By about 1832 new production methods and a broad range of new colors enabled Berlin's porcelain factory to create objects of exceptional size and brilliance. Even so, tables made entirely of porcelain are rare, and this is the only Berlin example known to survive. The monochromatic pedestal, its refined gilding simulating metalwork, is composed of porcelain sections slipped over a thin metal rod and provides stately support for the dazzling polychromy of the top. Within a central medallion Apollo drives his chariot amid the constellations, a scene framed by signs of the zodiac. Encircling this are two luxuriant wreaths, the inner of fruits and vegetables and the outer of glossy leaves alive with darting insects. The entire table may have been designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), the versatile architect who created both furniture and porcelain for the Berlin factory.

The impetus for such virtuoso pieces came from the Prussian king Frederick William III, whose patronage of the royal manufactory was extensive. We are not certain that he commissioned this table, but on June 1, 1835, it was recorded as a gift from him to Grand Duchess Helena Pavlovna of Russia (1807–1873).