Semainier in French or perhaps “weekly” in English, is the name given to this piece with seven drawers; one for each day of the week.

The late Louis XVI period one here is an example of how brass filets were added to traditional Louis XVI style pieces after the French Revolution and throughout the 1790s. These eye catching brass elements were a way to change and enhance a style which had become associated with the wrong side of politics (before a totally new style eclipses the Louis xvi style all together by 1800).

This brief and late variant of the Louis XVI style (~1770-1789) is generally associated with the period around 1790-1800 when it became most popular, although it was produced earlier.

Although not one of a kind, it is certainly not the usual kind of piece that comes to mind for the Louis XVI style. It is of relatively interesting for American collectors as Fifth President James Monroe brought back a series of furniture in this peculiar “brassy” Louis XVI style after his ambassadorship in France from 1794-96. It was on a secretary desk in the style of this semainier that he is said to have drafted the famous Monroe Doctrine which set the tone of American foreign policy ever since.

Dimensions: H: 5ft 9 in

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