Guéridon

A guéridon is a small table supported by one or more columns, or sculptural human or mythological figures, often with a circular top.

[1] The supports for early guéridons were often modeled on ancient Egyptian and Greek as well as various African human traditional figures (inspired by caryatids).

While often serving humble purposes, such as to hold a candlestick or vase, the guéridon could be a high-style decorative piece of court furniture.

By the time of Louis XIV's death in 1715, there were several hundred guéridons at Versailles, and within a generation they had taken on a nearly endless number of forms: columns, tripods, termini and mythological figures.

Some of the simpler and more artistic forms were of wood carved with familiar decorative motives and gilded.