DOI Heft:
Nr. 243 (May, 1917)
DOI Artikel:Rubinstein, Stella: French furniture, Mediæval and Renaissance
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43464#0178
French Furniture, Mediceval and Renaissance
is so evident that it is very regrettable to see
them mistakenly labelled in the museum.
The other examples of French Gothic furniture
in the Metropolitan Museum and in the Blumen-
thal Collection all belong to the fifteenth century,
and to the beginning of the sixteenth century,
except one chest which is of the fourteenth. We
have in these collections pieces coming from
ecclesiastical establishments, but most of them
belong to the furniture of civil life.
A characteristic example is a chest of which the
whole conception is that of the thirteenth century,
except for the decoration below, which seems to
belong to the fourteenth century (reproduced,
fig. 2). The structure is of extreme simplicity.
The only ornaments are long strips of iron ending
in fleurs-de-lis which not only decorate but also
strengthen the chest. This was characteristic of
the construction and decoration of chests and
cupboards of the thirteenth century.§ This chest
fig. 7
The chest or “huche” is the most character-
istic piece of furniture of the Middle Ages, owing
to its functions which were so various. It served
as a bench, as a table for eating or writing, and
sometimes as a bed in the poorer houses.^ Its
most general use was as a container for the pre-
cious belongings of a family such as their jewels,
money and dresses. Its vogue was so great as to
give its name to the craftsmen who made furni-
ture in general and who were called “huchiers.”
TJSee article by Bonnaffe in Gazette des Beaux Arts,
1885, v. 32, and Bonnaffe: Le meuble en France an
XVIe siecle, 1887.
was bought by the Metropolitan Museum as an
English production; its label afterward credited
it with German origin, but it seems unmistakably
French.
A marked difference of conception is shown in
a chest from the Hoentschel Collection of about
the middle of the fifteenth century, which is a
masterpiece in its genre (reproduced, fig. 3). If
we compare it to the chest described above we
see a great change in the construction itself. The
§ Several of these examples are reproduced in Ha-
vard: La menuiserie, p. no, 113, 114, 115.
LXXIV
is so evident that it is very regrettable to see
them mistakenly labelled in the museum.
The other examples of French Gothic furniture
in the Metropolitan Museum and in the Blumen-
thal Collection all belong to the fifteenth century,
and to the beginning of the sixteenth century,
except one chest which is of the fourteenth. We
have in these collections pieces coming from
ecclesiastical establishments, but most of them
belong to the furniture of civil life.
A characteristic example is a chest of which the
whole conception is that of the thirteenth century,
except for the decoration below, which seems to
belong to the fourteenth century (reproduced,
fig. 2). The structure is of extreme simplicity.
The only ornaments are long strips of iron ending
in fleurs-de-lis which not only decorate but also
strengthen the chest. This was characteristic of
the construction and decoration of chests and
cupboards of the thirteenth century.§ This chest
fig. 7
The chest or “huche” is the most character-
istic piece of furniture of the Middle Ages, owing
to its functions which were so various. It served
as a bench, as a table for eating or writing, and
sometimes as a bed in the poorer houses.^ Its
most general use was as a container for the pre-
cious belongings of a family such as their jewels,
money and dresses. Its vogue was so great as to
give its name to the craftsmen who made furni-
ture in general and who were called “huchiers.”
TJSee article by Bonnaffe in Gazette des Beaux Arts,
1885, v. 32, and Bonnaffe: Le meuble en France an
XVIe siecle, 1887.
was bought by the Metropolitan Museum as an
English production; its label afterward credited
it with German origin, but it seems unmistakably
French.
A marked difference of conception is shown in
a chest from the Hoentschel Collection of about
the middle of the fifteenth century, which is a
masterpiece in its genre (reproduced, fig. 3). If
we compare it to the chest described above we
see a great change in the construction itself. The
§ Several of these examples are reproduced in Ha-
vard: La menuiserie, p. no, 113, 114, 115.
LXXIV