Draw-Top Center Table
In the second half of the nineteenth century, this table belonged to the French collector Maurice Chabrières-Arlès, who amassed an important collection of decorative arts, celebrated above all for its sixteenth-century French furniture. Chabrières-Arlès acquired this table from Louis Carrand, the son of the collector, dealer, and restorer Jean-Baptiste Carrand, principal adviser to the Russian collector Peter Soltykoff. The table has been heavily restored, probably by Carrand, but has many carved and construction details that suggest a sixteenth-century origin. This table is related to a small group of French Renaissance tables, including one in the collection of the Louvre Museum, that incorporate architectural elements such as consoles, columns, balusters, and arcades in their design. It is unclear whether the model originated in France or Italy, as artistic exchange between the two countries was frequent at the time, but this particular piece seems to have been inspired by prints by the French architect, designer, and engraver Jacques Androuet du Cerceau (1510–1584).
Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.
Louis Carrand, Lyon. Chabrière-Arlès, Lyon and Paris. Duveen. Frick, 1916.
Source: Furniture in The Frick Collection: Italian and French Renaissance, French 18th and 19th Centuries (Pt. I). Volume V. New York: The Frick Collection, 1992.
