GLAPIONARMOIRESCRIPT

GLAPION ARMOIRE SCRIPT

This armoire dates to the 1790s in New Orleans. Armoires were used for storage during a time when homes did not contain closets, as they do in modern homes. This armoire was made from black walnut and native cypress, which is rot resistant and easily available. The armoire represents the Creole furniture style that is identified with New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi Valley. The armoire contains several elements that reflect French style. The dainty cabriolet legs, as well as the scalloped lower moulding and the crown moulding on top all reflect the French influence of the artisan Celestin Glapion, who made the armoire. Glapion was a Free Man of Color, of whom there was a large population in New Orleans. Most Free Persons of Color were skilled artisans, and provided necessary artisan work in the sophisticated frontier port of New Orleans in the colonial period.