Object Description
A Rare And Unusual Victorian Gilt-Bronze and Marquetry Metamorphic Table.
The serpentine shaped top with beautiful marquetry in precious woods depicting a flower-filled basket attended by song birds, within a bordered with strapwork flowerhead cartouches.
The top lifts up by an ingenious weighted mechanism revealling two under tiers and converting into an etagere or tea table. The outswept legs joined by an ‘X’-shaped stretcher centred by an urn.
This table is a fine example of a French interpretation of an English archetype. The outline and shape confirms to traditional English design, but the decoration of outstanding floral marquetry is distinctly French in execution and recalls the work of ‘marqueteurs’ such as Joseph Cremer.
French, Circa 1850.