sance style which prevailed.

Besides the "_chaire_" which was reserved for the "_seigneur_," there were
smaller and more convenient stools, the X form supports of which were
also carved.

[Illustration: Carved Oak Panel, Dated 1577.]

Cabinets were made with an upper and lower part; sometimes the latter was
in the form of a stand with caryatides figures like the famous cabinet in
the Chateau Fontainebleau, a vignette of which forms the initial letter of
this chapter; or were enclosed by doors generally decorated with carving,
the upper, part having richly carved panels, which when open disclosed
drawers with fronts minutely carved.

M. Edmond Bonnaffe, in his work on the sixteenth century furniture of
France, gives no less than 120 illustrations of "_tables, coffres,
armoires, dressoirs, sieges, et bancs_, manufactured at Orleans, Anjou,
Maine, Touraine, Le Berri, Lorraine, Burgundy, Lyons, Provence, Auvergne,
Languedoc, and other towns and districts, besides the capital," which
excelled in the reputation of her "menuisiers," and in the old documents
certain articles of furniture are particularized as "_fait a Paris_."

He also mentions that Francis I. preferred to employ native workmen, and
that the Italians were retained only to furnish the designs and lead the
new style; and in giving the names of the most noted French cabinet makers
and carvers of this time, he adds that Jacques Lardant and Michel Bourdin
received no less than 15,700 livres for a number of "_buffets de salles,"
"tables garnies de leurs treteaux," "chandeliers de bois_" and other
articles.

[Illustration: Facsimiles of Engravings on Wood, By J. Amman, in the 16th
century, showing interiors of Workshops of the period.]

The bedstead, of which there is an illustration, is a good representation
of French Renaissance. It formed part of the contents of the Chateau of
Pau, and belonged to Jeanne d'Albret, mother of Henri Quatre, who was born
at Pau in 1553. The bedstead is of oak, and by time has acquired a rich
warm tint, the details of the carving remaining sharp and clear. On the
lower cornice moulding, the date 1562 is carved.

This, like other furniture and contents of Palaces in France, forms part
of the State or National collection, of which there are excellent
illustrations and descriptions in M. Williamson's "Mobilier National," a
valuable contribution to the literature of this subject which should be
consulted.

[Illustration: Carved O