18th Century and Earlier Wardrobes and Armoires

A good antique late 18th century carved French Provincial cherry wood armoire, circa 1780. The armoire having a ogee stepped cornice (the cornice is removable), below is a shell shaped carving and a pair of carved doors, with panels carved in relief, the doors are fitted with the original hand forged steel lock escutcheons & door length steel barrel hinges, a key is present and the lock works with ease. The interior has two adjustable shelves and can easily receive a hanging rail, which Bloomsbury can install at no extra cost in our professional workshops if requested. The armoire is raised on short cabriole legs with scrolled feet joined by a shaped skirt with a corresponding shell shaped carving, condition is very good, this very handsome late 1700s French armoire...

Louis XIV Style Walnut Armoire. Moulded crown over two-door armoire, the doors with deep diamond coffered carving, diamond carved panels to sides, on large bun feet; the interior wit...

A fine antique 18th century French Provincial Louis XV fruitwood armoire, circa 1760. The armoire having a removable elegant arched cornice, which is a feature of armoires of this pe...

Antique late 18th Century French armoire. Featuring a blend of Country French and Provincial styling with floral and acanthus accents, chicken wire drape doors with long iron hinge, ...

This antique oak cabinet was crafted in the early 20th century in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia around 1720. The cabinet was entirely built from the finest quality European summer oak. It features two doors and is richly adorned with molding in geometric patterns. The wooden molding was attached to the oanels by the use of pegs. The doors showcase a floral maple inlay. They retain their original hinges, while the lock has been replaced. Inside, on the right-hand side, there are two and a half fixed shelves, and on the left-hand side, there is a hanging section. This cabinet was made from the most exquisite wood available at the time, beautiful European summer oak, displaying a distinctive flame pattern. Due to its age, the wood has acquired a rich, dark patina. The cabinet has been recently cleaned. Like many German oak cabinets...

A French carved, solid walnut armoire built in the Louis XV period. A Chapeau de Gendarme cornice tops the body of the armoire. Two solid walnut d...

Very beautiful baroque closet made of solid cherry wood. The back panel is made of pine wood as usual. The wardrobe is in very good restored condition. The interior layout can be cre...

Antique Tyrolean (Northern Italy) carved wardrobe, mid-18th century Wood Type: Fir Period: Circa 1750 Origin: European Alps Dimensions: Height – 187 cm Width – 135 cm (146 cm including moldings) Depth – 47 cm (58 cm including moldings) Description: Two-door, two-drawer wardrobe with cut corners, made of fir wood. The front is slightly convex, a typical feature of the region where this piece originates. The entire surface is adorned with carvings in baroque cartouche...

A good tall antique French Provincial chestnut & walnut Louis XV armoire, circa 1790. The armoire with a removeable cornice and a ribbed gallery to the front and sides, the armoire w...

18th century carved french yew wood and chestnut armoire circa 1780. This sort of armoire is also known as a marriage armoire. Cornice and front are profusely inlaid with a leaf de...

This 18th century, mixed wood French armoire is absolutely stunning. It is Gothic-style and features two tall, paneled doors on barrel hinges. One key operates the locking right door...

A rare large and impressive 18th-century Dutch painted knockdown country cupboard has more than all the charm of Country French or Swedish cabinet. The paint work has been carefully...

This French 18th century armoire in the Louis XV style has a fantastic dark oak finish and gorgeous hand carved details. A shaped cornice sits above elaborately paneled doors on long...

An exquisite 18th century Dutch Bombe Kast or linen press in fine Cuban mahogany with all of the original bronze d'ore mounts. From the mid-1700s, this Kast stylistically follows the...

A French-Canadian armoire in pine having two doors on a narrow case with an overhanging molded cornice, the doors each featuring rebated full door X-crosses in a rectangular surround...

Late 18th century oak armoire from the Ardennes Region of Belgium, hand-rubbed tung oil finish with hard carnauba French wax. Featuring 3 beautiful molded panels on each door. Comes ...

