prie-dieu Archives - Letters from EuroLux

This antique prayer kneeler is a fine piece of devotional furniture. This type of furniture is also known as a prie dieu, which means "pray to God" in French. As you might be able to guess from its construction and name, this piece is designed to give you a luxurious place to pray! Every piece of antique furniture has its purpose. Some are made to store dishes, others are made to create a comfortable area in the home. Prie-Dieu prayer kneelers are a bit rarer but serve an important purpose nonetheless. This piece provides functionality and beauty to any Christian home decor.

This antique French kneeler was beautifully handcrafted in walnut sometime in the late 19th century or early 20th century. If you follow antique furniture at all, you'll notice the trend of solid oak and walnut construction. This is because these are 2 sturdy woods that were in abundance in Europe. It is in excellent condition and looks as good as the day it was crafted a century ago.

Walnut Prie Dieu

This French antique kneeler was crafted in the Gothic style, which is one of our favorites and a favorite among our customers. It's a perfect style for a Prie-Dieu to have, since the Gothic style came about in cathedrals!

To see other Prie-Dieu furniture, check out a post about chairs in this style here!

Gothic furniture is distinguished by extravagant, one-of-a-kind artwork that incorporates Gothic architectural characteristics. Gothic furniture was intended to complement this architectural style, which is connected with church design. Gargoyles, flying buttresses, and quatrefoil and trefoil shapes are all common design elements in the furniture. Other features of this kind of furniture are pointed arches, tracery, heavy textiles, and heavy woods.

Gothic Style Prayer Kneeler

Gothic furniture features ornate carvings, beautiful paintings, and elaborate sculptures and is thought to have originated in churches in the 13th century. The furniture, which was once featured in aristocratic homes, has changed over time and now boasts intricate, cathedral-style adornment. The furniture was quite popular in the Middle Ages, and often mirrored aspects in Gothic architecture on a much smaller scale.

Gothic Style at EuroLuxHome.com

The majority of the furniture is huge and solid, with deep, dark colors. In the Gothic style, sideboards and enormous chests protected and held valuables. The feudal lords were continually at war during the time, thus the furniture had to be moved around. To make things easier, designers incorporated chair backs and feet to chests. Tables, cupboards, seats, and beds have evolved over time to have a variety of beautiful motifs and distinct personalities. To learn more about the Gothic style, check out this encyclopedia entry.

This walnut Prie Dieu Gothic kneeler is in more than good condition. Feel free to reach out to us at info@euroluxhome.com to discuss pricing and shipping options if you're interested!

As we approach Easter week, we often have more inquiries about the antique religious treasures in our online store. During this Holy Week, I wanted to shine a special spotlight on an antique French prayer chair, also called a prie-dieu in French.

These exceptional pieces of furniture are not only beautiful in design, but they are created purely for the purpose of prayer and devotion. Prie-dieu literally means “Pray god” and people use it as a knee rest in their prayers and as a support for prayer books.

Antique Prayer Chair

This superb antique French prie-dieu currently on sale in our online store is a wonderful example. It is finely crafted in cherry wood and upholstered with green velvet and it dates to about 1890. Notice the decorative shell on the back of the chair and the turned spindle posts.

When we find a prie-dieu while on our buying trips in France, we know that these pieces have been treasured for many years, often for much more than a century. It is touching to to imagine how many devout worshippers have paid their religious devotions and dedicated their prayers while supported by these chairs.

Found in Normandy

Here is another example of a prayer chair, which we found during one of our antiques buying trips. Although prayer chairs were most often for private devotional use at home, some would also be found in churches, like this one that we discovered for sale at a church in Normandy.

The chair dated to 1890. It was a bit sad and sorry for itself, but the carvings in the oak wood were lovely and in good shape.

So we brought it home and had it reupholstered in red velvet, to keep the overall look of the prayer chair as close as possible to the original upholstery. Isn't it gorgeous? Our customers thought so, and we quickly got a lot of inquiries and it was snapped up.

