Brass And Black Lacquer Coffee Table With Smoked Glass

Brass and Black Lacquer Coffee Table with Smoked Glass, Guy Lefèvre for Maison Jansen, France, circa 1970 This striking coffee table is a quintessential expression of the modernist aesthetic cultivated by Guy Lefèvre during his tenure as principal designer at Maison Jansen in the 1970s.

The piece combines a square frame in polished brass with a band of black lacquer that defines the perimeter of the table, while the surface is inset with a thick slab of smoked glass. The interplay of warm gold, matte black, and dark grey creates a refined chromatic tension characteristic of the finest French design of the decade. Guy Lefèvre joined Maison Jansen in the late 1960s, bringing a rigorous modernist sensibility to one of France's most venerable decorating houses. Under his creative direction, Jansen produced a body of furniture and objects that translated the classical vocabulary of the house into a bold, graphic language informed by the international minimalism of the period.

This coffee table, with its disciplined geometric form and luxurious material combination, exemplifies the Lefèvre–Jansen synthesis: the timeless refinement of the grand maison inflected by the daring of the modernist designer. In excellent vintage condition, the brass retains its warm golden lustre, the black lacquer its deep and pristine finish, and the smoked glass its characteristic atmospheric depth.

The generous 90 × 90 cm surface makes this a highly practical centrepiece for a living room or reception space. A distinguished and immediately recognisable example of 1970s French high-end design at its most assured.