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Émile Gallé "Thistle" Fruitwood Marquetry Games Table
$35,000
This playful French Art Nouveau games table by Émile Gallé, features inlaid fruitwood marquetry depicting thistles and playing card suit symbols. The apron of the delightful table similarly adorned with card suits carved in relief, while the legs of pieces, themselves decorated with ribbed carving and bulbous, carved terminals, are adjoined by an infinite Celtic knot just below their base. The table top may be removed and unfolded to reveal a green felt playing station.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: F-20076
Artist: Émile Gallé
Country: France
Circa: 1895
Dimensions: 29.5" height, 31.75" width, 17.5" depth
Materials: French walnut, Fruitwood marquetry, Green felt, Brass hardware
Signed: “Gallé a Nancy”
Literature: Similar table pictured in Gallé Furniture, by Alastair Duncan and Georges de Bartha, Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 2012, p. 130, plate 1
The thistle was a favorite symbol of Émile Gallé's, as it was a symbol of patriotism and resilience in his native region in France. Meanwhile, in Celtic regions, the thistle is considered a symbol of bravery, something you may need when gathered around this games table.