Directoire Consulate Mahogany Pedestal Table, Return From Egypt Style, Late 18th Century

Tripod pedestal table in mahogany veneer, inlaid with ebony threads and diamond-shaped brass. Very beautiful and rare pink marble top surrounded by diamond-shaped openwork brass rests on 3 patinated mahogany legs bronze style with griffin heads ending in lion claws. An intermediate shelf at the crotch. Very beautiful Parisian production from the end of the Directoire period or the Consulate around 1795-1800 in the so-called Return from Egypt style, fashionable at the very end of the 18th century and in the 1800s. This style is the antechamber Empire style: it is still borrowed from the 18th century, resolutely turned towards antiquity with an archaeological desire. Our pedestal table is produced in the style of Bernard Molitor, who has produced many models with similar lines with a smaller spacer top. In addition, the elegance of the lines, the quality and the nervousness of the sculpture are the signature of a great master. Our furniture is not stamped, but this attribution is very probable. Bernard Molitor (1755 - November 17, 1833) - cabinetmaker in Paris, master on October 26, 1787. Molitor quickly became one of the first Parisian cabinetmakers and received orders from the Court in 1788. Thierry de Ville d'Avray, commissioner general of the Garde Meuble of the Crown, is captivated by the austere elegance of its productions and also eager to moderate royal spending. Very innovative, Molitor is a precursor of the Empire style, one of the main architects of this "Transition Louis XVI Empire" style. From the end of the Louis XVI period, he announced the Empire style by using on his refined furniture, decorated with bronzes, Egyptian busts, patterns of ivy leaves wrapped around detached columns as well as friezes of stylized palm leaves. or winged griffins which will be widely used under the Empire. At the forefront of creation during the revolutionary period, he passed through this period without difficulty. In 1802 he transferred his workshops to rue Saint-Honoré, then, under the Empire, boulevard de la Madeleine. Molitor continued his career until the Restoration with great success, even if he did not benefit from important orders from the Emperor and then from the Court. He will end his days near Fontainebleau where he will die in 1833. The living room table has received a museum quality restoration with a real varnish with a pad applied several times. She is superb. Original marble top. This pink color is extra-ordinary, which really makes our pedestal table a beautiful piece of furniture for amateurs. Height: 73.5cm Diameter: 82cm