Table

This table is impressive not only for its large size and beautiful reddish-colored marble with branch-like veining but also for the elegant carved ornament of its supports. The volutes, inspired by contemporary architectural forms, are particularly inventive because they appear to flatten slightly under the enormous weight of the broad tabletop. The table's feet are formed from lions' paws, a decorative device common in various types of furniture from the late 1500s onwards. During the Renaissance, artists revived this form of table, based on a classical Roman design, for use in refectories, although more often in wood than in marble. As it was carved from costly marble, this table was more probably conceived as a center table for the hall or principal room of a sixteenth-century house.