A DUTCH PARCEL-GILT AND MARBLEIZED CONSOLE TABLE

This table falls into a group of Dutch carved and painted wood tables and stands referred to as "Kwabtafels". Kwab refers to the Auricular style of ornament adopted by Dutch Silversmiths such as Johannes Lutma and the van Vianen brothers in the beginning of the 17th century. Later this style was adopted into the designs of carved furniture as tables, stands and hall benches (R.J. Baarsen, Nederlandse Meubelen 1600-1800, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Zwolle, 1993, cat. no. 18, pp. 42-43).
The present lot is a particularly good example of this style with the pierced central stretcher itself forming a grotesque mask. Two comparable tables are illustrated in C.H. de Jonge Holländische Möbel aund Raumkunst, the Hague 1922, p. 164, ill. 243 and p. 166 ill. 246, from Amerongen castle.