MID-16TH CENTURY

This type of table is often described as 'table en croix de Lorraine' given the evident similarity between the shape of its stretchers and that of the French Croix de Lorraine. First described as Croix d'Anjou, it took the name of Croix de Lorraine, following the marriage of René Ier de Naples, or René d'Anjou (1409-1480) to Isabelle de Lorraine, heiress to the Duché de Lorraine in 1431. Closely related tables featuring toupies en pendents to the corners, are illustrated in J. Boccador, Le Mobilier Français du Moyen Age à la Renaissance, Saint-Rémy-en-l'Eau. 1988, p. 277, figs, 215 and 216.