Pair of 19C French Country Cherrywood Side Tables

PRESENTING a LOVELY Pair of 19C French Country Cherrywood Side Tables.

Not a fully ‘matching’ pair, but very similar and have been together since the 1930’s (at a minimum).

Both made of cherrywood.

One large side table, with central frieze drawer (with sectioned interior) and cabriole legs. Flat table top and curved frieze underneath on all sides.

One smaller side table, again with central frieze drawer and cabriole legs. Table top is edged with a raised trim to prevent slippage of items, similar to silver tables. Curved frieze underneath on all sides.

The table tops of both tables, have been restored/refinished, in a very sympathetic manner, so as to retain the ‘patina’.

The smaller table looks like it might have had it’s legs shortened a little and the ‘matching’ porcelain drawer knobs are marked for “J.M. Limoges’ and are recent, but again, sympathetic additions.

These tables came from the same Dallas Estate as a number of other items in our Inventory. Many of these were acquired by ancestors of the Estate at a French Antique Auction held at the Club Room in the Stoneligh Court (Hotel), Dallas on Wednesday the 2nd April 1930. (Now The Meridian Hotel).

We have the Original Auction Catalog which has remained with the items purchased, since they were acquired at that Auction (along with other pieces on our Site).

The Auction was titled: ” Works of Art and Furnishings of The Chateau de Turique (Nancy) and The Conde-Rougemont Home (Touraine). The cover of the Catalog also has a seal of a Coat of Arms.

The first page of the Catalog States: “Exhibition on Wednesday, April 2nd And Following Days From 10 A.M. to 10 P.M……EXHIBITION at CLUB ROOM, STONELIGH COURT, DALLAS, TEXAS”.

The Second page gives a brief description of the Auction contents and states that ” This Exhibition will be presented by M. Fernand M. Adda of Paris France”

We believe that this pair of side tables were Lot No: 366 and were described in the Auction Catalog as:

“TWO PROVENCIAL CHERRYWOOD SIDE TABLES …… XVIII Century Period …… Molded body on cabriole legs”

It is noted on the margin that the buyer paid the princely sum of $40 each (Total of $80) in 1930 for these tables. Allowing for simple inflation, this would equate to well over $1,500 today.

We do not agree with ‘Mr Adda’, that these are 18th Century pieces and in our opinion they are more likely mid-19th Century, circa 1860.

French furniture comprises both the most sophisticated furniture made in Paris for king and court, aristocrats and rich upper bourgeoisie, on the one hand, and French provincial furniture made in the provincial cities and towns many of which, like Lyon and Liège, retained cultural identities distinct from the metropolis. There was also a conservative artisanal rural tradition of French country furniture which remained unbroken until the advent of the railroads in the mid-nineteenth century.

Furniture made in provincial centers such as Blois and Orléans in the Loire valley, and at Lyon or Liège (Not part of France politically but within its cultural orbit), followed at some distance the design innovations that were initiated in the luxury trades of Paris, often with a time lag that could amount to decades.

Features typically associated with French Provincial furniture include cabriole legs, and simple scalloped carving. Dining chairs often have a wheat pattern carving reflecting the country surroundings of the maker. The ladder back chair with a woven rush seat is the typical French Provincial dining chair. Finishes vary though common to all colours is the accumulation of polish or grime in the carving over time resulting in an aged patina and emphasis on the carving regardless of whether the furniture is painted or stained.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_furniture