Pair French Lamp Tables
These pair french lamp tables are matching small-scale supports designed for lighting, appearing here in regional, chateau, and revival forms.
Form and Period
When you search for pair french lamp tables, you encounter matching sets created to flank a bed, sofa or seating area. The selection spans the nineteenth century, the Edwardian era, and the 1920s and 1930s.
The forms encompass side tables, bedside tables, bedside chests, and gueridon styles. Regional variations include French Provincial and French Chateau designs alongside Louis XV and Louis XVI revivals.
You meet both freestanding occasional pieces and fitted bedside variants. Tops appear in plain wood, marble, or parquet, often accompanied by drawers or undertiers.
Materials and Technique
Cabinetmakers utilised a wide variety of timbers including walnut, mahogany, oak, fruitwood, cherry, elm, ash, and exotic veneers such as kingwood. Marquetry and parquetry techniques create geometric and floral patterns across the surfaces.
Marble slabs form resilient table tops on several pieces, while ormolu, brass mounts, and bronzed details accent corners, legs, and aprons. Painted wood finishes also appear, sometimes featuring decorative schemes.
Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for pair french lamp tables, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
Listings feature items from the nineteenth century, the Edwardian period, 1920, and 1930, utilising marble, ormolu, brass, and diverse hardwoods.
Construction and Detail
The distinction between standard examples and top quality items rests in the precision of the timber matching and veneer work. Elaborate marquetry, intricate ormolu mounts, and solid marble tops separate finer outputs from simpler painted or plain wooden versions.
Structural integrity depends on the joinery of the frame and the stability of the legs, whether cabriole or tapered. Superior pieces display careful attention to drawer construction and the seamless integration of brass hardware.
Maison Jansen
The Pair French Lamp Tables Glossary
- Gueridon
- A small round table on a central pillar or multiple legs, frequently topped with marble. These pieces served historically as candle stands or small display tables.
- Ormolu
- Gilt bronze ornamentation applied to furniture mounts and feet. This decorative technique adds metallic contrast to wooden cabinetry.
- Marquetry
- Inlaid wood veneers arranged to form decorative pictures or patterns. Artisans cut different coloured woods to fit precisely within a prepared ground.
- Parquetry
- Geometric wood inlay forming repeating patterns such as cubes or chequers. This technique decorates table tops and drawer fronts.
- Tambour
- A flexible shutter formed of narrow vertical strips of wood glued to canvas. It allows smooth closure of curved cabinet fronts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a gueridon table?
A gueridon is a small occasional table originally designed to hold a light source. They typically feature round tops made of marble or wood supported by slender legs or a central column.
On this page, you find them paired for use beside seating or beds.
How do I identify Louis XVI style?
Louis XVI pieces favour straight, tapered legs, often fluted, and geometric symmetry. They contrast sharply with the curving lines of earlier periods.
Look for classical motifs, rectangular proportions, and restrained brass mounts.
Where were these tables used?
These tables served primarily as bedside chests or small side supports in reception rooms. Their compact size allowed placement beside chairs for holding lamps or small items.
Pairs were manufactured to create symmetrical arrangements in bedrooms and salons.
What woods are most common?
Cabinetmakers employed walnut, mahogany, oak, and fruitwoods like cherry. Exotic woods such as kingwood appear in patterned veneer work.
Painted finishes and marble tops also feature frequently across the inventory.