1950s Italian Mosaic Dining Table

An Italian black-painted console table or small dining table, late 1950s/1960s. The rectangular top of multi-coloured Murano glass mosaic tiles, over a plain apron and raised on four turned, tapering splayed legs with brass sabots. Age-related wear to the paintwork.

This table is a striking example of the Post-war enthusiasm for stylish, modern furniture designs. Slender, splayed legs on tables, cabinets, sideboards, sofas, and chairs replaced heavy-footed old-fashioned furniture, a symbolic embrace of a new age of space exploration and economic development. The lively abstract design of multi-coloured Murano glass tiles (each approximately 20 x 20mm) in white, black, red, acid yellow, and shades of green, blue and grey suitably expresses this embrace of modern aesthetic ideals.