Marble-Topped Table
Marble Table
3rd Quarter of the 19th Century
Narra and Marble
height: 30 1/2” (77 cm)
diameter: 39”(99 cm)
Starting bid: P 200,000
Provenance: Manila
Marble-topped tables were always status symbols in upper class colonial homes. This was because the tops were imported, usually from China. The diameter of the top, the molding around the edge, the number of grooves around the rim and the elaborate carving on the base added to the status of the owner. The bigger and more elaborate, the higher the status.
This particular piece with a solid marble top has channels carved around the rim is even rarer. Since the top was heavy, the table needed a sturdy base like the thick narra baluster leg of this table. Its shaft is carved with an unopened bunch of acanthus leaves tied at the neck with a pair of slim moldings. A ring below it is carved to resemble a bracelet with a series of oval beads nestled on concave ovals that are joined together by a wide, half-round molding.
The four legs of the table are in the form of an S-shaped foliate scroll from with a lion’s leg emerging from the bottom to end in paw feet grasping a flattened ball. They are attached to the cylindrical base of the pedestal which is appliqued with three parallel vertical reeds between each foot. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr
Lot 133 of the Leon Gallery auction on 5 December 2015. Please see www.leon-gallery.com for more details.
Marble-Topped Table
Marble Table
3rd Quarter of the 19th Century
Narra and Marble
height: 30 1/2” (77 cm)
diameter: 39”(99 cm)
Starting bid: P 200,000
Provenance: Manila
Marble-topped tables were always status symbols in upper class colonial homes. This was because the tops were imported, usually from China. The diameter of the top, the molding around the edge, the number of grooves around the rim and the elaborate carving on the base added to the status of the owner. The bigger and more elaborate, the higher the status.
This particular piece with a solid marble top has channels carved around the rim is even rarer. Since the top was heavy, the table needed a sturdy base like the thick narra baluster leg of this table. Its shaft is carved with an unopened bunch of acanthus leaves tied at the neck with a pair of slim moldings. A ring below it is carved to resemble a bracelet with a series of oval beads nestled on concave ovals that are joined together by a wide, half-round molding.
The four legs of the table are in the form of an S-shaped foliate scroll from with a lion’s leg emerging from the bottom to end in paw feet grasping a flattened ball. They are attached to the cylindrical base of the pedestal which is appliqued with three parallel vertical reeds between each foot. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr
Lot 133 of the Leon Gallery auction on 5 December 2015. Please see www.leon-gallery.com for more details.