French Country · Encyclopedia · The Cabinetmakers' Work
Burgundy sideboard
A small, sober Burgundian buffet with central fluting characteristic of the province. Regional cabinetmakers across France kept making Louis XV-inspired furniture long after the style left Paris.
French: buffet bourguignon · Burgundy
At a glance
- Region: Burgundy
- Style: regional interpretation of Louis XV
- Distinguishing detail: central fluting
- Scale: small
What it is
A low buffet with doors for storing tableware. The example in the book is small and plain, with the fluting typical of Burgundy in its central part.
Provincial styles
The book explains that, throughout France, regional cabinetmakers designed furniture inspired by the Louis XV style well beyond the eighteenth century, after it had first been fashionable in Paris and the Île-de-France. Sideboards from different provinces resemble one another, yet each shows a distinct regional style.
Collecting and using one today
A style name describes an aesthetic, not a date. Examine construction: hand-cut joints, uneven backboards and old hardware suggest age, while machine-cut uniform parts point to later production.
A small sideboard fits easily in a dining room or entrance and gives generous storage.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 124–129, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.