French Grain-Painted Pine Stair Section — Altar Step Use, Pre-1850

A four-tier section of an early French stairway, preserved with its original grain painting intact across the risers and side panels. The decorative scheme is a confident period faux-marbre treatment: oxblood-red banding frames veined cream-and-grey panels on the risers, while the stepped sides carry pale green serpentine marbling with amber and ochre drift — the hand of a skilled decorative painter working in the French ecclesiastical or domestic tradition well before 1850. The treads have worn through to bare softwood from long use, leaving the ornamental surfaces strongest on the vertical faces.

Originally part of a larger stair run, the section was subsequently cut down in size and reinforced internally with later framing, joined with a combination of cut nails and more recent fasteners. The back and underside are unfinished pine. Staff identified the wood as wormwood throughout, with old insect flight-holes distributed across the structure. The proportions and decorative finish make it well-suited to altar step use today, whether in a chapel, studio, or display setting. Unmarked.

CONDITION

Good with age-appropriate wear; sturdy and stable. The treads show heavy paint and finish loss to bare wood from foot traffic; the grain-painted scheme survives best on the risers and side panels with scattered flaking and abrasion throughout. Previously reinforced on the inside and cut down from a larger stair run; old wormwood flight-holes are present throughout the structure, with some splitting and edge loss to the softwood, including a chipped corner at the upper tier.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 29" H × 29¾" W × 32¾" D
• Tiers (4): step heights 8", 7", 6", 7" (bottom to top)
• Panel thickness: 2" and 1"
• Material: Wood construction (wormwood)
• Date: Pre-1850
• Marks: Unmarked