Neoclassical Brass Coffee Table with Chinoiserie Lacquered Top by Maison Jansen

A sumptuous neoclassical coffee table whose gilded brass structure — with its fluted columns, strict entablature, and hoof feet — embodies the antique vocabulary so dear to the great Parisian decorators of the 1930s and 1940s. The lacquered wooden top, finely painted with chinoiserie scenes, provides a striking decorative counterpoint: imperial courtiers in ceremonial dress, flowering gardens, folding screens, and pagodas rendered in a warm, luminous palette. This dialogue between neoclassical rigour and the exotic grace of the Orient is one of the most recognizable signatures of the Maison Jansen production.

Founded in Paris in 1880 by Jean-Henri Jansen, Maison Jansen was for over a century the foremost interior decoration house in the world. Its commissions adorned the royal palaces of London, Tehran, and Riyadh, the grand embassies of Washington, and the private residences of international aristocracy and high society. Under the artistic direction of Stéphane Boudin — who guided the house from the 1930s onward — Jansen developed a particularly bold taste for stylistic crossover, combining the forms of eighteenth-century French classicism with Oriental motifs of extraordinary refinement. Tables with lacquered chinoiserie tops were among the most sought-after models of this period.

A masterpiece of eclectic refinement, this table testifies to Jansen's ability to transcend fashion and create objects that are timeless — on the borderline between furniture and work of art. The rarity of models with hand-painted lacquered tops, combined with the high quality of the brass mount, makes this piece a particularly coveted find on the international decorative arts market. A rare opportunity to acquire a fragment of the history of the grand Parisian taste of the twentieth century.