Style Napoleon III / Ref.16138

Polylobed work table with insects and butterflies

Set upon a triangular base in floral marquetry, three curved service-tree wood legs—whose form was only made possible after the adoption of the wood-bending techniques developed by the Viennese firm Thonet—cross elegantly to support a gracefully designed polylobed basket-shaped body. The curving sides of this basket are decorated with marquetry panels composed of various woods—amaranth, birch, East Indian ebony, maple, holly, and stained holly—where a dragonfly and a butterfly flutter among leafy branches.

The polylobed lid, fitted with a mirror framed by a twisted moulding, opens to reveal an interior upholstered in raspberry-colored silk. The fully marqueted blooming flower on the top continues the same naturalistic and vegetal theme.

At the three corners of the basket and running along the legs, patinated and painted bronze ornaments constitute one of the most distinctive aspects of the piece: hanging flowers, foliage, and a large grasshopper whose remarkable realism is heightened by the coloration of the bronzes, producing striking trompe-l’œil effects. This animal presence evokes the imagery of Japanese prints, then highly fashionable in Paris.

The table thus brings together ideas from diverse sources: marquetry inherited from the 18th century, animal ornamentation close to the naturalistic sculpture of the second half of the 19th century, and a structural design derived from Viennese cabinetmaking. The composition anticipates certain developments of Art Nouveau.

Several versions of this model are known, including one preserved at the Musée de l’École de Nancy and another at the Musée d’Orsay. The first version was presented hors concours at the Exposition Universelle of 1878.

Service-tree wood legs; marquetry of various woods; patinated and painted bronzes; fabric and upholstery; mirror.