DESCRIPTION
An attractive late nineteenth-century French Napoleon III ebonised jardinière stand, decorated with brass stringing and inset with Sèvres-style painted porcelain plaques.
The moulded top is enclosed by a pierced brass gallery and incorporates a removable cover concealing the original jardinière compartment. The frieze is enriched with gilt decoration and inset with hand-painted porcelain plaques depicting pastoral scenes, while the whole is raised on slender turned and fluted legs united by a shaped cross stretcher centred with a turned finial.
Originally intended as an elegant planter for displaying flowering plants, jardinières of this type are now equally suited as decorative occasional tables or display stands. The combination of the ebonised finish, gilt decoration and painted porcelain gives the piece a refined decorative quality that works particularly well in both traditional and eclectic interiors.
DIMENSIONS
Height: 81cm
Width: 75cm
Depth: 45cm
CONDITION
The jardinière is structurally sound and presents well overall, with the expected marks, knocks and surface wear associated with age and use.
There are localised losses to the decorative brass inlay and stringing, most noticeably to the removable cover and areas of the frieze, together with wear to the ebonised finish and gilt decoration consistent with age. There is historic wear to one of the stretcher joints, although this does not affect the stability of the stand.
The original removable metal liner is no longer present.
Despite these age-related imperfections, the stand retains its attractive proportions, decorative porcelain plaques and elegant overall appearance, remaining an appealing example of late nineteenth-century French decorative furniture.