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Item 3209 Renaissance Octagonal Table Dimensions Width 23½, Height 26,  Depth 23½ (in inches) Wood Walnut Country France Date Circa 1890 Description This small octagonal table displays a pleasing array of Renaissance design elements in a variation on the classic guéridon - a side table used chiefly to support a candelabra or other source of lighting.  Eight-sided on a pedestal base, this table is slightly larger than the typical guéridon and is on a base of four rather than three supports for the central pedestal.  The feet are in a simple, tiered design flowing from the center anchor for the pedestal.  From bottom to top, the central column is comprised of a classic decoration of acanthus leaves, then gadrooning, topped by a variation on the classic Ionic capital.  The frieze is made up of a variation on the Vitruvian scroll of S-shapes alternating with renderings of what appear to be thistles or seed pods.  We have not encountered this latter motif in other Renaissance furniture and so we remain puzzled by its origins - perhaps just a craftsman's fascination with local vegetation.  The top is a triumph of parquet or squares whose juxtaposition of grains creates the striking checkerboard effect.  Reference Rousseau, Francis, Le Grand Livre des Meubles (Copyright Studio, Paris, 1999); Wainwright, Clive, The Romantic Interior (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1989) Uses Solid and sturdy, this table is versatile as an end-table or occasional table between chairs in an entry, study, library or virtually any room of a house.