French Napoleon III Period Ebonized Boulle Marquetry Convertible Wine Cooler Jardiniere Tray Table by Jean Pierre Alexandre Tahan Paris

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A rare and striking antique French Napoleon III Second Empire Period (1852-1870) convertible rafraichissoir wine cooler drinks table by the … Read more A rare and striking antique French Napoleon III Second Empire Period (1852-1870) convertible rafraichissoir wine cooler drinks table by the ébéniste to the Emperor Jean-Pierre-Alexandre Tahan (1813-1892)

Crafted by Jean-Pierre-Alexandre Tahan, the esteemed cabinetmaker to Napoléon III, this wine table is a remarkable example of 19th-century European artistry, ingenuity, and fine craftsmanship. Executed in timeless Louis XV style, ebonized fruitwood featuring sophisticated Boule style Queen marquetry with inlays of mother of pearl and brass, adorned with ornate patinated bronze mounts, having a pierced brass galleried top fitted with a cartouche shaped handled serving tray, lifting to reveal a spacious open well with removable ice bin metal liner. Elegant curvacious silhouette with serpentine sides, gently contoured bow front scalloped apron, rising on long shapely cabriole legs affixed with eye-screws to accommodate the serving tray converting it to a stretcher style lower shelf, terminating on casters. circa 1860

Signed, retaining the original metal label that reads "TAHAN FOURNISSEUR DE L’ EMPEREUR Paris" (Tahan Supplier of the Emperor) to the interior compartment.

Could also be used a bar cart, tea service table, drinks server, sofa console or jardiniere planter / tiered plant stand.

Tahan:
“A unique company for its kind of manufacture and which knew to impose itself, due to the good taste of its compositions. At Tahan’s, one never looks at the price: the important thing is that the name Tahan appears on the object”(Pierre Giffard, Les Fourchambault, 1878).

“Prince of small cabinetmaking”, Tahan marked his time by the care taken to each of his pieces, both objects of art and utility. Generally of small or medium dimensions, these pieces of furniture have invaded the royal bourgeois interiors, so that according to the Book of Elegant Economy (1859), “they alone make the whole physiognomy of the time”.

It is in Belgium in Spa, a small town of the Ardennes, that Pierre Lambert Tahan, table maker, begins this business with formidable destiny. He left Spa for Paris in 1804, and set up his “boxes and necessaries” factory in the Temple district.

Pierre-Lambert Tahan, a Belgian cabinetmaker, set up a boutique in Paris, specialized in boxes manufacture shortly before 1806, in the Temple district. In 1844, he ceased all activity and left the direction of his shop to his son.

His son Jean Pierre Alexandre (1813-1892) was hence born in Paris, and helped him as soon as 1837, then took over the total direction of the company in 1844, his father ceasing all activity then. Jean Pierre Alexandre will then use his ingenuity to begin his great pioneering

Taking over his father's business, already specialized in jewel caskets and liquour cellarettes as well as in luxurious small furniture registered under the « tabletterie » category, he also develops larger furniture items, “bonheur-du-jour”, desks, and sewing tables.

Thanks to him, the Maison Tahan knew much success and became one of the most famous firms in Paris. They settled rue de la Paix, then boulevard des Italiens, both fancy Parisian addresses under the Second Empire. Tahan became also very quickly one of the favorite providers of Emperor Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie. He delivered to the imperial palaces numerous tables, vitrines, cellarettes and further fine decorative objects. In other words, he was definitively the great specialist of precious and highly selected objects. In 1861, Tahan is thus designated as "one of those manufacturers who outstrip fashion and set the tone instead of following." (La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité). The Tahan house participated in various Universal Exhibitions, where they were steadily awarded medals : a silver medal in 1849, another one in London in 1852 and the gold medal in Paris in 1867.

The Tahan Manufactory declines after the fall of the Emperor which had supported it so much. Thus, in 1882, the factory ceased production and the store closed its doors.

Dimensions: (approx)
32" High, 26" Wide, 16.5" Deep

Provenance / Acquisition:
Acquired from the highly reputable auction house, J. Garrett Auctioneers, Dallas, Texas. Turtle Creek & Dallas Estates catalog.

Garrett was pleased to present the contents of a fine Turtle Creek estate, as well as selections from the collection of beloved Dallasite, Jane Akin Brasch. Property seized from JMJ Development, the Dallas development firm controlled by Tim Barton and set to become the first Mandarin Oriental hotel in Dallas.

*Additional photos available upon request

Condition Report:
Overall an outstanding example! Very good antique condition with nicely aged warm rich patina and lustrous sheen. Strong, sturdy, stable, structurally sound. We have not restored it, allowing it to retain original antique character and charm throughout. Wear consistent with age, use, handling and exposure, including scattered nicks and lightly worn surfaces, minor brass trim losses, typical flat spots to casters, evidence of old touchups, the tin liner has two splits that have been sealed so it's watertight and ready for use. The photos do not begin to do this remarkable piece justice!

Delivered cleaned, waxed, with hand rubbed polished patina, ready for immediate use and generational enjoyment! See less