A 19th-Century Louis XV-Style Refraîchissoir Wine Cooling Table

Details

Description

This is the item you didn’t know you needed. But stay with us here. On offer is a 19th-century French … Read more This is the item you didn’t know you needed. But stay with us here. On offer is a 19th-century French walnut rafraîchissoir. That's French for a wine cooler, literally a “refresher”—the end result. (Even after years of French study, sometimes one must just look it up.) This Louis XV-style table features a practical marble top in sienna-red laced with white. The top’s front portion offers enough room for placing a glass or two at the ready for pouring. The rear portion was designed with two metal liners to be filled with ice and water to keep those wine and champagne bottles cool during a meal or gathering. Ormolu, or gilded brass for the drawer handle, the end of the legs, as well as the finely wrought small knobs on the sides, add a certain je ne sais quoi. (No wonder the high and mighty in the rest of 18th-century Europe madly copied the French lifestyle.)
The graceful piece is also fitted with a drawer and a lower shelf for additional storage, for wine openers and extra bottles respectively, or display, thus serving as a functional and elegant side or serving table. Keep it by your chair; fewer trips to the fridge, no?

Maker’s mark: none See less