Captains
Armoire in cherry. From the village of Sene near the
port of Vannes, S. Morbihan, Brittany. Commissioned
for Joseph Gendrot a ships captain with interests in
trade c. 1865-70. The family recently sold off (essentially
forced by french Napoleonic inheritence law) what almost
amounted to a 19thC personal museum of mostly maritime
and W. African paraphenalia. This was the only piece
of regional furniture. I assume Joseph traded with Senegal,
Ivory Coast etc, collected local artifacts and did rather
well for himself. The armoire is exquisitely finely
made in cherry with extraordinarily fine marquetry.
Vannes pieces often have rather too much, rather too
cude marquetry decoration. This piece is just perfectly
decorated, elegant and clearly an important commission.
If Vannes had a regional museum, they would have bagged
this for the entrance foyer. Despite throwing his wallet
at it, the armoire is neither too large nor heavy. Lightness
of hand is not a noted local characteristic but contemporary
owners will be grateful. Its perfect for bedroom or
better still spotlit downstairs where people can see
it (gawp).
The designs are typical of the region, the most important
of which is the compass/star. Associated with S. Morbihan
port furniture it symbolises both the guiding star to
help you find your way home and the ships compass to
steer by. It would look superb in a bright Victorian
or Georgian setting. It dismantles and takes a shelf
or two plus full hanging. Underneath the bottom lining
paper is a secret drawer. This is the first such I've
seen amongst (tens of?) thousands of armoires I've examined.
If I had a smart town appartment I'd keep it.
SOLD
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