LOLO TAKES A SIDE TRIP TO MONT SAINT-MICHEL: PART 1

Lolo's morning started out like any other day, searching through warehouses hoping to find a treasure trove of French antiques. He managed to find a few new dealers and drove away with some beautiful pieces.

Louis XV Table with Cabriole Legs Ending in Pied de Biche

Antique French Grandfather Clocks

Hand Carved French Gueridon 

Louis XV Wing Back Bergeres

Louis XV Enfilade

Henri II Leather Armchairs

Antique Wooden French Planter

Louis XV Cabinet

Louis XV Chest

 
As he was off to his final destination, Lolo found himself near Mont Saint-Michel. Known as the Merveille de l’Occident  (Wonder of the West), it's one of France's most iconic sights. 

Mont Saint-Michel in the distance.

Lolo had always heard of the rocky islet and its tides, but had never been there. He decided to take some time off (something he's learning to do a little more often) and do some sight seeing. And WOW...what a sight to see!

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel takes you back to the Middle Ages with its amazing architecture set against a backdrop of the area's incredible tides.

Mont Saint-Michel forms a tower in the heart of an immense bay invaded by the highest tides in Europe.

The actual abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is the reason to visit. Surrounded by rock, the abbey provides insight into religious life through 1000 years of architecture. It’s been an important pilgrimage center since 709 A.D. 

The Abbey

According to legend, the Archangel Michael told Saint-Aubert, the local Bishop of Avranches, to “build here and build high.” Saint-Aubert built and consecrated a small church on October 16, 709.  Archangel Michael reassured the bishop, “If you build it...they will come.” In 966 A.D., a community of Benedictine monks settled on the rock at the request of the Duke of Normandy and the Carolingian church named Chapelle Notre-Dame-sous-Terre (Our Lady underground) was built on the grounds of the oratory erected by Saint-Aubert in the early VIIIth century. Today's abbey is built on the remains of this pre-Romanesque church. Saint-Michel, whose gilded statue decorates the top of the abbey’s spire, was the patron saint of many French kings, making this a favored sight for French royalty through the ages.  

The Archangel Michel by sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet sits atop the neo-gothic spire,
 rising over 550 feet above sea level, that was added in 1896.

The abbey was closed in 1791 and used as a prison during the French Revolution. Napoleon finally shut down the prison in 1863 after several influential figures, including Victor Hugo, launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. An extensive restoration was required. The abbey was turned over to the Historic Monuments department in 1874 and has been open to the public year round since then. The setting and fine architecture make it one of the major monuments for visitors in France.

'Mont-Saint-Michel: La salle des Chevaliers'

Tomorrow, Lolo takes us through a maze of narrow streets leading through areas of shops, restaurants, and hotels. He'll show us the windlass, installed during the use of the site as a prison, which six workers once powered hamster-style to haul two-ton loads of stones and supplies from the landing below. We'll take a look at the beautiful architecture of Mont Saint-Michel and the little village that flourishes on the rock.

Lolo and the Windlass

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

WEDNESDAY'S WORD OF THE WEEK: PIED DE BICHE

PIED DE BICHE

pied-de-biche [pee-ey-duh-beesh; French pyeyduh-beesh]

noun, plural pieds-de-biche [pee-eyz-duh-beesh; French pyeyduh-beesh]

Furniture. a termination to a leg, consisting of a slight outward curve ending in the semblance of a cloven hoof.

Also called hoof foot.

Origin:
< French: literally, doe's foot

This obsession with animal parts we have may have started with antlers, but it ends with hooves. At least the feet of furniture does. Furniture based on wildlife anatomy dates back 3,000 years to the creature comforts of animal-worshiping Egyptians, whose beds stood on carved bull legs, gazelle hooves or lion feet. The hoof foot, carved to reflect the natural appearance of an animal such as a deer or horse, appeared in fine French furniture towards the end of the 17th century.

Hmmm....

 The legs of furniture were sometimes stylized representations of animal limbs, but the feet were rendered realistically. It is very common to see the hoof foot found at the base of cabriole legs.

Antique French Louis XV style walnut side table. Circa 1880s. Serpentine moulded top. The scalloped apron houses drawers on each end with iron pulls. Resting on cabriole legs ending in pieds de biche.

Antique French Country Louis XV style confiturier (jam holder) from Normandie. Circa 1870s. Handcrafted of cherrywood featuring a single paneled door with unusual full hinge above a carved apron. Raised on short cabriole feet ending in pieds de biche.

Louis XV armoire handcrafted between 1750 and 1760 in Rennes of solid wild cherrywood. Double chapeau de gendarme cornice topped with a carved urn filled with stylized plumes of feathers, blossoms, leaves and tendrils above four doors divided horizontally at the center by two drawers. Each door features a fougère (fern) patterned central panel. Scalloped apron rests on short cabriole legs ending in pieds de biche. 

The hoof foot, or deer foot, is referred to as pied(s) de biche in the trade. It appears in Régence and early Louis XV furniture designs. It was popular in stately furniture throughout the 1700s when horse hooves became popular.

Lovely Country French sofa table/console converted from an antique farm table. Circa 1870s. Cherry wood. The carved apron houses three drawers with bronze pulls. Resting on cabriole legs ending in pieds de biche. 

And my favorite is this Brittany console Lolo found. Look how realistic the feet are.

Charming antique Louis XV style Country French console in chestnut from a hunting lodge in Brittany. Circa 1880s. Beveled top with gadrooned edge above carved apron with motifs typical of artisans from the Brittany region. Raised on four stylized cabriole legs ending in pieds de biche. Single serpentine shelf. 

What do you you think about the hoof? How is it used in your home?

Á Bientôt!
&
Happy Holidays!

Lolo & Mimi