GUERIDON  , a small table to hold a

lamp or vase, supported by a tall column or a human or mythological figure . This piece of furniture, often very graceful and elegant, originated in France towards the middle of the 17th century . In the beginning the table was supported by a negro or other exotic figure, and there is some reason to believe that it took its name from the generic appellation of the young African groom or " tiger," who was generally called " Gueridon," or as we should say in English " Sambo." The swarthy figure and brilliant costume of the " Moor " when reproduced in wood and picked out in colours produced a very striking effect, and when a small table was supported on the head by the upraised hands the idea of passive service was suggested with completeness . The gueridon is still occasionally seen in something approaching its original form; but it had no sooner been introduced than the artistic instinct of the French designer and artificer converted it into a far worthier object . By the death of Louis XIV. there were several hundreds of them at Versailles, and within a generation or two they had taken an infinity 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 . Silver, enamel, and indeed almost any material from which furniture can be made, have been used for their construction . A variety of small " occasional " tables are now called in French gueridons .