A Regence game table early 18th Century

Elegant Lyonnaise table for two purposes, all sides in natural walnut and beech wood, carved molded and waxed. Rectangular quadrangular, it opens from the front by a drawer sliding under the tray in the middle part of the belt. This consists of four arched cross members, uniformly for the lateral ones, embellished with a recess in the cul-de-lamps for the longitudinal ones. These finely carved with a shell decorated on both sides with twining windings and fine leafy scrolls perfectly symmetrical. The four-legged legs, slightly arched, are nicely embellished with fine sculptures to match the aprons. The shoulder of each of the feet is adorned with an opulent concave shell generously matching the curve of this; a deer hoof crowned with acanthus leaves, perched on a sphere elegantly punctuate the whole. The top consists of a cabaret bowl doubled in its thickness by two offset mobile angular appendages which fold into cavities provided for this purpose at the upper right corner of each of the lateral crosspieces. A reversible movable panel forming a plug fits into the cabaret; the assembly forming the tray covering the whole. Each side of the cap is treated differently; sheathed in its old gilt morocco with small irons for one and stretched, of a sheet for the other. - The bowl in a concave cabaret allowed the dice, thrown to always return to the center of the game without leaving the table. - The two angular appendages were designed with the aim of placing candlesticks or candelabras in order to light the game without hampering the shuffling of the cards; rounded they blocked the candlesticks. - The stopper made it possible to modify the destination of this one; on the Moroccan side, it served as an elegant writing table, the stretched side of a table cloth with pharaoh games or the shade. The very specific characteristics of this table which are its rectangular shape combined with the presence of only two movable angular appendages indicates to us its exclusive vocation for games of chance face to face; rarer and less classic than are the square tables devoted to four-player games. It should be noted that great care has been taken over the connecting elements of impeccable quality. Balance, nervousness, elegance and quality are the most appropriate terms for this elegant coffee table from the beginnings of the Age of Enlightenment. Characteristic work of the Lyonnais work of the first part of the 18th century from the Regence period around 1710-1715. This piece of furniture has undergone a perfect restoration of use and maintenance according to the rules of art in force at the beginning of the 18th century. It should be noted that the game tables appeared as specialized furniture from the end of the 17th century. Describing the large apartments of Versailles in 1682, Le Mercure cites in particular "a pentagon table, a square and a triangle (...) which are used for the Roy and Reyne games". The game table quickly becomes an essential piece of furniture, quickly, for each of the games, the cabinetmakers had to create a specific table. The Mercury of 1682 then mentioned "tables for several newly invented games". If in Louis XV's time game tables remained relatively rare, it was especially during the reign of Louis XVI that they multiplied in private interiors and then experienced considerable popularity. Our model is therefore a rare example of this type of furniture very little developed under the Regence period.

Dimensions: Height 73.5cm / 28.74inch - Width 82.5cm / 32.28inch - Depth 58.5cm / 22.44inch. l. 32.28 inch X H. 28.74 inch X P. 22.44 inch