They look great with a lamp too, either in conjunction with a bar…
…or in this case as a side table. Small children in this house meant that the beautifully styled alcohol bottles needed to be moved to the adjacent secretary.
While always liking them, I had never needed one personally. In October, I chanced across a special one at my favorite place, the Kawagoe shrine sale. It might seem unusual in that it was clearly not a Japanese item or of local origin, but actually there are many great international pieces to be found, including a Lalique lamp that I missed purchasing by moments recently too. My husband gave the drinks cart the thumbs down and for some unknown reason, I actually listened to him!?! But I continued to moon over it a bit, trying to console myself that I didn’t need it. That changed after I made an amazing find of two 1970s Chizuko Yoshida butterfly prints. I hung them stacked vertically on the wall, just next to a slipper chair in my living room. All of a sudden I desperately needed something to tie the arrangement together and it occurred to me that the bar cart was just the thing. The only problem was I had left it at the market, breaking the golden rule of antiquing, and was sure it would not be there the next time I returned.
So here’s where the story kicks in. The following month I went back, but I didn’t see it at the dealer’s stall. I was so bummed. On a lark I approached anyway to ask him about it and at first he had no idea what I was talking about (you try translating “bar cart” into Japanese). When he realized what I was looking for, he had good news for me – he had not sold it – but he had not brought it to the market because it was too fine. He offered to bring it in December, but I would be away for the holidays. We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers with a promise to sort it out and off I went.
In the weeks that passed I wanted it more and more, although by that point I had only a dim recollection of what it looked like. Finally January arrived and back to the shrine I went. The dealer was busy as I arrived and I didn’t see it out at his stall so I proceeded to shop the market, only to be pulled up short by him hyperventilating into my telephone a little while later. It seemed he had another avid buyer and wanted to be sure I was taking it. I scurried on back, took one look at its elegant lines and was sold. It screamed French moderne to me, with its black glass shelves, gilded curved edge frame and old-fashioned wheels. I have since tried to research it, with no real luck, although I came up with a few 1940s pieces – fully attributed or signed – that have a similar feel, including these from Jean Royere and Jacques Adnet.
In general, only the French pieces seem to have black glass, but last night I noticed this vintage Italian cart in a One Kings Lane Tastemaker sale. Note the price tag! And those signed French pieces above sold for thousands at auction!
The dealer bought if from a Japanese family that had spent serious time abroad in Europe, particularly France, so I think I am on the right track. I need to crawl all over it and look for a mark or label, but in the meantime, I have quick styled it to show you in situ. Just loving this little baby!
Image credits: 1.Deborah Needleman in Lonny Fall 2009, photo credit: Patrick Cline, 2. Jennifer Boles in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles March 2011, photo credit: David Christensen, 3. Jen Altman via Design Sponge, 4. Domino via Apartment Therapy, 5. Sills Huniford in Elle Decor November 2007, photo credit: Pieter Estersohn, 6. Ashlina Kaposta‘s in Adore Home Oct/Nov 2011, 7. R. Michaelson, 8. Lisa Jardine, 9. via Architonic, photo credit: Brain Franczyk, 10. via Orange on 1stdibs, 11. screenshot via One Kings Lane, 12. me.