t nations.

In France, the cabinet maker has ever excelled in the production of
ornamental furniture; and by constant reference to older specimens in the
Museums and Palaces of his country, he is far better acquainted with what
may be called the traditions of his craft than his English brother. With
him the styles of Francois Premier, of Henri Deux, and the "three Louis"
are classic, and in the beautiful chasing and finishing of the mounts
which ornament the best _meubles de luxe_, it is almost impossible to
surpass his best efforts, provided the requisite price be paid; but this
amounts in many cases to such considerable sums of money as would seem
incredible to those who have but little knowledge of the subject. As a
simple instance, the "copy" of the "Bureau du Louvre" (described in
Chapter vi.) in the Hertford House collection, cost the late Sir Richard
Wallace a sum of L4,000.

As, however, in France, and in countries which import French furniture,
there are many who desire to have the effect of this beautiful but
expensive furniture, but cannot afford to spend several thousand pounds in
the decoration of a single room, the industrious and ingenious Frenchman
manufactures, to meet this demand, vast quantities of furniture which
affects, without attaining, the merits of the better made and more highly
finished articles.

In Holland, Belgium, and in Germany, as has already been pointed out, the
manufacture of ornamental oak furniture, on the lines of the Renaissance
models, still prevails, and such furniture is largely imported into this
country.

Italian carved furniture of modern times has been already noticed; and in
the selections made from the 1851 Exhibition, some productions of
different countries have been illustrated, which tend to shew that,
speaking generally, the furniture most suitable for display is produced
abroad, while none can excel English cabinet makers in the production of
useful furniture and woodwork, when it is the result of design and
handicraft, unfettered by the detrimental, but too popular, condition that
the article when finished shall appear to be more costly really than it
is.

[Illustration: Carved Frame, by Radspieler, Munich.]

The illustration of a carved frame in the rococo style of Chippendale,
with a Chinaman in a canopy, represents an important school of wood
carving which has been developed in Munich; and in the "Kuenst
Gewerberein," or "Workman's Exhibition," in that ci