Description
This gothic bench is an extremely long seat able to sit several people.
The bench is one of the oldest seats whose origin is lost in the mists of time.
This seat reached the height of its glory during the 14th century.
It started off as a simple plank resting on four legs and it was afterwards embelished with a chest at its base, becoming an archebanc. Then on each side the armrests were put up and finally a back was created.
The arkbench that we present here, particularly long, remains very simple in its ornamentation made of panels sculpted in folds of parchment, grooved into the frame.
The four vertical panels of the backrest correspond to the square-sectioned panels located on the front of the chest.
Finally, surmounting the long upper crossbar, two uprights, one of which is crowned by a lion, frame a beautiful openwork frieze carved with foliage.
The lower section, forming a chest, is closed by a drop-leaf door fitted with wrought iron hinges and secured by an original hasp lock.
On each side, the ark bench is finished with a straight armrest.
This very rare piece of furniture is in a good state of preservation.