Antique French Louis XVI Mahogany Bouillotte Table with Marble Top and Brass Gallery
2503-4354C (Click to Inquire About This Item)
22H x 20 in diameter
Location: Dallas
A French Louis XVI mahogany bouillotte table, crowned with white marble framed by a pierced brass gallery. The mahogany has a deep, rich finish and a beautiful patina, set off by fine brass banding along the apron and brass sabots at each foot. Tapered, fluted legs rise to fluted corner blocks, giving the table the slender architectural line that defines French neoclassical design. Two small drawers with brass knobs sit within the apron, and a pair of candle slides with ring pulls draw out from beneath the gallery.
The bouillotte table takes its name from bouillotte, a card game much loved in French salons. Players gathered around the round top, the gallery kept cards and coins in place, and the slides held candlesticks or glasses as the evening went on. A bouillotte lamp with its adjustable painted metal shade traditionally stood at the center of the table.
The Louis XVI style brought a return to classical order: straight lines, fluting borrowed from ancient columns, and restrained ornament. In the 19th century, French cabinetmakers revived and reinterpreted the style, celebrating the refined legacy of French furniture making, and the bouillotte table became one of its most enduring forms. Marble, mahogany, and brass come together here with understated elegance.
Circa early 1900s.
Measures 22H x 20 in diameter.
Available at Inessa Stewart's Antiques, Dallas Design District, Dallas, Texas.
