18th Century French Painted White Altar With Carrara Marble Top

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This painted altar with a Carrara marble top has a form known as tombeau, where the overall boxed shape is … Read more This painted altar with a Carrara marble top has a form known as tombeau, where the overall boxed shape is softened by thick convex, or bombé, protrusions. It would have been used in a French church in the first half of the 1700s, making it a period Louis XV altar table. The main body has been hand-painted in a chalky gray, perfectly blending with the white marble top with gray veining, which has thick quarter-round moldings on all four sides.

As seen in photos, the marble is in two sections. There are some fleabites and losses where the two sections have rubbed, but please note that the separation spanning the entire width is not a fracture, but how the marble was hand carved.

A large shell with light blue, gold, brown, and white hues has been painted on the front of the altar. The shell is formed by a series of scrolls, gadroon, and flowing tendrils that were common amongst Rococo pieces (1720s to 1760s). A thick rectangular plinth with two layers of step molding provides a stable base, although three wooden “feet” have been added to the front to ensure that the altar can be used functionally. Altar tables such as ours would have traditionally been used in smaller houses of worship. In today’s houses with more contemporary interiors, they are highly sought as architectural statement pieces, serving as a large console, kitchen island, or a focal point in a foyer. See less