These rare walnut armoires with their signature panels of disks, eight-pointed stars, and quadrants sculpted with motifs designed 17th century ornamentalists, well they are often the object of miscateagotization. They in fact originate in the port city of Nantes and the surrounding Vendée region, dating back to the late 1600s and seemingly having been made up into the first half of the 1700s. Whether one is from 1690 or 1710 is really a matter of splitting hairs, but some examples are indeed 19th century copies made for collectors of this period who were already seeking these prized and traces of the history Nantes and port furniture in general. These armoires represent an original body of work which is indeed arguably one of the most striking and interesting examples of fine regional or loosely called “provincial” work.

Part of the confusion comes from the layering of a century’s worth of style, and indeed the usual replaced parts. Even with period examples such as this, the upper cornice will have often been remade at a later date (seemingly the 19th century in this case as cornices are fragile and can be lost or damaged during moves). Furthermore, the original style of these armoires is rooted as far back as in the classicism of the late renaissance period. Then one comes to decipher the blend of the later Louis XIII and Louis XIV styles which occur throughout the entire 17th century and up into the early 18th century.

The outstanding quality in execution and design is another factor that seems unusual for regional or country work. This is expected for the most sophisticated facet of regional pieces, however, port furniture made in these cosmopolitan and worldly centers of trade where makers were known to surpass sometimes even the innovation and quality of their Parisian counterparts.

H: 7ft 8 inches. W: 5ft 8 inches (at extremities of moldings). D: 28.75 inches.

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