Antique French Settee

Item: Antique French Settee
Where: Hunt & Gather, Mpls.
When: September 15, 2007

What’s to Love: At more than 100 years old, this settee is in mint condition, with original patinaed wood and fabric. Plus, we even sat on it, and it is surprisingly sturdy for such an old piece. The degree of craftsmanship and attention to design exemplifies the phrase “aging gracefully,” $2,600.

Craftsmanship
The other way to determine quality, even though this piece is more than 150 years old, is by its hand-carved frame and crest. This was a high-end piece of furniture even back then and was produced with care to withstand years of use.

Fabric
“The velvet fabric is most likely original,” says antiques dealer Kelly Wallace of Antique Garden. “When I bought it, I had to do some restoration, but there was no evidence of it ever having other upholstery. This is significant for a piece of furniture of this age.”

Age
This antique French settee is an original from the Second Empire era in France. The furniture of this time is known for its scrolls (see this settee’s arms) and blended motifs such as the Louis XVI style.

Authenticity
The easiest way to verify the authenticity of a French antique is to see whether the piece has been gilded—the very expensive and painstaking process of covering a wood frame in a layer of real gold. English and American antiques of the same era were often made of mahogany or walnut.

Application
Because of its clean lines and soft sage color, the settee could work in both a traditional and a more contemporary setting. Because of how it was built and the way it has been cared for over the years, the settee is solid, so it is pretty and practical.

Settee available through Antique Gardens at Hunt & Gather, 4944 Xerxes Ave. S., Mpls., 612-455-0250. For more French antiques, check out Feather Your Nest, Wayzata, 952-249-8298; The French Lily at Blake Antiques, Hopkins, 952-930-0477; Coe & Channell, Mpls., 612-872-2227; and Antiques Riverwalk, Mpls., 612-339-9352.