A CARVED GILTWOOD CONSOLE TABLE LOUIS XV, SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

with a moulded mottled peach, grey and white marble top above a c-scroll cartouche centred by a cornucopia of flowers on inward curved cabriole legs joined by a pierced  stretcher flanked by a dragon terminating in scrolled feet, the knees carved with a stylised patera, each side frieze with a scallopshell, the frame carved with flowers, acanthus and scrolls; regilt

Partridge Fine Arts, London 
Property of a Private Collector

Partridge Recent Acquisitions, 1997, no. 80, illustrated.

In overall very good conserved condition. Colour of gilding less greenish more golden and attractive than in the catalogue photograph.Very attractive detail to carving. Feet at front may have been raised slightly as the blocks appear to be later. There is a later wooden batten beneath the top to support the marble top.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature:
Bruno Pons, De Paris à Versailles 1699-1736, Strasbourg, 1983, fig. 424, Fo. 59 and 60, figs. 506-511, fig. 512.  

This superbly carved console table may well have been inspired by the engravings for console tables by Francois Roumier, published in his `Livre de plusieurs Desseins de pieds de tables en console...' (pl. 1 à 6). Bibl. d' Art et d' Archéologie (Cat. C) illustrated by Pons, op. cit., plates 506-511, reproduced here in fig.1. It is worthwhile noting plates 507, with a similarly inspired pierced stretcher and dragons on the legs, and 508, for similar cartouches on the knees, scrolled boss in the centre of the frieze and dragons on the stretcher, the latter also found in plate 510. 
François Roumier (b.1748) was a French ornamental sculptor and furniture designer and by 1720 is recorded as working for the Bâtiments du Roi; in 1721, he became sculpteur du roi and worked at the Royal palaces and châteaux on boiseries and other carved wood fittings.
Finally Pons, op. cit., illustrates in plate 424 fol. 59 & 60, the Carnet of Mathieu Legoupil, showing designs for dragons, `Oiseux chimériques', Kunstbibliothek, Berlin.The dragon first appears to have been incorporated as a decorative feature in furniture when depicted in a design for a console table executed by Jean-Bernard-Honoré Tureau, called Toro (1661-1735), illustrated in Livre de Tables de Diverses Formes, published in Paris by C.N. Lepas Dubuisson in 1716. The dragon is depicted in much the same attitude on the supports of the present lot, resting on its forelegs with open mouth hissing and wings raised. This exotic creature would become an important device in the rococo period, where it can be found on decorative boiseries, consoles and bronzes d'ameublement. The influential ornemaniste Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754) incorporated this feature in a drawing in his Nouveaux Desseins de Pieds de Tables, published by P.J. Mariette in 1734.