Game Table, Reversible Top with Box Matched Rosewood & Leather, Solid Rosewood Frame  

Good morning,
Went searching for mid century Brazilian designers and came across these two images.
Could be a starting point in your search.
Also this article.
http://luxurydefined.christiesrealestate.com/blog/luxury-lifestyle/brazi....
Lexi
1st image is Sergio Rodrigues and 2nd image is Joaquim Tenreiro.

That side by side leg comparison does a good job of demonstrating the slenderness. It's tough to pick up otherwise in the photos due to lack of scale reference. I wonder if the double hanger bolt detail is linked to the leg slenderness. Speaking of which, it looks like you when with new bolts with wing nuts. That stretched thread on the old bolts was an interesting condition. Were just the top bolts stretched or both.
The edge banding also cleaned up very nicely and now provides a very nice contrast with the black leather.
Is this now the new kitchen table, or did you already have a game parlor just waiting for the right table to come along?

I have replaced the hanger bolts, although I am holding on to them in case I ever figure out if they are original. I will put photos of them up soon, so everyone else can see them.
It is also hard to see that the legs angle outwards just slightly. It is a nice detail. I am trying do figure out how to show it. I guess I can set the level next to a leg and snap a photo.
I do not know much about Brazilian designers, but I have read that Brazilian furniture exports were illegal during the military dictatorship (mid 1960s to mid 1980s), and then rosewood has been banned since the early 1990s, all of which considerably reduces the window for this piece to have come to the USA. (Percival Lafer had His Brazil Contempo stores in the dictatorship period, not sure how he got around the legalities, but his stuff is the only Brazilian stuff I do see rarely).
I can't see the table as a Sergio Rodrigues. His pieces always have a detail about that defies expectations and forcibly draws the eyes either in disgust or delight.
Joaquim Tenreiro seems very plausible from an aesthetic standpoint, but I can't find a shred of evidence....

Note the strange slots cut in the tops of the bolts. I don't know what there purpose was.
And note the elongated threads on some of the bolts where they came out of the legs. My best explanation for the elongations is that the thick rosewood corner blocks expanded and stretched the bolts, but I really don't know.
And it came with those brass cap screws on the hanger bolts, which give you very limited range to tighten, which doesn't make much sense.
I presume that hardware is original, but it is so strange, I am not 100% certain. I only had 6 of the 8 needed pieces, so I replaced all 8.

Here is the Sergio Rodrigues connection. The biggest similarity for me are the solid rosewood corner blocks.
But there are some important differences:
-Second side is felt, not leather
-Rosewood is book-matched, not box-matched
-Legs are vertical, not angled slightly out
-Legs are thicker, and with a less 'elegant' taper
Has anyone seen one of these in person? Anyone have thoughts of whether this is similar enough to think Sergio Rodgries could have designed the table.
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/game-tables/rosewood-game-table...

leif ericson,
I know less than nothing about your table. Tour de force comes to mind.
Is it possible (just guessing) the strange bolts are initially tightened with the hex nut tops and final setting is with the tops removed and hand set with a screwdriver. The the elongated threads would enable to legs to be firmly joined to the block and everything hidden from the eye. The differential in screw slots at the bolt tops may be prior user negligence (damage).
Is it possible that this is a "one off" executed by a highly qualified apprentice woodworker for a final demonstration, competition piece or another strange unknown.
If I got paid for guessing... I would more than likely starve. You photos are precise and easy to follow. They are better than my guessing.
Very nice table. From a person that likes the Joe Colombo game table for Zanotta

I swung by a local library to look at the Sergio Rodrigues book, compiled by Soraia Cals. I'm not sure if it's comprehensive, but it has a lot of his designs in there. The book confirms that the card table design posted above by lexi is by him. But there is no trace of any table or other piece of furniture with details similar to leif's or the 1stDibs table. Furthermore, the Norma table is one of three pieces in the whole book that even has slender wood frame members. Everything else has the large cross sectional members more associated with Rodrigues.
At the same time, I found an online catalog associated with this book. It is not as comprehensive as the book, but still good nonetheless for a quickly accessed reference source: http://www.soraiacals.com.br/109402?artistId=89011

And that just points out that that 1stDibs listing claiming to be a Sergio Rodrigues table is very likely not a Sergio Rodrigues table at all. In fact it may well not be Brazilian.
I personally do not think that this is a Sergio Rodrigues design. It is too classically elegant.

Niceguy: Thanks for guessing! One of the conundrums with the slots in the tops of the hanger bolts is that there is not enough steel there to let you turn the bolt with a screw driver. The sides would just sheer off. Or perhaps someone did tighten them with a screw driver, and the sides did sheer off, and this is why some of the slots are shallower and more damaged than others....
And the table definitely feels like it was meant to impress. So your thought that it could be some sort of competition / exhibition / demonstration / strange unknown seems very possible.
Also, the photos don't show how the legs are canted outwards. It is a nice touch. So I contrived a way to show it. The level is dead plumb beside the leg. You can see how much angle there is.

leif ericson,
Regardless of my guessing, that is a fine table. Should a person not know any card games, perhaps this table could be a motivation to learn. Good for you.

heck, play solitaire even if you can't find anyone to play cards with you. But always use a coaster for the beverage of your choice!
and yes, that is one swankly lovely thing

It is gorgeous. I feel lucky.
This game table is said to be a Gio Ponti design. I find it interesting that there are two screws at each corner. The construction is very different, but there is a similarity in the idea of how a game table should be made.
This makes me wonder if it is Italian....

Aha, jesgord is a genius who just turned up the first solid lead in this case. The above Italian table is a Carlo Hauner design (for Fratelli Regiutti). The table above that sold on 1stdibs as a Sergio Rodrigues (and very, very likely is NOT Sergio Rodrigues) was supposedly made by Forma. And Carlo Hauner was a primary designer for Forma.

I spotted this guy about 6-7 weeks ago on a craigslist ad a long ways away. Thanks to leif's table from 2016, I knew exactly what it was and was able to buy it remotely. It just arrived earlier this week. Very slender legs.

wood side...