Antique Swiss Alpine Pine Table with Hand-Poured Terrazzo Top ex Christie's

Description

Late 19th/Early 20th c., Swiss, square shaped Montafon table (‘Montafoner Tisch’) with a 2-inch thick poured stone top with center … more Late 19th/Early 20th c., Swiss, square shaped Montafon table (‘Montafoner Tisch’) with a 2-inch thick poured stone top with center medallion decoration, raised on splayed, turned legs joined by flat stretchers.
About Montafon Tables:
They are real gems, the oldest were commissioned in 1823. Crowns have been inlaid like coats of arms into some of them while others have been decorated with flowers, tendrils and diamonds. Pear, cherry, oak, beech, walnut, elm and maple are still used today by St. Gallenkirch cabinet makers using only local woods that have been air-dried for 25 years.

Given the quality construction of these tables they last not only for a lifetime but also for the next generation and the one after that. Most of these tables are still with Montafon families today. In the past, they were the central meeting places for dining, playing cards, socialising.
Provenance:
Offered "European Furniture, Works of Art, and Tapestries: Including Jansen: The Past Reimagined"", Christie's, NY, October 7, 2008, lot 61 (passed) less