To obtain a heat treatment furnace in which even a part of a planar article being supported by an article support can be heated or cooled similarly to other parts.

A planar article 5 placed in a furnace is supported by an article receiver 4 and imparted entirely with uniform thermal record. The article receiver 4 comprises article supports 3 arranged to support the lower surface of the article 5 at a plurality of points in the furnace wherein each article support 3 has a small cross-sectional area at at least the forward end supporting the lower surface of the article 5 and comprises a thermal insulating object.