French Faux Bamboo Giltwood Tabouret Stool, 19th Century

• Faux Bamboo - Faux in French means "artificial" or "imitation", so faux bamboo is imitation bamboo. The wood was turned, notched and painted to look like bamboo. It was a popular design feature in the Regency period and can be seen on many "Chinese Chippendale" pieces.
  
  Influenced by the growing trade with China, the style reached its peak with the Prince Regent's Royal Pavilion at Brighton, designed by John Nash, and built between 1817 and 1822.
• Faux - A French word meaning "false", but when used in decorative arts, the intention is not to deceive, but to simulate the decorative effects of the more expensive material it is imitating. The term " faux bois" meaning "false wood" refers to a furniture item that has been decorated with a marked grain (woodgrain finish)  to imitate a more expensive timber.
• Tabouret - A French word for a low upholstered seat or stool, introduced in France in the second half of the 17th century, and in England in the 18th century
• Giltwood - Giltwood is used to describe a gold finish on furniture and other decorative wooden items, whereby a thin sheet of gold metal, called gold leaf, is applied to the surface for decorative purposes.
  
  Unlike gilding, where the gold leaf is applied over a coating of gesso, with giltwood the gold leaf is applied direct to the surface, or over a coat of linseed oil gold leaf adhesive.
  
  Most gold-finished mirrors will be gilded, whereas furniture with gold highlights will have the gold applied through the giltwood method.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• stools, material - gilt 47
• stools, origin - French 99
• stools, period or age - Victorian 260