Empire style console decorated with caryatids. Circa 1880.

Empire style console in half-moon shape, decorated with caryatids, or canephora, in carved and gilded wood with its cap and drape, the base and belt in mahogany, with its granite marble top.

French work realized circa 1880.

Dimensions: H x W x D cm

Reference: LS5552959A

A caryatid supporting a basket on her head is called a canephora (“basket holder”). Coming from classical architecture where it acts as a column, the caryatid is very present in French craftsmanship and furniture, particularly from the 17th and 18th centuries, but also in African art (stools). Its masculine equivalent is the atlantean, a term derived from Atlas.