Extendable Dining Table with Carved Swans | Empire Style in Solid Beech

• Structurally checked
• Adjusted and reinforced where necessary
• Hand-sanded
• Custom color in our workshop
• Furniture ready for use

A dining table is bought with ordinary days in mind and judged by the ones that are not. Christmas Eve. A birthday. The meal where four more people show up than expected.

This extendable dining table was crafted in the 20th century following the Empire model, the style that Percier and Fontaine codified for Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. An oval top with chamfered corners sits on two bell-shaped pedestals, each resting on a stepped plinth. The wood is solid beech.

The swan was Empress Josephine’s personal emblem: she bore it on her coat of arms, and it is found throughout Malmaison. Here there are four, one on each side of the two pedestals. With arched necks, pearl necklaces at their chests, and scaled plumage wings rising up the pillar to finish in a scroll.

Below each swan runs a frieze of gadroons. On the sides, rosettes and garlands hang from a medallion. The carving is in relief on the wood of the pedestal itself, not applied on top.

The finish is from our workshop: hand-painted white over the beech, with beige and greyish-blue nuances that appear when looking closely and disappear from two meters away. It is not a flat white. The piece is antique; the color is ours.

200 cm long, 95 cm wide, and 76 cm high. When opened, it reaches 310 cm in length: 110 centimeters more tabletop, which is the difference between seating eight and seating twelve without bringing out another table. The two pedestals are set back toward the center, so there are no legs to get in the way at the ends or the corners.

WHAT WE LIKE MOST ABOUT THIS PIECE

→ The swans. They are the motif that identifies the Empire at a glance, and the emblem that Josephine chose for herself. Four in total, with the same neck profile and the same scaling on the wing.

→ The double pedestal. Two pillars on a stepped plinth, placed inward rather than at the corners. This is what allows someone to be seated at each end and at each corner without anyone having to eat with a leg between their knees.

→ The edge of the tabletop. A thick molding runs along the entire oval and gathers at the four chamfered corners. It is visible in profile, and it is what prevents two meters of tabletop from looking like a slab.

RESTORED IN OUR WORKSHOP IN NAVALCARNERO, MADRID

The entire structure was checked: the plumb of the two pedestals on their plinths, the fastening of the frame, and the movement of the extension runners, which were cleaned and adjusted so that the top opens and closes without forcing. The wood was sanded by hand before painting.

The finish is ours and is declared as such: hand-applied white, with beige and greyish-blue glazes and light distressing on the moldings and the carvings. The structure, the tabletop, and the carving are original. The table stands level and the mechanism runs smoothly. Ready to be placed where it belongs.

Style: Empire
Material: Solid beech
Technique: Relief carving on wood and hand-painted finish with glazes
Finish: White applied in our workshop, with beige and greyish-blue nuances and light distressing on moldings and carvings
Hardware: Metal extension slides under the tabletop
Layout: Extendable oval tabletop on two bell-shaped pedestals with stepped plinths. Closed, 200 cm long; open, 310 cm
Dimensions: 200 cm (Width) × 95 cm (Depth) × 76 cm (Height). Open: 310 cm long
Condition: In good condition, with the extension mechanism checked and functional
Period: Second half of the 20th century

Closed: 200 cm (Width) × 95 cm (Depth) × 76 cm (Height)
Open: 310 cm (Width) × 95 cm (Depth) × 76 cm (Height)

Free shipping to mainland Spain. Includes indoor delivery with packaging removal.