1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,920 In the golden age of British furniture... 2 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:10,960 ..the 18th century... 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,600 ..one man defined the age - in wood. 4 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:21,800 He stood for luxury. 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:24,960 Elegance. 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,040 The finest furniture ever to come from these isles. 7 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:36,600 His name? Thomas Chippendale. 8 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,880 He was the best, he was a master at his craft. 9 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:43,680 You can't beat that. 10 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,800 In this film, we'll see how an enigmatic Yorkshire joiner 11 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,840 escaped his humble roots to conquer fashionable London. 12 00:00:54,480 --> 00:01:00,320 He won favour by bestowing grandeur and taste upon a new moneyed class. 13 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,760 We'll reveal the techniques he mastered... 14 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,400 You know, when we stand in front of this furniture, it's a work of art. 15 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,080 ..kept alive by craftsmen today. 16 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,640 Design inspiration is what it was, 17 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,360 by a man who was truly incredible and wonderful. 18 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,240 Through his ground-breaking designs, he became famous 19 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,520 at home in Britain and across the Atlantic. 20 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,920 We will know in 300 years' time, in 1,000 years' time, 21 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:39,800 we will know Chippendale's name. 22 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,560 Why? Because he's already done 250 years. 23 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,480 And we'll reveal how Chippendale was betrayed 24 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,320 by the very men he'd worked so hard to please... 25 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,360 ..ending his days in penury. 26 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,320 But most of all, we'll celebrate his finest creations - 27 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:07,240 the defining masterpieces of the Georgian age. 28 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,800 Thomas Chippendale's early life has been pieced together 29 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,000 from a few tantalising fragments of information. 30 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,720 We know he was born here, 31 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,760 in the small Yorkshire village of Otley in 1718. 32 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,320 And even though opportunities were limited, 33 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,200 we know Thomas went into his father's trade - carpentry. 34 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,880 Yorkshire was not exactly in the mainstream 35 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:07,520 of furniture-making at this moment, or the high point of high fashion. 36 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,000 In Chippendale's own milieu, if you like, 37 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,640 there was the vernacular tradition of furniture made from oak, 38 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:18,720 beautifully made, often, but fairly sturdy, standard things 39 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,920 for which design barely changed from one generation to the next. 40 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,280 Just one, telling object survives 41 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,920 from the Chippendale family firm. This oak chest. 42 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,360 It's simple, robust and it's lasted centuries, 43 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:47,000 but it's basic, and the joints are clumsy. 44 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,640 A talented and ambitious young man, 45 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,840 Chippendale set his sights on greater things. 46 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,040 And there was only place to go. 47 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:03,960 London. 48 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,360 The young Chippendale would've been amazed 49 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,240 by this strange, bustling metropolis. 50 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:21,680 In the mid-18th century, 51 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:26,120 London was at the heart of a Britain on the rise. 52 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:31,040 A rapidly expanding empire across the world meant power. 53 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,880 It meant an influx of luxurious, exotic goods 54 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,720 into ports across the nation. 55 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:48,880 And it meant wealth for merchants, lawyers and shippers. 56 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,720 This moneyed set would come to be known as "the middle classes". 57 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,600 A group Chippendale would have had his eye on. 58 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:10,400 The mid and late 18th century see this great surge in buying things, 59 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,240 I mean in the material culture. 60 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,360 And that's because whole new groups of people have more money 61 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:22,600 to spend on pleasure, and money to spend on their surroundings. 62 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,080 And also a far greater sense of their status. 63 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,920 They wanted to buy all the fineries they could afford, 64 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,280 from grand portraits 65 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,360 to fine china. 66 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,680 And there was one thing at the top of their wish-list. 67 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,560 The way you impressed people with your taste was how you dressed 68 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:48,800 and how you furnished your home. 69 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:50,840 And of course you furnished your home 70 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:55,800 with a collection of things, of fine art from abroad, and furniture. 71 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,400 So furniture was the emblem. It was the showpiece of your home. 72 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:12,160 Chippendale would have noticed that tastes were getting more exotic. 73 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,160 Oak was now seen as old-fashioned. 74 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,960 And there was a new wood on the block - mahogany - 75 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,560 from the Empire's West Indies. 76 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,120 Mahogany as a raw material 77 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:31,440 had the ability to transform an entire industry. 78 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:38,360 It's hard but it's not too hard, it's durable, it's strong, 79 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,840 but also, for a carver, it's a wonderful wood to use 80 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:46,200 because of its capacity to take fine detail, to carve crisply 81 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,800 and to produce a really clean finish. 82 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,760 Chippendale truly mastered this wood, 83 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,480 manipulating it to produce spectacular furniture. 84 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:01,920 This is one of his earliest chairs. 85 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,640 It's been carved to the most elegant effect. 86 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,120 So exceptional was his skill, 87 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,760 he came to be known as "the high priest of mahogany". 88 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,640 But Chippendale still needed to make a name for himself. 89 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:33,200 In 1754, he did something completely revolutionary, 90 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,200 establishing him at once as the greatest designer of his day. 91 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,120 It was bold, but it wasn't a piece of furniture. 