 he techniques of joinery, such as
mortise and tenon, and tongue and groove, were undoubtedly used in the framing of the first
buildings in Canada, just as they were in the making of furniture. Apprenticed in the
traditions of the medieval guilds, the artisans of the colony tended to perpetuate basic
techniques by handing down from generation to generation skills that had been acquired
through practice rather than theory. These artisans, cut off from immediate sources of inspiration, and not subject to corporate control as exercised in France, created a style that remained thoroughly French, although it had a character of its own as well. The liberty to interpret forms and motifs in more personal ways did not, however, alter the basic techniques of construction. The persistence of the Louis XIII and Louis XIV styles through the eighteenth century and beyond was a further consequence of these conditions. |
  Alms box First half of 18th century Canadian Museum of Civilization  ollected by Marius Barbeau in
1925, this simple alms box is of sturdy dovetailed construction.
The arched door and the dome top may have echoed the shape of the windows in the Église
Saint-Pierre, Île d'Orléans from which it came. Paint analysis by the Canadian
Conservation Institute has established the presence of traditional pigments - lampblack,
white lead, anhydrous or hydrated iron oxides (ochres) and calcite - mixed in a drying
oil. |
Date Created: March 1997 | Last Updated: September 1, 2009
