"LA PANETIERE" (THE BREAD STORER)

To begin with, the bread storer was found hanging from beams in houses (from the middle ages to the XVIth century).

It is, in fact, an open chest. It was used to keep food away from things that could eat it and also from the dampness of the floor. Later it was hung on walls where it was used to keep bread. Usually with legs, it was never put onto another piece of furniture or on the floor. Like the "bobèches" which crown the highest transversal piece of wood, the legs finish the bread storer off elegantly .

Bread storers from Languedoc are different to those from Provence. The earlier ones are very big, and the highest transversal piece of wood is in the shape of an inversed "V" . The next ones are smaller, richly carved, often beautifully shaped, and finish with scrolled legs (à volute). (They are surmounted by "bobeches").

With time and the fact that bread became less and less important in the home, the bread storer became a beautiful piece of furniture, used only for decorative purposes. Their size deminished and the carvings on them became more and more abondant. There was no more need to leave space for the bread inside !