Set of Three Round Brass Nesting Tables with Silver-Rimmed Glass Tops, French Work, France, circa 1940

This elegant set of three round nesting tables represents a refined expression of French decorative art of the 1940s, combining the playful warmth of faux-bamboo gilded brass with the clarity of glass and the decorative precision of silvered rims. Each table stands on three slender legs fashioned in the faux-bamboo manner — the characteristic segmented, knotted brass form that evokes the natural material while transposing it into a precious metal idiom — joined at their base by a circular stretcher that echoes the round form of the tabletop above.

The round glass tops are fitted within a continuous silvered band that encircles each surface, creating a strong graphic contrast between the warm brass of the frame and the white-silver of the rim. This silvered border also serves a practical function, protecting the glass edge while lending each tabletop a finished, jewel-like quality. The clear glass inserts allow the brass framework below to remain visible, adding depth to the composition.

The three tables graduate in size, nesting one beneath the other when not in use and fanning out to create a layered arrangement when deployed independently. This format allows for maximum flexibility in a domestic setting: the tables can be grouped together as a centrepiece, separated to serve as occasional tables around a room, or slid back together when space is at a premium. The largest measures approximately 54.5 centimetres in diameter at a height of 49.5 centimetres.

The combination of faux-bamboo brass and silvered glass was a favoured decorative vocabulary in French interiors of the late 1930s and 1940s, employed by the great Parisian ateliers for pieces destined for the finest drawing rooms and boudoirs. This set, with its fine workmanship and consistent gilded patina, belongs to that distinguished tradition and remains equally at home in a period interior or in a carefully curated contemporary setting.