Pair of Mid-Century Brass Side Tables with Smoked Glass Shelves, French Work, France, circa 1970

A pair of side tables of mid-century design in polished brass, each presenting two tiers — the surfaces in smoked glass that lend a cool, cinematic opacity to what might otherwise be a strictly functional form. The frames, in polished brass of square-section tube, describe a clean rectangular geometry entirely in the spirit of French decorative design of the 1970s, where the interplay of warm metallic lustre and tinted glass became a defining material signature. The tall and relatively narrow proportions of each table make them well suited to placement beside a sofa or armchair, where their verticality and semi-transparency animate rather than crowd the surrounding space.

The smoked glass and polished brass combination emerged in French decorative furniture as a particularly sophisticated variant on the glass-and-metal aesthetic that dominated the luxury interior market of the 1970s. Where clear glass offers pure transparency, smoked glass introduces a degree of mystery and depth, its grey-bronze tint mediating between the warm gold of the brass and the surrounding room with an effect of veiled reflection. This play of light and material is characteristic of the best French mid-century production, which consistently sought effects that were at once graphic and sensuous.

In very good condition consistent with age, the brass retaining a warm golden lustre and the smoked glass shelves intact and clear. Minor wear commensurate with five decades of use. Sold as a pair, these tables offer an elegant solution wherever a refined mid-century side table is sought.