TABLE GUILLOTINE, 19ᵗʰ CENTURY

This miniature guillotine, made of wood and metal, accurately reproduces the mechanism of the execution machine invented at the end of the 18th century. Mounted on a rectangular base resting on four small turned feet, it consists of two vertical uprights supporting a sliding triangular steel blade, weighted by a brass counterweight. The mechanism is operated by a small side lever that triggers the fall of the blade, while a cord ending in a braided tassel allows the blade to be pulled back into its housing. In its lower part, one can see the small board used to hold the symbolic victim, as well as a small turned wooden bucket intended to receive the head. Brass reinforcements ensure the stability of the whole, while the upper pediment gives it an architectural appearance faithful to full-scale models. Made in the 19th century, this miniature guillotine could serve as a study model, a teaching object, or even as a salon curiosity, reflecting both the taste for mechanical miniatures and the enduring fascination with this instrument of death emblematic of the French Revolution. The perfectly functional mechanism attests to the care taken in its construction.

With its macabre yet fascinating appearance, this miniature guillotine has its rightful place in a cabinet of curiosities.

PERIOD: 19th century
DIMENSIONS: 43 cm x 23 cm
SIZE: 16.9" x 9"

The guillotine was adopted in France in 1792 as the official instrument of capital punishment. It owes its name to Doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who proposed its use to make the death penalty more equal and less painful.
The device is composed of two vertical posts guiding a heavy oblique blade, which falls rapidly onto the condemned person’s neck. It replaced earlier methods of execution considered unequal and cruel, providing a swift and uniform death. The first public execution took place in Paris on April 25, 1792, at the Place de Grève. The guillotine became a powerful symbol of the French Revolution, associated with the Reign of Terror. It remained in use in France until 1977, before the definitive abolition of the death penalty in 1981.