An Artisanal Chestnut Chair

In the Haute-Vienne and neighbouring 'counties' of the south-west of France like Limousin a rustic tradition is clinging on. Developing as a commercial product in the 19th century, by the mid-20th century there were 20 artisanal workshops making large quantities of chestnut furniture that is unique to the area.  All the workshops had to close during the Covid pandemic, and almost all never reopened. Nowadays, after a low point of a single workshop making this furniture, now there are a handful of people who are working to prevent the skills dying. The best known workshop operating today is that of Pascal and Martine Raffier, at la Chapelle Montbrandeix and they are doing their best to train younger artisans.

At the beginning of the 20th century there were 5000 people employed in Haute-Vienne making chestnut furniture. These artisans, called feuillardiers, would select and mark suitable chestnut trees for the foresters to coppice. These managed trees gave a range of products, including large numbers of pickets, much valued by winemakers for the vineyards of the South-West. As well, there was a range of simple, durable furniture made, with a great diversity of forms.

 

A chestnut armchair in the Chateau de Bridoré.

 

The chestnut armchair has become one of the iconic products of the region. Initially it was small family workshops making this furniture, and the industry thrived in the post-War period up until the 1970s. Multiple generations were involved in the manufacture, and some workshops were able to employ a handul of staff. The furniture was sold in fashionable Paris stores such as Galeries Lafayette. Older inhabitants of the area can remember wagonloads being sent to Paris on the train from Chalus. Luxury hotels on tropical islands ordered dozens at a time.

But plastic came to dominate the outdoor furniture market, and it could be built more cheaply in developing countries. The focus of the workshops in the Haute-Vienne switched to the repair of chestnut furniture. Pieces needing their seats or table tops rewoven would be brought to the artisans by devotees of the style who had owned the chairs for decades.

To make a chair the artisan selects lengths of chestnut that are dried in an oven. The artisan first removes the knots with a pocket knife. Thin strips called clisses (splints) are cut on a special old machine to form the 'canes' which will be hand woven to form the seat and back. After the woven panels are done they are framed in rattan and the splints carefully cut for a neat finish. It takes two hours over two days to make a finished chair, during which time the wood is prepared, the main structure is put together, the woven panels are added and everything is finished off.

The furniture was appreciated because of its light weight combined with durability. It was resistant to insect damage and the pieces have a sort of quirky creativity which consumers enjoyed for their holiday houses. Le Corbusier is said to have been very fond of the armchairs, and these days they are marketed using his name for the model.