William and Mary style William and Mary style is a style of decorative arts so named because of its adoption during the reign of William III and Mary II of England (1689–1702). When William came to the English throne from the House of Orange, he encouraged many Dutch artisans to follow him, such as the Huguenot Daniel Marot. The most fashionable designer of the day was Gerrit Jensen (1667–1715), a Dutchman who specialised in cabinet-making and veneered furniture of all kinds. His inspiration seems to have been the courtly French style also produced by Marot and André Charles Boulle. In addition to these craftsmen, Huguenot refugees from France worked in the cabinet-makers’ and designers’ shops of London during this period. Although the contours of William and Mary–style furniture are quite simple (emphasising the vertical line rather than the more horizontal line typical of earlier domestic furnishing), they are embellished with delicate ornament. Marquetry in ivory and coloured woods or metal inlay in arabesque patterns resembling seaweed and spiders’ webs was often used. The acanthus leaf (of the classical tradition), the scallop shell, and ‘C’ and ‘S’ scrolls are additional decorative elements characteristic of this style.
