Painted Steel & Gilt Coffee Table with Antique Mirror Top, in the Style of Jacques Quinet, France c.1940

A refined and evocative coffee table in the distinctive manner of Jacques Quinet, the influential French designer whose works of the 1940s and 1950s are characterised by the dramatic juxtaposition of dark lacquered iron with gilded ornament and antique mirror surfaces. This combination of dark structure and warm reflective top is one of the defining signatures of the Quinet aesthetic.

The rectangular top presents a beautifully aged mirror surface, its mercury glass showing the characteristic warm foxing and mottling of old mirror — a prized patination that adds greatly to the piece’s decorative appeal. The top is set within a richly carved and gilt apron frame of pronounced profile. The four legs are turned in dark painted black steel, slender and precise in their form.

A minor corner chip to the mirror glass is noted, consistent with the age and character of the piece, and does not materially diminish its considerable decorative presence.

A distinguished piece in the Quinet manner, in otherwise very good condition, the combination of aged mirror and gilt ornament offering a warm and distinguished addition to a refined interior.