Confidante

This article is about an item of furniture. For the type of person (in the feminine), see confidant.
Second Empire style confidante

A confidante (also known[1][2] as a canapé à joue, a canapé à confidants, or a canapé à confidant(e)) is a type of sofa, originally characterized by a triangular seat at each end, so that people could sit at either end of the sofa and be close to the person(s) sitting in the middle.[3] The ends were sometimes detachable, and could be removed and used on their own as Burjair chairs.[4][5] The name Confidante was coined by cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite,[6] who described it in his Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide as being "of French origin, and is in pretty general request for large and spacious suits of apartments. An elegant drawing-room, with modern furniture, is scarce complete without a Confidante, […]".[7]

References

  1. ↑ DeJean 2009, pp. 123–125.
  2. ↑ Banham & Shrimpton 1997, pp. 1194.
  3. ↑ Zoglin & Shouse 1999.
  4. ↑ Clouston 1975, pp. 161–162.
  5. ↑ Burton 1967, pp. 141.
  6. ↑ Yaxley 2003, pp. 50.
  7. ↑ Singleton 1970, pp. 642.

Reference bibliography

  • Banham, Joanna; Shrimpton, Leanda, eds. (1997). "Sofas and Settees". Encyclopedia of interior design: M–Z. 2. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 978-1-884964-19-0.
  • Burton, Elizabeth (1967). The Georgians at home: 1714–1830. Longmans.
  • Clouston, K. Warren (1975). The Chippendale period in English furniture. EP Publishing.
  • DeJean, Joan E. (2009). The age of comfort: when Paris discovered casual—and the modern home began. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-59691-405-6.
  • Singleton, Esther (1970). The furniture of our forefathers. Illustrated by Russell Sturgis. B. Blom.
  • Yaxley, David (2003). "confidante". A researcher's glossary of words found in historical documents of East Anglia. Larks Press. ISBN 978-1-904006-13-8.
  • Zoglin, Ron; Shouse, Deborah (1999). Shouse, Deborah, ed. Antiquing for Dummies. For Dummies. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-7645-5108-6.

Further reading