Late 19Thc French Iron & Marble Pâtisserie Table C.1900

The charming and time-worn French pâtisserie low table, having a rectangular white Carrara inset marble top to an ornate iron base of scrolling volutes and intersecting spiral stretchers, all with a wonderfully dry oxidised surface from decades of use, surviving from the zeniths of the nineteenth century.

The table is in overall good condition with no major flaws or deficiencies to note. The marble has taken on a soft, lived-in patina, while the ironwork shows layers of old paint, wear and oxidisation in all the right places, creating a quietly decorative piece without any restoration or interference. There is wear, pitting and scattered marks and age to the marble and four small, drilled holes to the top. She is structurally sound and honest. The splattered paint suggests it may have been used in an artists studio.

Pâtisserie tables emerged in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, designed specifically for the preparation and display of pastries, breads and confections. Their construction reflects their purpose: a cool, durable marble surface ideal for rolling dough, tempering chocolate and working sugar, set over a ventilated iron base that allowed air to circulate around the marble to keep it naturally chilled. The ornate scrollwork, so characteristic of these tables, was not merely decorative but also provided structural strength without adding weight, enabling bakers to move the tables easily within their shops. Used everywhere from provincial boulangeries to elegant Parisian pâtisseries, these tables combined utility with quiet flourish; practical working furniture made with the grace and craftsmanship of the period.

A versatile piece, being low and open, giving it the easy elegance found in old boulangeries and village cafés which would work equally well at home in a kitchen, conservatory or garden room or as the perfect coffee table.