Popular French antiques
that are greatly sought-after today have such art
depicted on French porcelain antiques and French
provincial antiques to cite a few examples and in the
genre of antiques French furniture has a great worldwide
demand.
Some of the oldest prices of French antique furniture
have revealed that carvings on furniture were not part
of the ancient style of furniture making. Furniture in
those days, unlike French antiques 1900s was designed
along clean lines, using architectural guidelines.
Glued-on painted canvases were routinely used to
decorate furniture in that era. Gradually, as furniture
pieces and panels became smaller, moldings and
modifications such as carvings came into use.
These artistic pieces of furniture which were known as
bahuts or huches were often in the form of chests.
They were often the main furniture pieces that French
people owned in ancient times. Usually, these massive
chests would be used as seats in the daytime and would
be used as beds at night time. They were, in that sense,
the original sofa-cum-beds. They also provided packing
space for the belongings of the owner and were hence
extremely multi-functional pieces of furniture. These
bulky chests would be carried around by people from
place to place during their travels until some time in
the fifteenth century when permanent residences became
the norm and people didn’t feel the need to travel with
all their personal belongings to every location.
When you look for French antiques for sale, do not be
surprised at the vast variety of church furniture that
is available. These ornately crafted pieces which may
have their roots in an era when gothic art gained
popularity in Europe, are exquisite creations. In that
era however, household furniture did not progress as
much as church furniture and home furniture pieces were
relatively simple and boring in comparison.
In the fifteenth century, gothic architectural and
artistic styles transformed into something of a
combination between Gothic and Renaissance art forms.
The latter had gained popularity in Italy and had made
its way to France from that part of the world. This
brought about the start of French Renaissance art.
Therefore it is safe to assume that French antiques that
depict a combination of renaissance and Gothic art were
probably manufactured sometime in the fifteenth century.
Egyptian French antiques are the result of Napolean
Bonaparte’s advent into Egypt. It is believed that
Napoleon’s first interest in Egypt developed during his
issues with Italy. Typically, Napolean shared the
company of several Egyptian scientists and artists. Over
time, it was only natural for these relations to lead to
a fusion in arts and culture. Egyptian French furniture
antiques reproductions that are immensely popular today
are a result of this combination of cultures..
IMPORTANT NOTE: Items over hundred years are not permitted to be taken out of India without the permission of the Director General, The Archaeological survey of India, Janpath, New Delhi - 110 011.