Decorative arts exhibition
A temporary display where furniture is shown alongside textiles, tableware and lighting of its period. A good opportunity to see how objects came together in a single interior.
Events
Events
Furniture is best understood in person: walking all the way around a cabinet, seeing how light falls on a polished top, hearing a conservator explain how an old lock works. We do not publish event listings or name specific events; instead, we describe the formats and how to get more out of a visit.
In a museum gallery you cannot touch a chair, but you can walk around it. From the side and the back it often tells you more than from the front.
How this section works: here we describe event formats and ways to make sure the information about them is accurate. Confirm dates, addresses and visiting rules with the organizers and the venues themselves.
Kinds of events about furniture and interiors
Five formats you are most likely to come across.
Workshop open house
Joiners, carvers or conservators show their tools and talk about their work. You can see an unfinished piece and understand what lies beneath the finish.
Historic house tour
Furniture in the interiors it was made or chosen for: you can see how pieces stood in the rooms and how they were used.
Museum collection tour
Galleries arranged by period let you travel in an hour from heavy carved cabinets to light chairs and compare styles directly.
Talk or meeting with a curator
A presentation about objects in the collection, their provenance and how they are cared for. A good chance to ask a specialist your questions.
How to prepare for a tour
- Check the details on the website of the museum, historic house or workshop: opening hours, admission procedures and whether advance booking is required.
- Decide in advance what to focus on: a single style, a craft such as carving or marquetry, or upholstered furniture.
- Look through the "Close looks" section and bring a list of elements with you: silhouette, legs, back, joints, upholstery, ornament.
- Check the photography rules. Flash damages old textiles and finishes, so it is often prohibited.
- Do not sit on or touch the exhibits, even if there is no barrier: oils and moisture from your fingers leave marks on the surface.
- Walk around objects on all sides if this is allowed, and look at them from different angles; this makes carving and wood grain easier to see.
- Write down your questions and ask the guide or curator: about the piece's provenance, its restorations and what has survived from the very beginning.
Read next
- Collections
Routes through the guide: by style, by craft, and a short path for first-time visitors.
- Close looks
A step-by-step way to examine a piece of furniture, plus a table of its main elements.
- Makers
The roles without which furniture is neither made nor preserved, plus three names from our timeline.
Sources
- Reference works on the history of furniture and the decorative arts
- Museum catalogues and guides to furniture collections
Historical information is drawn from reference literature on the history of furniture and the decorative arts. Opening hours and visiting rules at museums, historic houses and workshops change, so please confirm them with each venue.