92 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,760 It was the first ever furniture catalogue. 93 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:56,400 The Gentleman And Cabinetmaker's Director 94 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,760 contains over 160 of Chippendale's own designs. 95 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,680 Right on the title page it tells you 96 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:09,360 everything you need to know about what it is and who it's for. 97 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,920 "A large collection of the most elegant 98 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,040 "and useful designs of household furniture." 99 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,600 This catalogue contains everything the fashion-conscious shopper 100 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,960 of the 18th century could possibly want for their home. 101 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,240 From chairs to breakfast tables, 102 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:35,320 cabinets and fire screens. 103 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,880 In an attempt to attract the most customers, 104 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:53,360 he included the three major fashions circulating town. 105 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,560 The Modern Style, fresh out of Paris. 106 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:00,560 Today we'd call it Rococo - 107 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:06,640 an extravagant confection of curls, swirls and fanciful carving. 108 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:11,120 The Chinese. 109 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,400 Inspired by an 18th-century passion for the Orient, 110 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:20,640 adorned with pagodas and make-believe Chinese figures. 111 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,720 And Gothic - a medieval fantasy 112 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:30,680 that revived patterns from the Middle Ages. 113 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,120 Chippendale was all about creating what the customer wanted, 114 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,840 in whatever style they chose. 115 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,800 He's confident that he can convince all noblemen, 116 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:54,920 gentleman or others "who will honour me with their commands", 117 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:59,240 which means everyone who is going to actually commission him, 118 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:05,160 "that every design in this book can be improved both as to beauty 119 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,120 "and enrichment in the execution of it, 120 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,280 "by their most obedient servant, Thomas Chippendale." 121 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:13,920 So what he's saying is really quite key, 122 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,160 in that he's saying, not all the designs are perfect, 123 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,000 all you have to do is ask me to make it 124 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,960 and I will guarantee that they will look better. 125 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,560 There is a figure of Mercury at the end of the preface. 126 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,360 And Mercury is the messenger god 127 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,400 and he's also the god of commerce. 128 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:39,240 Printed on his banner is "colligit ut spargat" - 129 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,320 "collected in order to distribute" - 130 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,760 which is a perfect thing, because that's exactly what this book is. 131 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,400 It's a collection of designs brought together to better distribute it. 132 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,760 No craftsman had ever produced 133 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,960 something that looked so fine, that is so detailed. 134 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,400 But also quite doctrinaire in a way, 135 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:09,520 laying down rules, orders, perspective, for furniture. 136 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:14,640 This is something that architects did, but not furniture people. 137 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,680 They were tradesmen, they were craftspeople. 138 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:22,240 And this is actually a very, very important landmark, 139 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:27,920 both because it gives everybody else in the trade a model 140 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,720 so that they can use it. It's going to create a style. 141 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,320 Chippendale's style became so popular, 142 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,560 inferior craftsmen started using The Director to make copies. 143 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:46,680 James Lomax is an expert at spotting the fakes from the fortunes. 144 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:50,920 Well, the first thing that strikes you, of course, 145 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:52,800 is the colour. 146 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,480 We find this Chippendale chair is a wonderfully deep, rich colour, 147 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,080 which is what was most admired in the 18th century. 148 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,240 The other, on the other hand, is much lighter 149 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:08,480 and perhaps not quite so admired at the time. 150 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,320 This has far, far better quality mahogany. 151 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:17,320 Much denser, much richer, much more expensive. 152 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,400 The carving on this is superb. 153 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:24,560 It's absolutely as crisp and as sharp as you can make it. 154 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:31,320 The splendid use of the materials in the cutting of the fronding here 155 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,680 and the leaves, the splendid curvature of the back, 156 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:40,120 I mean, it's sort of seamless in its wonderful, tactile quality. 157 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:45,160 You know, the highlights on some of the edges of the carving 158 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,240 make it really sparkle. 159 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,480 This, on the other hand, is terribly flat. 160 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,080 Very little depth to it, really, at all. 161 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,160 And here, all these extra little scrolls for some reason. 162 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,720 And then if you look at the sides, this reed design down here, 163 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:05,520 really, is just piled on for no particular reason. 164 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,000 He's piled on a bit of Chinoiserie here, 165 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,680 for example, too. Quite unnecessary. 166 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,160 This one just seems so much more confident as well. 167 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,120 When you put the two side by side, 168 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:21,800 and you look at the curvature of the backs too... 169 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:28,600 Look at the way this has the most marvellously elegant 170 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,560 curvature to it, just one splendid swoop. 171 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,160 Whereas on this one, we're going down to here, 172 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:39,800 and suddenly it goes rather straight, and then the curve continues. 173 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:41,240 Something obviously went wrong! 174 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,160 So, all in all, the two might have a lot of similarities, 175 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,200 but put the two side by side, 176 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,600 and you really begin to see something quite different emerging. 177 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,960 To meet demand for his exquisite furniture, 178 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,840 Thomas set up shop in the fashionable St Martin's Lane. 179 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,600 St Martin's Lane was a great area of furniture makers. 