Maison CHARLES

Maison CHARLES

MAISON CHARLES

Gilt Bronze and Lacquer Coffee Table

France, circa 1950–1960

An exceptionally elegant and highly decorative coffee table by Maison Charles, Paris, dating from circa 1950–1960. Preserved in its original condition, this sophisticated piece beautifully combines the refined metalwork and exotic decorative vocabulary for which Maison Charles became celebrated during the postwar period.

The architectural frame is executed in gilt bronze, with the four slender legs modeled in a richly textured palm-trunk motif. The naturalistic treatment of the bronze gives the structure an almost sculptural quality, while retaining the lightness and elegance characteristic of the finest French decorative arts of the period. Particularly distinctive are the extremities of the legs and the ornamental details along the edge, which terminate in graceful ram’s-horn forms, adding an unexpected classical element to the botanical composition.

The table is surmounted by a beautiful dark brown lacquered top, decorated with an elaborate Asian-inspired scene. Against the deep lacquered ground, a bird appears among flowering branches, bamboo and foliage, rendered in contrasting golden and ivory tones. The composition reflects the enduring fascination of French decorators with Asian art and the tradition of chinoiserie, here reinterpreted through the sophisticated vocabulary of mid-century French design.

A decorative stretcher connects the legs beneath the top, incorporating additional naturalistic bronze elements and giving this example a particularly elaborate presence. This feature also distinguishes the table from a closely related variant model without the stretcher, documented in the period literature.

With its combination of sculptural gilt bronze, exotic ornament and beautifully preserved lacquer decoration, this Maison Charles coffee table represents an especially refined example of the firm's production and an elegant expression of French luxury design of the 1950s and 1960s.

Literature: A variant of this model, without the stretcher between the legs, is illustrated in the Catalogue de la Société E.A. Charles & Fils, Paris, circa 1960s.

Price : 4,800.00

Materials / Techniques: Bronze, Lacquered wood