Charming Bresse cabinet from the 18th century. It is made of various fruit woods. It opens in front of two doors whose panels are carved of curves and counter-curves.The overflowing ...

Louis XV walnut bonnetiere with original lock and decorative face plate, hinges and key. This handsome one door cabinet has a recessed panel with scrolls, wheat and cricket detail. T...

18th century walnut armoire from France. The arched crown is wonderfully molded and sits atop a grand case. The doors have arches at the top, and are raised paneled with central ov...

A rare carved walnut wardrobe opening with four door-leaves and two drawers in the lower part. The doors bear architectural views in low reliefs, fluted pilasters and Ionic capitals. Upper Body Two door-leaves with carved architectural perspectives open the wardrobe framed by three fluted pilasters with Ionic capitals. Each door-leaf depict two semi-circular arcades whose cornice and base shows a central vanishing point. Likewise the pavement’s lines act for the artisan as a way to create depth. The vaulting instead leads us to think the vanishing point has to be situated where the handle is, between the two complementaries reliefs. The elegant moulded belt hides an internal secret space, accessible through a moveable plank in the upper body. Lower Body Two door-leaves identical to those of the upper body framed by three fluted pilasters with Doric capitals. The base of the wardrobe opens with two large drawers. The sides also bear panels depicting architectural perspectives. The external pilasters share their Ionic capital with the facade’s pilasters. Thus we can observe on the wardrobe’s sides the capital’s lateral parts with the elegant volute specific to the Ionic order. This palace wardrobe is topped by an overlapping cornice standing on three consoles for the facade and two consoles on each sides. Placed right above the pilasters each console are adorned by fully expanded leaves. During the 15th century a major interest for architecture and perspective studies arises and influences patrons tastes. The work of great theorists such as Leon Battista Alberti...

This wonderfully carved solid oak cabinet was crafted in the 1700s with style and functionality in mind. Thumbnail molded paneling on the front and sides give it fantastic depth. The...

circa 1800 Large 19thC French Provincial Bleached Oak Armoire sku 1595 W144 x D45 x H190 cm

18th Century French Pine Louis XV armoire.This rustic but authentic piece features its original key, hinges and escutcheons. Details such as the paneled doors and touches of carved d...

Classic Antique French Louis XIII Armoire or Cupboard over 300- years old and remarkably still intact and functions as intended. In collecting and purchasing Louis XIII furniture for...

Rare and important antique wardrobe in solid walnut made in the late 18th century French Louis XV. Characteristic wavy line with wood carvings on the floral taste front. Beautiful c...

French 18th Century Walnut Armoire with Burl Panels and removable bonnet - the burl pattern is spectacular and the hardware is original and stunning. A shelf has been built inside th...

This armoire has exposed double pegged construction. The hinges are original and escutcheons are later. Each door has shaped raised panels framed with carved molding. The feet are la...

This exceptional one-of-a-kind armoire from the area of Bremen has the original pink gesso appliqués, circa 1790.  Fabricated from a beautiful knot-less dense pine, the carved ribbed...

18th century armoire in olive wood and ash. Circa 1740 armoire in joined construction. Gorgeous burl olive wood apron, door panels and upper frieze. Ash as secondary wood. Three inte...

