“The French have a word for it!” And for the centuries-old craft of framing roofs, with no nails, screws, or glue of any kind, ˜Charpente‘ is that word. Instead, intricate mortise-and-tenon joinery holds an edifice together. Altogether unseen, each precision-cut form locks into its corresponding groove, resulting in an unshakable and long-lasting structure.
In the 19th century, Charpente reached its apogee. It was a time of incredible achievement and consummate mastery of the trade of woodworking. Charpente required not only the study of spatial geometry but a precise knowledge of wood’s extraordinary possibilities. Without it, the awesome Gothic churches, mansions, or sailing ships of the 1800’s could not have existed.
These self-same techniques, transformed into hand cut and hand assembled furniture, lie at the heart of Jean-Paul Viollet’s unequalled Charpente Collection.
