19th c. Carved Pedestal

Never fear, dear collector - the slant you see is simply courtesy of the Estate’s old floors. The pedestal itself stands perfectly straight! Carved by hand for a château in the north of France, this pedestal was made to order for one grand room and was never meant to leave it. Found in Belgium and dating to the 19th century, it is a tall carved column, every face worked deep with wreaths, swags of flowers, and ribboned garlands, its corners twisted like rope. Work this fine was cut entirely by hand for people who could pay for it, a pedestal built to raise a bust or an urn to eye level, and so few survive outside the houses they were made for. Sylvie stands it in a corner by a window with a big urn of ferns on top.