Games table - Wood - System “pull-out action”

French mahogany game table with a “pull-out action” system — Louis XV / Rococo Revival style, c. 1850–1870.

Object: gaming table / folding card table
Origin: France
Dating: c. 1850–1870, probably c. 1860
Style: Louis XV Revival / Rococo Revival
Historical period: Second French Empire
Wood: mahogany and, possibly, a figured veneer of mahogany on some surfaces
Interior: game surface covered with green fabric/felt
Mechanism: pull-out action, with extendable back frame and rear legs
Closed dimensions: 72 × 80 × 40 cm
Open dimensions: 72 × 80 × 80 cm

Elegant nineteenth-century French mahogany gaming table, serpentine in form and inspired by Louis XV, featuring a folding top and an unusual extendable pull-out action mechanism.

When closed, it presents the appearance of an elegant console table, with only 40 cm depth. The rectangular top features a pronounced serpentine outline, rounded corners and successive peripheral mouldings.

The tabletop wood displays attractive figure and a deep reddish-brown tone, with patina acquired through use.

The front waist follows the motion of the top, describing an undulating line with a slight downward curve at the center. In the center is a carved and pierced decorative composition, consisting of a central flower, leaves, scrolls and symmetrical volutes.

At the mounts of the front legs, carved flowers and vegetal elements emerge as well, creating continuity between waist and supports.

The four legs are tall, elegant and boldly bowed, cabriole-type, ending in narrow feet that are slightly curled. The design is very characteristic of the nineteenth-century revival of French Louis XV furniture.

The mechanism — one of the piece’s strong points: this is where the table becomes most interesting. The top consists of two halves hinged together. To transform the table:
- the rear frame is pulled horizontally;
- the two rear legs move together with that frame;
- the depth increases from about 40 cm to 80 cm;
- the top is then opened over the expanded structure;
- a practically square gaming table is obtained, 80 × 80 cm.

This mechanism is documented in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French furniture, described as pull-out action, serpentine top, cabriole legs with carved flowers and a central carved apron.

Interior: Open, the top reveals the game surface covered in blue-green fabric, bounded by the mahogany frame itself. Signs of use and tonal alteration to the covering are visible.

Louis XV characteristics are evident in: cabriole legs; curves and counter-curves; serpentine waist; carved flowers; volutes and vegetal motifs; light and elegant overall design.

Historical context is primarily the Second French Empire, when Louis XV and Louis XVI styles returned strongly to fashion.

The combination of construction, mechanism, mouldings, carving, proportions, type of legs and aging is consistent with the latter half of the early nineteenth century.

Condition: The piece shows visible signs of use and aging, but preserves very well the original reading and elegance.