A gilt-bronze-mounted mahogany and thuyawood table à thé, stamped A. Weisweiler Louis XVI, circa 1785

the circular top within a gilt-bronze border centered by a circular tier raised on a baluster shaped support, the mahogany legs in the form of double bamboo joined by lobed stretchers surmounted by a turned vase, on toupie feet fitted with casters the underneath of the larger table top re-veneered with modern beech veneer

Prince Stanisław "Stash"  Radziwiłł (1914-1976) and his first wife Rose de Monleon, daughter of Comte Guy de Monleon
Thence by descent to the present owner 

This table comes with an authentification and condition report of Yannick Chastang Conservation. The connecting metal rod between the two panels may be a recent replacement. original oak carcass with complex frame construction underneath
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature
Patricia Lemonnier, Weisweiler, Paris,1983, page 94.
Pierre Arizzoli-Clémentel,Versailles Furniture of the Royal Palace 17th and 18th centuries, Vol.II, Dijon, 2002, page 127.

Adam Weisweiler received master in 1778.

A drawing by Dugourc in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, depicts a circular table with two tiers, the uppermost supporting a tea pot, the central tier with a variety of receptacles and the upper tier with cups, creamers, etc. It is not clear whether this drawing served as the prototype for this table, or was a representation of an extant model (see Patricia Lemonnier in L' Estampille / L' Objet d'Art, March 1975, 'Les meubles de Weisweiler et leurs représentations graphiques').

What is almost certain, however, is that Adam Weisweiler was the principal author of tables of this type, and may well also have been its inventor. A number of such tables à thé by Weisweiler, all slightly different in design, are recorded:
- a very similar table stamped A. Weisweiler with an upper tier and identical stretchers is reproduced in P. Lemonnier, op. cit. page 94.
- a closely related table stamped A. Weisweiler with a thuyawood table top, gilt-bronze double bamboo legs, lobed stretchers and a missing upper tier was sold Sotheby's, London, 12th & 13th December 1996, lot 211
- a similar two tier table attributed to Weisweiler was sold Sotheby's, New York, 20th May 2005, lot 82 for $192.000
- another with baluster shaped mahogany legs, identical stretchers to the present one and with a removable circular center of the top is in the Paris residence of the British Ambassador to France, illustrated, Jean-Nerée Ronfort, A l'ombre de Pauline, la Résidence de l'Ambassadeur de Grande-Bretagne à Paris, 2001, page 52, fig.53.
- a closely related table is in Versailles (Inv. V 4953) and illustrated in P. Arizzoli-Clémentel, op. cit., page 127

Tables of this type were enormously fashionable amongst Europe's aristocracy in the final years of the Ancien régime, first appearing circa 1780. One was listed in the inventory of the duchesse de Polignac in 1787 and others were in the collection of Madame du Barry (Lemonnier, op.cit. page 94).
A rare feature on the present example is the fact that it still has its upper tier, as these tables have often lost their second, smaller tier.