Furniture & Interiors from 1650 to 1950

Following the success of the symposium held at the Metropolitan Museum in January earlier this year, many FHS members expressed their disappointment at not being able to view the scholars delivering their papers. The FHS is, therefore, delighted to be offering this online event where eight of the speakers will deliver their papers over two successive Monday evenings - 23 and 30 September. There will be time for a brief discussion when members of the audience will be able to ask questions. The scope of the programme is broad, covering aspects of furniture-making from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries in various countries including France, Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic.

From left to right:
Detail of the fireplace (Rome, 1785) by Luigi Valadier in the Sala della Flora on the first floor of the Villa Borghese in Rome. 
Three armchairs (serial numbers 6953, 6950 and 6951) designed in 1957 by Jaroslav Šmídek now in a private collection. Photo credit: Zdenĕk Sodoma. 
Detail of a drawing by Jean-Baptiste Plantar in the Album d'une centaine de dessins d'architecture (Paris, c. 1855), held online by the Institut national d'histoire de l'art.

The programme is as follows:

Monday, 23 September 2024

Noah Dubay | Comfort, Convenience and Convalescence: How the Fauteuil de Malade Changed Eighteenth-Century France

Geoffrey Ripert | The Road from Rome to Paris: Sourcing Rare Marbles at the End of the Ancien Regime and the Rise of French Taste for Objets d'Art Made from Stone, 1760-1810

Grace Ford-Dirks | Exploring the Lives and Meanings of an Eighteenth-Century Caribbean Armoire

Bridget Griffin | Crafting Connections: Mapping the Lives and Trade Networks of British and Irish Immigrant Furniture-Makers in North-Eastern Port Cities of Early America

Monday, 30 September 2024

Romana Mastrella | Collecting Fireplaces in the Eighteenth Century

Justine Gain | When the Furniture Matches the Architecture: The Birth of French Eclecticism through the Oeuvre of Jean-Baptiste Plantar (1790-1879)

Karolina Kouřilová | Design Behind the Iron Curtain: Furniture Industry Development in Post-War Czechoslovakia

Melania Andronic | Rational Furniture: A Chair is Made for Sitting

You can no longer register for this event on Eventbrite by should you wish to attend or need further information please email bifmo@furniturehistorysociety.org.