Tilting pedestal table
Mahogany, blackened and lacquered wood, Saint-Anne marble
Dimensions: H. 74 ; D. 81(cm.)
Paris, circa 1800 - 1810
A rare three-legged rocking pedestal table on a moulded mahogany base. The turned shaft is flared, with rings at the top. It is blackened and lacquered. The Saint Anne marble top is superb. It is surrounded by a patinated bronze ring. The opening mechanism is a sign of quality.
This piece of furniture belongs to a small and rarely stamped collection of pedestal tables with fixed or tilting tops, some of which were delivered for the imperial residences. They come in many variations: claw or moulded legs, shafts painted in bronze, green or blackened, they can be flared like ours, baluster-shaped or spindle-shaped and baluster-shaped. Finally, the top is sometimes made of mahogany, Turquin marble or Saint Anne marble.
François-Honoré-Georges Desmalter: the most fashionable Parisian cabinetmaker at the beginning of the 19th century, he employed more than three hundred workers to fulfil imperial and private orders. The firm went bankrupt in 1813 when the imperial regime defaulted on its payments. François Honoré Georges Jacob Desmalter resurrected the company at the time of the Restoration, regaining the Bourbon clientele that had made his father's reputation.
Works in comparison :
- for a similar barrel: https://collection.mobilier-national.fr/objet/GME-17186-000
- for a similar model: https://collection.mobilier-national.fr/objet/GME-12187-000
- for a similar model: F499, p. 268, Meubles rentrés sous le Premier Empire au château de Fontainebleau, Jean-Pierre Samoyault
- for a close model: F2513, p. 268, Meubles rentrés sous le Premier Empire au château de Fontainebleau, Jean-Pierre Samoyault
Condition report: fully restored by our workshop and fully functional. Original mechanism, gallery, threaded rod, nuts