A is for antique furniture.
I think they might be from the 17th century and they are still in everyday use in the monastic community's refectory in Switzerland!
And you really must enlarge the photos to see the exquisite detail of ornate carving.
Are those numerals? Do they really say 1663??
Two antique chairs flank an old clock.
The swinging pendulum and the loud ticking are almost hypnotic.
I soon learned not to sit near the clock in the semi-darkness and silence of early breakfast.
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(Linking to ABC Wednesday.)
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I always found it wonderfully anachronistic that one of the old cupboards houses some CDs and a microphone for the dining room audio system.
ReplyDelete(Sometimes, if there are first-time guests unaccustomed to the monastic way of eating in silence, some classical music is played during the meal. And the microphone--occasionally a nun will read aloud parts of the newspaper as the sisters eat, and then some edifying religious text in French.)
I know something about antiquities but nothing about antiques. Can one or both of these pieces of furniture be called a credenza?
ReplyDeleteInteresting etymology:
"In Italian credenza means “belief” or “confidence,” and confidence is just what a member of a noble or royal household needed before eating in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Being poisoned by one’s enemies was an ever-present danger. As a result, it was customary for members of royal or noble families to have a servant taste their food and drink after it left the kitchen and before it was served. The tasting was done at a dining room sideboard, and the name of the sideboard became credenza in Italian."
--- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/credenza
These certainly are beautiful furnishings, Dina. Amazing craftsmanship.
ReplyDeleteI usually think of a credenza as a buffet or sideboard. The bottom half is closed in by cupboard doors and holds all the crockery, cutlery, table linen etc. Often there is no top half, just a flat surface to serve from. But yours does have a top half, smaller and with display cabinets for glassware.
ReplyDeleteThe work that went into the pieces is exquisite. I LOVED the credenza story!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many servants paid with their lives? Those antique pieces are gorgeous. Such wonderful carvings.
ReplyDeleteThe antique furnitures i think always gives this classy vintage look to any room.
ReplyDeleteBut maintaining them becomes a task.
Lovely collection you have there
These photos are beautiful . I love old pieces.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures and beautiful furniture.
ReplyDeleteKatieBankerchick
Such beautiful items. I really love the clock, though the sound of it would get to me eventually.
ReplyDeletebeautiful Dina... i love such things to... whilst visiting castles etc I come across it, and love it.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice ABC-Wednesday / _ Week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc=w=team)
http://melodymusic.nl/abc-wednesday-20a/
LOVE the design on those top pieces!
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW
Oh my gosh! Those are exquisite. It seems as thought they should be in a museum though.
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