Brass Coffee Table with Black Lacquered Glass Top, Maison Jansen, France, circa 1940

A refined Art Déco coffee table by Maison Jansen, its architectural rectangular form supported by a polished brass frame of great structural elegance. The top is composed of a thick panel of black lacquered glass, creating a striking chromatic contrast between the warm burnished metal and the deep, reflective surface above. The proportions are characteristically Janséniste — low, horizontal, and commanding in scale.

Maison Jansen, founded in Paris in 1880 by Dutch-born decorator Jean-Henri Jansen, became the most celebrated interior decoration firm of the twentieth century, furnishing the residences of royalty, heads of state, and the most discerning private collectors worldwide. The atelier was renowned for its mastery of gilt and lacquered brass — a signature material that defined the Art Déco and Transition styles of the 1930s and 1940s. This coffee table exemplifies the firm’s celebrated ability to combine industrial materials with aristocratic refinement.

A rare and desirable example of Jansen’s commercial production of the period, this table retains its original lacquered glass top and brass patina, bearing the hallmarks of quality craftsmanship that have ensured the enduring market value of Maison Jansen pieces at the world’s leading auction houses.