Surtout-de-table - the center of the table

Silver-plated brass, unsigned; 184 cm long, 45 cm wide.
France, 1st quarter of 19th century.
In the form of a tray, consisting of four parts, the middle square j the sides semicircular, supported on volute legs ending at the base with satyr masks, each part decorated with a mirror panel; the whole enclosed by an openwork gallery decorated with braided vine leaves and grapes; the wooden bottom on legs in the form of knobs and the mirror panel non-original.
Such mirrored trays were used to set, depending on the prevailing fashion, various types of matching decorative objects such as candlesticks, jardinieres, platters, figurines, and sometimes extremely elaborate sculptural forms or thematic arrangements.