Napoleon III Gueridon Table blackened wood and gilded bronze swan - Mother-of-pearl marquetry top 19th century.

This magnificent old pedestal table is made of blackened wood and mother-of-pearl marquetry. It dates from the Second Empire and was created in the 1850s-1870s. It is a ceremonial table from the Napoleon III period: it presents superb gilded bronze ornaments featuring the classic motifs of this style - swans, palmettes, flowers and foliage... The corners are decorated with elegant connected swan necks by chains. Placed on a tripod foot joined by a tray topped with a stylized acorn. This side table is circular in shape, it originally held a decorative porcelain dish in its center (not preserved). The top is decorated with a frieze of marquetry ribbons enhanced with mother-of-pearl. A glass top - giving lightness to this set - has been installed to protect this elegant decor, it is removable and rests on three small silicone pads. The elements allowing the central dish to be held together are still present and it could therefore be replaced with another old dish. I point out traces of wear: scratches on the top, cracks on the base and small splits in the marquetry veneer. The glass top is recent. Dimensions: 51 cm wide x 75 cm high x 46 cm in diameter for the tray.