Garden Table in Cast Iron, Central Europe, 1900

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This antique garden table pairs a cast iron base with a top of jointed solid pine boards. Originates from Central … Read more This antique garden table pairs a cast iron base with a top of jointed solid pine boards. Originates from Central Europe, from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, where iron was worked by sand casting and pine served for outdoor tops.At the centre of the base sits a pierced medallion with two rampant lions flanking a walled gate between two battlemented towers. It is a civic device of the kind European foundries cast into their street and garden furniture models. No foundry mark survives on the piece to fix its exact origin.The legs resolve into two opposed scrolls on each side, tied by stretchers with a raised beaded border. The top is made of pine boards held by cleats underneath, the joints now opened by time.The pale paint on the castings has worn back to bare rust along the edges and at the feet. The pine has lost colour and shows raised grain, sunken knots and water marks. The contrast between light metal and spent wood is what carries the piece.It works on a terrace or in a garden, and equally indoors as a dining table with an industrial character. The openwork base keeps the whole visually light and suits a contemporary or bistro setting. See less