Though Paris was the center of fine furniture production, French country commodes retain a high level of style, even when compared to their urban counterparts. The emigration of younger furnituremakers linked the countryside to the techniques and styles of Paris and the rest of Europe. It also brought one of the most fashionable pieces of Parisian furniture, the commode, or chest of drawers, out to the provinces. Today, these furnishings are often more in demand than their exquisite Parisian counterparts because current tastes tend toward the more casual. As a result, the contemporary market for French provincial furniture is one of the strongest in all the areas of antiques sales.
Provincial pieces made of mahogany are very rare and are called meuble de port, or port furniture.
It would be highly unusual to find a French provincial piece that has been signed by its maker. Outside of Paris, in the provinces, a maker's stamp was neither required nor used. Lock mechanisms on provincial commodes were usually made locally, so there is little uniformity. One predictable characteristic, though, is that viewed from the inside of the drawer, these locks will be rectangular. The marble tops on provincial commodes and other case pieces came most often from the hilly Languedoc region of central France.