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Tripod table
Weisweiler, Adam, born 1744 - died 1820 - Enlarge image
Tripod table
- Place of origin:
Paris, France (made)
- Date:
ca. 1780 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Weisweiler, Adam, born 1744 - died 1820 (designer and maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Veneered in mahogany on a carcase of oak, with gilt-bronze mounts
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by the Condesa de Valencia de Don Juan
- Museum number:
W.11-1919
- Gallery location:
In Store
In the second half of the 18th century in Paris the term ‘à l'anglais’ (‘in the English fashion’) became a form of praise. Everything from English politics to English ceramics was admired. Mahogany furniture was seen as essentially English and some of the most fashionable cabinetmakers, including Adam Weisweiler, who made this piece, turned to it as offering a wholly new style. They abandoned the complex marquetry of several different types of veneer that had been fashionable in France a little earlier, and instead used overall veneers of mahogany for their pieces.
However, as often happens when the taste of one country is copied in another, the French unconsciously adapted the English mahogany style to their established fashions. The rich gilt-bronze mounts on this table are in the tradition of French cabinetmaking and give this table a particularly Parisian air of luxury that would not have been seen on many tripod tables made in England at the time.
