An indigenous French bleu turquin marble (the use of which was increased and championed by makers such as Jean-Jacques Werner throughout the 1820s) appears to float above a lotus stylized mahogany baluster, with a gadrooned base and tripod legs resting on claws and apparently original casters.

This elegant model of guéridon appears during the previous empire period, and this one remains boldly neoclassical but the lines have become more curvilinear. Post-Napoleon, the empire style, although sometimes totally eclipsed by different Charles X work, became more floral or tropical in design. Some of the starker angles were tempered by curves, and richly sculpted neoclassical decor evocative of some sort of tropical antiquity replaced the warlike and triumphant bronzes of Napoleon’s time. So this is one of the rarer models of empire round tables, in superbly grained and polished flame mahogany, which bears the influence of the restoration period in its lines, sculpture, and choice of marble.

The table is signed by Parisian maker, Sigisbert Gomien, stamped underneath one of the legs, who was established in 1824 at 193 rue Saint-Antoine (according to Denise Ledoux-Lebarde’s key text on 19th century furniture).

Height: 28.5 inches Diameter: 38 inches

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