Serving Table with a Removable Octagonal Brass Top with a Gallery and Handles, Folding Base, Circa 1950

This serving table consists of a removable octagonal brass top, with a mirror base, bordered by a moulded gallery punctuated with seed finials at the corners and flanked by two scrolled handles to ease serving. It rests on an X-shaped folding base, in brass tube, joined by stretcher bars and secured by small chains, ending in small ball feet.

This type of tray table, at once a serving table and an occasional table, illustrates the French art of entertaining in the 1950s; its vocabulary — gilt brass, finials, mirror base — links it to the spirit of the production of Maison Jansen and Baguès, great purveyors of refined small movable pieces.

Condition report: Good general condition. Brass with an even gilt patina, the mirror base possibly showing probable spotting or micro-scratches inherent to age; folding mechanism functional. A practical and elegant piece, perfect for serving in the drawing room or as a side table.