Tripod table or Guéridon; oak, veneered, porcelain plaque; stamped Jean-Henri Riesener, France or England, 1860-1880.

One of a pair of tripod stands or guéridons of oak, veneered with mahogany and ebony, and with gilt-bronze mounts. Each stand is raised on three short cabriole legs, jointed into an hexagonal block of solid mahogany, below a facetted (eight-sided) column, four of the facets set with gilt-bronze mounts of a continuous spiral of oak leaves around a zigzag. The faces of the block are set with gilt-bronze paterae and the tops of the legs are set with gilt-bronze acanthus and the edges with gilt-bronze gadrooning. The feet are set with gilt-bronze masks. The top surface is set with a porcelain plaque decorated with a central image of large pink and yellow roses tied with a blue bow, all on a white ground with a gold border, set against a blue and gold floral ground. The top has gilt-bronze diamond trellis mounts around the edge supported by a plain gilt-bronze band below.

Bequeathed by John Jones

The object is stamped Jean-Henri Riesener, which supports an original attribution to the period 1770-80, but it was almost certainly made in Paris in the period 1860-80

This stand is marked underneath with the stamp of J.H. Riesener, the most famous cabinetmaker in France in the 1770s and 1780s. However, the stamp is certainly false and was put on when the stand was made in about 1860–1880.

From about 1820 British collectors sought French porcelain-mounted furniture of the 18th century avidly. French and British furniture makers soon exploited this lucrative new market, making modern versions of these decorative pieces. Some were honest reproductions but some, like this stand, were made to deceive by the addition of false marks.

1035-1882