Neoclassical Brass and Green Marble Coffee Table by Raymond Subes, French Work, Circa 1940

A refined neoclassical coffee table in polished brass, featuring a rectangular top of richly veined green marble set within a brass frame, supported by four elegantly tapering legs united by a stretcher. The metalwork is executed with the precision and restrained ornamentation characteristic of the finest French atelier production of the 1940s, combining the classical vocabulary of fluted uprights, acanthus-inspired details, and geometric mouldings with a timeless sense of proportion and weight.

This table is attributed to Raymond Subes (1891–1970), one of the most distinguished French maîtres-ferronniers of the twentieth century. Trained under the masters Émile Robert and Edgar Brandt, Subes took over the prestigious Borderel & Robert workshop in Paris in 1919, directing it until his death and transforming it into one of the foremost ateliers of decorative metalwork in France. While celebrated above all for his monumental work in wrought iron — including landmark commissions for the ocean liner Normandie, the Palais de Chaillot, and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris — Subes was equally accomplished in brass and bronze, producing pieces of refined domestic scale for discerning private clients and leading decorators. His œuvre bridges magnificently the grandeur of Art Deco and the discipline of Neoclassicism.

This coffee table brings both sculptural presence and historical distinction to any interior. The warm glow of polished brass and the cool depths of the green marble create a compelling chromatic balance suited to period and contemporary rooms alike. Whether placed before a sofa in a drawing room, as an accent in an entrance hall, or as the centrepiece of a collector's cabinet, this exceptional piece offers the rare combination of a documented artistic provenance and enduring aesthetic authority.