The prie-dieu was given its name around the early 17th century although the item of furniture was used long before that. You might sometimes have seen a prie-dieu used at a church wedding, where it is provided for the elaborately bedecked bride and her groom to kneel on during the service!

A Simpler Prayer Chair

The prayer chairs above are quite ornate in their carvings and design, but here's another example with a simpler but no less lovely design.

This vintage French prie-dieu is still currently available in our online store at the time of writing, and it is crafted in walnut wood and boasts a rattan seat. It dates to about 1930, which explains the lighter and more streamlined silhouette, reflecting the tastes of the modern era around the Art Deco period.

At EuroLuxHome.com, we have a wide variety of 19th century and 20th century prayer decor. These include prayer benches with backrests and armrests, prayer rugs, prayer stools, and even a few prayer kneelers. Whether you're looking for a completely solid wood piece with a high back, a foldable piece or seating with a seat cushion, EuroLux is a great destination in your search for fine home decor.

If you've enjoyed our exploration into the prie-dieu, then you might also enjoy reading my blog post about other kinds of Antique Religious Treasures. You can also browse the vintage and antique French prayer chairs in our online store.

Aimee owns EuroLuxHome.com with her husband and best friend, Greg. Aimee sources amazing antique furniture, vintage lighting, & high-quality reproduction furniture to help her customers decorate their homes in a unique way. She loves her 8 (you read that right) fuzzy children and is renovating a 1920s bungalow in South Carolina. Find us on Facebook or connect with EuroLux on Google+. Or you can sign up here to receive this blog in your inbox.

Bonjour from France! Greg and I landed in Paris at the weekend on an antiques buying trip around Northern France, Belgium and England. Come along for the ride! We've been posting more photos as we go on our EuroLux Facebook page so you can follow us there too and see pictures of the treasures we find.

Our first stop in France? We immediately hit the famous antique market in Saint Ouen. This market is in a suburb of Paris just north of the popular tourist area of Montmartre which is crowned by the lovely Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

French Antiques and French Glamor

There was lots to see, and sometimes the most wonderful antiques are tucked away in unexpected places so you have to keep your eyes wide open! This started getting difficult by the time we'd spent the day antiques shopping. We could barely keep our eyes open at all with the jet lag kicking in! So we decided to visit the Basilica of Saint-Denis. As you can see, it was a perfect sunny day.

The Basilica of Saint-Denis was the very first Gothic cathedral ever built. It has been on my bucket list for many years and was even more beautiful in person! Many of our French antiques are inspired by designs just like this.

The Basilica is in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The choir was completed in 1144 and was the first example of a building that used all the elements of Gothic architecture.

We sell quite a lot of antique French Gothic furniture and new pieces with Gothic influences, so it was fascinating to see the building that led the way for this entire style!

Stained Glass

The stained glass is exquisite, as you can see from this rose window. Most French kings between the 10th and the 18th centuries were buried here at the Basilica, and French Queens were often crowned here too. It became a place of pilgrimage for many.

Then we headed off to Normandy and Brittany for a few days, in search of more French antiques. In Normandy one of my favorite picks of the day was this gorgeous antique prie-dieu prayer chair circa 1890. I always buy a prie-dieu chair when I find a good one! Prie-dieu literally means "Pray god" and people use it as a knee rest in their prayers and as a support for prayer books. We'll reupholster the padded knee rest in red velvet.

Sometimes when you're on the road on an antiques buying trip, things don't turn out quite as expected. Greg and I have learned that if the addresses on your list don't pan out but there is a massive chateau nearby, stop for the chateau instead! This is in the medieval part of Fougeres, on the Brittany-Normandy border.

We hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our antiques buying trip in France. More photos and stories to follow and you can see more from our journey on our Facebook page! To see more of our buying trips, check out our post here!