EXTENDING TABLE (6 M). MAHOGANY, METAL, ETC. ENGLAND, CIRCA 1930.

Extendable table (6 meters). Mahogany wood, metal, leather, etc. England, around 1930. Rectangular table made of mahogany wood carved with rectangles of another material in green (leather) trimmed in gold on the top, which has eight legs finished in rollers and a “worm screw” system under the tabletop that allows it to be extended up to reach six meters thanks to a manual action crank that is attached to one of the smaller sides of the piece. The legs are already very common in English examples from the 18th century (a type known as “claw and ball” with a cabriolet leg, a shape that, although more of a French tradition, spread quickly throughout Europe). The main theory of experts is that it is a design derived from Chinese art (the claw of a dragon grasping a pearl or similar) and that it would reach the West thanks to the trade in porcelain, silk, etc., appearing for the first time in English silversmithing and, from it, extending to other arts. English cabinetmakers are credited with transforming the dragon's claw into a lion's paw, this animal symbolizing English authority. Thus, the “ball and claw” was popular in England between approximately 1710 and 1750 (recovering later as styles of the past came back into fashion), and with variations in shape and lines (shape of the claw, details of the nails and “fingers”, proportion between the sphere and the extremity, etc.) depending on the area in which this decorative element was used. The decoration present towards the waist of the furniture and on the edge of the top board, in slight relief and leaving the wood in its color, is of an architectural and vegetal theme and shows an influence of ancient classic models (Greek and Roman) both in its motifs. as in the composition (symmetry on the sides of the furniture, harmony, etc.). Regarding the presence of the fabric upholstery of the upper board, it is a more common element in tables intended for conferences, desks or games than in dining tables (which usually have a wooden board), although this detail does not exclude any function for it. Likewise, we must highlight the conservation of the leg rollers, an element that used to be eliminated or lost with use and the passage of time.

· Size: 160x298x86 cms.