19th Century Rosewood Marquetry Games Table

Console games table, Napoleon III period (circa 1860–1870)
Rosewood, satinwood, and rosewood, stained wood marquetry, and chiseled and gilded bronze ornamentation.
Dimensions: Height: 76 cm, Length: 91 cm, Depth: 91 cm.

This convertible games table illustrates the refinement and decorative virtuosity of Parisian furniture during the Second Empire.
With its curved shape, it rests on four arched legs richly ornamented with chiseled and gilded bronze, acanthus leaf motifs, sabots, mascarons, and egg-shaped ingots emphasizing the lines of the frame.

The marquetry decoration, particularly carefully executed, combines rosewood, satinwood, and rosewood in a symmetrical composition of scrollwork, floral garlands, and fretwork frames. The top, with its central decoration depicting a landscape enlivened by architecture and a cherub, is in a revisited Rococo style, typical of Napoleon III's taste for evoking 18th-century styles.

Once opened, the top reveals a green felt game mat bordered with delicate floral marquetry. This functional duality, whether an elegant console or entertainment table, perfectly illustrates the bourgeois art of living of the Second Empire, balancing comfort and ostentation.

French work, Parisian, 1860s–1870s.
Old restorations. Beautiful condition.
Certificate of authenticity and appropriate delivery.