Another day in Normandy

Another wonderful day in this lovely part of Normandy that reminds of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. The weather is brrrrrrrrrrr! Not the usual sunny June we are used to on our summer trips to France.

 A late nineteenth century decorative column from Alsace.

A 30” X 30” iron fire back boasting the heraldry of the French monarchy — a crown surrounded by fleur de lys.

A Napoleon III gold leafed mantle clock featuring a noblewoman distracted from her prayers by her playful dog.

The idyllic countryside of Normandy. If it weren't for the quintessential Frenchman with a dog, this could be the backroads of Northwest Arkansas.

Wandering through Normandy

We are in a small sub-region of Normandy and curiously enough have found some exceptional pieces from Provence. Antiques travel the modern world these days just like we do! Our favorite find so far…

 A hand carved oak confiturier (jam cabinet) with its original matching verrier (cabinet for glassware). It’s rare to find these two pieces from Provence still together, and they are in pristine condition.

A pair of walnut Louis XIII style chairs, c. 1880. 

Another traditional Provençal piece—a buffet glissant (literally, “sliding buffet”). The upper doors slide out to open. Our restoration team, Terry and Daniel, can’t wait to put the French paste wax to this one!

Watch out for two artists, Terry and Daniel, in this country! Beautiful paintings abound and we couldn’t resist bringing back this large nineteenth century landscape (53” X 40”) in its original gilt frame. 

And on our wish list but we are considering it…a carved stone saint from Brittany, France that dates to the 15th century. Yes, that means the 1400’s! It stands 29” tall and was on the façade of a church in the Middle Ages. The Celtic face is typical of the statuary in Brittany which lies this side of the English Channel. 

A lovely village near Chartres… 

Chartres, the Beautiful City

We spent today around the beautiful city of Chartres, famous for its Gothic cathedral with its breathtaking stained glass windows. Here are our favorite finds today:

A one hundred year old camera made of walnut and brass with the original brass label of the camera maker in Paris.

A hand carved oak Provençal pétrin full of symbolic carvings for the family who owned it.

A Louis XIV style walnut armchair with exquisite needlepoint upholstery. You can’t see it in my photo, but the nail heads are brass lion heads.

A beautiful 44” high buffet made of hand carved oak. This Provençal piece is one hundred years old, and the hardware is exceptional!

Our lodging for the night.

We'll Always Have Paris

We are back in France and this time for five weeks of shopping! Okay, we can’t shop every waking moment while we are here, but we can try! After a day and a half of getting settled and over the jet lag, our first day on the hunt was quite successful.

 

We found a beautiful walnut Louis-Philippe period music stand with its original bronze candle holder on an extendable arm. A rare piece all in its original form from the year 1850.

And look at this hand forged sign with an oversize iron key that hung outside a lockmaker’s shop.

Lastly, a small painted wooden garden cart with iron rimmed wheels.

Just for fun, we wanted to share with you this incredible shop window. The French can make anything beautiful—even a dead fish basking amongst the fruits and vegetables!