Solid fruitwood, original working lock and key
19th-Century French Provincial Fruitwood Buffet
£240.00
The French Edit · every piece one of one
French antiques & homeware
French antiques from the countryside: provincial furniture in fruitwood, and, when we find them, confit pots and stoneware made for the farmhouse kitchen. Every piece is one of one, described honestly with its age and wear, and delivered across mainland UK.
2 pieces in The French Edit
French antiques & homeware, every piece
French provincial furniture
French country furniture was made by local joiners for farmhouses and village homes, usually in the timber that grew nearby: oak, chestnut, walnut, and fruitwoods such as cherry and pear. It is plainer than Parisian furniture, and built to be used.
Questions about French antiques
What is a French provincial buffet?
A buffet is the French country version of a sideboard: a low cupboard, often with drawers above, used to store linen, crockery and food in the main room of the house. Two-part versions with a taller cupboard on top are called a buffet à deux corps.
What is fruitwood?
Fruitwood is the timber of fruit trees, most often cherry or pear in French furniture. It is close-grained and warm in colour, and it develops a deep, glowing patina with age.
What is a confit pot?
A glazed earthenware pot from south-west France, used to preserve duck and goose cooked and sealed in its own fat. Most of those you see today were made in the nineteenth century. Our journal has the full story.
Can I use old French pottery for food?
Use it for anything but food. Old country glazes can contain lead, so antique pots are best kept for utensils, dried flowers and plants rather than anything you eat or drink from.