TABLE À LA DU CERCEAU with Italian-style extensions Val-de-Loire,... Lot 44

TABLE À LA DU CERCEAU with Italian-style extensions Val-de-Loire, second half of the 16th century, circa 1560-1580 Walnut Restoration and maintenance H. 86.5 cm, W. closed 137 cm - open 255 cm, D. 79 cm This table with balusters, porticoed at the ends, is based on the designs engraved by Androuet du Cerceau (Paris, 1511 - Annecy, 1585/86) for the architecture of the piece of furniture (Fig. 1). Its elegant sobriety links it to a trend of "classical" inspiration that appeared in the Île-de-France, Lyonnais and Val-de-Loire regions in the second half of the 16th century. Our table has a double-layered top made of "bois de nouhier qui se tire" (wood that can be pulled out), with so-called "Italian" extensions that slide to double its length. It tops a wide belt decorated with spinning tops at the corners and carried at the ends by a base mounted on scrolled runners and carved with pennants, connected by a central crosspiece. Each of the side uprights of the base forms a portico. It is composed of a pair of twin columns with a finely ringed shaft, ending in a baluster. Acanthus scrolls stand out at the top and support the belt, the height of which is equivalent to that of the crosspiece supporting three turned balusters, linked by arcatures. The particularly refined double-cut belt, the generously proportioned crosspiece, and the architectural rigour that heralds the stricter tables of the end of the century allow us to locate its origin in the Val-de-Loire (fig. 2). The structure of the seven-legged base is one of the most balanced compositions created by the huchiers of this period based on the drawings of Du Cerceau (fig. 3).