corner refers to a technique used to create a smooth, angled edge on the corner of a piece of furniture. This is typically done by cutting away a small portion of the corner at an angle, typically 45 degrees, creating a diagonal edge, rather than a sharp 90-degree angle. This technique can be used on various parts of a piece of furniture such as table legs, drawer fronts, or door frames. Chamfering can add visual interest to a piece and can help to soften the overall look of a piece of furniture. It is often used in conjunction with other techniques, such as rounding edges or using contrasting wood species to create a more elegant, sophisticated look. Chamfering is a simple way to add a touch of elegance to a piece of furniture and it is a common technique used by furniture makers.
• Parquetry - Parquetry is inlay laid in geometric patterns, the contrast being achieved by the opposing angles of the grain and veneers. The herringbone pattern is the most commonly used in flooring, but this is almost never seen in furniture - the patterns used are more complex and unlike flooring, can include several different varieties of timber.
• Proportions - Essentially, the size of the various parts of a piece of furniture in relation to the whole. Ideally, the proportions should be pleasing to the eye appearing neither top-heavy nor unbalanced and convenient for ordinary use.
• Fruitwood - A catch-all term used to describe the wood of any of several fruit-bearing trees, such as the apple, cherry, or pear, used especially in cabinetmaking.
  
  With a blond colour when finished, fruitwood was used in Europe, especially France, in the 18th and 19th centuries for larger items of furniture such as tables, chairs, cabinets and bookcases but in England its use was generally restricted to decorative elements such as inlays.
• Inlay - Decorative patterns inserted into the main body of a piece of furniture, generally in wood of contrasting colour and grain, though brass, ivory, ebony, shell and sometimes horn have been used. Inlay may consist of a panel of well figured timber inset into a cabinet door front, geometric patterns, or complex and stylized designs of flowers, swags of foliage, fruits and other motifs. As a general rule, in pieces where the carcase is constructed in the solid, the inlay is relatively simple such as stringing, cross banding and herringbone banding. Where more elaborate and decorative work was required veneer was used. Inlay has been fashionable from at least the latter half of the 17th century, when a variety of elaborate forms were developed

This item has been included into following indexes:

• cabinets, period or style
  • French, with marble top 220
  • Louis XV style 194
• cabinets, type - buffets, French 303