AN EXQUISITE STEEL AND GILT BRONZE CENTER TABLE WITH FOSSIL MARBLE TOP

11604 AN EXQUISITE STEEL AND GILT BRONZE CENTER TABLE WITH FOSSIL MARBLE TOP IN THE MANNER OF ADAM WEISWEILER Probably Paris. Nineteenth Century. Measurements: Width: 30″ (76.2 cm); Depth: 18 1/2″ (47 cm); Height: 29″ (73.6 cm)

Of steel and gilt bronze. The gray fossil marble top is inset with a hatched ‘D’ mold. The channeled frieze set with a floral mount to each centre. The whole raised on four tapering steel legs each headed by an acanthine square capital. Each leg terminating in a square gilt bronze toe. The whole united by a complex quadruple loop stretcher centered by a gilt bronze circular pierced basket.

Of the various materials from which antique pieces of furniture were fabricated, perhaps none is rarer or more prized than steel.

Since Peter I of Russia first commissioned his armorers at the Imperial Factory at Tula to make him elaborate folding stools of steel in the beginning of the 18th century, it was that country which set the standard for excellence in this medium. Catherine the Great, with her avid interest in the decorative arts, was to go further; she ordered her armorers to produce items of furniture and objects of literal jewelry-like quality in steel, containing embellishments formed as brilliant cut diamonds. The natural dazzling, icy brightness of the steel enhanced the diamond-like appearance. The Tula craftsmen became particularly advanced at imparting an array of bright colors to the steel itself including blues, pink and mauve, by means of complex chemical processes that can not be replicated, nor apparently even explained, today.

Full research report available on request.