A sideboard buffet made in the department of Provence circa 1700-1710, with richly sculpted fleur de lys, stars, and inlaid Maltese crosses. The fleur de lys on the side posts would have been hommages or signs of allegiance to the semi-independent parliament of Provence. The top compartment at the back, making this a buffet à glissant, and opening by two sliding "diamond point" doors, can be removed. The slide-top buffet is more often encountered in a fully rococo or Louis XV style form. Such slide-tops were very popular and they seem to emerge somewhere around 1730 and they remained popular up into the early 19th century. This buffet is interesting in that it is a very early example of the buffet à glissant, a rare Louis XIV period precursor to the Louis XV model which is still being copied today.

“Provincial” is a term applied in English typically to pieces made during the 18th century in the South of France in the Louis XV style (the term is also used to denote copies of this style). In French, “provincial” is a broader term referring to any number of smaller towns and cities not limited to Provence. Whether any provincial piece, or a provencal one such as this, these pieces are appreciated for a certain rusticity and prized for the traces of hand fabrication that flicker across their surfaces in the right angle of light.

Dating pieces on style alone from small villages or departmental cities can prove more difficult than doing so with pieces made in Paris. Country makers were often late to adopt the newest styles already prevalent in Paris and larger cities. Thus a certain blending and overlapping of period motifs is often present, which nevertheless lends these pieces much of their charm.

The presence of marquetry on provincial pieces such as this buffet is somewhat uncommon, but not for pieces from the department of Provence. Alternating strips of walnut and elm yield the Maltese crosses, as well as the scrolling ribbon motif below the doors above the bun feet.

H: 60 in.      W: 62 in.       D: 26 in. 

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