Rare Steel & Wrought Iron Coffee Table with Lava Stone Tiled Top, circa 1940

This remarkable coffee table is an exemplary piece of French ironwork at its most creative, dating from around 1940 when skilled smiths and decorative artists were producing furniture of real ambition from metal and natural stone. The combination of the warm volcanic tonality of the lava stone top with the dark, tactile presence of the forged iron base creates a piece of powerful material contrasts — archaic in character yet entirely sophisticated in conception.

The top is composed of individual lava stone tiles laid in a gridded composition, their natural surface displaying the characteristic russet, ochre and dark tawny tones of volcanic stone from the Auvergne region of France. The iron frame that holds them in place runs around all four edges of the top, fitted with decorative rivets at the corners — a detail that underscores the craft quality of the piece. Below, the base employs a classic X-shaped stretcher between the four legs, a structural device both ancient in origin and entirely suited to the robust character of the materials.

At 106 cm long and 46 cm wide, with a height of just 36 cm, this is a notably low and elongated coffee table — one that reads almost as a long bench or pedestal when empty, and which gains an additional sculptural quality when in use. The slender proportions concentrate attention on the surface of the stone, allowing its rich, variegated texture to dominate the composition.

Tables of this type — combining handcrafted iron frames with lava stone or ceramic tile tops — have a strong and sustained collector following among those who appreciate the meeting of craft tradition and decorative art. Comparable pieces have been attributed to French smiths working in the arts-and-crafts tradition of the Auvergne; this example, with its confident structure and fine aged patina, represents the tradition at its most accomplished.