Empire-style pedestal; France, 20th century

Empire-style pedestal; France, 20th century
Mahogany; bronze
Measurements: 138 x 50 x 50 cm.

Empire-style pedestal, crafted with a mahogany-veneered wooden frame and gilded bronze accents. With a circular base and slender silhouette, the piece features a cylindrical waist adorned with military- and classical-inspired bronze appliqués, highlighted by a central trophy motif. It rests on three cabriole legs that rise from the top with bronze appliqués in the shape of chimeras and descend to end in claws. The legs are joined at the bottom by a molding, on whose central axis stands a small bronze statuette in the round depicting a warrior.

The Empire style, which emerged in France under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century, revolutionized European furniture; the guéridon became one of the most representative and functional types of parlor furniture of the era. Throughout the 20th century, the great cabinetmaking workshops revived and freely reinterpreted these neoclassical designs, keeping the tradition alive to create pieces of great decorative elegance.