Charles X Antique Secretary Desk circa 1825: Rare French Period Furniture & Decorative Arts Talk

Great works of Charles X furniture are as exquisite and as refined as they are rare and little know. Well before the light woods of 20th century Scandinavian Design, French master cabinetmakers were creating with maple, elm, and ash. This is a piece I am happy to share as it is a quintessential example of the style (the first light iteration generally associated with 1820-25). Late Charles X work generally post 1825 and lasting well throughout the 1830s is associated with an inverted color scheme; the use of dark rosewood with light inlays. Most styles can be seen as reactions to the preceding ones. Previous Napoleonic Empire furniture was characterized by dark mahogany, proud gilded bronze and starker angles. The following Charles X style looses in majesty what it gains in elegance, favoring subtle inlays for decor and conveying a much more doleful, romantic and nostalgic (dare one say feminine) Neo-classicism. I hope as usual that these impromptu videos will help shed light on the fairly mysterious subject of furniture from the past (making sense of what types of it are most interesting artistically and why). The key message, above sharing each hopefully outstanding individual piece, is that original period pieces are works of art that differ in many way from what we generally call "antiques." France is a natural center of focus for artistic furniture, as this country has always been a design leader, particularly during the centuries when furniture was most artistically made. Many thanks to all viewers and subscribers, Cole Myers Myers & Monroe, LLC