180 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:20,360 You had all the big names there - Vile, Cobb, Chippendale, Linnell. 181 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,120 So the environment is utterly creative. 182 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,600 You're surrounded by, it's not just furniture makers, 183 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:31,240 you've got goldsmiths, there are artists, there's sculptors. 184 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,480 People that we would now call the creative industries, 185 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,360 but the 18th-century equivalent of them, 186 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,520 all milling around St Martin's Lane. 187 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,160 It must have been quite a hotspot. 188 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:50,720 He lived and worked in numbers 60, 61 and 62. 189 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:03,360 The workshop itself consisted, on the front of St Martin's Lane, 190 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,360 his own dwelling house. 191 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:09,000 You would then go through an archway, a carriageway, 192 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,480 into the main premises behind, and, amazingly, 193 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:16,080 you can almost still see that to this day on exactly the same site. 194 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,680 Most of the work would take place in the courtyard beyond that, 195 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,080 which is where the cabinet workshop was, 196 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,720 where the veneering workshop was, 197 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,800 where the carving and the gilding workshops lay 198 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,240 and stores for things like the feathers for the upholstery. 199 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,800 So it was a busy place. 200 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,960 Chippendale could do anything for anybody. 201 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:46,600 He could even bury you - 202 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:50,840 we know he had an undertaking department at St Martin's Lane. 203 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,880 And he was supervising the whole operation. 204 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,720 He was in charge of the artistic direction of the business, 205 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,200 he was in charge of quality control 206 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,640 and he was, above all, in charge of design. 207 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,040 Chippendale's production model 208 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,280 is still used in modern furniture making. 209 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,560 This workshop in Dorset makes Chippendale pieces 210 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,200 and it's run by Jonathan Sainsbury. 211 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:38,200 Up here, we've probably got in excess of maybe 200 different models. 212 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,480 Of which each model contains sometimes 20 or 30 pieces. 213 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,400 I mean, if you look through here, it looks chaos, 214 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,920 but I know where every single one is. 215 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,360 Every little bit of carving, every little bit of flower decoration, 216 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:52,480 I know where it all is. 217 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,760 This is a classic Chippendale model. 218 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,160 It's just got all the refinements that I really, really like. 219 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,000 It's got this sort of chamfered stretcher, which is lovely 220 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,880 and it's got this decoration running down the leg here. 221 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,760 And then the fineness of the carving with the urns and balustrade 222 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:14,560 and the sort of sweeping movement there, 223 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,400 they're all absolutely classics of the Chippendale textbook stuff. 224 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:27,800 Chippendale's workshop hired up to 50 journeymen workers, 225 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:35,680 each with different specialisms from carvers to joiners and polishers. 226 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,680 I think one of the wonderful things about Chippendale furniture 227 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,320 is that it's just right. 228 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,600 It's hard to put your finger on how 229 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,600 it's just right, but it's kind of just right. 230 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,920 Basically, design inspiration is what it was, 231 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,760 by a man who was truly incredible and wonderful. 232 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:11,800 To try and to copy it is difficult, 233 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,200 to improve it is pretty much impossible. 234 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,440 Thomas Chippendale had gone from small town joiner 235 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,040 to a leader of furniture design in London. 236 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,440 His success gave him the freedom, 237 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:40,440 in his 40s, to go back home to Yorkshire. 238 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,000 And Chippendale was determined to show 239 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,120 his Yorkshire patrons just how far he'd come. 240 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:02,040 Nostell Priory near Wakefield was the home of the Winn family 241 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,600 who made their money through textiles. 242 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:11,560 Headed by Rowland, a young obsessive collector, 243 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,160 he wanted to make his house the talk of the county. 244 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:24,280 And he allowed Chippendale's imagination to run riot. 245 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,280 Here you can see the only Chippendale barometer. 246 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,480 A Chippendale chess board. 247 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,920 Even this exquisite doll's house 248 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,640 is rumoured to have been by the hand of the master. 249 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:06,360 Complete with miniature lords and ladies, tables and chairs. 250 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,320 Chris Blackburn, house manager for the past six years, 251 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:21,240 knows the secrets of Nostell better than anyone else. 252 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,280 This is one of my favourite pieces in the whole house. 253 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,280 It looks fairly simple, 254 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,560 but it's got lots of lovely things going on inside. 255 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:32,800 We can pull this drawer out, very carefully. 256 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,040 It's a bit of an old lady, this one. 257 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,760 It's seen a lot of action, this desk. 258 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:39,120 So we pull the drawer out, 259 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:41,840 and what we get is a nice baize writing table. 260 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,960 But, in turn, if we pull that back 261 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,800 very slowly, 262 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,240 we find underneath, this mirror. 263 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,240 Lovely slide back there. 264 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:03,000 And in here would have been a shaving bowl for water. 265 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:09,760 Inside here, 266 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:15,280 we have everything a gentleman needs to get ready for his day. 267 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,280 Over here, we've got razors. 268 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,920 There should be six, one for each day of the week. 269 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:23,360 Except there isn't a seventh. 270 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,720 I'm told that gentleman didn't shave on a Sunday. 