Console table with « rocaille » decoration, Provence, circa 1730

Important console table in grey lacquered lime wood with blue highlights. Rich « rocaille » decoration with crosspieces of acanthus and garlands of flowers.
The middle of the frontage is centered with a cockerel crest « rocaille », forming a heart and displaying a bunch of fruits and feathers symbolizing abundance.
The four uprights in rifle dog present burst grenades in high part and are finished by feet with interior scrolls surmounted by acanthus.
They are connected by an important X-strut, decorated in its center with a cartouche with a roaring chimera, in front of a pomegranate from which flowers are sprouting.

Original red marble top molded with a curve and disbursed from a cavet, which fits perfectly with the shape of the console.

Very nice quality of sculpture.

Nice condition, original « gris Trianon » lacquer, with small restorations of use and blue
highlights later.

Provence, early reign of Louis XV, circa 1730-1740, probably after a design by the
ornamentalist Nicolas Pineau (1684-1750).

Dimensions :
Height : 87 cm ; Width : 133 cm ; Depth : 70 cm

Our console is similar to the console from the former collection of the Marquis d'Espagnet, at the private mansion of the Duke of Vilars, governor of Provence, which went on sale at Artcurial on June 19, 2007, lot 160 (37,176 euros )

Our view :
This console has rich « rocaille » decoration, with elements like chimera, still largely inspired by the Regency period.
But the asymmetry of the « rocaille » cartouches and its important decoration composed of flowers and fruits including burst pomegranates symbolizes abundances.
This theme and these forms illustrate perfectly the birth of the « style Louis XV », and allows us to date it in the years 1730-1740.
The exuberance and richness of the decorative repertoire are typical of provencal productions. Our luxurious console was probably matched to the woodwork and trumeau of a castle in the Midi of France.