A rare German rococo giltwood center table circa 1740, probably Franconian

the shaped white marble top centered by an oval medallion enclosing a foliate patera on a ground of overlapping scales, the border carved with basket-weave, raised on a carved giltwood support, the border carved with basket-weave to match the top, the frieze and legs with meandering foliate tendrils and flowerheads.

The carving on this table can be compared with that found on the legs on a settee attributed to Johann Köhler, illustrated, H. Kreisel, Die Kunst des Deutschen Möbels, Munich, 1970, Vol.II, pl. 549.  It can also be compared with a suite of seat furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York which was previously thought to have been made from a design by Ferdinand Tietz and Johann Köhler.  The settee and matching chairs were made for a powerful personality in 18th century Franconia, Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (1708-1779), Prince-Bishop of Würzburg and, after 1752, of Bamberg, illustrated, Kisluk-Grosheide, Koeppe & Rieder, European Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,  New York, 2006, p. 152-154.    Whilst it is entirely possible that this table was made in Franconia, it can also be argued that it could have been produced in south-west Germany where the influence of French design was particularly prevalent.