19th Century Country French Louis XVI Hand-Carved Walnut Console ~ Sofa Table

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Description

A 19th century French Louis XVI walnut console, also perfect as a sofa table, crafted in the purest spirit of … Read more A 19th century French Louis XVI walnut console, also perfect as a sofa table, crafted in the purest spirit of the Louis XVI style. Two drawers carved with imbricated scale panels flank a pierced guilloche frieze, and each drawer is fitted with swag bail pulls. Corner blocks carved with rosettes crown the legs, each leg shaped as a fasces, the classical bundle of rods bound with crossed ribbon, finishing on turned feet. A curved stretcher unites the legs, culminating at center in an urn finial carved with acanthus. Above, the shaped top with canted corners shows off the rich figure of the walnut.
Carried by the lictors of ancient Rome as an emblem of authority and unity, the fasces became one of the favorite motifs of French neoclassical design. The 19th century revival of all French styles celebrated the refined legacy of French furniture making, and the most skilled ateliers revived and reinterpreted the Louis XVI vocabulary of fasces, guilloche and imbricated carving with remarkable fidelity.
Placed behind a sofa, in an entry hall, or along a dining room wall as a server, its architectural lines and classical ornament bring neoclassical grace to both traditional and contemporary interiors.
Circa late 1800s
Measures 39H x 60.5W x 22D
Available at Inessa Stewart's Antiques, Dallas Design District, Dallas, Texas. See less