Small Round Brass Coffee Table by Maison Baguès, French Work, Circa 1940

This charming circular coffee table in patinated brass is a characteristic work from the distinguished Parisian house Maison Baguès, dating from circa 1940. The delicate construction employs the naturalistic ornamental vocabulary for which the house was celebrated: scrolling foliate branches, sinuous curves and intricately worked botanical motifs create a structure of remarkable lightness, combining elegance with exceptional craftsmanship. The circular top rests on a base of refined openwork metalwork of great finesse.

Maison Baguès was founded in 1840 on the Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, swiftly establishing itself as one of the premier French houses for decorative bronze and brass objects, chandeliers, wall sconces and furniture mounts. Drawing on a vocabulary of naturalist ornament — branches, leaves, flowers, birds and insects rendered in exquisitely worked metal — the house furnished the great Parisian hôtels particuliers and the most prestigious residences worldwide. During the 1930s and 1940s, Baguès attained its greatest international fame, counted among its clients the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and supplied luminaires to the celebrated French ocean liners.

This table makes an exceptional addition to a salon or boudoir, where it may serve equally as a side table beside an armchair or sofa or as a display surface for a cherished collection of objects. Its modest scale and refined ornament ensure harmonious integration in both period-furnished interiors and contemporary rooms seeking a note of Parisian historical elegance. A true piece of French decorative heritage, bearing the hallmarks of one of the great names in the history of the applied arts.