As soon as 1540 France's second Renaissance is in the making, intimately linked to the rediscovery of the Antique world. The development of the printing and engraving industry allows the spread of artworks and models in many cities and countries. The Italian influence can be perceived in every artistic field. While the French king entrust the most talented Italian artists with major projects such as Il Rosso or Primaticcio in Fontainebleau, French artists also travel to Italy to form themselves to this new style. In Italy they get acquainted with the work of Leo Battista Alberti the first to theorize perspective (De Pictura, 1435-36) and architecture (De re oedificatoria, 1541). Those two publications would have a revolutionary impact on arts. Furniture is marked by the work of the most famous Italian architects of the time as well as French architects. Indeed Philibert de l'Orme competes with Alberti and by the end of his life publishes several treaties including one devoted to a theory of architecture (1567). Unfortunately he would not live to complete the second volume. In this treaty he expresses his interest for mathematical norms applied to architecture, copied from the Antique. His journeys in Italy allowed him to accumulate the most sophisticated references. Jean Bullant, another architect of great talent also theorizes his practice. He establishes rules characterizing Greco-Roman art staying faithful to Vitruvius. Following this new inspiration the structure of furniture evolves. From then on appear columns, capitals, cornices, friezes and architraves. The ornamentation uses this inspiration as well with egg-and-dart, palm leaf and rose adorning the most beautiful pieces. In Lyon, crossroad where meet merchants from everywhere those new experiments are welcomed. Lyon florishing printing industry allows the spreading of models and treaties essential to the artist's work. Thus the first publication of Vitruvius' De Architectura in France would be printed in Lyon in 1532. Artists from Lyon rediscover and familiarize themselves with the Antique knowledge very early. They adopt those new ideas and use them in their own creations. Lyon cabinet-makers re interpret Antique architecture and Italian Renaissance palaces to give their pieces a pure and harmonious architectural structure. Grooved pilasters are particularly favored. They are topped by capitals of diverse orders always respecting the sequencing with simpler ones for the lower levels and the richest ones on the higher levels. As for the ornamentation, one of the great distinctiveness of Lyon workshops remains the architectural perspective illusions, drawing inspiration from Tuscany. True masterpiece of the Second French Renaissance this important cabinet illustrates Lyon workshops' taste for fine Italian architecture inspired by Antiquity. An architectural perspective of great quality is treated in symmetry on each panel. This two-bodied cabinet without recess stands on four rectangular feet. The base comprises a molding, a palm leaf frieze and is bordered by a braid. The lower body is divided by three grooved pilasters with Tuscan capitals framing two door-leaves. The two panels are encircled by a moudled frame with palm leaves. They are finely carved with a decor of fantasized architecture depicting an Italian Renaissance palace erected symmetrically on each side of a grooved pilaster. On the ground floor a door opens through a stilted arch while the stories are opened with mullioned windows, dormers and occuli. Two large pegged-boss cladded pillars support the entablature enriched by a palm leaf frieze upon which stands an arch whose coffered intrados is centred by a rose. Behind this arch a pyramid appears, standing in front of a second facade with a window topped by a broken curvilinear pediment under a cul-de-four with a shell. The checker flooring gives depth to the low-reliefs creating vanishing points structuring the panels and guiding the eye of the observer. A thin laurel braid highlights the belt of the cabinet where are located two drawers. Their facades are adorned by palm leaves in hoops. The upper body is encircled with palm leaves. The same ternary division as in the lower body appears. However, the pilasters are topped by Ionic capitals with volutes and egg-and-dart. The door-leaves are framed with flowers. On the panels the artist has designed another architectural decor. On the foreground open two arches on top of grooved pilasters with rectangular capitals adorned with palm leaves. The arches are enriched with braids and the coffered intrados bears a decor of roses. The spandrels also bear a flower decor. In the background another arcature hosts a fluted grooved column topped with double basket acanthus capital, characteristic of Corinthian order. The triangular pediment is interrupted by a choux bourguignon. A large cornice crowns the cabinet. It stands on pilasters and forms an entablature comprising a palm leaf frieze and an egg-and-dart, triglyph and palm leaf cornice. The cabinet's sides have also been carefully considered. The lower body's panels are enriched with an arch rising above a broken pediment portico hosting a twisted column. Flowers garnish the spandrels. An architectural facade completes the decor. The upper body's panels present two arches supported by a facade opened with dormers and mullioned windows as well as cartouches (one bears the inscription 1580 dating the cabinet) suggesting the interior of an Italian Renaissance palace, confirmed by the chandeliers. The flooring leads our gaze to a second arch with a broken curvilinear pediment where stands a flower vase. This arch opens onto a perspective of another facade along a road. Inside the cabinet, on the lower body door-leaves appear two designs. On the right door is depicted a Crucifixion. Saint Mary and Saint John flank the Christ on the cross. In the bottom part is inscribed « Dure uiator abis nihil haec spectacula curas / Pendenti cum sis unica cura Deo. / Tota suo moriente dolet natura Magistro. / Nil qui solus eras caussa dolenda doles. ». The signature [Christoff Swartz Monachiensis pinx[it] / Ioa[nnes] Sadeler sculp[it]] tells us it was made by Johan Sadeler I (1550-1600) after Christoph Schwartz (1548-1592). This engraving belongs to an ensemble depicting the Passion of Christ Johan Sadeler executed in 1589 after an altar piece painted by Christoph Schwartz for the private chapel of Renée of Loraine, wife of Duke William V of Bavaria. This altar piece made of nine copper panels has been destroyed during the 19th century. The Crucifixion panel once in the centre of the altar piece is the only one that survived and is today kept in Munich's Alte Pinakothek. On the left door appears Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The inscription says : « Signastidomine Servum Tuum. Franciscum. Signis Redemptionis Nostrae ». This Renaissance cabinet with an architectural decor appearing as much in the structure faithful to Antique rules...

