Art and Architecture Collection > Decorative Arts: A Research Guide

General Reference Resources

A number of general reference tools have been created that cover important aspects of decorative art and design related to furniture, glass, metalwork, and textiles. These resources include dictionaries of terms, directories, encyclopedias, and survey guides. They provide accurate entries that define and explain specific forms of decorative art and their design functions.

Boger, Ada. The Dictionary of Antiques and the Decorative Arts; a book of reference for glass, furniture, ceramics, silver, periods, styles, technical terms, etc. New York: Scribner, 1967.

Alphabetical entries with useful line drawings; one of the oldest, most authoritative dictionaries.

Byars, Mel. The Design Encyclopedia. London: L. King Pub.; New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2004.
Chronicles the important developments that affected 19th and 20th century objects design.

Fleming, John and Hugh Honour. Dictionary of the Decorative Arts. New York: Harper & Row, 1977.
American edition of a European classic reference tool, with emphasis on Western art objects.

Hiesinger, Kathryn B. Antiquespeak: a guide to the styles, techniques, and materials of the decorative arts, from the Renaissance to Art Deco. New York: Abbeville Press, 1997.
Terms for carpets, works in various metals: silver; gold; bronze; and pewter, glass, and furniture by period. Entries identify important movements, artists and designers through the 1930s.

Materials and Techniques in the Decorative Arts: An Illustrated Dictionary. Edited by Lucy Trench. London: John Murray, 2000.
Scholarly yet concise alphabetical entries with pertinent illustrations. Particularly good for explanations of techniques.

Miller, Judith. The Illustrated Dictionary of Antiques & Collectibles. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2001.
Good visual survey of periods and styles with terse but informative entries.