History of Hand Painted Furniture: Marco Polo Fine hand painted furniture had its beginnings with the use of resin lacquer in China about 3500 years ago. Marco Polo is thought to have brought news of the highly-developed state of Chinese lacquer to Italy as early as 1283 A.D., when records show that Venetian painters first established written rules for their trade. Within the next 100 years the Italian Renaissance had its beginnings; the Venetian school of artists, exemplified by Titian, was in full sway by the early 1500's. Hand painted caskets and polychrome chests such as Patina's Brianza Nightstand represent hand painted furniture of this period. The English, along with Portuguese and Dutch shipping interests, began to engage in the China trade during Elizabeth I's reign in the late 1500's. Later, trade expansion and restoration politics under Charles II in the late 1600's saw low volume importation of hand painted Chinese lacquered panels to England, followed by their incorporation into hand painted furniture by domestic cabinetmakers as can be seen in Patina's Palazzo Secretary. History of Hand Painted Furniture: The French Connection Meanwhile, in France, the stage was set for the beginning of the golden age of hand painted furniture. Louis XIV, the Sun King, presided over Versailles and the French baroque period characterized by bombé chests like Patina's Veneto Chest and extensive, expensive use of ormolu, bronze mounts, and inlaid woods. An almost 60-year reign by his successor, Louis XV, in the mid-18th C., was a period in which France dominated hand painted furniture design and set the pace for the rest of Europe. The grand scale of the baroque gave way to the delicate ornamentation of rococo style, more compatible with the intimate room settings of the period. In Italy, small kingdoms and city states were largely controlled by neighbors Austria and France. Venice, nearing the end of its eminence as a world power, was still an independent state with hundreds of wealthy noble families. They loved festivals as well as elegant, colorful furnishings and admired French style. Liveliness and still-evident charm made Venice a destination for fun-loving Europeans. But it was the strong artistic tradition of the region that virtually assured its excellence in hand painted furniture of all types. It is here one sees the introduction of hand painted imitations of French ormolu, guilloches and sabots, as well as bright colors to enliven dark interiors as exemplified by Patina's Firenze Chest. The gesso technique of surface preparation insured a fine ground for decoration on frames of all shapes and sizes, some of them bordering on the outlandish by today's standards of taste. History of Hand Painted Furniture: Neoclassicism The discovery of Herculaneum and Pompeii in 1738 and 1748 ushered in a period of neoclassicism that quickly found its way into hand painted furniture design and decoration. Through the influence of many, including Englishman Robert Adam, European design prominence incorporated and transcended the oriental. A prime example of the is Patina's Blenheim Chest. Louis XVI passed onto, then off the political scene, and hand painted furniture modes veered toward more spartan directoire and empire lines. A gilded era in hand painted furniture had passed, but the legacy lingers today. According to their various tastes, 20th C. collectors and interior designers prize hand painted furniture of the 18th C. period for a variety of reasons... workmanship, fineness of line, richness of ornamentation and reflection of an opulent time not likely to be repeated. Patina's mission is to recreate one facet of this antique jewel, Eighteenth Century Venetian Hand Painted Furniture, either as it was by adaptation or reproduction, or in the case of many of our original designs, as it could have been. Patina's Contribution We are proud to add Patina's name to those of earlier artistic contributors in the field of fine hand painted furniture.