The Mechanical Table

The Mechanical Table by Martin Carlin is available on view in The Frick Collection. Constructed in 1780, this table represents the height of neoclassical style furniture in France in the early 1780’s. Furniture during this period became more rectilinear and were decorated primarily with symmetrical motifs and geometric patterns. The Mechanical Table by Martin Carlin is a rectangular table with porcelain plaque inset in the top and decorated in gilt embellishments. The floral patterns in the porcelain plaques can suggest the table was made for a wealthy fashionable lady and such pieces would have been used in their salons or dressing rooms. A mechanical element incorporated into the table turned this small table into a reading support or a writing desk if desired.

In neoclassical style, the …show more content…
A thin decorative pattern of checkered squares punctuated by rosettes surrounds the cornice of the table. The top of this table has a porcelain plaque that has a white colored center and is outlined in a pastel pink color. Hand painted flowers decorate the center and corners of the plaque as well. The frieze is a dark green horizontal band that is decorated with neoclassical kind of swags that go around the top all done in gilt brass and features a key hole in the center. Below the frieze, the table has two sets of draws that are decorated in the same porcelain plaque as the top of the table. The legs of the table can be sectioned into three portions. The top portion of the legs are straight and have decorative canvas leaf gilt bronzing. The middle