Neoclassical Brass Coffee Table with Fluted Legs, in the Style of Maison Jansen, French Work, Circa 1970

This elegant coffee table in polished brass displays the refined Neoclassical vocabulary associated with the finest Parisian interior decoration of the postwar era. The structure is supported on fluted legs in the antique manner, united by a lower stretcher that lends both structural elegance and visual rhythm. The top is fitted with a black lacquered glass panel, creating a dramatic chromatic contrast between the warmth of the brass and the lustrous depth of the lacquer.

The table is executed in the distinguished manner of Maison Jansen, the celebrated Parisian interior decoration firm that set the international standard for classical elegance throughout the twentieth century. Founded in 1880 on the rue Royale by the Dutch-born decorator Jean-Henri Jansen, the house was renowned for its masterful reinterpretation of historical styles — particularly the Louis XVI and Empire vocabulary — for the grand interiors of royalty, heads of state and international society. Under the direction of Stéphane Boudin from the 1930s, Jansen reached the pinnacle of its influence, creating interiors for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Kennedy White House and countless palatial residences worldwide.

This coffee table makes an ideal centrepiece for a formal sitting room or an intimate salon, where its combination of classical structure and refined materials creates an immediate statement of educated taste. Its proportions are perfectly suited to placement before a sofa or between a pair of armchairs, where the play of light on the brass fluting and the reflective quality of the lacquered glass top will draw the eye. A distinguished example of the Neoclassical revival in French decorative arts, bearing all the hallmarks of the finest period craftsmanship.