Removed from the fashions of the court, French Provincial style developed in the provinces of the country, such as Provence, Normandy, the Loire Valley and Bordeaux. Dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, French Provincial furniture was not as ostentatious as the designs being produced for the royal palaces, but elegant S-shape cabriole legs and ornate carvings elevated the sturdy chairs, sofas, tables and bedroom furniture intended for everyday use.

Although it varies by region, antique French Provincial furniture is unified by solid construction and an artisanal attention to design. While this furniture often followed the metropolitan trends — including the Rococo or neoclassical aesthetics of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI — since it was produced in the French countryside it was more subdued with nods to its rustic settings.

Local materials like fruitwoods, oak, beech and walnut were used to construct large French Provincial armoires for storage and comfortable armchairs with rush-woven seats. Wrought-iron elements and carvings like floral details and scallop patterns were common as ornamentation. Furniture was frequently painted white or other muted colors that coordinated with gilt and would acquire a patina of age over time. Other wood was just stained with vibrant fabric such as toile de Jouy, which sometimes depicted pastoral scenes, adding color as upholstery.

The style arrived in the United States after World War I, with soldiers returning home wanting furniture like what they had seen in the rural homes and castles of France. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, designer John Widdicomb split from his family business, the Widdicomb Furniture Company, and had been focusing on Louis XV– and French Provincial–style furnishings since the early 1900s. Other American manufacturers such as Baker, Drexel, Henredon and Thomasville also responded to demand. Today antique French Provincial pieces and reproductions continue to be popular.

Find a collection of antique French Provincial dining tables, seating, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Finding the Right Tureens for You

When you’ve spent hours working on a soup or stew in the kitchen, it deserves nothing less than to be served in an antique or vintage soup tureen.

A large tureen is traditionally used to serve soup or chowder, while smaller tureens can be used to serve sauces. This serving dish is going to be an alluring and practical addition to your collection of serveware. Rather than serving from the hot pot directly from your stovetop, why not elevate the presentation with a tureen on the dinner table?

The word “tureen” comes from the Latin word “terra,” which means earth. This is because potters created the first tureens from ceramics and earthenware. Today, an antique ceramic tureen is going to bring a pop of color to your dining room, as you’ll find that ceramicists traditionally hand-painted their tureens, adorning the sides and lids with natural-world motifs and other decorative embellishments.

Silver tureens, on the other hand, are timelessly understated and will pair with all of your other serving bowls and tableware. We associate certain authentic period furniture with extravagance, and 18th-century serveware, such as Georgian tureens, will likely feature lobing and gadrooning around the body and rim. (Dinner was a big deal during the Georgian era.)

Setting the table should be as important as the meal itself. On 1stDibs, an extensive collection of sophisticated antique and vintage tureens features Victorian tureens, mid-century modern tureens, porcelain tureens and more.