271 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,040 These little items over here, 272 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,280 they're receptacles for powders for your wig. 273 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,920 And over here, little boxes. 274 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,800 And this is what sums up Chippendale for me. 275 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:39,240 This very simple little box. 276 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,440 We don't know what Roland would have kept in here. 277 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,320 Maybe a couple of love letters. 278 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,000 We've got lovely little tiny joints here. 279 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,760 They're wafer thin. You can barely see them, there and there. 280 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,960 They are just connecting this box. 281 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:58,680 And it still fits beautifully into place. 282 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:04,960 It really sums up Chippendale's skill. 283 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:21,040 But Chris's most treasured piece of Chippendale furniture 284 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,280 is even more hidden from prying eyes. 285 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,200 A little surprise behind here. It's lovely. 286 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:38,120 There we go. This is Chippendale's medal cabinet. 287 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:42,560 Rowland Winn was a big collector of Roman coins and Roman seals, 288 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:44,000 and this is his idea 289 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,600 of a high-security cabinet for those treasures. 290 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,720 It's got a lovely little glass door on the front of it which opens out. 291 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:53,520 And then these beautiful drawers 292 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:54,960 that sort of grade all the way down 293 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,800 so you can keep all sorts of different-sized objects in there. 294 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:05,200 We'll just pull one of these drawers out and find the treasures inside. 295 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,720 There we go. Little coins. 296 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,320 Models and seals. 297 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,560 These things were very collectable 298 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,760 and sought after in the 18th century. 299 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,080 Chippendale himself described it in his bill 300 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,520 as a very neat mahogany cabinet, 301 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:32,760 which I thing just sums it up really nicely. 302 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,760 Very neat and very elegant is what he described it as. 303 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:38,480 This carving up here is just amazing, 304 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:40,920 and I just thrill every time I see this. 305 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,800 If you put your hand behind it, 306 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,680 you can see that it's carved all the way through. 307 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:50,640 I think it's a fantastically made piece. 308 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,040 It's beautifully carved, really simple, 309 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:54,480 absolutely right for the job, 310 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,720 which I think is where Chippendale was coming from. 311 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,760 He didn't just do fantastic, beautiful things, 312 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:00,600 they were always right for the job. 313 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,840 So I think it's an amazing piece, and for it to be tucked in, 314 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,680 especially behind this door, made to measure for this door, 315 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,000 I think it's quite fantastic, and still today, 316 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,440 after all these years - knocking on for 240 years - it's still 317 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:17,000 in perfect condition, the drawers are beautiful. It's great. 318 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:32,160 But nothing compares to the spectacular, Oriental fantasy 319 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,400 Chippendale created in the Winns' bedroom. 320 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:44,560 This Chinese suite was completely designed and crafted by Chippendale. 321 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,120 He even provided the wallpaper. 322 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,600 To make the suite look really special, Chippendale went 323 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,080 the extra mile and decorated the surface of the wood so it would look 324 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,360 as lustrous as Oriental lacquer - 325 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,080 through a technique called japanning. 326 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:21,200 To give this furniture a taste of the East was no mean feat. 327 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,240 First, the specialist japanner would've had to smooth 328 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,600 the surface of the wood by filling the grain 329 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,080 with a combination of chalk and animal glue. 330 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:38,680 Once you had a smooth surface, 331 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,440 even more chalk and glue would be added 332 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,920 to create these raised sections. 333 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,240 Next comes the paint - 334 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:57,240 one super-thin layer added after another until it was crisp and even. 335 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,280 Finally, the wood was ready 336 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,040 to undergo its most miraculous transformation. 337 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,440 Dominic Shuster is a professional restorer of japanned furniture. 338 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,320 I'm using a little red lead with some modern artists' oil colours 339 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:23,600 to mix together to produce a base colour on the raised section, 340 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:27,040 and that just gives the gold a nice warm colour. 341 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,160 I'm now using an oil size. 342 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:42,720 Oil size is a glue that after a while goes quite sticky, 343 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,600 and gold powders, gold leaf, will stick only where I've painted it. 344 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,640 The Japanese were very good at doing this with one hair on a brush. 345 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:06,480 I'm using a slightly modern method of gold leaf on transfer paper. 346 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:11,160 This, of course, would have been loose leaf in the 18th century. 347 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,120 I can lay the transfer over the size... 348 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,040 ..gently brush... 349 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:26,120 ..and the gold will just stick to the detail. 350 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:29,160 I can wipe off the excess... 351 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,200 ..and the gold will only stay where the size is. 352 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,080 The end result is otherworldly - 353 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,080 a taste of the Far East in a Yorkshire house. 354 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:13,680 If you look closely, imagine those raised figures. 355 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,880 They're not just raised, they're standing out, 356 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,880 they're almost three-dimensional. And the gilding on top of them! 357 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,000 Imagine, someone actually put that on blob by blob, 358 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,160 little dot by dot, and built those up. 359 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,760 Wonderful! And it stands out. It's superb. 