Console Table

A fine example of the Italian Rococo style, this grand table boasts such eccentric elements as large leafy feet, a pierced cartouche in the center, and curved stretchers that, because of their ribbed decoration, appear to be made of pulled taffy rather than carved wood. The strong emphasis on the overall form, rather than the individual decorative motifs, is a quintessentially Italian feature. This gilt silver table is covered with a yellow varnish that imitates gold. Much southern Italian gilded furniture used silver that was coated with this type of varnish to create a golden luster--a sort of "poor man's gold."