Antique Italian Louis XVI Painted Marble Top Demilune Console With Trumeau Mirror

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An antique Italian Louis XVI console with its matching trumeau mirror, carrying all the grace of neoclassicism in its original … Read more An antique Italian Louis XVI console with its matching trumeau mirror, carrying all the grace of neoclassicism in its original painted finish. Light and airy in spirit, the pair rises in slender lines dressed with ribbons, garlands, and fluting carved with delicacy and refinement. A demilune top of grey veined white marble rests above an apron of draped floral garlands, and fluted legs taper to toupie feet, joined by a curved stretcher centered with a flame urn finial. Above, the tall trumeau is hung with a garland swag beneath an oval mirror and crowned by a carved ribbon bow, echoing the garlands below in a single harmonious composition.
The original white paint, softened by a beautiful patina, unites console and mirror, and the aged mirror glass carries the gentle silvering of time, adding depth and quiet reflection to the tall frame.
Italian cabinetmakers took up the Louis XVI style with enthusiasm, especially in Piedmont and Genoa, where close ties to France carried neoclassical taste across the Alps. Painted finishes were a hallmark of Italian furniture, softening carved ornament and letting every ribbon and garland read with lightness. The trumeau takes its name from the architectural pier between two windows, the very place such mirrors were designed to fill.
The shallow depth and rounded shape suits an entry hall, a narrow wall between windows, or a powder room, and the ensemble works equally well as a dressing table in a bedroom. Set against pale plaster or a deep painted wall, the pair brings height and neoclassical grace to a small footprint.
Circa early 1900s
Trumeau mirror measures 68H x 23.5W x 2D; Console measures 30H x 25W x 11.5D
Available at Inessa Stewart's Antiques, Dallas Design District, Dallas, Texas. See less