360 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,800 It is the most startling of all of them. I mean, vibrant colour. 361 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,080 It must have been a knockout. 362 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:39,720 Can you imagine walking in? 363 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:41,840 "Darling, I've got a present for you." 364 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,400 And you open it - "This is your new closet!" 365 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:45,760 Wow. 366 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,880 But Nostell was almost Chippendale's undoing. 367 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,080 Like many 18th-century gentlemen, 368 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,440 Winn wasn't prompt at paying his bills, 369 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,760 and Chippendale's workshop was starting to run at a loss. 370 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:19,640 Chippendale's lowly status meant he could only plead for his money. 371 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,760 He wrote to Winn that his debts were so large he, 372 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,120 "could hardly keep himself out of jail". 373 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,880 Chippendale had a wife and growing family to support, 374 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,520 and matters were about to take an even more challenging turn. 375 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,480 In the 18th century, fashions weren't set in stone. 376 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:47,880 And, by the 1760s, his eclectic style was beginning to look vulgar. 377 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,080 Now the fashion was for classical simplicity. 378 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,240 Gentleman of the day travelled the continent, 379 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,760 on what was called the Grand Tour, 380 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:03,800 to see the marvels of the ancient world. 381 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:11,120 They returned espousing the glories of newly excavated sites, 382 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:15,760 like Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the beauties of classical furniture. 383 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,480 But Chippendale, a lowly craftsman, never had the opportunity 384 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,480 to see such wonders and found himself out of step. 385 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,240 If you do the Grand Tour 386 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,480 as a professional, you got to meet potential clients, 387 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,480 other Englishmen, rich fellows on the Grand Tour, 388 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,400 you will see objects which will inspire you as a designer 389 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,120 and also you get yourself a pedigree. 390 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:49,040 You're more likely to be employed. 391 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:58,600 The Scottish architect Robert Adam used his Grand Tour experiences 392 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,680 to promote a fresh style, 393 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,080 which came to be known as neo-classicism. 394 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:11,560 His designs were all about simple, straight lines 395 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,480 and ancient decoration. 396 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:19,320 And now, everyone wanted Adam to redesign their homes. 397 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,200 He was able to persuade the aristocracy, the gentry, 398 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:32,640 to be able to update their taste. 399 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,360 and the French and the Gothic styles 400 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:39,640 and actually to take on the new classicism, 401 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:44,360 which he was determined should now become the rule in Britain. 402 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:47,960 He's the man of the moment. 403 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,560 Everyone wants to get hold of Adam, because he's the man 404 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:54,840 who can produce the building with the authentic feel of antiquity. 405 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:01,080 But Adam wasn't a threat to Chippendale - he was his saviour. 406 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:06,640 Adam realised a skilled cabinet-maker like Chippendale 407 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,560 could come in handy to furnish his interiors. 408 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,000 It was a marriage of convenience, 409 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:24,080 but together they would create the greatest houses of the 18th century. 410 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:33,480 Harewood House near York is Chippendale and Adam's masterpiece. 411 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,120 Thomas Chippendale threw himself into this commission, 412 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:53,280 producing a magnificent array of furniture that took 413 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,880 the St Martin's Lane workshop a staggering 30 years to complete. 414 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,880 He provided everything from the garden benches 415 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,560 to the red curtains in the long gallery, 416 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:22,280 which are all carved of wood. 417 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,560 Harewood really was probably the most lavish 418 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,760 furniture commission anywhere in Britain at this date. 419 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:39,080 It was even beyond really what the Royal Family were ordering. 420 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:42,120 It was the opportunity 421 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,120 for Chippendale to show really what he was capable of. 422 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,920 It is one of the greatest palaces in Europe at this time. 423 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:57,160 Ever the pragmatist, 424 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:02,000 Chippendale embraced the restrained neo-classical style, 425 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,360 achieving complete harmony with Adam's architecture. 426 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:14,640 In the grand entrance hall, the classical motifs on the ceiling 427 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:18,240 and on the walls are elegantly reflected on the chairs. 428 00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:29,240 The house belonged to the Lascelles family 429 00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:31,920 who had grown wealthy through trade across the Empire. 430 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:38,160 And, three centuries later, this is still the Lascelles family home. 431 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:47,760 I think, with historic pieces like this, 432 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:51,000 you admire them, you respect them, you look after them well. 433 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:56,280 But we try to make the house and what's in it as alive as possible. 434 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,040 Not like a museum, in which you're one side of things, 435 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,880 and the precious stuff is somewhere else over there at arm's length. 436 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:07,280 The furniture in this room, the library, we were very used to it. 437 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:08,640 It's what you sat on 438 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,600 and tried not to bounce up and down too vigorously on. 439 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,040 This was and still is very much a family room, 440 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,000 still occasionally used for family gatherings at Christmas, 441 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,880 so they're just used as a suite of furniture in a room that you use. 442 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,360 People sit, kids climb on them, 443 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:30,440 you try to stop people spilling sticky drinks onto them. 444 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,760 From that point of view, 445 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:35,600 when this room is in full swing, it's used like any other room. 446 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,840 Like any other family in any other room. 447 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,600 The showpiece of the house and of Chippendale's career 448 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,640 is the Diana and Minerva Commode. 