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.
Tabacco Pot With a Lid in Brown Color French 1970
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
Tabacco box with a Lid in wood. With brass. Brown color. It has been made in France Circa 1970.
Wood
Whimsical Limoges France Halloween Ghost With Ball & Chain Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and whimsical, limited edition Limoges porcelain Halloween motif miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and fe...
Porcelain
19th Majolica Parrot Tobacco Jar Onnaing
By Onnaing
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica tobacco jar with a parrot Onnaing, circa 1880.
Majolica
Unique Limoges France Hand Painted Bellows Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and features a very detailed bellows...
Porcelain
Tabacco Pot, in Wood and Brass, Brown Color, French, 1970
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
Tabacco box in wood. With brass. Leaf Decor pattern. Brown color. It has been made in France Circa 1970.
Brass
$128Sale Price|20% Off
H 2.5 in Dm 3.5 in
Round Primitive Ceramic Decorative Trinket Studio Pottery Dish with Lid in Brown
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A round studio pottery trinket dish in brown. This piece will be perfect for a nightstand, coffee table, or bar. It is round and glazed in a deep brown. The lid on the top features a...
Ceramic, Clay
Porcelain Peint Main Vintage Slot Machine Trinket Box by Limoges
By Limoges
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful porcelain peint main (hand painted) vintage slot machine trinket box by Limoges, circa 1980s. This piece is in very good vintage condition with no chips or cracks and measu...
Porcelain
19th Century Gentleman Pig Tobacco Jar
Located in High Point, NC
RARE 19th century signed Johann Maresh tobacco jar in the form of a gentleman pig. This is one of those wonderful tobacco boxes you look for to be the star of your collection. He is ...
Terracotta
Cream Color Bone Lidded Box With Gold Strip, India, Contemporary
Located in New York, NY
Contemporary Indian cream color lidded bone box with gold strip surround. Strips of bone are inlaid to create a color on color checkerboard pattern. Part of a large collection of bon...
Bone
Vintage Cobalt Blue Royal Limoges France 22-Karat Gold Trinket Box
Silver Box with a Straw Marquetry Lid by Ginger Brown
By Ginger Brown
Located in Bourguebus, FR
This lovely box is made of brushed stainless steel with a lid covered of straw marquetry. The radial design of the straw reminds the great Art deco period which contrasts perfectly ...
Stainless Steel
Dunhill Cork and Leather Tobacco Jar
$342Sale Price|20% Off
H 14 in W 18 in D 10 in
Decorative Box with lid, Vintage Wooden Brown Jewellery Box, Hand Carved
Located in Wembley, GB
A handmade wooden jewellery box with a lid and lock, it is perfectly designed and created in a suitable size for keeping valuables inside. The top of this box has leaf patterns and l...
Papercord, Boxwood, Driftwood
Limoges Paris Round Rose & Gold Vintage Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A hand painted Limoges porcelain trinket box, France, circa 1970-1980. The round box is braced with a metal frame featuring a floral clasp. Decorated with a pink rose and gilded scr...
Metal
$475
H 1.95 in W 9.7 in D 3.8 in
Art Deco Period Box handmade in hardwood with hinged lid, French circa 1925
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a good quality Art Deco period lidded Box, made of hardwood, possibly Beech, probably French in origin and dating to circa 1925. The box has a rectangular shape with rounded...
Steel
French Hand Painted Floral Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Charming Porcelain Trinket Box painted in purples, gold, green and royal blue. Upon opening the box there is a cute flower design inside the lid. This piece would certainly be a fant...
Gold, Brass
French Limoges Hand Painted Pink Floral Oval Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A hand painted French Limoges trinket or pill box, circa 1970s. An oval shaped box with a pink body and a floral spray in a gold cartouche...
Metal
French Painted Tole Peinte De Lac Gold Eagle Cigarette Trinket Box
By Metal Art
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Vintage French Tole Peinte De Lac Cigarette Trinket Box. All hand-painted burgundy with gold eagle. Minor paint loss on the finger tab and bottom edge.
Metal
Sold
H 2.1 in W 1.25 in D 0.75 in
Unique Limoges France Hand Painted Pink Sea Shell Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France. It features a beautifully hand pain...
Porcelain
Limoges France Hand Painted French Sleigh Bed Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and features a very detailed French style sleigh bed with hand painted scr...
Porcelain
Sold
H 2 in W 2.75 in D 1.5 in
Limoges France Hand Painted Dresser With Hat & Music Book Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and features a very detailed wood grain dresser with hand painted handles and paneled sides on cabriole legs. The fancy antique gold gilt finish ormolu mounts add authentic French flair which double as the rims or fittings of the box that open up to reveal a handpainted stack of shirts inside. The closure is a petite rococo style shell. On top of the dresser lays a yellow hat accented with a bow and a pink rose along with a music book...
Porcelain
Sold
H 1 in W 5 in D 3.25 in
Antique Painted Metal Tin Tobacco Trinket Keepsake Box Napoleon Bonaparte 5"
Located in Dayton, OH
Rare antique metal tin tobacco cigar or cigarette box painted in red with an intricate scene on the lid of Napoleon Bonaparte surveying a map, with ...
Tin
Fine Quality Limoges France Hand Painted Porcelain Cherries Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible, fine quality, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is hand-made and hand painted in France. It features a realistically depicted trio of cherries with its' stem and leaves. The porcelain box features rims or fittings of richly patterned antique gold gilt finish metal and the closure is a petite flower. From the Limoges region in France, where very little has changed in the manufacture of these fine miniature works of art in 300 years. Hallmarked, "Limoges France Peint Main...
Porcelain
Sold
H 1.5 in Dm 2.25 in
Sweet Limoges France Sleeping Cat in Chair Hand Painted Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Beautiful Limoges porcelain chair shaped trinket box features an adorable black and white sleeping cat snuggled up on the chair's seat. The chair is handmade and hand painted in Fran...
Porcelain
Sold
H 4 in Dm 2.5 in
Limoges France Hand Painted Porcelain Manege Merry Go Round Carousel Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible larger size Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France. It features a merry- go-round carousel with three horses depicted in pretty pa...
Porcelain
Sold
H 1.75 in Dm 1.75 in
Unique Limoges France Pocket Watch Time for Celebration Trinket Box with Chain
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature pocket watch look trinket box is handmade in France and features a hand painted watch face with Roman numerals and hands. Acc...
Porcelain
Sold
H 2.16 in Dm 1.32 in
Unique Limoges France Hand Painted Porcelain Vase Trinket Box with Lotus Flowers
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and features beautiful multicolored p...
Porcelain
Sold
H 2.25 in W 2.5 in D 2.5 in
Delightful Limoges France Hand Painted Vin De Paris Wine Pitcher Porcelain Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and features beautifully hand painted grapes and vines on the wine pitcher with an attached...
Porcelain
Sold
H 2.25 in W 1.59 in D 1.1 in
Pretty Limoges France Hand Painted Vanity or Dresser Porcelain Trinket Box
By Limoges
Located in Tustin, CA
Collectible and very unique, Limoges porcelain miniature trinket box is handmade and hand painted in France and features a very detailed vanity or dresser with attached mirror...
Porcelain