Echoes of an Island Past: Flush Panel Armoires in Saint-Domingue and Louisiana

Saint-Domingue (Haiti), the richest of the French Caribbean colonies, gave rise to a distinctive style - particularly evident in its armoires - that profoundly affected Louisiana and the lower Mississippi Valley.1 Among the émigrés who settled in Louisiana during and after the Haitian revolution wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southern quarterly 2007-04, Vol.44 (3), p.118
Main Author: Holden, Jack D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artisans
Creole languages
French language
Furniture
Provenance
Traditions
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Saint-Domingue (Haiti), the richest of the French Caribbean colonies, gave rise to a distinctive style - particularly evident in its armoires - that profoundly affected Louisiana and the lower Mississippi Valley.1 Among the émigrés who settled in Louisiana during and after the Haitian revolution were numbers of skilled craftsmen, including carpenters and cabinetmakers.2 Unfortunately, little of the material culture of Saint-Domingue survived this period of civil unrest. Made by slaves on the estate of Etienne Bellumeaude in San Domingo prior to 1 770 Adelaide de la Vincendiere Low Jenkins 1 820 Enouch Louis Lowe 1861 Adelaide Lowe Jenkins 1 892 Mary Adelaide Jenkins 1918 The "consciously recorded tradition"6 and the closely related armoires at Girard College add validity to the provenance.7 Philadelphia Creole Style Armoire, 1796 Stephen Girard (1750-1831) was a merchant banker and philanthropist and arguably the wealthiest man in America at the time of his death.
ISSN:0038-4496
2377-2050