French Rococo Armoire

So here is the deal, I am going to post our new stuff and give some insight on styles and such, at least to the interesting pieces. A little trivia and history will be on order as well. Pay attention there will be a test at the end. Oh yeah I don't want to hear about my bad grammar

A new piece to come in this week is a Late 19th Century French Armoire in the Rococo-Style.

This piece is solid as a rock. It is made from French Walnut and lined with Bird's Eye Maple on the doors and shelves!








Rococo style furniture first came around during the early 18th century during the end of Louis the XIV (aka The Sun King) reign and the beginning of his son's rule, Louis XV. Trival Pursuit fact: Louis XIV still has the longest reigning monarch in world history with 72 years, 1643-1715. The Sun King was known for his heavy Baroque stylings and furnishings. So like most son's of great men, Louis the XV decided to go his own way in design. I forgot to mention that furniture styles, lets say pre-19th century, was largely based around what the King's of Europe and the Church commissioned for their palaces and cathedrals, they were the only people with money at the time 8)

The term Rococo is derived from the French word Rocaille, or rockwork and is a specific form of asymmetrical ornament composed of what might be referred to as melting frosting or small broken waves. We always refer to the common motif of the C-Scroll as seen below.

The period ended roughly at the same time that the discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum happened in 1738 and 1747 respectively. With these discoveries came a rebirth of interest in Classical designs that were being unearthed from the sites. So began the Neo-Classical Period.

So for a period of design that was only in style for 30 years or so, 1715-1745, its amazing to see how strong its influence is still was in the furniture of the 19th and 20th century.