Brass Swan-Neck Tripod Coffee Table with Round Glass Top, Maison Jansen

This elegant coffee table rests on a tripod base of polished brass, each of the three legs shaped as a sinuous swan's neck terminating in a stylised head at the foot. The three necks converge to support a circular glass top, creating a composition of refined lightness in which the sculptural elegance of the bird motif and the transparency of the glass play off each other to wonderful effect. The brass has developed a warm, mellow patina consistent with its age and noble origin.

The swan motif is deeply embedded in the iconography of Maison Jansen, reflecting the house's enduring affinity with the Empire style in which the swan — Napoleon's personal emblem — played a central decorative role. Founded in Paris in 1880 and brought to international renown under the direction of Stéphane Boudin from the 1930s, Jansen supplied the grandest interiors of the twentieth century, from the Élysée Palace to the residences of European royalty and American society. Tables of this type, combining neoclassical animal motifs with the modern transparency of glass, exemplify Jansen's ability to translate historical references into objects of timeless sophistication.

A coffee table of this quality would anchor a sitting room with understated authority. Its brass-and-glass composition pairs naturally with silk-upholstered seating, lacquered surfaces, and fine antiques, but equally holds its own in a refined contemporary interior. As a piece bearing the prestige of Maison Jansen, it is both a functional object of daily pleasure and a collector's piece of the first order.