λ A POLYCHROME-PAINTED AND GILT HARDWOOD TABLE WITH INLAID TOP
Possibly France or Spain, late 19th - early 20th century

Of circular shape, with four small lobes protruding on each side, resting on four legs with foliate feet, each side painted in red, green, blue and gold, and carved with intricate vegetal meanders and a central roundel filled with star-shaped knotwork, the top with several concentric bands of marquetry work with both ivory, mother-of-pearl and copper wire, the decoration including a central circular medallion with mother-of-pearl rosette and foliage, spraying several intertwined vegetal trellis, and further bands of foliate and vegetal patterns with mother-of-pearl and ivory inlays, the table top surrounded by a sloping gilt fretwork band, 78cm x 81cm.

Tables like this, often called "Orientalist tables", represent the attempt of Western carpenters to satisfy the rise of local audience's taste for exotic souvenirs and extravagant furniture. Very flamboyant in style, the use of bold colours and peculiar vegetal motifs aims to imitate certain productions in the Near East. The design though appears to be much stiffer than in its Near Eastern counterparts and the motifs are often stylised, leading to suggest a Western origin.

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