Rare Tric-trac Table Inlaid With Rosewood

Rare tric-trac table inlaid with rosewood, amaranth, ebony, and bone partly tinted green. The marquetry is in reserve and forms rectangular nets. It rests on four tapered legs inlaid with false grooves. The upper part opens and reveals a tric-trac. This part of the trunk then rests on the articulated feet which unfold. The games table is adorned with gilded and chiseled bronzes in hoof and ring above the feet. Stamped Avril Louis XVI Period Usual restorations H. 60 x W. 37 x D. 74 cm The piece of furniture in our study is amazing. At first glance, it already has obvious aesthetic qualities: its marquetry respecting Louis XVI simplicity but witnessing an attachment to remarkable details as shown by the false grooves on the feet, the frames on the chest of the tric-trac. However when you open this jewel, it is with great surprise that you will discover amused the ingenuity of the craftsman who thought it. Indeed, the feet fold and unfold under the game without making appear the unstable structure or the installation of the ephemeral piece of furniture. Whether in the form of a table or games, this piece of furniture is accomplished. Thus, our furniture presents a unique case in the production of the cabinetmaker, combining his taste for mechanical furniture, and a large production of game tables. Avril's production is characterized by the massive use of mahogany and rosewood. Received a master's degree in 1774, Etienne Avril practiced transforming furniture, a very interesting mechanical performance. This testifies indeed to the interest of the century for Science to the point of integrating it into the Decorative Arts. We thus know him as an ingenious secretary, with a double-flap system. Prohibited for a long time, games reappeared under the Regent and remained fashionable until the time of Louis XVI. The latter also installs a games room in his apartment, where he likes to play tric-trac, while his brothers practice whist and billiards. Gambling is a very fashionable activity among the elites, who see it as an opportunity to appeal to a certain civic-mindedness and to the faculties of reflection.