French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
FRENCH PROVINCIAL STYLE
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.
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Style: French Provincial
Period: 19th Century
French Provincial Petite Desk or Side Table with 4 Sided Scalloped Apron
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Lovely antique French side table or desk from the late 19th century; a beautiful example of the French Country design aesthetic. The table or desk has a beautiful carved scalloped ap...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Good French crotch mahogany late 19th Century leather top desk having round legs
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Good French crotch mahogany late 19th Century leather top desk having round legs with bronze mounts. This desk is finished on the backside.
Kneehole measurements: 25.5" x 24"
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Bronze
Antique French Provincial Fruitwood Writing Table / Desk W/ Drawer Early 19th C
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Age: 1800 - 1850
Furniture Style: French Provincial (1700 - 1800)
Overall Dimensions: Width - 38-7/8" Depth - 24-1/4" Height - 27-1/4"
Early 19th Century French Provincial Fruitwo...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Fruitwood
French 19th Century Walnut Writing Table or Desk with Lions and Shield Crest
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Antique French accent table or side table that would make a stunning writing table or desk as well, sure to add elegance and museum quality...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
Antique French Carved Oak Writing Desk Secretary AND Chair Breton Brittany SET
Located in Shreveport, LA
Antique French Carved Oak Writing Desk Secretary AND Chair Breton Brittany SET.
Direct from France, a wonderful antique French writing desk AN...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather, Oak
French Directoire Desk
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage French directoire desk. Wonderful shape with inset green leather top. Great storage too. Add some French Architecture to your home.
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
19th Century French Oak Writing Desk
Located in High Point, NC
This oak desk was made in France in the 19th Century. An original concept for a standing height desk, this practical piece is designed in the eleg...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Rustic 19h Century Country French Provincial Fruitwood Writing Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Charming and rustic late 18th century country French provincial writing table or desk hand-crafted from fruitwood. Made in the South of France this table features a whimsical style f...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Iron
19th Century French Wooden Desk
Located in High Point, NC
The commanding presence of this 19th-century French desk is attributed to its square pedestal structure. The ensemble of six drawers is perched upon two sturdy legs, which also doubl...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
1800s French Antique Patinated Ecritoire
Located in High Point, NC
This antique ecritoire was crafted in 19th century France. A heavily distressed wooden ecritoire, this desk organizer flaunts a spacious case with an elegant slant top and a subtle c...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
1800s Antique Desk, French Empire Style, Mahogany, Gilt, Secretaire a Abattant
Located in Austin, TX
Gorgeous antique secretaire a abattant, desk, French Empire style, mahogany, gilt, 1800s, 19th century!
This stunning French Empire style marble-top mahogany fall-front desk, 19th century, projecting frieze drawer, with gilt metal crossed sword pulls, turned column supports flanking the fall-front panel, opening to gilt embossed leather writing surface, mirrored interior gallery, over dual cabinet doors, opening to reveal three drawers, above lower apron drawer, approximately 56.5" height 37.25" width, 17" depth.
Dominated by Greco-Roman models, the Empire style - spare, noble, massive - had a studied dignity consistent with Napoleonic majesty. The characteristic furniture types were a bit stiff but imposing: their flat surfaces and sharp corners, together with their lack of moldings, produced an effect of grandeur that was not without beauty as per Timothy Corrigan
The Empire style was deliberately propagandistic, and embraced what was most monumental in ancient art as suitable analogies to the new French Empire. Napoleon imposed a tyrannical centralization on artistic production, decreeing that it would be subject to control from Paris and overseen by the architects Percier and Fontaine...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Marble
French Provincial Cherry Writing Table or Bedside Table with Drawer, circa 1800
Located in Miami, FL
French Provincial cherry table with cabriole legs that has mortise and tenon construction and wood peg fasteners. A beautiful late 18th century or early 19th century table left in it...
Category
Early 19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Cherry
19th Century Country French Provincial Walnut Writing Table Desk
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Handsome 19th century country French provincial diminutive writing table or desk carved from walnut. The top and frieze have a gracefully curved serpentine shape with a small storage...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
19th Century French Wooden Desk
Located in High Point, NC
A wooden writing desk from 19th century France. The top of this desk opens up to reveal three storage compartments and a writing surface, below which sit two drawers. A sunny aura em...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
French Foldable Dining or Writing Table, Beech and Chestnut, circa 1970
Located in Labrit, Landes
Little chestnut dining table. The two end are foldable and the little width of this table is 32.28 in. (82 cm)
The table top was made circa 1970. It was laid on a beech base dating...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Beech, Chestnut
French Provincial Mint Blue Green Grey Writing Table Desk 19th Century
Located in Milano, IT
19th Century French Provincial Writing Desk from Avignon. Beautifully time worn grey/green tone. Could go shabby chic or more country be...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Wood
Antique French Provincial Leather Top Painted Kneehole Desk
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Dynamic 19th century kneehole desk with a brown tooled leather top over a three piece pedestal base with nine drawers and two pullout trays retaining the original yellow and blue pai...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Leather, Wood, Paint
19th Century French Provincial Fruitwood Writing Table Desk
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Diminutive size 19th century French provincial writing table or desk. The table is constructed from fruitwood with a warm patina and lovely wood grain patterns. Fronted by a single s...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Fruitwood
Antique Elegant Wooden Bureau
Located in Milano, IT
Rare solid wood desk dating from the early 1700s, fine French manufacture.
The bureau is very imposing and majestic and that is what makes its elegance.
The shape is rectangular, t...
Category
1890s French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Brass
Antique Italian Provincial Carved Distressed Cherry Saber Leg Desk Console Table
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Antique Italian Provincial Carved Distressed Cherry Wood Saber Leg Desk Console Table. Item features solid wood construction, beautiful wood grain, dist...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Cherry
Men's Dressing Table, French, 19 th
Located in Nice, FR
Dressing table for men, 19th period, origin France, in beech wood, with lots of drawers, a mirror, this table can make a writing table, a lot of charm. Needs a makeover if you feel l...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Beech
Boulle Desk .
Located in Kraków, Małopolska
Boulle Desk from 1880
Category
1870s French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Oak
French Fruitwood Work Table
Located in Woodbury, CT
With its scalloped apron and cabriole legs, this table is has a more dynamic appearance than an ordinary work table, but its single side drawer and pull-out breadboard slide say othe...
Category
19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Cherry
19th Century French Country Farm Table or Writing Desk
Located in Houston, US
Classic French Provincial farm table in walnut with two drawers, waxed and polished finish. Hand constructed with planed boards, dovetailed drawers and pegged joints. Best used maybe...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique French Provincial Desks and Writing Tables
Materials
Walnut
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THE BOTANICAL NAME FOR THE MAHOGANY THIS ITEM IS MADE OF IS SWIETENIA MACROPHYLLA AND THIS TYPE OF MAHOGANY IS NOT SUBJECT TO CITES REGULATION.
Condition:
In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 76 x Width 143 x Depth 114
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 foot, 6 inches x Width 4 foot, 8 inches x Depth 3 foot, 9 inches
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Located in High Point, NC
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French Provincial desks and writing tables for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique French Provincial desks and writing tables for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage desks and writing tables created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include tables, case pieces and storage cabinets, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used French Provincial desks and writing tables made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and North America pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original desks and writing tables, popular names associated with this style include Baker Furniture Company, Camard, Dal Vera, and Dos Gallos Studio. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for desks and writing tables differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $675 and tops out at $30,579 while the average work can sell for $3,051.
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