Thursday, January 29, 2009

Word of the Day: "MENUISIER"

I always thought this was pronounced like "menudo"--so I would say "men oo see yay". Doy!

But the correct way to say it is "mun we ZAY".

A menuisier was a skilled carpenter (also called a joiner) who built carcass furniture. You'll see this term mainly used in reference to 18th c. French furniture. Compare menuisier to "ebeniste" (eh bay NEEST), a master cabinet maker specializing in veneering fine furniture (as opposed to building it).

Shown below: An Exceptional Pair of 18th Century Parquetry Commodes (the carcasses were built by a menuisier and the veneers were applied by an ebeniste):

List price: $678,000 USD

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