449 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,280 It's an elaborate neo-classical cabinet 450 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,920 which depicts Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, 451 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,360 and, appropriately, Minerva, goddess of craft. 452 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:25,840 This imagery was created using the expensive technique of marquetry. 453 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,200 Marquetry was a way of seamlessly piecing together 454 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:37,080 thousands of tiny slivers of wood called veneers. 455 00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:47,000 Chippendale covered this mahogany cabinet 456 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,640 with six different types of wood veneer, 457 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:54,880 including satinwood, tulipwood, purple heart and ebony. 458 00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,160 The Diana and Minerva Commode 459 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,960 is one of the most astonishing pieces of furniture. 460 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,040 Not only in terms of its design, 461 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,880 but also, of course, the quality of the craftsmanship. 462 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,880 It's like a mini piece of architecture in a way, 463 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:13,600 with its pilasters, its frieze 464 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:17,760 and the cove in the centre, which suggests an arch. 465 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:21,320 And also the wonderful way that it curves at the side. 466 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:25,120 That's, of course, intended so that the curtains can be drawn back 467 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:26,960 so they wouldn't be all ruched up. 468 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:39,880 The wonderful use of the different timbers. If you look, for example, 469 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:44,280 at the figures of Diana and of Minerva, Diana in particular, 470 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,120 look at the shading which we have there on the ivory 471 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,120 which is offset against the ebony. 472 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:57,840 It has wonderful details, which are an astonishing thing to see. 473 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:07,560 Jack Metcalfe is one of the few people in Britain 474 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,160 still practising marquetry. 475 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,680 He's been studying the commode for almost 10 years. 476 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:20,360 Round about 1994, '95, we went to Harewood House, 477 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:21,800 and that just blew my mind away. 478 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,680 I'd never seen anything as beautiful. 479 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,680 And I realised then that I needed to study that work. 480 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:32,480 Thomas Chippendale was a superb designer, first and foremost. 481 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:36,000 His designs were far superior to any of his rivals. 482 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,000 He was a hands-on man as well. 483 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:43,960 Jack is now recreating elements of the Diana and Minerva Commode 484 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:48,440 using Chippendale's original techniques. 485 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:51,680 Here you can see I've drawn the fan out on a template, 486 00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:53,840 and what I want to do here now 487 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:58,000 is start the first process of the artwork, 488 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:02,720 by making a dark line against one edge of this fan 489 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:04,840 and using this hot sand. 490 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,920 It's a technique we call sand shading. 491 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:11,160 This sand is called silver sand. 492 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,840 It has to be silver sand, it's a very gritty sand, 493 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:15,320 and because of that, 494 00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:18,320 it will not stick to the veneer when I dip it in there. 495 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:25,800 And you can see there how quickly it's singed and burned the edge. 496 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:27,640 It will turn the effect as though 497 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:30,080 the flutes of the fan look three-dimensional. 498 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:33,480 So what I want to do now is to lay them onto this template 499 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:38,360 one piece at a time using some veneer tape. 500 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,280 In the 18th century, Chippendale would have just used 501 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,280 a piece of paper with some animal glue brushed on with his finger. 502 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:52,840 All I do is lick this paper and hold it in place. 503 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:57,040 I can then line the ruler up and cut through. 504 00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,240 And that's the first flute installed. 505 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,560 I've got all eight flutes now, 506 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:15,800 and you can see there, if I turn it over, 507 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:19,640 you won't get the 3D image yet, but you can see where I'm trying 508 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:23,680 to get some areas of sand shading and darkening along the edge. 509 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,200 And so now we need to produce 510 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:30,720 what I call the scallops at the end of each flute. 511 00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:32,640 I can draw round the template. 512 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:41,160 And now what I want to do is to border it with a white veneer, 513 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:45,200 and then I'll fret-saw the two at once as I go round these scallops. 514 00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:51,920 This is a saw that we call a treadle saw, 515 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,360 and it's a replica of one that we think would have been 516 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:58,800 used by Thomas Chippendale in the 18th century. 517 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:07,160 And all it consists of is me using my foot on a treadle 518 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:10,880 to pull down this rectangular frame 519 00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:14,480 which is made out of aluminium, 520 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:18,320 and above me, there's a return lathe of wood 521 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:20,680 which acts like a return spring. 522 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,280 There we are. And if we take off the fan, 523 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:33,840 discard the background, as I don't need it, 524 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:37,880 there's the back of the fan already now, sawn with its eight scallops. 525 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,520 The method of cutting and sand shading 526 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:46,760 is used all over the commode to stunning effect. 527 00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:54,960 And Jack's research has revealed something quite surprising. 528 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:02,480 Rather than the now faded honeyed shades of brown we see today, 529 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:04,440 each veneer would have been dyed 530 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,960 with up to 15 different vibrant colours. 531 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:16,040 You can see now that the fan has been laid 532 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:17,680 onto the backboard, 533 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:21,520 and the rest of the motifs have all been added as well. 534 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,760 What we need to look at now is 535 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:28,400 how this is transformed when polish is applied. 