Highlights
Centre table (Console de millieu)
- Artist
- Georg Lamprecht, Louis-Simon Boizot, Pierre-Philippe Thomire, Levasseur le Jeune
- Locality
- Paris
- Date
- between 1786 and 1806
- Material
- Oak, ebony, mahogany, tin, porcelain, gilt bronze
- Dimensions
- H. 90 cm
- Location
- Gallery 51
- Inventory Number
- R 6141
- Acquisition
- Assigned from the Royal Collections of the House of Wittelsbach in 1869
- Epoch
- Nineteenth Century
Description
This table is a magnificent example of the combination of finest cabinetmaking with precious porcelain elements and high-quality bronzes, which is characteristic of the Empire style of the court of Emperor Napoleon I. Nevertheless, it should be noted that it was created using older set pieces that were still in stock. An inscription indicates the special occasion it was made for: Napoleon gave the table to the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig I. The latter was best man at the forced marriage of the Hereditary Prince of Baden to Napoleon's stepdaughter Stéphanie de Beauharnais, who was actually supposed to marry Ludwig's sister Auguste Amalie. The gift can therefore be considered a pure demonstration of Napoleon's power over Ludwig, who deeply despised Napoleon.