Louis Xvi Backgammon

Reflecting the final era of royal opulence before the upheaval of the French Revolution, antique Louis XVI furniture features more angular shapes than the Rococo curves of the Louis XV style, harkening back to the imposing grandeur of Louis XIV.

Dating between 1750 and 1800, an era that overlapped with the last king of France whose reign was cut short by the guillotine, Louis XVI furniture, known as the goût grec, is emblematic of the neoclassical revision that French furniture underwent during the second half of the 18th century.

Authentic Louis XVI furniture characteristics include clean lines and carved details such as scrolls and acanthus flourishes that were inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. This was informed by a burgeoning interest in antiquity in the 18th century, owing to new archaeological excavations at sites including Pompeii and Herculaneum. It largely eclipsed the more East Asian–influenced ornamentation of Louis XV for something more geometric and symmetrical.

The Louis XVI style was defined by what was being created for the palatial rooms at Versailles and Fontainebleau, particularly for the queen, with cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Riesener being a favorite of Marie-Antoinette’s for his luxurious pieces accented with gilded bronze and marquetry. Furniture maker Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené was also a major designer of the period, with his pieces for the royal residences adorned with giltwood and neoclassical touches like tapered columns for chair legs and laurel leaf carvings. Cabinetmaker Adam Weisweiler occasionally incorporated into his furniture porcelain panels produced by Sèvres, a popular manufacturer of European ceramics that served the crown with serveware, vases and other decorative objects.

Find a collection of antique Louis XVI seating, tables, cabinets and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Bring drama and duels of dexterity into your home with vintage, new and antique game tables for every kind of game.

Who doesn’t love a little competition? Historians estimate that early versions of games such as backgammon were played by members of ancient civilizations at least as far back as 3,000 B.C. Chess, which likely originated in India as a game called chaturanga, is a timeworn test of skills and strategy as well, and the modern era’s iteration of the game was enjoyed by nobles at least as early as the 16th century.

While the upper classes in Europe were among the only chess players who could afford the game’s decoratively carved ivory pieces, the game eventually became accessible to the general public. In the late 19th century, the game’s first official chess championships took place, a realm that eventually produced celebrated players such as avowed Eames Executive chair enthusiast Bobby Fischer. Today, antique chessboards have seen an uptick in demand owing to a successful Netflix series in 2020 called The Queen’s Gambit, which chronicles the life of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon.

Modern versions of chess boards and other home game tables may have evolved to accommodate the variety of games for which they’re used but are still versatile pieces of furniture. Not every card table with chairs is the ideal dining table, but you certainly don’t have to limit a game table to recreational use.

Antique trictrac tables, for example, were products of 18th-century France, wherein furniture makers created what looked like multipurpose neoclassical writing desks and card tables that when their tops were removed revealed trictrac, chess and checkers surfaces. Other game tables, in a complete commitment to fun, merely support good old-fashioned competition. Contemporary Ping-Pong (or table tennis) tables, which have origins in 1880s Victorian England, can be quite sophisticated in form and are made from a variety of materials today. A billiards table is an iconic piece for any game room or living room, but your pool table is really going to be used for only one thing, right?

Antique or new Regency-style game tables, mid-century modern tables or Art Deco–style card tables, perhaps fashioned from rosewood or mahogany, might be equipped with convertible tabletops to shift from meals to game time in a snap. If you prefer poker or opt for a card table topped with a checkerboard, convenient drawers and other compartments can be found in new and vintage game tables that fit poker chips or other types of game pieces perfectly.

Find a range of top-quality vintage and antique game tables on 1stDibs that can help you introduce a bit of class to every competition at home.