{"product_id":"large-18th-c-french-buffet-armoire-or-display-cabinet","title":"Large 18th C French Buffet Armoire or Display Cabinet","description":"\u003ch3 dir=\"ltr\"\u003eBig, Bold \u0026amp; Beautifully undressed.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eMeet our new arrival: an \u003cstrong\u003e18th-century French buffet armoire \u003cem\u003eà deux corps\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e — a very elegant way of saying two magnificent cupboards stacked into one towering showpiece, the upper simply lifting off the lower so it can slip through your doorways \u003cem\u003ewithout a single dramatic scene!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eCrowning the whole affair is \u003cstrong\u003ea glorious domed bonnet\u003c\/strong\u003e — a \"blown gable with centre console,\" \u003cem\u003e(should you wish to say it at dinner parties)\u003c\/em\u003e — with a keystone block at its peak and a little procession of carved blocks marching along the arch. Beneath it, tall arched panel doors that open to reveal... \u003cem\u003ewell, we'll get to that.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA word on her passport: her provenance\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe found her in France, and French she may well be — \u003cstrong\u003ethe Alsace\u003c\/strong\u003e has long produced tall pine armoires cut from exactly this cloth. But the softwood body and \u003cem\u003ethe ghost of original blue paint\u003c\/em\u003e hiding in the grain hint at a more well-travelled tale, one with a distinctly Scandinavian Baroque accent. Is she French? Is she Nordic? \u003cem\u003eCherie\u003c\/em\u003e, the most fascinating guests never reveal quite everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUndressed to impress\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe arrived to us in a tired coat of dirty dark brown. We spent hours \u003cstrong\u003ehand-sanding her back to the bone\u003c\/strong\u003e — and what a reveal: honeyed pine, silvery weathering, and those seductive flashes of old blue where former lives peek through. Inside, we've painted her a deep brique red, so every swing of the doors delivers a gasp of colour. Her back tells the truth of her years, too: hand-pegged panelled boards and forged pin hinges, \u003cstrong\u003eall made by hand\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem\u003eall still holding court after some 250 winters.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe backstory, worn lightly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCabinets like this were the crown jewel of a \u003cstrong\u003eprosperous farmhouse or a bourgeois salon\u003c\/strong\u003e — the keeper of the good porcelains or linens, the trousseau, the family's finest textiles, and now and then a dowry gift for a marriage. Despite the \"armoire\" title, she never held a single coat: this was always a piece for \u003cstrong\u003edisplay and treasured storage\u003c\/strong\u003e. Pine was the honest, everyday timber of the north, almost always dressed in paint — grained, marbled, or a bold solid blue. To strip her back to this, is simply to let the wood do the talking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd her age?\u003c\/strong\u003e Somewhere in the second half of the 18th century — call it 1770 to 1800, with a silhouette that stayed fashionably in vogue into the early 1800s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe practical particulars\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrand rather undersells it: \u003cstrong\u003e276 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e \/ 108.7\" tall. Mind your ceilings; reward your walls.\u003cbr\u003eFull glory: H 276 × W 153 × D 70 cm (108.7 × 60.2 × 27.6\")\u003cbr\u003eUpper \u003cem\u003ecorps\u003c\/em\u003e: W 140 × D 42 cm (55.1 × 16.5\")\u003cbr\u003eSplits neatly in two for a civilised delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShe isn't furniture. She's an entrance —\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003enow looking for a room brave enough to hold her.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wildschut Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57539397812597,"sku":null,"price":7680.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0843\/7930\/4236\/files\/Wildschut-Antiques-18thC-Buffet-Armoire-Web-DEF-2.jpg?v=1788280149","url":"https:\/\/wildschut-antiques.com\/products\/large-18th-c-french-buffet-armoire-or-display-cabinet","provider":"Wildschut Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}