Renaissance Buffet Cabinet

Owing to its massive construction and weight, this antique buffet of solid French walnut likely dates from the late 18th or early 19th century, in a style commonly known as Henri II. The buffet cabinet (bahut deux corps) has three doors in the top section along with three doors and three drawers in the bottom. The doors lock with the original keys. Rare among pieces of comparable age, this buffet retains its intermediate supports between the top and bottom sections as well as the chair railing on the top. For ease of mobility, it breaks down into these various sections. Visible are numerous Renaissance stylistic motifs, all intricately carved, such as arabesques, lions heads, palm leaves, and gadrooning, with the hand-carved doors on the bottom reminiscent of patterns books and engravings published in the 17th century. Most notable on the central door of the upper section is a magnificently carved salamander – royal symbol of France’s King François I and heavily associated with the royal chateau at Blois. According to myth, the salamander could be thrown into a fire and emerge unscathed, hence it was adopted by the king as a symbol of invincibility and rendered by sculptors, as on the buffet, to be a creature of prodigious strength and ferocity. Thirion, Jacques, Le Mobilier du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance en France (Editions Faton, Dijon, 1998) The buffet cabinet is best suited to a large kitchen or dining room where it can be used for displaying and serving food and for storing items. For more information, visit M. Markley Antiques on the Web -- the premier resource in the U.S. for French Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival furniture, including Henri II and Louis XIII styles.