Bouillotte table stamped J.Lapie, Paris Louis XVI period

Table bouillotte stamped J.Lapie, Paris Louis XVI period

Beautiful table bouillotte* of circular form in marquetry of precious woods (rosewood, boxwood, rosewood, green tinted sycamore).
It opens with a drawer in front and rests on four fluted spindle feet.
The crosspieces are decorated with a delicate "marquetry to the queen '' composed of a frieze of interlacing centered on four leaves. The top is made of Aleppo breccia marble and is surrounded by a bronze gallery with a fine openwork design. (restoration to the marble)

Nice state of conservation.

Stamped J.Lapie* and JME hallmark under the frame.

French work of the Louis the XVIth period by Jean Lapie.

Dimensions :
Height : 70,5 cm ; Diameter : 50,5 cm

* The table bouillotte has several uses, it serves as a table to write, eat and play.
But it is indeed of the eponymous game that it holds its name.
The Bouillotte is indeed a game of cards of chance and intimidation dating from the 1770s, that is to say from the end of the reign of Louis the XVth or the beginning of that of Louis the XVIth, and this contrarily to a very widespread idea of its invention during the Directory.
Bouillotte was not a new game, but an adaptation of Brelan that allowed many people to participate. Where a game of Brelan was limited in time, Bouillotte only stopped because of a lack of participants. Although only five players were active, sitting at the table, others waited their turn to replace one of the five as soon as he or she was discarded. The decommissioned player could return to the game in turn. This characteristic of the Bouillotte was sometimes referred to as the Perpetual Three of a Kind.
Bouillotte was played assiduously until the middle of the 19th century. To equip the living rooms, cabinetmakers made Bouillotte tables that were not necessarily covered with marble, but could be of various woods such as mahogany. The Bouillotte table was round, with a size depending on the number of players, which could go from two to five, and covered with a green sheet. When it was covered with a marble slab, it was encircled by a copper gallery in which the stopper was embedded, covered with leather on one side and a green carpet on the other, giving the table three functions : pedestal table, writing table and playing table.
To light the table during the evenings of play, initially one placed there torches known as "of Bouillotte", then lamps named similarly.
* Jean Lapie said « The young » is a cabinetmaker born in Paris in 1734 and received master on July 31st, 1762, he is the brother of Nicolas Alexandre Lapie.
His workshop-store, where he works for merchants and upholsterers, is established rue de Charenton.
His production was not very important but he brought diversity and fantasy to his works.
His Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture is decorated with veneer, mahogany, rosewood, ebony and inlaid with flowers on a dark background, geometric designs with tiles or lacquer and varnish in the Far East taste.

Our opinion :

With its luxurious breche d'Alep marble and its marquetry to the queen, the table that we present is a luxury variant of the traditional mahogany bouillotte table.
It was made in the decade 1770/1780 and thus directly follows the appearance of this new game in the living rooms of the nobility.
Easily placed, it can be used for several purposes or simply serve as a small piece of furniture, in the middle of a room or at the end of a sofa.