Brewster Chair

Gueridon, 1870. Solid mahogany and mahogany veneered on oak, with inset plaque of porcelain or bone china and gilt-bronze mounts. This stand was made to support...See more » Gueridon, 1870. Solid mahogany and mahogany veneered on oak, with inset plaque of porcelain or bone china and gilt-bronze mounts. This stand was made to support a reading light or as an occasional table. Such pieces are sometimes known by the French name gueridon, a term originally used in the 17th century for a circular tray on a pillar, made of carved and gilded wood, used to support a candelabrum. The top is inset with a soft-paste porcelain plaque, perhaps made originally as a plate at the French national porcelain factory at Sevres, near Paris. It was probably later ground down to form this table top. The decoration was almost certainly applied in the 19th century, probably by expert flower painters in Britain who sought to imitate the fine work of the painters at Sèvres.See less »