On the same plate is a beautiful _bras de lumière_ in gilded bronze by Caffieri, with arms for candles. The branches twisted in moulded volutes, enriched with acanthus, palm and oak leaves, flowers and buds, spring with masterly management from a central stem which is robust and in entire harmony with the dimensions of the whole. It is about 32 inches high.
The change from the Louis XV. to the Louis XVI. style, though marked, was by no means violent or sudden. Chairs and settees are often found with clearly defined transitional features in the mouldings and ornamentation of the framework. Some of the Fontainebleau furniture covered with tapestry from Boucher’s designs has the straight grooved leg and other Louis XVI. characteristics. On Plate XXXVI., Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 7 are shown the details of a charming _causeuse_ of the transitional period. The general disposition preserves the undulous flexions of the Louis XV. style, and the details of the carving (bunches of flowers) obey the law that proscribes those parts that are too prominent and likely to form too sharp angles. The central cluster on the top of the back, No. 3, soberly follows in its flowers and leaves the Louis XVI. sweep, being in very low relief like the cluster No. 4 that heads the middle leg. The general interlacings that run round the entire framework are also in very low relief. This motive, borrowed from _passementerie_, harmonizes excellently with the surfaces covered by the woven stuff. No. 5 shows the sections, curves and deep grooves of the mouldings of the arms.
Towards the end of the Louis XV. period, the feet and general outlines of the chairs and other furniture become more restrained and less curved. The straight line that gradually asserts itself, and the knots of ribbon, shepherds’ and shepherdesses’ hats, crowns and garlands that appear as motives announce the coming _style Louis Seize_.
The bed was of many varieties. The great _lit d’ange_ is still met with, but alcove and sofa-beds are far more popular. One of the new varieties of the latter was the _lit d’anglaise_, which seems to have come into fashion about 1750. This had three backs, or rather a back and a headboard and footboard. In his _Principes de l’art du tapissier_, Bimont says “the _lit d’anglaise_ can be used as a sofa at need. Care must be taken that the backs fold exactly one over the other, which, of course, is a matter of mechanical excellence.”