What Sets French Provincial Dining Tables Apart from Chippendale and Victorian Styles?

If you’re new to the world of antiques, trying to tell different styles apart can get a little tricky, especially when those styles have so much in common with one another! Today, we will learn to tell a French Provincial dining room table apart from a Chippendale or Victorian. Before we get to the specifics of tables, though, let’s compare the styles to see where the similarities and differences lie.

Similarities between French Provincial, Chippendale, and Victorian Styles

The most obvious similarity between the three styles involves nature carvings. Each style gives a different amount of attention to detail when it comes to ornamentation, but you can usually expect to see at least one nature motif carved into each design. Overall, the French Provincial style features the least amount of nature carvings while Chippendale probably features the most, especially when Chippendale feet are considered!

Additionally, both French Provincial and Chippendale furniture typically sit on cabriole legs, which curve outward at the top and inward at the bottom. Chippendale legs always lead to ornamental feet, but French Provincial legs could end with very simple feet, depending on the piece.

Differences between French Provincial, Chippendale, and Victorian Styles

The most striking difference between these three styles is the type of wood they use. French provincial furniture is often made of lighter woods while Victorian and Chippendale are darker. The difference is accounted for by the fact that French Provincial furniture is focused on subtlety and neutrality while the Victorian and Chippendale styles revolve around the ideas of “more” and luxury.

There’s also a difference between the feet of each style. The feet of French Provincial furniture usually included the hoof, scroll, tambour, or whorl. On the other hand, Chippendale furniture featured the ball and claw, the lion’s paw, the club, or the spadefoot. There doesn’t seem to be as much variety in the Victorian style, but it is known for its turnip feet, which neither the Chippendale nor French Provincial furniture style uses.

We mentioned that both French Provincial and Chippendale pieces often sit on cabriole legs, but this isn’t the case for Victorian furniture. The Victorian-style is known for its spiral legs, which are straight in stature even though the wood looks like it’s spiraling down the leg.

Differences between Specific Dining Room Tables

French Provincial dining tables are simple. They sit on cabriole legs but have no ornamental feet; the wood is distressed and lightly colored, though the tabletops themselves may be a tad bit darker. There are a lot of subtle curves throughout the designs; even the tabletops have no sharp points, opting for rounded corners instead. You might see subtle banner/ribbon and leaf carvings along the ends, and on the sides, there may be a drawer or two with a small, bronze, ornamental handle. As a whole, these tables are large but modest in appearance, thanks to the distressed wood finish.

Chippendale tables are anything but simple, especially in terms of carving and detail! Like the French provincial tables, they sit on cabriole legs, but instead of having cabriole feet, they feature a hallmark Chippendale trait: the ball and claw foot. The angles of the legs are more pronounced, and they feature intricate carvings of acanthus leaves. The wood color is darker, richer, and glossier than the neutral distressed appearance of the French Provincial tables. Along the tabletops’ edges is ornamental gardooning; each piece is very regal and auspicious in appearance, with so many details that you may never get tired of looking at them.

In terms of intricacy and carvings, Victorian-style tables are a good middle ground between the French provincial and Chippendale styles. They may have ornamental feet, and their legs may be in the beautiful spiral design that the Victorian era is known for. The tabletops are relatively simple, however. The color of the wood is slightly lighter than the Chippendale furniture as well, though it’s not nearly as light as the French provincial table. It has enough details to be interesting without feeling distracting.

Conclusion: How to Tell if it’s a French Provincial Table

If the wood color is lighter, the texture is distressed, and the carvings are simpler while still featuring some curves, you can probably assume that the table is designed in the French Provincial style. Remember though Chippendale and French Provincial sit on cabriole legs, the Chippendale table’s feet will probably be more ornate, styled after a ball and claw or lion’s paw. Victorian tables don’t tend to sit on cabriole legs, but even if they do, the wood will probably be darker in color than French Provincial furniture. These are the two easiest tests to try and determine which style a dining room table is. We hope it’s been helpful and informative!

Similarities and Difference: A Summary

Victorian furniture and Empire furniture are similar in many ways; they both feature detailed and intricate carvings, embellishments, and motifs. There also are differences to consider when trying to distinguish one style from another: (1) the Empire style draws on Greek, Roman, and Egyptian inspirations while the Victorian style draws on Gothic and Rococo; (2) Victorian furniture has a lot of curves and can be asymmetrical while the Empire style is symmetrical and straight; and (3) the Empire style features animals, people, and mythical creatures while the Victorian furniture usually sticks to leaves, vines, and flowers.

We hope the information you’ve learned will help you impress your fellow antique enthusiasts and that you’ll be able to impress them with your differentiation skills.