Antique Brittany Heirloom Dowry Armoire
Wow~it was truly the most incredible piece of furniture I had
ever seen!! And it was in our Boston shop!! How did it get there?
I am gonna show you behind the scenes of how we did it.
But first, have you ever heard of Brittany style furniture?
I hadn't~but I quickly learned a lot when this stunner came up for
auction. It has an unmistakeable style~heavily carved in
Chestnut wood~all done by hand.
The Brittany area is in the Northern part of France
and was once a separate Celtic state. Their main source
of daily life and trade revolved around maritime activities
and with that the pieces hallmarks are Ships Wheels,
circular motifs, gallery rails with spindles, and figural carvings.
You can see the ships wheels motif repeated on the doors and the sides
of the cabinet with row after row of gallery railings. Upon closer inspection
this piece revealed itself to be an heirloom dowry cabinet that was carved
for the bride to store her silver and linens. The doors show the betrothed
couple on each side facing each other~how romantic!
Finely carved cameo~
There are flowers, dragons, love birds and a heart
that is carved at the center of the pediment!
The center of the cabinet above the doors has a curved
ledge framed in gallery railing~a reminder of the church
where the couple would soon be wed.
Totally amazing~the amount of details, all carved by hand!
Colin and I drove into Boston late last night to meet our Picker Paul
as he headed to our store from the auction with the enormous cabinet.
Paul's truck pulled up and it was a flurry of activity! Colin brought in the
top part of the cabinet~the pediment first.
He needed to find a place to lay it down and then head
back outside to help carry the massive piece inside.
Paul's helper manned the bottom end. I tried to snap away with the iPhone
but honestly was ready to toss the phone to the street if the cabinet was to
lurch towards the ground. I was so nervous~but had to get these pics!
The two guys hunched under the end of the cabinet went
up the stairs carefully~one little misstep and this could
end up in disaster!!
Ahhh~its in the shop safe and sound!!
Paul has much experience on moving furniture,
and he advised and counseled Colin as they tackled this brute.
Its tagged for sale and will be here for my weekend crowd!
While this style is not for everyone, it is a stunner,
and I doubt I will ever again see a cabinet like this in my lifetime.
So I snapped a self portrait at midnight with my rare beauty
before it heads to a new home~ Maison Decor Boston presents
an Antique Brittany Betrothal Amoire beyond compare!
Of course that wasn't all that was in the midnight truck delivery!
So many cool things are in our store right now, I find
it hard to believe this is even our shop!!!
I will be working in the shop Sunday, so if you
can make it in, I would love to see you!
See our furniture listings here
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