Set of Neoclassical Brass Nesting Tables with Glass Shelves, French Work, France, circa 1970

This attractive suite of brass nesting tables exemplifies the neoclassical design aesthetic that flourished in French decorative art throughout the 1970s, producing elegant small-format furniture that drew on the classical vocabulary of the previous generation — twisted brass profiles, light glass surfaces, rectilinear geometry — while reinterpreting it in a mode suited to the contemporary interior. Each table in the set is two-tiered, with a principal surface at the top and a secondary lower shelf, both glazed in clear glass and framed in gilded brass.

The brass components are profiled with a delicate twist or rope-turn, a traditional decorative technique that adds movement and refined detail to what might otherwise be plain rails and stretchers. This torsion of the metal imparts a consistent ornamental texture to the frame that catches the light at every angle, giving the tables a liveliness and presence out of proportion to their modest dimensions. The clear glass panels on both shelves provide transparent surfaces that maintain the visual openness of the composition.

The tables graduate in size and nest one within another when not in use, occupying the footprint of the largest while stacking compactly. Deployed individually, they can be arranged in a stepped configuration beside a sofa or armchair, creating a tiered display surface at different heights — ideal for books, objects, lamps and accessories. The largest table measures 48.5 by 37 centimetres at a height of 57 centimetres.

In their combination of twisted brass, clear glass and neoclassical proportions, these tables place themselves firmly in the tradition of refined French decorative production. Equally at home beside a period sofa or in a contemporary interior, their warm brass tonality and light glass surfaces integrate effortlessly into almost any scheme.