Created by Devaux-Ferré, probably for a Great Exhibition, such as the one held in Paris in 1867 or London in 1872, this magnificent table was believed at the time to be the largest item sculpted out of solid Serpentine, a highly expensive and rare hardstone mainly of hydrated magnesium silicate, usually dark green, sometimes, such as in this case, the rarest mottled or spotted with white, burgundy-colour or purple clouds.
Devaux-Ferré specialised in rare and very sought-after stones, such as ophiolites, seprentine, porphyry and marmolite, also creating items out of the very hard roches éruptives or volcanic stones.