• Period:
  19th Century
• Origin:
  France
• Room:
  6

Charles-Guillaume Diehl, one of the most important cabinetmakers of 19th-century France, created a masterpiece in this magnificent center table. The classically-inspired table's top and frieze, adorned with inlaid decoration of the highest order, are supported by finely carved legs boasting some of the finest gilt bronze detailing in the world, from the intricately carved anthemion border and Corinthian column caps to the superb ornaments on the stretcher. Diehl's incredible attention to detail extends even to the key that locks the drawer. Exhibiting artistry and execution of matchless quality, this table is truly a rare and masterful work.

A native of Steinbach, Germany, Charles-Guillaume Diehl came to Paris in 1840 and established a large atelier, where he employed no less than 600 craftsmen by 1870. Diehl participated in the Great Exhibition in 1851 and in all the major international exhibitions during the middle of the 19th century thereafter. At the 1867 Universal Exposition, Diehl was awarded a silver medal, and the medal cabinet that he presented that year is one of the pieces of furniture most often cited and reproduced of the period. He exhibited it in 1873 at the Universal Exposition of Vienna and obtained a medal of progress. Diehl became a naturalized French citizen in 1872. His pieces are housed in such prestigious museums as the Muse´e d'Orsay, Paris, the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Muse´e de l'Ecole de Nancy, Nancy and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Diehl died circa 1885.