The Serpentine Shape

One of my favorite pieces of furniture is Amy Howard's Serpentine Chest. I especially like it in the finish pictured below. I first saw this magnificent piece in a showhouse, as part of the 'teenage girl' suite.

Amy Howard Serpentine Chest

The word 'serpentine' means snakelike; convex in the center, flanked by concave ends. It is a beautiful shape that has historically been used in Louis XV commodes, and also in 18th-century English sideboards, cupboards, desks, and chests. Hepplewhite is credited with originating the serpentine shape in sideboards.

Reproduction Hepplewhite serpentine sideboard

18th century serpentine sideboard, 1st Dibs, Walter McIntyre Antiques

The serpentine shape is also found in architecture, as seen in this pictures (below) of the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Four Fountains) fascade in Rome, Italy, and the Serpentine Walls at the University of Virginia.

Four Fountains, Rome

The beautiful Serpentine Walls at the University of Virginia

Anyone familiar with London's famed Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens knows 'The Serpentine', a lake that spans both parks. It received the name from its snakelike, curving shape. A central bridge divides the lake into two parts, and defines the boundaries between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

On the grounds of Kensington Gardens is the famed Serpentine Gallery, one of London's premiere contemporary art galleries (and home to the costly and problem ridden Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain).

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