A very fine antique French Provincial burl chestnut & fruitwood armoire bonnetiere, circa 1750. The armoire is made from the most beautiful burl chestnut and various fruitwoods, to the top is a removable stepped crown, below is a raised burl panel inlaid with an ebony and fruitwood star shaped device. The cabinet has single paneled door with incredible burl chestnut panels, plenty of storage to the interior, can receive shelves or a hanging rail, the door having one long iron hinge & the original large reticulated iron lock plate with original key and lock. The door opens and closes with ease and the lock and key function perfectly. The base is fitted with a single drawer, original lock with wonderful iron handles & reticulated backplates, the lock plate elegantly decorated with two iron 'trees', the shirt having a lozenge shaped inlay with a stylized compass design, the bonnetiere is raised on tuned feet. This cabinet is in very good antique condition, we have been selling fine antique French furniture...

An important and richly carved Swedish armoire cabinet from the Baroque period with handsome bun feet. Provenance on the inside of the left door, dates the piece to 1772 (Anno 1772)....

George III mahogany linen press with six lower drawers. Beautiful patina. Two pieces. Mahogany and pine.

circa 1780 Large 18th C painted Austrian armoire We can also customise existing pieces to suit your scheme/requirements. We have our own workshop, restorers and finishers. From ada...

Austrian Biedermeier Burl Walnut & Mahogany cask with carved molded edge cornice, flanking book matched hinged doors, tulip wood inlays, satinwood inlays, original steel engraved loc...

This is a unique and monumental Dutch Baroque cupboard called “Kussenkast" from the late 17th century, probably circa 1670-1680. Made of rosewoo...

circa 1780 Large 18th century French painted pine armoire sku 1405 Measures : W174 x D65 x H190 cm.

Antique German Baroque Armoire or Cabinet with two doors built in the mid-1700’s, based on the hardware and construction. The Antique Armoire is...

A very handsome 17th century folk armoire from the Catalan region of Spain. Soundly constructed from thick planks of chestnut. Stunning patina - very luminous. A fabulous storage pie...

Wonderful 18th century English painted oak two door wardrobe / linen cupboard. Can be fitted with a hanging rail or shelving. Dismantles for ease of access. 1780. Code: 8635 Dimens...

French Provincial Walnut two door hinged armoire with scrolled floral & shell carving , original polished steel hardware, brass escutcheons, and terminating on cabriole feet. Late 18...

Exquisite 18th century Spanish armario or wardrobe armoire constructed from walnut. Features a coffered case fronted by four large doors. This massive cabinet...

