Shepherd's cupboard

At a glance

• Region: Queyras, Hautes-Alpes
• Material: larch
• Period: nineteenth century
• Character: rustic construction, no carved decoration

What it is

A small cupboard made where it was needed, in the most rustic way, for a shepherd or a mountain household. It held provisions and the few utensils of daily life.

The book contrasts it with most Queyras furniture, which is famous for chests carved with rosettes of curving rays. This cupboard has none of that decoration.

Larch in mountain furniture

Larch was the everyday wood of the high valleys of the southern Alps. It is resinous and durable, and it ages to a deep honey or reddish brown. Furniture made from it was often assembled with simple joints and wooden pegs by people who were not professional cabinetmakers.

That is why pieces like this one vary so much: their proportions follow the space and the planks available rather than a pattern book.

Collecting and using one today

Value lies in the original surface and color. Avoid pieces that have been stripped and varnished. Check that doors still close, that the back boards are original and that any worm damage is old and inactive.

In a modern house a small shepherd's cupboard works as a bathroom cabinet, a bedside cupboard or a place for linens.