Le buffet de marriage

19th century Wedding dresser from Normandy, France

You know I am not that into antiques. In fact I almost never post about antiques here, although I am the (rather neglectful)  host of a Flickr group named  "True Vintage" which focuses on items that are authentic and still in use in their original setting.

But this afternoon, as I was leafing through a new old favorite, of which I am going to tell you more soon, I found this photo with the commentary that touched me and that I'm going to share with you. If you understand French, click on the picture to view larger, but two things interested me in the text.

First, once a girl was born into a familly, they would buy or let dry the wood that would serve to build the armoire that would house her linen. How sweet can this be? Ah, the love, the care, the thought, that went with it!
Second, before her betrothal, the carpenter was called upon, who would make this famous piece of wedding furniture. The more elaborate the carving, the higher the social status. Poorer families were using fir rather than oak, but still the artist would work miracles! Can you imagine that in our days?Can you picture the person carving these little birds at the top, and all the fine work, although the wood was not expensive (that is why this particular piece was originally painted over to be disguised as oak!) Who knows the story behind it? The agony of the girl's family to meet the groom's family standards? Or the young lady's desire to make her new home look more expensive and fashionable?

 What do you think? What do you think the story might be?