de Le Cuona | African Engraved Table Large No.1 – Brown

This is a large occasional table with a hand-engraved surface, the kind of piece that carries its own history before it has done a day's work in a room. The engraving is worked by hand across the top, so no two tables read quite the same, and the depth of the carving catches light differently through the day. It has weight and presence without being ornate, which is why we tend to reach for it when a scheme needs one object that does not need explaining.

The finish is brown, worked into the wood rather than sitting on top of it, and the scale is generous enough to hold its own against a sofa or a run of upholstered chairs. As with much of de Le Cuona's furniture, the making has a rawness to it, hand-worked rather than machine-finished, and this is very much part of the appeal rather than something to smooth away.

We use this table as a centre piece in a seating group, low enough to work in front of a sofa, or as a side table beside a deep armchair where its surface can be seen properly rather than crowded with lamps. It sits well against plain linen upholstery or a hand-loomed rug, and we would avoid putting it next to anything else heavily patterned or carved, since the table itself is the incident in the room.

Before ordering, check the table's footprint against the space you have in mind, as pieces of this scale need room to be walked around and seen rather than pushed into a corner. Handle it as you would any hand-finished timber: keep it away from direct heat sources and standing water, and lift rather than drag it across floors, since the engraved surface is part of the object's value and worth protecting from scuffing during any house move or reupholstery of surrounding furniture.