From Coutances, an hour south of Cherbourg this 18thC armoire is Louis
XIV in style but with transitional LXV decorative details placing it
around 1750. Beautifully made and never stained dark, the appearance is
of dark honey with some lovely figuring in sunlight. The sculpted
details are based around classic baroque acanthus leaves. In the median
traverse in each door (carved horizontals) the acanthus leaves are used
to form a heart to signify the marriage.The doors hang on three pairs
of 'no expense spared' heavy brass finialled hinges. They look well
against the oak when well lit. The feet are the invariable simple posts
of LXIV armoires. The condition is excellent (norman furniture
typically survives much better than that of their breton neighbours
which had to sit on damp clay floors ) and the piece is a sophisticated
piece of excellently executed regional furniture. It is a fairly high
status piece for the period. Given its origins, the brides father (who
commissioned it for public display at the wedding) would have been
something akin to a relatively wealthy landholding farmer, merchant or
village mayor. Not a peasant piece!

Measures 222 cm tall x 168 cm wide (including cornice) x 62 cm deep