Louis XV console table, Languedoc circa 1740

A rare console table with a large drawer in the front.

It rests on four cabriole legs ending in discreet deer hooves.

The legs are connected by shaped and molded stretchers.

The decoration is characterized by a particularly vibrant and intricately detailed Rococo style. The central stretcher features a large, unfurled shell motif whose radiating ribs serve as the starting point for a network of asymmetrical scrolls and counter-curves. These fluid movements extend laterally with acanthus leaves and volutes that unfold freely across the wood.

The uprights

Feature beautiful wrought iron ornamentation, including drop handles with openwork plaques and a keyhole escutcheon.

A breccia marble top is set into a molded wooden frame that follows the contours of the console.

In good condition, restored to the marble top and one rear leg, original but later added keyhole escutcheon.

Languedoc work from the early Louis XV period, circa 1730-1740.

Dimensions:

Width: 110 cm; Height: 79 cm; Depth: 52 cm

Our opinion:

The console table we are presenting displays a decoration still deeply influenced by the Regency style. The palmettes, symmetrical shells, and finely stylized ornaments bear witness to this heritage, but the very light form foreshadows the emerging Louis XV style, allowing us to date it to the 1730s-1740s.
Our piece is a rare four-legged console table with a "perruquière" design, meaning it opens with a large drawer in the front, a feature particularly prized for its decorative and highly functional nature.

With its vigorous, high-relief carving, the quality of its openwork ironwork, and the use of a remarkable inlaid Aleppo Breccia marble, this piece clearly belongs to the tradition of the great workshops of the Arles and Aix-en-Provence region. However, the use of cherry wood, certain ornamental motifs, and the design of the feet reveal a Languedocian sensibility and bear close similarities to furniture produced in the Castres region during the first half of the 18th century.

This dual inspiration is characteristic of the productions of southern France, and more specifically of the Montpellier and Pézenas region, an artistic crossroads where Provençal and Languedocian traditions met.