Empire style ..... Illustrated
FURNITURE Glossary
Empire Pier table
(Console table)
On
display at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia in
2005
Standard Empire form from 1810 to 1840.
A pier table was often used in a hall or placed between windows in a parlor, it was also the right height for use in a dining room as a serving table New York examples were often simply designed but featured elegant ormolu or painted decoration. In Philadelphia, designs were more elaborate, with scrolls replacing columns and bottom shelves cut in more complex patterns.
Dolphins: A symbol for the Dauphin (pron. DAW fin), eldest son of the king of France found in the Empire and Louis XVI (Neoclassical) styles.
Pier/console table ... Frieze with gilded floral design on corner blocks ... Dolphins / veneered columns support table top
Frieze with gilded floral design on corner block, with gilded palmette (anthemion) at end of center frieze .. Gadroon molding borders the frieze bottom
Engaged veneered columns flank the rear mirrored back ... Lion's paw front feet