Neoclassical Mahogany and Brass Side Table with Curule X-Legs, in the Style of Jansen, France, circa 1940

This refined side table exemplifies the neoclassical design language that was at the heart of Maison Jansen’s production in the 1930s and 1940s, drawing on the antique vocabulary of Rome and Greece to produce furniture of timeless elegance. The table is constructed in dark mahogany throughout, with a shaped and moulded top above a shallow belt drawer fitted with a small brass ring pull. The drawer front is inscribed within a simply moulded frame, its proportions precisely calibrated to sit in harmony with the X-form structure below.

The defining feature of the piece is its curule base — four legs arranged as two interlocking X-forms in the manner of the Roman curule chair, a motif that passed from antiquity through the Directoire and Empire periods and was revived by French decorators of the inter-war years with particular enthusiasm. Here the legs are turned with a delicate barley-twist spiral on their outer faces, lending movement and refinement to what might otherwise be an austere geometry. At the centre of each X-junction, a polished brass sphere provides a point of accent and structural reinforcement.

The legs are united at their base by a brass stretcher that links the two X-frames, completing the composition and adding structural integrity. The warm glow of the brass hardware — ring pull, sphere finials and stretcher — creates a gentle counterpoint to the depth of the mahogany, a contrast that was one of the hallmarks of the Jansen aesthetic during this period, when the house was producing its most refined interpretations of neoclassical forms.

Measuring 50 by 31 centimetres with a height of 54.5 centimetres, this table has ideal proportions for use as a bedside table, a lamp table beside a sofa or armchair, or as an accent piece in an entrance hall. Compact but full of presence, it represents the neoclassical tradition at its most distilled.