Jacob Frères - A Consulat ormolu mounted, brass inlaid and mahogany guéridon

A Consulat ormolu mounted, brass inlaid and bronzed walnut guéridon by Jacob fères
Solid walnut, gilt-bronze, brass, iron, marble
Signed JACOB FRÈRES RUE MESLÉE under the base
Paris late 18th century

Another example of this beautiful guéridon, stamped Jacob Frère, is in the collection of the Louvre Museum. It comes from the former collections of Madame Récamier, and was delivered in 1799 for her private mansion in the Rue du Mont-Blanc, in the Chaussée d'Antin district of Paris, a luxurious showcase whose decor by Louis Martin Berthault and and furnishings by the Jacob Frères company were a high point of the Consulat style.

This piece of furniture illustrates the regeneration of form that took place in the French decorative arts in the 1790s, under the influence of architects and ornamentalists such as Jean Demosthène Dugourc, Percier & Fontaine, Berthault and Nicolas Beauvallet. The revolutionary period was a time of upheaval, both politically and aesthetically, marked by a simplification of forms inherited from the reign of Louis XVI, and increased quotation of the antique. Here, the lion's claws at the base and the strigil fluting on the central shaft.

The marble top, encircled by a gilded bronze molding, is a swivel top that can be tilted into a vertical position. This feature reminds us of the different uses these pedestal tables could be put to throughout the day. Breakfast table for morning snacks, tea table, or light table, the top of these occasional tables is designed to tilt, making them easy to transport.

Similar models :
Musée du Louvre (OA 11383) from the former Recamier collection
Chateau de Fontainebleau, two pedestal tables (variants) supplied by the Salon de l'Imperatrice. One signed Jacob Frères, the other Jacob Desmalter.
Christie's London, October 27, 2015, No. 10

Bibliography:
Nouvelles acquisitions du départements des Objets d'art 1990-1994, cat. exp. (Paris), Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 1995, no. 96
Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier François du XIXe Siècle, Paris, 1989, p. 279
Michel Beurdeley, Jacob et son temps, éditions Monelle Hayot, Saint-Rémy-en-l'Eau, 2002, p. 67
J.P Samoyault, Meubles entrés sous le Premier Empire, RMN, Paris, 2004, pp. 249-250, ill. 177 and 178