19th c. Spanish Bench

Pulled up close to the fire, its high back turned against the draft, this bench was where a Catalan family gathered to keep warm. Found in Béziers and dating to the 19th century, it came from a masia, a Catalan farmhouse, and shows it in every honest line, a tall panelled back and scrolled arms over a wide, worn seat, all stripped to a pale, soft wood. In a masia the hearth was the heart of the house, and a high-backed settle like this stood beside it to hold in the warmth and seat the family through the long evenings. Sylvie would set it at an entry, a soft cushion along the seat, where its tall back can do just what it always did, making a room feel gathered-in and warm.

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