536 00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:30,640 I haven't time to polish it, 537 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:35,480 but what I can do here is cover this cloth with some neat alcohol. 538 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:40,400 And this will be the base for the French polish that will be 539 00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:45,040 going on, and here is where you see the transformation take place. 540 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,040 And there you can see the change of colours. 541 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:08,040 Harewood was the highpoint of Chippendale's career. 542 00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:12,560 But grand houses like this were to be his final undoing. 543 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:16,960 Just like at Nostell, bills were left unpaid. 544 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:23,920 Chippendale was owed the unprecedented sum of £10,000. 545 00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:28,120 He had paid for the labour and materials out of his own pocket, 546 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:31,200 only to find, once again, that the lord of the manor 547 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:32,800 was reluctant to pay up. 548 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:37,480 In the 18th century, 549 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:44,200 grand clients felt they didn't necessarily have to pay on the nail. 550 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:46,360 And at Harewood, for example, 551 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:50,280 it was 10 years before the first bill was actually paid. 552 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:55,680 £7,000. Which was a huge amount of credit. 553 00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:57,600 And, of course, it's always the case - 554 00:43:57,600 --> 00:43:59,800 the richest man in England has the best credit. 555 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:04,440 So, of course, Chippendale had to put up with this. 556 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:16,000 Harewood was to be Chippendale's last major project. 557 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:23,400 He died in his early 60s. 558 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:28,280 Chippendale left no money, just £28 worth of furniture 559 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:31,080 and a struggling workshop to his family. 560 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:35,800 His grave, in sight of his workshop 561 00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:38,600 in the St Martin-in-the-Fields churchyard, 562 00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:40,400 is now lost. 563 00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:42,280 It was built over, 564 00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:46,520 trampled by other artistic titans, under the National Gallery. 565 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:05,240 However, the story doesn't end there, 566 00:45:05,240 --> 00:45:07,680 because 3,000 miles away, 567 00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:12,520 in America, The Director enabled Chippendale to live on. 568 00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:19,360 This is Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. 569 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:23,680 It recreates life as it would have been 570 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:25,720 in the 18th-century British colony. 571 00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:34,120 The people who lived in this new and untamed land 572 00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:38,120 were desperate for a taste of British Chippendale-style elegance. 573 00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:49,880 And there's a museum here full of 18th-century American furniture 574 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:52,320 made to Director designs... 575 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:01,480 ..that would have decorated the homes 576 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:03,320 of figures like George Washington. 577 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,480 The Chippendale style in the 18th century in America 578 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:13,040 was seen as an English style. 579 00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:14,600 The people in America 580 00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:18,360 in the late colonial period thought of themselves as British. 581 00:46:18,360 --> 00:46:21,200 And so they saw London as centre of the fashion world. 582 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:27,320 In each of the different colonies along the seaboard, 583 00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,440 it was interpreted in a different way. 584 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:32,960 For example, in the Philadelphia area, Chippendale's designs 585 00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:36,040 are very florid and very richly carved. 586 00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:39,200 Whereas in Virginia, the cabinet-makers here 587 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:41,840 and the householders ordering the furniture tend to take 588 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:44,800 a plainer, neater, less ornamental style. 589 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:56,760 Williamsburg even has an 18th-century furniture workshop, 590 00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:59,080 making Chippendale designs 591 00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:02,640 and using only the tools that would've been available to him. 592 00:47:08,680 --> 00:47:10,560 Master craftsman Mack Headley 593 00:47:10,560 --> 00:47:13,520 is creating a Chippendale-style candle stand. 594 00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:18,120 We're working on a project 595 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:21,320 replicating a pair of four-foot-tall candle stands 596 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:25,400 that George Washington had made for Mount Vernon for his dining room, 597 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:29,640 they believe, a design done by Thomas Chippendale. 598 00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:36,120 Working with the grain of the wood, 599 00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:38,360 I've got the outline of my design. 600 00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:40,240 That gives me break points 601 00:47:40,240 --> 00:47:43,240 where I can then begin to remove material. 602 00:47:56,520 --> 00:47:59,280 It's pretty satisfying when it comes together. 603 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:08,840 The Director, originally written 604 00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:12,680 to entice 18th-century Londoners, was now a global phenomenon. 605 00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:19,560 Thomas Jefferson had a copy in America. 606 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:22,680 So too did Catherine the Great at the Hermitage in Russia. 607 00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:26,640 And Louis XVI in the Palace of Versailles. 608 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:39,880 What Chippendale did with The Director was truly remarkable. 609 00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:43,080 He created the first international brand. 610 00:48:45,640 --> 00:48:49,280 In a way, The Director was the lifestyle catalogue of his day. 611 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:52,920 He set off something which ended up in the Habitat catalogue, 612 00:48:52,920 --> 00:48:54,560 in the IKEA catalogue. 613 00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:59,120 He produced something which celebrated his work. 614 00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:01,520 Chippendale was one of the first to make the idea 615 00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:03,280 of a brand, for furniture, especially, 616 00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:07,720 which could be copied, could be understood 617 00:49:07,720 --> 00:49:09,560 and recognised by many people. 618 00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:14,040 At its strongest, a brand is something that turns 619 00:49:14,040 --> 00:49:17,280 base metal into gold, or raw wood into Chippendale furniture. 620 00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:20,320 Something that transcends the individual maker. 621 00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:27,640 Chippendale's designs still pop up in the strangest places, 622 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:32,320 from skyscrapers to stamps 623 00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:35,840 and, of course, in modern chair design. 624 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:45,160 In Scotland, the next generation of furniture makers 625 00:49:45,160 --> 00:49:47,920 still find Chippendale's legacy inspirational. 626 00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:54,840 And the market for hand-crafted furniture is enjoying a revival. 