Venice, Louis XV Mezzanine Furniture Walnut burl, cm 131 x 51 x 68 The mezzanine, in architecture, is a particular, normally lowered level of the building, usually located between the ground floor and the first floor, and which is not included in the total calculation of the floors. Historically, it is a level intended to house services and, in noble palaces, also the staff quarters. The presence of the mezzanine is often due to the need to connect floors at different levels, such as the roof slab of the ground floor funds or warehouses and the levels at different heights present on other sides of the building. However, it is not uncommon for the mezzanine to be present due to the architectural composition of the facade, since the reduced interfloor can be used, among other things, to delineate a physical boundary between different functions of the building. It is precisely because of the singular conformation of this architectural space that the unusual shape of this beautiful burl furniture, low and elongated, in Louis XV style is owed. The Louis XV style in the decorative arts is inspired by naturalistic forms, preferring curved lines and asymmetrical compositions; it elaborates the characteristics of the Rococo taste already matured during the brief period of transition during which the Regency style had established itself.