Large Two-Tier Chrome & Glass Coffee Table, France circa 1970

This large and handsomely proportioned two-tier coffee table represents the French modernist aesthetic at its most architectural, combining a generous 131-centimetre rectangular form with a precision-engineered chrome-plated steel frame of considerable quality. Produced in France around 1970, it belongs to a distinguished tradition of high-quality chrome furniture that characterised the most elegant interiors of the period.

The frame is constructed from square-section chrome-plated steel tubing, its corner joints elegantly resolved with bent-tube construction that maintains a continuous profile around the perimeter of both tiers. A decorative perforated chrome rail runs along the top edge of the frame on all four sides, adding a refined and characteristic period detail that recalls the precision of the finest 1970s French metalwork.

The two glass surfaces — a clear glass top panel and a lower shelf — sit within the chrome framework to create a piece of compelling visual lightness despite its generous scale. At just 36 centimetres in height and a footprint of 131 by 71.5 centimetres, the table maintains the low, horizontal emphasis that made this format so desirable in the open-plan interiors of the period, providing ample surface area at both levels.

In excellent vintage condition, the chrome strong and bright throughout, the glass panels clean and undamaged. A versatile and well-resolved piece of French modernism, perfectly suited to both period and contemporary settings.