627 00:49:57,280 --> 00:49:59,960 The ethos of the school is to have students 628 00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:04,040 coming from around the world to here to learn about Chippendale 629 00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:07,080 but to learn what Chippendale would be doing today. 630 00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:09,920 He would be making new, exciting, vibrant furniture, 631 00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:12,040 which is what he was doing at that time. 632 00:50:14,520 --> 00:50:18,160 The students here are keeping Chippendale's skills alive 633 00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:22,280 through their work, from heavy planing to delicate gilding. 634 00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:32,000 If you ask anyone in the street, Chippendale, 635 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:33,520 his name is right out there. 636 00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:36,240 It's the one name that people have always heard. 637 00:50:39,360 --> 00:50:42,400 For all his fame, and all the copies, 638 00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:47,480 the furniture made by Chippendale himself is incredibly rare. 639 00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:50,920 And any piece is worth serious money. 640 00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:58,720 Sales are not common, but when they happen, records are smashed. 641 00:51:00,200 --> 00:51:03,240 In 2010, the Harrington commode, 642 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:07,200 attributed to Chippendale, became the most expensive 643 00:51:07,200 --> 00:51:10,200 piece of English furniture sold at auction. 644 00:51:13,520 --> 00:51:16,280 It's very rare for, extremely rare 645 00:51:16,280 --> 00:51:20,360 for a piece of provenanced, documented furniture 646 00:51:20,360 --> 00:51:23,840 by Thomas Chippendale to appear on the market. 647 00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:28,240 But we don't know yet how many more there may be. 648 00:51:28,240 --> 00:51:34,280 Back in 1924, I think there were only 14 clients known. 649 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:38,680 And in 1968, we'd still only discovered another 12 or so. 650 00:51:38,680 --> 00:51:41,280 Now we know there are 68. 651 00:51:41,280 --> 00:51:45,200 Now, that accounts for 700 pieces of Chippendale furniture. 652 00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:47,920 There might be another house somewhere. 653 00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:56,360 One such property hit the market in 2007 654 00:51:56,360 --> 00:52:01,520 when the contents of Dumfries House in west Scotland came up for sale. 655 00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:12,160 It was a perfectly preserved time capsule 656 00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:14,840 full of pristine Chippendale furniture. 657 00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:28,400 Christie's auction house produced this double-volume catalogue, 658 00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:30,400 containing every piece in the house... 659 00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:40,840 ..at eye-watering prices. 660 00:52:49,960 --> 00:52:53,040 But this furniture was never sold. 661 00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:56,040 The collection was dramatically saved at the 11th hour 662 00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:58,560 by the Prince of Wales, 663 00:52:58,560 --> 00:53:03,080 who helped to find the £45 million needed to save it. 664 00:53:12,320 --> 00:53:16,360 Charlotte Rostek looks after this furniture today. 665 00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:20,440 It's as perfect as when it was first made, 666 00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:22,720 and each piece carries a hefty price tag. 667 00:53:26,560 --> 00:53:31,720 You know, when we stand in front of this furniture, it's a work of art. 668 00:53:31,720 --> 00:53:34,840 They're priceless. If you just think of the price ticket 669 00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:38,320 that this bookcase had when it was prepared for auction, 670 00:53:38,320 --> 00:53:41,720 it was set to go between two to four million, but experts thought 671 00:53:41,720 --> 00:53:47,240 it would have gone for much, much more money than that. 672 00:53:52,560 --> 00:53:54,320 Keys. 673 00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:57,040 This just shows you how close we came 674 00:53:57,040 --> 00:53:59,800 to lose this bookcase to an auction. 675 00:53:59,800 --> 00:54:01,720 Number 40 in the catalogue. 676 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:07,280 And we have these side doors here. 677 00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:09,880 I'm just going to pull those open gently. 678 00:54:11,480 --> 00:54:13,680 We don't open these very often, 679 00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:18,760 and in fact I don't think these have been opened very often throughout 680 00:54:18,760 --> 00:54:22,800 its entire life, because, if you look, it's absolutely immaculate. 681 00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:25,440 Indeed, sometimes when we show this to people 682 00:54:25,440 --> 00:54:28,240 they can't quite believe that these are the original handles, 683 00:54:28,240 --> 00:54:30,280 because they look spanking new. 684 00:54:31,360 --> 00:54:34,480 And, of course, it also still works. 685 00:54:34,480 --> 00:54:39,320 It pulls out as though it was made yesterday. Absolutely amazing. 686 00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:43,520 And we want to keep it that way for at least another 250 years. 687 00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:54,320 The longer one works with it, and, you know, talking about it 688 00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:58,920 and observing it and explaining it to people, you really almost 689 00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:03,560 develop a relationship with it. And in some cases, it's almost, 690 00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:06,280 I would say, a sensual relationship 691 00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:08,960 because of all these wonderful curves. 692 00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:10,720 And I do have the privilege 693 00:55:10,720 --> 00:55:14,000 of moving and touching and sometimes stroking it. 694 00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:18,240 It's...amazing, and you really get under its skin. 695 00:55:26,600 --> 00:55:30,680 I can only say that if there was one of those things from Dumfries, 696 00:55:30,680 --> 00:55:36,080 any of those things being sold, had come up for auction, 697 00:55:36,080 --> 00:55:38,160 whatever it made wouldn't have been enough. 698 00:55:38,160 --> 00:55:40,080 It would not have been enough. 699 00:55:40,080 --> 00:55:42,560 Suddenly, it's not a wardrobe or a clothes press, 700 00:55:42,560 --> 00:55:44,720 it's something by Chippendale 701 00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:49,920 and of that quality and that stature that makes it important 702 00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:52,400 as well as just wonderful. 703 00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:55,760 I mean, you just sit there and look at it. 704 00:55:57,680 --> 00:56:01,320 No recession in English furniture would have any connection 705 00:56:01,320 --> 00:56:06,600 with Thomas Chippendale any more than...say there were 706 00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:09,400 a recession or a dip in the British landscape market 707 00:56:09,400 --> 00:56:11,680 would have to do with Constable. 708 00:56:11,680 --> 00:56:14,040 It would be totally unaffected. 709 00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:16,960 They are miles apart, worlds apart. 710 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:23,240 And the market for the best has always, always been maintained. 711 00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:29,960 And he was the best. He was a master at his craft. You can't beat that. 712 00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:55,360 We have the name of Chippendale and what it embodies. 713 00:56:55,360 --> 00:57:01,440 It embodies Englishness, it embodies a notion of excellence 714 00:57:01,440 --> 00:57:05,280 and it embodies a style which everybody recognises. 715 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:18,320 Quite apart from being objects of design, 716 00:57:18,320 --> 00:57:21,240 these are little works of art in their own right. 717 00:57:28,480 --> 00:57:30,800 We will know in 300 years' time, 718 00:57:30,800 --> 00:57:33,440 in 1,000 years' time, we will know Chippendale's name. 719 00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:35,960 Why? Because he's already done 250 years. 720 00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:13,440 In the next episode... 721 00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:17,160 from the ashes of the Fire of London 722 00:58:17,160 --> 00:58:19,960 emerged our greatest ever woodcarver. 723 00:58:21,880 --> 00:58:25,760 Grinling Gibbons decorated the finest buildings in Britain 724 00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:30,120 and transformed wood into pure art. 725 00:58:39,920 --> 00:58:42,880 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd