yay nightstands

I am knee deep in France's Neoclassical period. That's roughly from Louis XVI up through Napoleon, following/evolving from Rococo. Neoclassicism steals elements from ancient Greece and Rome (and sometimes Egypt), as everyone was going gaga over the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Anyway, I'm getting super tired of it, having just finished compiling an entire room's worth of furniture/fabrics/crap for a paper about the movement.

But I couldn't resist taking a quick look on ebay for Louis XVI stuff. And I love this uptight pair of nightstands. They're so pretentious, it's endearing, with their fractured looking marble tops and teeny tiny little knobs. They have the totally rigid tapered legs of the period, and a little bit of metal tucked into the fluting, as well as some beading. You can't really tell from this picture, but the drawer fronts are veneered, a nod to the more elaborate marquetry that was revived during Louis XVI's reign (Look up "Boulle" and you'll see what I mean.)

Man, I want to push them over so bad. As compared to this set, which ain't going nowhere. These guys are totally settled. They almost look like old-school tv sets, the ones that were encased in wood and had their own stands. So here we are, a study in ornamental contrasts. From the pomp and circumstance of Louis XVI to the smooth geometry of mid twentieth century. And I will leave it at that.

J/k, I'm going to leave it with another pair of Louis XVI nightstands, haha.

always, carolyn