Escutcheon

escutcheon, in furniture design, an armorial shield sometimes applied to the centre of pediments on pieces of fine furniture and, also, the metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or the pivoting metal plate that sometimes covers the keyhole. The keyhole escutcheon has been used on cabinets and desks since the European Middle Ages, the designs matching the other metal mounts, such as hinges, and varying according to the fashions of the day. Early escutcheons were of wrought iron and might be quite plain, simply serving to prevent wear. From the 17th century, brass, which could be worked in finer designs, was used on fine furniture. For the most lavish designs, ormolu (gilded bronze or cast brass decoration) was used, especially in 18th-century France.