Furthermore, the collection includes many key items of furniture from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries that originated in France, Germany, Flanders, Italy and England. The chairs, cabinets, tables, clocks and even entire interiors offer a window onto the history of furniture-making. As well as revealing something about how people lived in the past, these objects bear witness to the artist-patron partnership. They illustrate the development of styles and techniques over time and how they fit into an international context. The material, iconography and function of the objects can tell us a great deal about the cultural, political and economic circumstances in which they were made.
Getting started with the collection: