Spanish Martini Table

Found in Montpellier but originally from Mallorca, this iron martini table is the sort of piece you would have found on a terrace or beside a chair in a Spanish home, the metal darkened soft with age. Tables like this were forged by hand by a local blacksmith, who hammered the slender stem and curled the feet out into a tripod, the easy decorative ironwork of the Mediterranean at the time. Its whole purpose was to stand at elbow height beside a chair and hold a single glass, which is how the shape earned its name. Sylvie keeps it beside a chair with a small vase or a glass of wine resting on top.