Louis XV style serving console table

Rare serpentine all-sides serving table with inset marble top, veneered in rosewood, opening with two side doors surmounted by corner drawers on pivots.

It relates to the rare models of serving tables from the Louis XV period, and to certain so-called tables “à encas” (or en-cas), which could almost be described as a commode-form serving table, given its resemblance to a perruquière from which the drawer has been removed. It is veneered both inside and out in quartered veneers and diamond-point patterns on an oak carcass, and topped with a violet Brocatelle marble from the Jura.

A piece of elegant design, with refined curves both on the front and sides.
In excellent condition.
Parisian work in the Louis XV style.

Note: It has often been said that while copies lack soul, forgeries can possess personality—and sometimes even brilliance. There is no doubt that this piece, in the manner of Jacques Dubois or Jean-François Oeben, is absolutely charming.

It bears the stamp (which we consider apocryphal) of Louis Dubois, as well as the mark of the Paris guild (also deemed spurious). Some collectors, having seen it on the Paris quays a few years ago, may be surprised by our assessment, as it was then described as:
“Serving console stamped L. Dubois. Parisian work from the Louis XV period, circa 1755–1760. Stamp L. Dubois and JME on the rear right upright, for Louis Dubois, master in 1754.”

From experience, one knows that a provincial dealer must show a certain humility when compared to those of the Left Bank… particularly when the latter belong to an expert guild. One might therefore imagine that our buyer made an excellent purchase at this price—especially considering that, some years ago, we had already identified as a forgery a far more unusual piece (a jardinière) from a gallery located, amusingly enough, just two doors away.

In any case, at €3,000 our buyer had no complaints, all the more so since our seller had acquired it for €15,000.

Dimensions: Height 86.5 cm x Width 121 cm x Depth 38 cm