AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FRENCH OBJECTS
The curve of a handle. The mark beneath a plate. The join that holds a chair together. Explore the details that help you understand French vintage furniture and decorative objects.
Explore the 27 categories ↓
Observe. Materials & construction
Compare. Names & documented examples
Understand. Condition & context
THE OBJECT LIBRARY
Twenty-seven starting points.
A growing reference, one object at a time.
ROOMS, REFERENCES & IDEAS
Understand the vocabulary.
Look closer at the objects.
READ & DISCOVER
An unusual back profile can answer a practical need rather than serve only as ornament. A Parisian hairdressing chair at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs makes that relationship unusually clear.
Read more The French hairdressing chair: a heart shape with a practical purpose
Antique French Trumeau Mirrors
Architectural mirrors can participate in an interior through more than carved wood alone. A documented tapestry surround offers a useful comparison when studying the relationship between a trumeau and its wall setting.
Read more Tapestry around a pier mirror: looking beyond wooden panelling
A food mould can be shallow and pictorial rather than tall and architectural. The difference affects how its shape should be described and how a photograph communicates the intended impression.
Read more French lobster food moulds: a shallow relief in copper and tin
A cocktail stirrer can document the visual identity of a hotel as well as the preparation of a drink. Its lettering and emblem may be more informative than a generic description such as vintage swizzle stick.
Read more Hotel cocktail stirrers: small objects with institutional identity
Some botanical images derive from direct contact with plant material rather than from an artist drawing every contour. Nature printing is therefore a distinct idea within the wider history of botanical illustration.
Read more Nature printing: when the plant helps make the image
Neatly pressed household folds are not always suitable for long-term storage of fragile linen. A collection needs support and access as well as a compact arrangement.
An old bread board and a bread knife make a convincing display, but visual compatibility does not prove that they have always belonged together. Each component can preserve a different maker, date and history.
Read more Bread knives beside old boards: recording an assembled display
A demijohn silhouette and a basket pattern do not always indicate a large storage vessel with a woven cover. A small archaeological bottle shows how the appearance of a covered container could become moulded glass decoration.
Read more A demijohn-shaped cologne bottle: basket weave made in glass
A large olive jar can look substantial while resting on a surprisingly small contact area. Its display should account for the actual base and centre of gravity, not simply its overall height.
Read more Displaying an olive jar with a narrow or unstable base
Using a confit pot as a decorative vessel creates a new history of use. Before adding a plant or flowers, consider whether the old ceramic and the proposed contents need the same conditions.
Read more Confit pots as decorative vessels: planning for moisture
An artist’s married name can complicate the attribution of a floral still life. A museum record provides a useful reminder to retain the full name rather than reducing a work to a familiar surname.
Read more Victoria Dubourg’s Flowers: keeping the artist’s identity precise
A small opening in a basket cover may be an intentional working feature. On an angler’s creel, it allows the catch to enter while the main cover remains in place.
Read more French angler’s creels: the opening in the lid has a purpose
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