Black Lacquered and Gilt Metal Console, Jean-Claude Mahey, France, circa 1970

This striking console by Jean-Claude Mahey is a masterwork of French design of the 1970s, combining the depth and opulence of high-gloss black lacquer with the precision of gilt metal detailing. The form is architectural and linear — a long, low rectangular top surface supported by a structure of gilt metal uprights whose warm tonality contrasts sharply with the deep black of the lacquered body above. The overall silhouette commands horizontal authority, well suited to large contemporary and period interiors alike.

Jean-Claude Mahey emerged as one of the most distinctive French designers of the 1970s, his work consistently exploring the tension between the sensuous richness of lacquer — a technique with deep roots in both Asian and European decorative arts — and the industrial precision of gilt metal. Working in Paris during the height of the post-modernist moment in French interior design, Mahey produced furniture of strong formal vocabulary and exceptional craftsmanship, his pieces entering the collections of the most celebrated French decorators of the period.

The present console, signed by the maker, represents a rare and documented example of Mahey’s output in lacquered wood and gilt metal. The combination of black lacquer and gold has perennial appeal in the luxury market, and signed Mahey pieces command growing attention at international auction houses. This console would serve equally as a hall or salon console, providing both decorative presence and generous surface in any distinguished interior.