BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

"Classic", "Period", many terms are used to identify furniture inspired by the past. By Classic, we mean something that does not belong to a specific period, but which refers to works from the past, even the recent past. It is pleasant to furnish a room thinking of a scene from an old film or our grandparent's photographs, giving the rooms added atmosphere. There is a sentimental connection between the brevity of life and the need to give objects ornaments and luxury, as if the decorations could somehow extend the existence of each piece of furniture and therefore, symbolically, that of the person too. A house reveals the individual life of the people who live in it; the continuous uniformity of the buildings is counterpoised by the importance of variety in the furnishing. There are no limits or rules, furniture is like a dress and each one wears it according to personal character. Beginning with the fabrics, a house can be decorated in an elegant and traditional manner, co-ordinating patterns and using the basic colours. Each element, from the sofa to the lampshade, to the sideboard, can create overall harmony and mix in with other styles, lights and colours. Lovely Classic, and if Classic is eclectic the domestic scene is completed with memories, warmth and a magic atmosphere, representing individual spontaneity. Furnishing with period furniture can be considered a reverential gesture, a demonstration of respect towards the able artisans of the past. Reproductions of artistic furniture require perfect technical knowledge of the reference style and a great deal of construction ability, which must be strictly artisan. Period furniture, today, represents traditions that continue; reproduction ornaments and decorations cannot be considered as separate from the matter, in fact ornament and matter are balanced in a practical and symbolic space. The variety of ornamental themes, perhaps their recurrence and constancy, is tied to the operator's capacity, the gratification to create recognisable forms, which are therefore reassuring. Tracing figures and motifs is one of the most antique and distinguishing activities of human culture; it can be read as a natural symbolic pulse. Period furniture is not nostalgic: it stopped the evolution of a form when it had reached perfection, it absorbed decorations and ornamental motifs with natural adherence to the changing styles. The artistic capacity of the artisans were put to the test especially in carving and inlaying, where expert craftsmen, thanks to their technical experience based on professional secrets that were handed down over the years, managed to reproduce decorations which would otherwise have disappeared. In fact, starting with Medieval times, detailed rules have been created to govern Co-operatives of Expert Carpenters and Cabinetmakers; the type of wood and its processing have always been reference points over the centuries, where "create with art" has conserved the primitive technical force of "create art".