Empire Console Stamped Jacob Desmalter, Early 19th Century

Cuban mahogany, marble and gilded bronze are enough to make our console a superb piece representative of the Empire taste. François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770-1841) was a famous cabinetmaker who served under the First Empire.

A champion of the neoclassical style, Jacob-Desmalter enlisted the services of the best: from the painter Jacques-Louis David to the goldsmith Thomire (1751-1843), author of the delicate chased bronzes on our console. Note that if the look of the latter was not softened by a slightly curved shoulder and by the half-moon shape of the strut, our console would stiffen into an antique severity. It is the art of our cabinetmaker to happily combine forms and materials, satisfying both the imperial taste for rigor and the softer taste of the Creole empress.