Wood carving Custom Made | Wood carving on Barley Twist furniture legs | Classic BARLEY TWIST legs decorated with woodcarving and ornaments

The application of wood carving on Barley Twist furniture legs

Patrick Damiaens
Ornamental Woodcarver

Classic Barley Twist legs

decorated with Ornaments

Application of a flower and leaf motif on Barley Twist turned legs.

The twisted shape of table or chair legs are characteristic of the French Louis XIII style.

In this context the word “twisted” or “torsion” refers to the spiral shaped twists that are applied to wood, which make it seem as if the timber is distorted, slightly resembling a thick rope. It is possible to apply intricate wood carving on the larger examples of twisted furniture legs, usually in the hollow part of the twist.

The French Louis XIII style is a relatively unknown furniture trend, and one rarely runs into furniture from this era (1610-1650) at the local antique dealer. Instead these type of antiques are often found in French museums. In general, the Louis XIII type furniture may be considered as a transition style between the late Renaissance and Baroque.

Nevertheless, in a relatively short period of only 4 decades (1610-1650), this early 17^th century furniture style underwent several significant changes.

The cabinet was introduced. At the time this type of furniture was specifically designed to flaunt the wealth and importance of its owners. The many drawers and secret storage spaces in the interior of the cabinet were meant to display, store or sometimes hide exotic objects from various remote parts of the world, entirely for the purpose of social positioning.

Precious woods, like for instance ebony, were sawn in thin slices of approximately 4 mm in thickness, and were subsequently glued to the massive wooden frame of the furniture piece. The plate material we know today was not developed until several centuries later. Interestingly, at the guild of master carpenters a new specialty was introduced, namely the “Menuisiers en ébéne”, or ebony carpenters, who later on were simply referred to as ébénistes. This is a name we use until this day (an ébénist is a joiner or cabinet-maker).

The most recognizable feature of the Louis XIII style is undoubtedly the twisted shape of the furniture legs. In this particular period the demand for qualified wood turners was high, as the use of twisted furniture legs was extremely fashionable; a “fad” which probably originated in Spain or Portugal.

This “twisted pattern” was also adopted in architecture, for instance on stone columns. Today it is still possible to admire the exquisite craftsmanship of these stone cutters.

Presented below are the various stages of carving a decorative ornament on twisted wood turning.

The application of wood carving on Barley Twist turned legs

Twisted furniture legs

The application of the drawing on the twisted legs

shaping the ornaments

a more detailed drawing is created

the proper cutting of the flower and leaf motive

Patrick Damiaens, Classic BARLEY TWIST legs decorated with woodcarving and ornaments

finishing the leaf and flower motif

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17th Century Style Wood carving | Acanthus leaf design carved in walnut | North German Baroque | Baroque Cabinet from DANZIG

17th Century Style Woodcarving

Woodcarving inspired by the style of the 17^th century

 Acanthus leaf design carved in walnut

In this modest project I will introduce you to the method and technique for carving an acanthus leaf design for the 4 corners of the supporting or constructive part of a Danzig baroque cabinet. 

During the baroque a piece of furniture had to look luxuriant and rich in detail. With its robust yet elegant curls, the acanthus leaf is extremely suitable to radiate that luxuriant and rich feel, which makes it a design that is characteristic for this period.

Often they would use various types of wood as well as a variety of decorative techniques such as inlay, sculpting, gold leaf, etc. 
These techniques were used on one and the same piece of furniture to create that overwhelming sensation of richness. But the personality of a piece of furniture mainly came from the baroque woodcarving.

The symmetrical and crossed acanthus leaf design still tends to be the eye-catcher; a simple yet effective solution for limited space on the piece of furniture.

In its most basic form, a panel consists of a frame, a constructive part and the filling. An architectural frame is inlayed into the constructive part, to create a luxuriant effect and to add depth to the piece, which is another typical characteristic of the baroque period. 
The panel is completed with the inlay of a symmetrical composition executed in walnut, rosewood and coromandel wood.

The concerning panel is destined for a so called Danzig baroque cabinet or “Danziger”. 
A Danzig baroque cabinet is a typically regional 17th century piece of furniture, which (as you can tell by its name) originated from the region in and around the north German city of Danzig (currently the Polish Gdansk). 

17th Century Style Woodcarving , Acanthus leaf design

Baroque

The 17th century is an era that is marked by a great number of changes that took place throughout Europe: exploratory expeditions, rediscovery of Greek and Roman art and science. 

The architecture of these two peoples came back into fashion, giving rise to a new style: baroque. Baroque stretches from the middle of the 17th century to the first half of the 18th century. Baroque wasn’t just limited to architecture alone. 

Quite the contrary! Sculpture, furniture, ornamentation and music were all influenced as well.

Early baroque found its origin in Italy, more specifically in Rome, and slowly started to fan out to northern Europe. It’s interesting to see that the style developed differently in different areas, according to the temperament of the inhabitants of a certain region, and due to the influences of artists and tradesmen.

These differences in style are specifically noticeable in the ornamentation.

A distinction is made between early, high and late baroque. Late baroque is also known as rococo. 

Early baroque still inclined towards the renaissance, whereas late baroque overindulged in luxuriance, with much pomp and circumstance.

Over time many rulers discovered the effects of the dramatic baroque style; we see it used by the Vatican during the Counter Reformation. By putting the emphasis on splendor and magnificence in the architectural style of churches, the Roman Catholic Church was trying to impress people and lure them back to church.  

This, however, caused a breach within the Roman Catholic Church: Protestantism was born, leading to austerity in protestant countries.

One of the developments of the baroque period is that pieces of furniture display less and less architectural characteristics. They no longer resemble miniaturized constructions; there’s a tendency to use more exotic types of wood, rather than local types of wood; and other materials are applied, such as brass, tin and tortoise.

The use of exotic wood (ebony, palisander, acajou) coincides with the expeditions made to East and West India.

The fact that people at this time are more self-assured and start acting as individuals, who tend to make their own choices (notably among artists and tradesmen), leads to a decline in the use of traditional materials and to the creation of completely new furniture. 

The upper class, that is growing ever richer, wants to flaunt its wealth. The result of this is that we now have an amazing collection of furniture from this period in our patrimony.

The carving of a stylized

acanthus leaf design in walnut

Acanthus leaf design carved in walnut

Baroque Cabinet from DANZIG

https://www.patrickdamiaens.info