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pad foot Club foot resting on an integral disc.

pagoda In China and Japan,a tower, usually having several stories, built in connection with a temple or monastery.

paisley A soft woollen fabric with a stylized design based on pinecones. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

palette The range of colors used in the decoration of ceramics. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

palette The group of colors used in a particular style or by a particular factory or decorator.

parian A semi-matt type of porcelain produced with feldspar, and that does not require a glaze. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

parquetry Inlay of geometric design, used for decorative flooring.

parquetry Parquetry is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect. The two main uses of parquetry are as veneer patterns on furniture and block patterns for flooring. The patterns of parquet flooring are entirely geometrical and angular— squares, triangles, lozenges. The use of curved and natural shapes constitutes marquetry rather than parquetry. The most popular parquet flooring pattern is herringbone.

partner's desk Desk large enough to seat two people facing each other which working drawers on both sides.

parure/semi-parure

pashmina A fine shawl made from the fine underbelly hair of a Himalayan Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3mountain goat.

paste The mixture of ingredients that make up porcelain. Also a compound of glass used to make imitation gemstones. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

paste The composite material from which porcelain is made.

pastiglia A technique used to decorate small gilded items made from a white powder derived from lead. Often used during the Italian Renaissance for decorating tiny caskets, it was much too fragile for use on larger items.

pastille burners Popular from 1820-1850, pastille burners were containers often in the form of cottages, churches, or summer houses, with detachable lids for burning cassolette perfumes (incense).

pâte-sur-pâte A form of cameo-like low relief decoration produced by carving through layered slip. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

patera An oval or circuliar motif often with a floral or fluted center. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

patera An oval or circuliar motif often with a floral or fluted center.

patina Term used to designate a mellow sheen formed on the surface of furniture, due to wear, age, exposure, and hand-rubbing. Also a film usually greenish, formed on copper or bronze after long exposure.

patination The change of color of a metal surface due to a chemical reaction between the metal and its environment. A patina can be created naturally or artificially.

pedestal Tall, narrow base which supports a statue, lamp, vase or any decorative object. Usually treated with moldings at the top and a base block on the bottom. Without moldings it is called a plinth.

pediment Broad triangular or curved space above a portico, doorway, window or cabinet. Can have segmental, scroll, and broken forms.

Pediment (Images) Click Photo to Enlarge!

Pembroke table A drop-leaf table having a narrow center.

pewter Alloy of tin and lead which has a dull gray appearance and is used for the making of tableware and ornaments. Originally it was intended as a substitute for silver but its value diminished in the 17th century with the advent of chinaware for everyday use.

pie-crust table A small, round table having a top with its edge carved or molded in scallops. Common in 18th-century English furniture.

pier glass Tall, narrow framed mirror originally placed between two windows to enhance light coming into a room. Often an accompaniment to a low table or console.

pierced work Decorative technique used on precious and non-precious metals, created by perforating the metal sheet. Some extraordinary pierced work was achieved by the noteworthy Goldsmiths and Silversmiths of London during the 18th and 19th centuries.

pietre dure An Italian phrase which means "hard stones," pietre dure is often used to describe sculptural or decorative use of hard stones. This technique was used to decorate furniture, cameos, vases and decorative panels.

pilaster Architectural term for a flattened column attached to a facade for decoration rather than structural support.

pine Wood that is uniform in texture but sometimes strongly marked with annual rings. It dries easily and does not shrink or swell greatly with changes in moisture content.

polychrome Decoration using three or more colors.

poplar Even-textured and straight-grained wood, it is available in lumber as well as in thin stock suitable for cross-banding and face veneers

porcelain Translucent white ceramic body made from kaolin and petuntse (hard-paste) or another ingredient that induces translucency (soft-paste) fired at high temperatures.

porphyry Rock substance composed of crystals of quartz, used during the reign of Louis XIV for table tops.

Pottery Pottery comprises three distinctive types of wares. The first type, earthenware, has been manufactured using the same basic techniques since ancient times. Mass production of the modern era has delivered the first changes in materials and methods. Earthenware is basically composed of clay or a blend of clays that are baked firm, the degree of rigidity depending on the intensity of the firing. With the advent of glazing technologies, earthenwares were coated with glaze for decoration and to render the piece waterproof. It was discovered that, when fired at great heat, the clay body became nonporous producing the second type of pottery, called stoneware. The third type of pottery was invented by the Chinese and consists of feldspathic material in a fusible state being incorporated in a stoneware composition. The ancient Chinese called decayed feldspar kaolin, meaning high place, describing the location where the substance was originally found); this material is known in the West as china clay. Petuntse, or china stone, a less decayed, more fusible feldspathic material, was also used in Chinese porcelain; it forms a white cement that binds together the particles of less fusible kaolin. Two distinct types of porcelain evolved, true porcelain consisting of a kaolin hard-paste body that is produced by high firing temperature resulting in an extremely glassy and smooth surface; and soft porcelain, which is produced from a composition of ground glass and other ingredients including white clay that is fired at a low temperature. It is believed that Chinese potters first made porcelain during the Han period (206 BC-AD 220), when pottery techniques became more refined. The Chinese made early vitreous wares before they developed their white vitreous ware known as true porcelain. Source: http://www.architecturals.net/newsletter/2007_10_21.html

Pottery Pottery comprises three distinctive types of wares. The first type, earthenware, has been manufactured using the same basic techniques since ancient times. Mass production of the modern era has delivered the first changes in materials and methods. Earthenware is basically composed of clay or a blend of clays that are baked firm, the degree of rigidity depending on the intensity of the firing. With the advent of glazing technologies, earthenwares were coated with glaze for decoration and to render the piece waterproof. It was discovered that, when fired at great heat, the clay body became nonporous producing the second type of pottery, called stoneware. The third type of pottery was invented by the Chinese and consists of feldspathic material in a fusible state being incorporated in a stoneware composition. The ancient Chinese called decayed feldspar kaolin, meaning high place, describing the location where the substance was originally found); this material is known in the West as china clay. Petuntse, or china stone, a less decayed, more fusible feldspathic material, was also used in Chinese porcelain; it forms a white cement that binds together the particles of less fusible kaolin. Two distinct types of porcelain evolved, true porcelain consisting of a kaolin hard-paste body that is produced by high firing temperature resulting in an extremely glassy and smooth surface; and soft porcelain, which is produced from a composition of ground glass and other ingredients including white clay that is fired at a low temperature. It is believed that Chinese potters first made porcelain during the Han period (206 BC-AD 220), when pottery techniques became more refined. The Chinese made early vitreous wares before they developed their white vitreous ware known as true porcelain. Source: http://www.architecturals.net/newsletter/2008_03_30.html

Pottery Generic term for all ceramic wares except for porcelain.

prie-dieu prie-dieus or prie-dieux (-dyz) 1. A narrow, desklike kneeling bench with space above for a book or the elbows, for use by a person at prayer. 2. An armless, upholstered chair with a high straight back and a low seat.

Provincial Peasant-like and naive in style.

Prudent Mallard Mallard, Prudent - Born in Sevres, France, Prudent Mallard emigrated to America in 1829. After finding New York unsuitable, he travelled by steamship to New Orleans, where he set up shop on Royal Street, the city's most prestigious avenue, catering to the needs of a very wealthy clientele. Known for his palatial furnishings, Mallard is one of the most important Southern cabinet makers.

putti A young boy, commonly seen in Italian painting and sculpture. putti - (pl. for putto) cupids or cherubs commonly used as a decorative motif.