False muntins on the cornice rail

more on the 1680s cupboard project

In 1937/38 Irving P. Lyon wrote a series of six articles in the Magazine Antiques - ostensibly about oak furniture from Ipswich Massachusetts in the 17th century. Lyon overshot the mark, but a lot of the work he publishes still holds up today nearly 90 years later. Part IV of his series was entitled “The Small-Panel Type” and refers to a decorative technique that creates the suggestion of a surface being framed into multiple panels surrounded by moldings. Some of Lyon’s description:

“The essential element in the design consists of exceedingly narrow panels, varying in length, placed end to end horizontally and usually arranged in tiers. Each row is cut from the solid in a single longitudinal channel, subsequently subdivided into individual panels by the insertion of separating blocks. Each panel is framed by a marginal cyma molding, integral with the surrounding wood...

A secondary, but important, feature of the complete design occurs in the application of single bosses to the blocks between panels. These are usually disposed in alternating upright and inverted V form, an arrangement made possible by the calculated variation in the length of the panels in superimposed tiers...in the best-preserved pieces the panels and bosses are still stained black, thus by contrast emphasizing the design.”