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Lot Essay
The combination of ebony and shagreen confers to this writing desk a luxuriance which underscores the finesse of the cabinet work.
As Félix Marcilhac wrote in André Groult, Décorateur-Ensemblier, the artist ‘only wished the embellishment of our living environment by the unique, the precious, the rare and the exceptional’. He was one of the first to use shagreen in cabinet work, while it was usually used to cover small objects. The material eventually became a marker of Art Deco. André Groult started considering furniture as a character, as a refuge of fantasy in the modern world, and not only as a simple assembly of lines and volumes. The flared feet and the almost disproportionate legs seem to be the first fruits of the artist’s anthropomorphist period, which would be acclaimed during the Salon de la Société des artistes décorateurs in 1921.
The design and the colour contrast might recall the Anubis Shrine. This golden sanctum protecting Tutankhamun’s tomb was rediscovered short after the creation of the present model, in 1922, creating an international interest for ancient Egypt, leading to some of the most sought-after designs in Art Deco jewellery and furniture. Ancient civilisations, such as China, Japan and Egypt, along with African art, were an endless source of inspirations in the 1910s and 1920s. Fashion designer Jacques Doucet embraced this trend and amassed an exceptional collection comprising Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Pierre Legrain’s africanist pieces and Eileen Gray’s lacquers. It is no wonder that the only other known example of the present writing desk was acquired by this major patron.
The example from the collection of Jacques Doucet was exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in 1913 and is in the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, inv. 38146.
As Félix Marcilhac wrote in André Groult, Décorateur-Ensemblier, the artist ‘only wished the embellishment of our living environment by the unique, the precious, the rare and the exceptional’. He was one of the first to use shagreen in cabinet work, while it was usually used to cover small objects. The material eventually became a marker of Art Deco. André Groult started considering furniture as a character, as a refuge of fantasy in the modern world, and not only as a simple assembly of lines and volumes. The flared feet and the almost disproportionate legs seem to be the first fruits of the artist’s anthropomorphist period, which would be acclaimed during the Salon de la Société des artistes décorateurs in 1921.
The design and the colour contrast might recall the Anubis Shrine. This golden sanctum protecting Tutankhamun’s tomb was rediscovered short after the creation of the present model, in 1922, creating an international interest for ancient Egypt, leading to some of the most sought-after designs in Art Deco jewellery and furniture. Ancient civilisations, such as China, Japan and Egypt, along with African art, were an endless source of inspirations in the 1910s and 1920s. Fashion designer Jacques Doucet embraced this trend and amassed an exceptional collection comprising Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Pierre Legrain’s africanist pieces and Eileen Gray’s lacquers. It is no wonder that the only other known example of the present writing desk was acquired by this major patron.
The example from the collection of Jacques Doucet was exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in 1913 and is in the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, inv. 38146.