Pair of Neoclassical Silver-Plated Brass Side Tables, Attributed to Maison Jansen, France, circa 1940

A pair of elegant side tables of neoclassical inspiration, attributed to the celebrated Parisian house Maison Jansen, each presenting two tiers in silver-plated metal supported and separated by slender fluted legs in polished brass. The upper tier provides a generous surface for display whilst the lower shelf affords practical storage without diminishing the refined linearity of the whole. The juxtaposition of the cool shimmer of the silver plate and the warmer golden tone of the brass produces a chromatic tension characteristic of the finest French decorative metalwork of the inter-war period.

Maison Jansen, the legendary Paris-based firm founded in 1880, was the pre-eminent purveyor of high-quality decorative furniture and objects to international royalty, heads of state, and the most distinguished private collectors of the twentieth century. During the 1930s, Jansen’s workshops produced some of the most refined neoclassical furniture in the French tradition, characterised by strict proportional discipline, superb material quality, and consummate technical execution. Tables of this type — with their attenuated fluted legs, two-tier structure, and bimetallic finish — are entirely consistent with the firm’s known production of this period.

In very good condition consistent with age, displaying minor surface wear to the silver plating in keeping with eight decades of careful use; the brass retains a fine warmth of patina. Sold as a pair, these tables suit a wide range of placements — as bedside tables, as side tables in a drawing room, or as stand-alone display tables in an entrance hall or gallery setting.