The Art of Living as Told by the Furniture

Exceptional pieces, ceremonial or everyday objects, emerging from the past tell in their own way what was going on around them in the minds of people when they were imagined and manufactured, by the hand of experienced craftsmen or inspired peasants.

Dungeon and Manor of La Salle – Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère – Périgord – France

Restoring our beautiful Residences is also reviving their internal Life

Vénus au miroir. Huile sur bois (54 X 34 cm). Anomyme, École de Fontainebleau. - Collection Musée Ursulines Mâcon.

IN THE MIRROR, THE PAINTING IS YOU!

The secrets of gold leaf on gilded frames

Some of these old vats, generous for soup, perfect for large washes or stackable to send them by boat to the Colonies, have managed to cross the centuries and come back among us.

Au temps où faire du fer n’était pas l’enfer !
Back when making iron wasn’t hell!

History of the large and small cast iron vats of Périgord

Threshing sledge or tribulum – 18ᵗʰ century – Aveyron

The Tribulum: a Still Living Prehistoric Ancestor

Mortar and pestle in beech wood – 18th century – South-West of France – [MP039]

Mortar and pestle in beech wood – 18th century – South-West of France The pestle of this mortar is held with two hands, and the force exerted to crush chestnuts, for example, is increased by the nails planted on its end. Dimensions: Height: 67 cm, diameter: 38 cm, receptacle depth: 42 cm. Reference: [MP039] {{…

Large Louis XV mirror – gilded wood – late 18ᵗʰ century – Midi-Pyrénées – [ME084]

Large Louis XV Mirror – Gilded Wood – Late 18ᵗʰ Century – Midi-Pyrénées The imposing frontispiece of this Louis XV mirror seems to have been sculpted to the size of the generous cornucopia that flourishes in the middle. Symbol of fecundity and fertility, it is highlighted by a checkered background of diamonds, all punctuated in…

This desk table was probably the prerogative of a high dignitary of the Customs corps, in charge of a flourishing trading post located on the banks of the Olt, the former name of the Lot.

Desk table in oak and chestnut – Louis XIII – 17th century – Quercy – [ME074]

Desk table in oak and chestnut – Louis XIII – 17th century – Quercy Given the rarity of this type of table that served as a desk, one can imagine that this piece of furniture from Quercy experienced the heyday of river transport on the Lot during the 17th century. This desk table was probably…

Large cast iron vat for laundry – 16ᵗʰ century – Fonderies du Périgord – [ME076]

This large cast iron tub was intended to do the laundry of the entire community. It was filled with boiling water and an ash-based detergent, the very one we are rediscovering today. The drain called the “couladou” made it possible to empty it without spilling it, once the laundry was washed. We can observe two…

Sugar boiler for the Colonies – 16ᵗʰ century – Fonderies du Périgord – [ME075]

From the Périgord Foundries, these cast iron vats are recognizable at first glance. They are rounded in shape, equipped with rod handles and without couladous (drainage in Occitan) which made it possible to stack them for transport. These boilers were indeed intended for export. They were to join by sea, on large ships, the French…

Salt chest armchair – chestnut – cherry – poplar – 19th century – Quercy – [MP029]

The salt chest armchair Patriarch’s Throne, King of Cantou If there is one thing that lords and farmers had in common from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, it was the use of the fireplace, the only means of heating and cooking. And if in the castles the fireplaces have reached monumental sizes, in…

Apothecary mortar in marble – late 18th century – France – [ME068]

Apothecary mortar in marble – late 18th century – France This frustoconical mortar was sculpted in a block of veined white marble, then patiently polished by hand, to obtain an impeccable softness to the touch and an irreproachable regularity of shapes. That of the tank hollowed out in the shape of a “cul de poule”…

Walnut storage cabinet – 18ᵗʰ century – France – [ME066]

Walnut storage cabinet – 18ᵗʰ century – France You have before you the ancestor of the diplomatic bag … It is in fact in this kind of cabinet with drawers that the high dignitaries of the 16ᵗʰ and 17ᵗʰ centuries took their precious documents, cards, titles, treaties and coins of exchange, when they set out…

Inseparable salt and flour boxes in walnut – 18th century – Provence – [MP025]

Inseparable salt and flour boxes in walnut – 18th century – Provence Let’s first describe how the kitchens of yesteryear used these two pretty boxes carved from walnut, the best wood for this purpose. When at rest they were hung up in the dry near the hearth, where the pots were smoking, so that the…

Sculpture in anamorphosis of Saint Sebastian, sculpted in the 17th century in a walnut monoxyl.

Sculpture in anamorphosis of Saint Sebastian – 17ᵗʰ century – South of France – [ME065]

Sculpture in anamorphosis of Saint Sebastian – 17ᵗʰ century – South of France – [ME065] In the 17th century, in many religious buildings, Saint Sebastian remained tied up while the arrows attached to his legend were no longer represented. At most, they will be suggested. The Saint Sebastian carved in a hundred-year-old walnut that we…

Beech butcher's block - early 20th century - [MP022]

Beech butcher’s block – early 20ᵗʰ century – [MP022]

Beech butcher’s block – early 20ᵗʰ century – [MP022] CERTAIN CRAFT FURNITURE RECALLS CHILDHOOD MEMORIES THAT ENCHANT YOUR HOME Haberdashery counter, clothier’s table, butcher’s block, all these pieces of furniture attached to the know-how of the artisans of our neighborhoods awaken happy memories in us. Those of a life where we took the time to…

Mansion clock in cherry wood – 18ᵗʰ century – Périgord – [ME057]

Mansion clock in cherry wood – 18ᵗʰ century – Périgord – [ME057] FROM THE SUN TO THE WATCH, FROM PRAYER TO THE POINTEUSE, A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CAPTURE OF TIME The millennial quest for the measurement of time will free itself from the course of the Sun and the flow of water to…

Choir stall in oak – Louis XIV – 18ᵗʰ century – Auvergne – [ME041]

Choir stall in oak – Louis XIV – 18ᵗʰ century – Auvergne – [ME041] This type of stall, where comfort reserved for the privileged and aesthetic concerns are closely linked, illustrates in its own way the splendor of cathedrals. Arranged on either side of the Choir of these religious buildings, these rows of seats allowed…