Console Table

Little is known about eighteenth-century forged-iron furniture beyond its having been made by metalsmiths who forged interior and outdoor balustrades, balconies, fences, and gates. The art of ironwork flourished in Paris and many other cities and towns throughout France. This table is similar to a few others made in southeastern France, more precisely in Provence and in the Comtat Venaissin, the region around the city of Avignon, where a tradition of fine ironwork dates to the Middle Ages. Not necessarily made for the outdoors, these tables primarily furnished vestibules, salons, and dining rooms. This rare example combines fine forged iron and gilt repoussé iron—where the metal is ornamented and shaped by hammering from the reverse side.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Baguès, Paris. Elsie de Wolfe. Frick, 1914.

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.