The "Mathematical Table" in the Chinese Lodge of Palermo

The end of the 18th century sees the decline of the late baroque and rococo in the decorative arts and the origin of the neoclassic essentiality. Nonetheless, the spirit of competition among the members of the European courts and of the aristocracy in erecting magnificent residences inside spectacular parks, full of astonishing pieces of furniture, is still alive and floods of money are spent without restraint. In this very period, a new curious type of dining table makes its appearance in the aristocratic dwelling houses and precisely in the hunting lodge of the Bourbon Court close to the city of Palermo in Sicily: the "Mathematical Table". This name is due to the fantasy of its designer, architect Venanzio Marvuglia, who probably wished to hint at the particular technical nature of the table. It was composed of a fixed frame and several movable parts, which were shifted up and down to the room beneath under the action of a proper lifting apparatus with ropes and pulleys. In this manner, the dining people could be served in a very private environment without the presence of the domestic staff. After this example, other "magic tables" were made during the 19th century.