Set of Neoclassical Brass Nesting Tables, Maison Jansen, France, circa 1940

A characteristic set of neoclassical brass nesting tables by Maison Jansen, each piece demonstrating the atelier’s mastery of the small-format table in gilded metal. The tables are constructed in brass throughout, with slender rectangular frames and legs of elegant taper, their proportions carefully calibrated to nest within one another with the seamless precision of the finest French workshop manufacture. The graduated sizes allow the set to function as a compact unit against a wall or beside a sofa, then to be drawn out individually as occasion demands — the quintessential expression of versatile luxury.

Maison Jansen, established in Paris in 1880 and by the mid-twentieth century acknowledged as the pre-eminent interior decoration firm in the world, produced nesting tables in brass in a variety of neoclassical configurations throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Their small-format brass furniture was among the most widely admired of their output, combining portability and practicality with the material refinement and formal discipline that defined the Jansen aesthetic. Sets of this type were used in the drawing rooms and salons of the most distinguished European and American residences.

This set retains its original brass structure in good patinated condition, the metal having developed a warm tonality over its decades of existence that enhances rather than diminishes its decorative appeal. Complete sets of Maison Jansen brass nesting tables of this quality and scale are increasingly sought after at auction, their versatility and the prestige of the maker ensuring consistent demand among both private collectors and professional decorators.