This unique armoire from the early 1700’s was made from walnut and olive wood and features a plinth base with central cherub mascaron along the crown. At just under 86 inches tall and 78 wide at the crown, this armoire has a more manageable size, compared to many of the very large armoires of the same period. The unique construction allows it to be easily disassembled for transport. At one point, this walnut and olive wood armoire was the property of a chocoladefabriek (chocolate factory) in Strasbourg, located in the region of Alsace, near the German border. It was originally one armoire in a pair that were commissioned in Eastern France in the early 1700s. The ebeniste who created the armoire decided to use olive wood for the door panels and some of the side panels. Olive wood was a highly valued wood among wood workers of the 18th century because of its pretty color and the richness and nuances of its veining. In the center of the crown is a foliate and floral ring surrounding a cherub mascaron. The crown and the top of the door frames have both been carved in an arch, mirroring the shape of the door moldings. Each door is mounted on iron hinges and separated by recessed molding into three uniquely shaped panels of olive wood (the rest of the armoire is constructed with walnut). Both upper panels of the doors are adorned with a series of undulating C-scrolls, while the bottom panels are rectangles with concave tops. The two sections are separated by a simple ovate center panel. Armoires date back the 17th century when French menuisiers created the storage cabinet to house clothing. Early armoires such as this one were without feet (plinth style base) and were often seen in paneled boiserie...

French Provincial 18th century walnut carved armoire with double scroll top and 2 doors with carved border.

A Fine French Louis XV period, carved, solid walnut , Bordelais Armoire that opens with two beautifully paneled doors.

Seamlessly constructed and lacquered black, this pair of spectacular Ming-dynasty compound cabinets provided the perfect blank canvas for painted scen...

Impressive oak baroque armoire that dates from the late 1700's into early 1800's. Note the heavily paneled doors, massive crown all resting on large bun feet. Restored, later professionally painted in layered shades of antique white and light gray; all lightly distressed to fit the age of this stately armoire. Any scratches, cracks, dings, or age related separation are reflective of age and do not detract from the beauty nor function of this large oak armoire...

Beautifully carved 18th century. Walnut armoire.

This is a gorgeous Italian Armoire from Venice that’s been beautifully painted pale blue and creamy grey. It’s completely outfitted inside with two drawers, a rod for hanging and she...

An extraordinary large scale 18th century Spanish walnut armoire from Catalonian. Demonstrating elegant boxwood inlay to the panelled doors and drawer. D...

 Attractive carvings of vines, leaves and flowers embellish this armoire giving it a romantic touch. Crafted in the late 18th century France, this oak armoire has beautifully carved ...

This elegant antique fruitwood "Armoire Provencale," is truly exceptional. Crafted in France, circa 1760, this tall cabinet stands on escargot feet decorated with acanthus leaves at the shoulder, over a scalloped and pierced apron embellished with a weaved floral basket flanked with laurel and wheat leaf motifs. The bonnet top features exquisite carvings including a neoclassical urn surrounded with a laurel crown floral basket at the pediment. Both doors are decorated with hand carved floral and branch motifs, and are decorated. The inside reveals all the original shelving with set of drawers, and the cabinet is dressed with original lock, key, cremaillere and heavy forged hardware. The tall and wide armoire...

Rare and important antique wardrobe in solid walnut made in the late seventeenth century in the seventeenth century Italian Baroque Louis XIV. The line is in fact typical of this per...

Mahogany Georgian two door wardrobe with bottom drawer. Slight scratches on rear of left side panel. Original swan hardware and hooks. Mahogany and pine.

"""The essence of beauty lies in imperfection."" — Japanese Proverb "**French Rustic Cupboard, 18th Century** ""La matière a une âme, il faut savoir l’écouter."" — Pierre Chapo A...

A late 18th century Italian armoire cabinet in the Baroque style with handsome, elongated bun feet. Circa 1780. This cabinet has been han...

Magnificent Louis XV period wedding cabinet in molded and carved walnut, opening two beautiful triple-paneled doors in scalloped burl walnut, a large drawer with lock in the lower pa...

Rare and difficult to find Louis XIV period chateau bonnetiere. Solid walnut. An exceptional example from the Lyon region of France, renown in the 1700s for its superior production o...