Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 22

Rare 17th Century Oak and Brass 4-Door Buffet from Saint-Malo, France, C. 1690

About the Item

This grand and distinctive piece of furniture from Northern Brittany is known as a “buffet malouin” and was created in the late 17th century. These types of cabinets were created for important homes in the historic port city of Saint-Malo. The design, with large octagonal molded panels, double colonettes, and finely cut brass fittings, is unique to other French furniture of the period. The design was directly influenced by the Dutch mariner carpenters living in Saint-Malo at the time (the Dutch beeldenkast cabinet shows similarities) The large four-door cabinet was carved in oak, as was most of the other “malouin” furniture pieces. It is an imposing and impressive piece, standing over 7 feet tall and nearly 7 feet wide. The front of the piece has twisted, double colonettes, multi-profiled cushion-shaped octagonal panels, and finely cut brass key hole escutcheons, drawer pulls, and lozenge plates. There are 3 drawers, 2 of which are full sized, with a smaller drawer in the center. 3 large bun feet along the front hold up the entire piece, while 2 block feet support the rear. Each door has its own functioning key and lock, with a yet another key for the center drawer. Door and drawer panels are solid and impressive old pieces of oak, which still open and close with ease, indicating the quality of construction and great care that this piece has received over the centuries. The “meuble malouin” in the form of a large 4 door buffet is not often easily found. Research shows photos of several models in various states that have come to surface, but they were not nearly pervasive as French case pieces such as the Louis XV armoire, which was produced in the many hundreds or thousands from the 1750s up to the 1940s. Stylistically, this piece can be quite versatile, even working with contemporary.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 88.5 in (224.79 cm)Width: 80.875 in (205.43 cm)Depth: 35 in (88.9 cm)
  • Style:
    Louis XIV (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
    1690-1699
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1690
  • Condition:
    Repaired: Minor old repairs and adjustments. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Very good antique condition with wear commensurate to age and use including minor repairs over the years. Minor separations, rubs, and nicks.
  • Seller Location:
    Dallas, TX
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 422-621stDibs: LU906330504902
More From This SellerView All
  • Early 18th Century French Oak Buffet Deux Corps from Colmar, Alsace
    Located in Dallas, TX
    Colmar, where this handsome buffet deux corps was crafted, is an affluent commune in the Alsace region of France, a mere 15 miles from the German border. Because of this proximity, t...
    Category

    Antique Early 18th Century French Louis XIV Buffets

    Materials

    Iron

  • 17th Century Painted Oak Homme Debout Cabinet from Southwest France
    Located in Dallas, TX
    A Homme debout is a two-bodied cabinet with a drawer separating the sections. This handsome Homme debout from southwest France was hand carved from oak in the 1600s. The period Louis...
    Category

    Antique 17th Century French Louis XIII Cabinets

    Materials

    Wood, Paint

  • 17th Century French Walnut Wood Buffet Deux Corps
    Located in Dallas, TX
    This unique buffet deux corps was hand-carved from walnut wood in France during the Louis XIII period (1600’s). A buffet deux corps (literally “two body buffet”) is a two-tiered cabi...
    Category

    Antique 17th Century French Louis XIII Buffets

    Materials

    Walnut

  • 19th Century Bleached Oak Buffet Deux Corps from Haute-Normandie, France
    Located in Dallas, TX
    A handsome and robust storage piece, this buffet deux corps was hand-carved in Haute-Normandie (“Upper Normandy”), France during the 19th century. The underside of the flat crown has...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century French Louis XV Buffets

    Materials

    Iron

  • Pair of 17th Century Oak Armoire Doors from France
    Located in Dallas, TX
    Originally part of an antique armoire, these oak doors were hand carved in France during the 1600s. The beautiful doors are rectilinear in theme, with ...
    Category

    Antique 17th Century French Doors and Gates

    Materials

    Metal, Iron

  • 17th Century French Oak Entry Doors from a Hotel Particulier, Aix-En-Provence
    Located in Dallas, TX
    Hand-crafted in the late 1600s in France, this stunning pair of entry doors once graced a hotel particulier in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France. A hotel particulier is not a hotel in today’s sense of the word, but rather it is a large, private residence, typically with an interior courtyard. It is derived from the Old French word hostel and particulier, which means “private”. There are numerous examples in larger cities in France, such as Paris, Bordeaux, and Aix-en-Provence. The doors were crafted out of local French oak wood. Both doors have been carved with the same details and adorned with two tiers of iron nailheads, one at the very top, and one along the top of the bottom panel. These iron nails secure the long horizontal iron hinge straps on the backs of the doors The bottom portion of the doors consists of a large carved lozenge that consists of four smaller raised lozenges. The middle panel is comprised of a vertical rectangle with an arched top and thick layers of molding that form a fantastic architrave. A significantly thinner molding graces the uppermost panel, which also has been carved as a rectangle (horizontally orientated) with a sinuous bottom. Expertly restored for over 3 months by a talented French ebeniste, the doors combine French history with beautiful functionality (photos of pre-restoration available upon request). Large French entry doors...
    Category

    Antique 17th Century French Louis XIV Doors and Gates

    Materials

    Metal, Iron

You May Also Like
  • 17th Century English Oak Cupboard
    Located in Mt Kisco, NY
    17th century English oak cupboard. The cupboard has a dark stained oak patina with a raised panel design on each side. The cupboard doors ...
    Category

    Antique Late 17th Century Welsh Charles II Cupboards

    Materials

    Oak

  • 17th Century Dutch Renaissance Oak and Ebony Inlay Four-Door Cabinet Dated 1660
    Located in Casteren, NL
    This extraordinary cabinet is made of the finest watered oak in the tradition of the Dutch Renaissance during the “Dutch golden age” It is a four-door cab...
    Category

    Antique Mid-17th Century Dutch Renaissance Cabinets

    Materials

    Steel

  • Antique Late 17th Century Dutch Renaissance Single-Door Cabinet in Solid Oak
    Located in Casteren, NL
    This elegant single-door cabinet was made in the Southern part of the Netherlands in the late 17th century. It was made in the best quality quarter-sawn oak in the tradition of the Dutch Renaissance during the “Dutch golden age”. The piece is of exceptional quality and was made completely in watered oak...
    Category

    Antique Late 17th Century Dutch Renaissance Cabinets

    Materials

    Steel

  • 17th Century Italian Four Doors Lacquered Big Shelves Cupboards
    Located in IT
    17th century Italian lacquered big cabinet four doors, arranged internally with shelves original lacquer originali hardwares (lockers, hinges and keys) ...
    Category

    Antique Late 17th Century Italian Romantic Cabinets

    Materials

    Wood

  • Late-17th Century, Dutch Oak Cabinet on Stand
    Located in London, GB
    Dutch oak cabinet on stand An exceptional late 17th-century Dutch oak cabinet-on-stand with an ornately carved interior, depicted in the Baroque man...
    Category

    Antique Late 17th Century Dutch Baroque Cabinets

    Materials

    Metal

  • Rare 17th Century Neapolitan Ebony Tortoiseshell and Mother of Pearl Cabinet
    Located in Benington, Herts
    Rare 17th Century Neapolitan Ebony Tortoiseshell and Mother of Pearl Cabinet From the Perego Collection in Monza, an important 17th Century Italian arch...
    Category

    Antique 17th Century Italian Cabinets

    Materials

    Tortoise Shell, Mother-of-Pearl, Ebony

Recently Viewed

View All