Console and mirror Louis XV style; France, c. 1850.

Console and mirror Louis XV style; France, c. 1850.
Carved and gilded wood with marble top.
Presents restorations on the board.
Measurements: 266 x 158 x 48 cm.
Set consisting of a console and a Louis XV style mirror. The mirror has a structure divided into three sections with carved and gilded wood profiles, decorated with rococo motifs. It has a rectangular molded perimeter, with a top finish in the form of flowers and veins that form a crest. In the case of the console, the piece is supported on four cabriole legs topped with scrolls that are joined together at the bottom. The skirt of the console is notable for its openwork ornamentation that seems to start from the shoulders of the front legs and flow along the lower perimeter of the top.
These types of pieces were highly valued during the period as the taste for the decorative arts grew in the European courts in the late 18th century, and throughout the 19th century when superfluous luxury and the desire to possess small, exquisite things became widespread among the nobility and gentry. The Louis XV style, also known as rococo, is characterized by refined elegance, delicate asymmetry and a taste for the ornamental and intimate. Emerging in France during the first half of the 18th century, this style reflects a courtly sensibility that favors soft curves, natural motifs such as rocailles, flowers and shells, and a palette of light, harmonious colors. In furniture and decorative arts, the monumentality of the Baroque is abandoned in favor of lighter and more sensual forms, suitable for the private spaces of the aristocracy.