Chiffonier

Like much early Louisiana furniture, this object was modeled on a French prototype. In this case the inspiration was the chiffonier, a narrow chest of drawers. Typically, the Louisiana version diverges from the French original in the substitution of local woods for exotic imports and the omission of ornate gilt-metal mounts. The sulfur inlay on the top is unusual for Louisiana. Sulfur was often used for inlays on Germanic-influenced furniture from Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and North Carolina, but it is rare further south.

This chiffonier descended in the Aime and Fortier families of St. James Parish and New Orleans. It may have been owned by Valcour and Josephine Roman Aime and used at their Mississippi River plantation, often called “Le Petite Versailles” because of its grandeur. Colonial Williamsburg owns a portrait of their daughter, Félicie Aime.

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