19th c. Oak Barley Dining Table

This 19th century oak dining table is a heavyweight of French craftsmanship, with thick, hand-carved barley twist legs that spiral down before flaring outward, a design known as torsade that first rose to prominence in the 17th century and remained a hallmark of French furniture through the 19th. Commissioned for prosperous rural homes or townhouses, tables of this scale served as both daily anchors and showpieces for large gatherings, and this one, found in Avignon but originally from a bastide in the Luberon, carries that lineage in its presence: a broad oak surface with a light, rich tone, sturdy architectural legs, and a history that demands it be used. Sylvie imagines it surrounded by mismatched chairs and benches, bottles of wine and cheese scattered across its surface, conversation running long into the evening, a true heirloom ready to begin its next chapter.